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The Blade of the Courtesans

Keiichirô Ryû,

James M. Vardaman (Translator)

3.20 · Rating details · 66 ratings · 20 reviews

This Naoki Prize-nominated historical thriller marked the auspicious debut of late-blooming author Keichiro Ryu, who in five years made a name for himself as a master of period novels. In The Blade of the Courtesans, a young samurai by the name of Seichiro Matsunaga, trained in swordfighting by non other than the legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto, finds himself in Yoshiwa ...more

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Hardcover, 304 pages

Published October 28th 2008 by Vertical (first published 1986)

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May 17, 2017 Katherine 黄爱芬 rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: asian-literature, historical-fiction

Seiichiro adalah murid guru kondang Musashi. Menjelang wafatnya Musashi, memberikan amanah bagi Seiichiro utk turun gunung ke kota utk mencari asal-usul dirinya. Ternyata malah menjadi pelik krn Seiichiro adalah anak gelap mantan kaisar. Banyak yg menginginkan dirinya utk diangkat ataupun dibunuh. Di Yoshiwara, Seiichiro berkenalan dgn Gensai yg membantunya juga memperkenalkan kenikmatan duniawi seksual. Tidak disangka juga Seiichiro banyak dicintai oleh wanita hingga nyaris membahayakan nyawany ...more

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Apr 20, 2020 Saros rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Tokoh di dalam novel ini sangat banyak dan berserakan. Alur cerita berantakan. Tidak ada tambahan pendukung seperti peta wilayah, silsilah, atau profil siapa siapa saja tokoh yang ada dalam novel ini. (Ada, hanya 17 orang, padahal ada lebih 100 tokoh yang punya peran penting)

Dari tema yang diangkat yaitu sejarah jepang tahun 1600an cukup menarik, tapi terlalu banyak cerita masa lalu, masa sekarang dan masa depan dibaur ke dalam satu novel. Penyampaian lintas masa yang membingungkan jadi sulit un ...more

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Aug 13, 2013 Vera Maharani rated it it was ok

Shelves: feudal-japan, historical-fiction, court-drama, vivid-setting, alphabet-short-sweet-challenge, to-swap-or-give-away

Too many 'what the hell' moment for me to enjoy it.

The beginning is quite promising. Ronin Matsunaga Seiichiro came to Yoshiwara, new pleasure districts in Edo, by request of his late teacher, Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi ordered him to meet a man named Shoji Jin'emon in Yoshiwara. Unfortunately, when Seiichiro arrived in Yoshiwara, Jin'emon's son in law said that he was dead. As Seiichiro pondered on the reason Musashi asked him to go meet Jin'emon (which was lost with the death of the man), he wa Too many 'what the hell' moment for me to enjoy it.

The beginning is quite promising. Ronin Matsunaga Seiichiro came to Yoshiwara, new pleasure districts in Edo, by request of his late teacher, Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi ordered him to meet a man named Shoji Jin'emon in Yoshiwara. Unfortunately, when Seiichiro arrived in Yoshiwara, Jin'emon's son in law said that he was dead. As Seiichiro pondered on the reason Musashi asked him to go meet Jin'emon (which was lost with the death of the man), he was unintentionally involved in a street brawl with assasins from Yagyu. Then a lot of characters appeared; some wanted to kill him, some wanted to protect him, some appeared like they know about Seiichiro more than he himself. Seiichiro was forced to go on a quest to unravel his own past, and secrets of Yoshiwara, which was more than its outside appearance as a pleasure district.

I was ready to enjoy it. Really, so many misteries, some involving high ranked officers; even the shogun and the emperor himself. A lot of renowned characters from the Sengoku histories I've been acquainted quite well made appearance: e.g. Miyamoto Musashi, Akechi Mitsuhide, Tadakatsu Honda, Tokugawa Ieyasu, etc. Even Hosokawa Gracia and Ishida Mitsunari were mentioned. In the Sarada Jirosaburo subplot (in which these historical characters get mentioned a lot), the history and the fiction mixed well and believable. The art of seduction by tayu and yujo (are they equivalent with geisha? I have to search on it later) and their differences from the kirimise (low-classed prostitutes) was also described in details, strengthened the atmosphere of a 17th century Japanese pleasure districts. Another plus side, the Japanese terms and words were explained in the footnotes. As there are so many of them, these footnotes become handy.

But as I read on, I found some disturbing subjects. Gerontophilia, pedophilia, incest, brief mention of nymphomania...just name some sexual deviation and try to find it here. I know the background was a pleasure district, a place for prostitution, but I found the treatment of these sexual deviation as 'tradition' and 'something necessary' somehow irked me.

The character of Gensai who become much more prominent than the main character himself is really annoying. Gensai was intended to be Seiichiro's mentor after Musashi but he effectively stole the spotlight from Seiichiro and become more central to the story than the main protagonist himself. Gensai's connection to Musashi, the legendary samurai and Seiichiro's previous mentor, was unclear. Or maybe it was told in some part but I skipped it because I loathe this character so much for being an unbeatable, "enigmatic", know-it-all old man. At the end of the story, Seiichiro contemplated about what he had done, and I want to yell at him, "Kill the man, screw the woman, and then get saved by Gensai or some clairvoyant girl/geisha, that's what you did! Serve you right to feel so useless!"

Don't even let me start on the awkward and inconsistent translation (from English I think, as sometimes 'Sengoku period' [Warring State period in English] was translated into 'era negara bagian yang sedang berperang'. Um, no, Translator. Just no.). The ellipsis used to emphasize inner monologue of characters are just weird. Also, don't forget the typos. The blatant, infuriating, annoying typos. I want to apply for the position of proofreader for this book, really.

All in all, the book is okay, I think. I can't say I like it. I don't know if I want to reread it again. Maybe when I have the English/Japanese edition, I will. But for now, the Indonesian translation is available for swapping. ...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Rai Keyri rated it really liked it

Recommended to Rai by: FullyBooked The Fort

Shelves: books-that-i-own, samurai-ronin-bushi-novels

If you're into classic and present jidaigeki movies and TV series especially the sword fight scenes and also kenjutsu in your own lives, you'll love and appreciate this novel; if not you won't. If you already knew or have a few background knowledge about Miyamoto Musashi and the old Edo Japanese culture in general, mostly about the lives of bushis (warriors), samurais, ninja assassins and Japanese courtesans (geisha, taiyu, oiran, joro), you'll love this. The only downside of this novel is it ha ...more

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May 28, 2009 Vicky rated it it was ok

It was not “my cup of tea”. With all my love of historical fiction, this book was too specific for me in its description of samurai culture and martial art. I still plan to read the "Shogun" by James Clavell (only 1213 pages) in a future and understand more about the Japanese history, its shoguns, clans and emperors. ...more

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Jul 03, 2018 R-Qie R-Qie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Matsunaga Seiichiro, seorang Ronin yang diasuh dan dididik Miyamoto Mushashi, meninggalkan gunung Higo demi menjalankan wasiat sang guru. Ia pergi ke kota Edo untuk menemui Shoji Jin'emon di Yoshiwara. Di Yoshiwara ia bertemu dengan orang-orang dan mendapat pengalaman tak terduga. Misteri Shinkun gomenjo dan asal usul Seiichiro menjadi ujung tombak kisah satria Jepang pada abad pertengahan ini. Kisah asmara dan petualangan mistik menjadi bumbu kehidupan Seiichiro yang awalnya sederhana dan polos ...more

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Oct 27, 2017 Bobby Bao rated it really liked it

I don't want to say it's immensely enjoyable, but it's immensely enjoyable. A must if you are a romantic who appreciates classical tales of valor and drama. The constant, did-you-know historical facts can be jarring, though, and sometimes it gets slow with all backstories of every relevant character. It could do well with less of the sex scenes as well (Obaba-sama was...weird). Overall though, a worthy purchase and read. Weeaboo or not, give this a try. ...more

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Dec 22, 2019 Karen Anderson rated it did not like it

Shelves: asian

Quite a few typos including mixing up character names once.
Either this doesn't translate well or it wasn't well translated. ...more

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Nov 08, 2010 Truly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"Kau akan dibunuh oleh orang kepercayaanmu.”

Matsunaga Seiichiro adalah seorang Ronin yang dilatih langsung dan diangkat anak oleh sang legenda samurai, Miyamoto Musashi. Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, Seiichiro tidak hanya diajari seni bela diri serta seni pedang, namun juga seni membersihkan diri dan menenangkan jiwa. Hasilnya ia mampu membaca dan mematahkan gerakan lawannya saat bertempur.

Setelah sang guru dan ayah angkatnya tiada. Seiichiro dikirim ke Yoshiwara. Disanalah sesungguhnya kemampuan "Kau akan dibunuh oleh orang kepercayaanmu.”

Matsunaga Seiichiro adalah seorang Ronin yang dilatih langsung dan diangkat anak oleh sang legenda samurai, Miyamoto Musashi. Dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, Seiichiro tidak hanya diajari seni bela diri serta seni pedang, namun juga seni membersihkan diri dan menenangkan jiwa. Hasilnya ia mampu membaca dan mematahkan gerakan lawannya saat bertempur.

Setelah sang guru dan ayah angkatnya tiada. Seiichiro dikirim ke Yoshiwara. Disanalah sesungguhnya kemampuanya diuji. Ia tidak hanya harus berhadapan pertarungan, keberanian di medan perangpeperangan, serta pengkhianatan. Tentunya nuansa kisah kasih juga menjadi bumbu yang kuat dalam cerita ini. Ia terlibat dalam serangkaian pertarungan demi membela wargaYoshiwara

Setelah melewati berbagai perjalanan pencarian makna yang panjang, akhirnya Seiichiro memutuskan untuk mewarisi Nishidaya. Hal ini berarti ia juga mewarisi kepemimpinan Yoshiwara Gocho-machi. keputusannya memang diasmbut hangat banyak pihak. Walau berarti ia harus memutuskan kisah kasihnya dengan oiran. Telah terjadi kesepakatan bahwa seorang pemuka utama Gocho-mach tidak tidur dengan oiran.

Seperti juga buku-buku bertema Jepang yang lain, buku ini banyak mengandung unsur filosofi. Banyak ajaran-ajaran yang bisa kita temui di dalam buku ini. Kelebihan dari buku ini adalah penggambaran yang menarik mengenai kehidupan masyarakat Jepang saat itu. Kita jadi paham tatacara yang berlaku saat itu, kondisi sosial dan politik disana. Kita juga akan diperkenalkan dengan berbagai macam istilah dalam Bahasa Jepang. Bagi saya, ini justru menjadi kendala untuk menikmati buku ini. Saya sama sekali tidak mengerti Bahasa Jepang apalagi adat istiadatnya. Sehingga jika disebutkan suatu istilah namun tidak ada uraiannya, saya terpaksa berhenti membaca untuk mencari maksud atau arti kata-kata yang dimaksud. Saya jadi menyambi memahami Jepang saat membaca buku ini. Otomasti kecepatan membaca saya jadi menurun.Memang ada pengertian atau maksud untuk suatu istilah, namun bagi saya yang sama sekali buta soal Jepang tetap saja kurang.

Keiichiro Ryu terlahir dengan nama Ichiro Ikeda, merupakan seorang Sarjana Literatur Budha (Buddhist Literature) dari Tokyo University. Ia dikenal sebagai penulis fiksi-sejarah terutama literasi yang berkisah tentang Jepang klasik, periode Edo (antara 1600 - 1868) . Namun karier cemerlangnya hanya bertahan selama 5 tahun karena meninggal dunia. The Blade Of The Courtesans adalah novel pertamanya, dengan latar belakang Yoshiwara, distrik- di Tokyo klasik. Ia dinominasikan untuk penghargaan Naoki Prize, yang setingkat dengan penghargaan Pulitzer Prize di Jepang.

Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵 ?), atau biasa disebut Musashi saja, adalah seorang samurai dan ronin yang sangat terkenal di pada abad pertengahan. Ia diperkirakan lahir pada sekitar 13 Juni 1584, dan meninggal 19 Mei 1645. Pada tahun 1640, Musashi resmi akan pengikut penguasa Hosokowa Kumamoto. Nama aslinya adalah Shinmen Takezo. Kata Musashi merupakan lafal lain dari “Takezo” (huruf kanji bisa memiliki banyak lafal dan arti). Musashi memiliki nama lengkap Shinmen Musashi No Kami Fujiwara No Genshin.

Musashi merupakan ahli dalam bidang seni serta ilmu pedang. dia diceritakan mengalahkan ahli-ahli bela diri dan samurai yang terkenal pada masa itu seperti Yoshioka Seijuro, Yoshioka Denshichiro dari Yoshioka clan dari kyoto, Inshun dari kuil Hojoin, Yagyu clan, dan Sasaki Kojirou. Kisah hidupnya diabadiakn dalam novel yang ditulis oleh Eiji Yoshikawa dan film karya sutradara Hiroshi Inagaki. Salah satu hasil karya tulisannya “the book of five rings” berisi filosofi dan strategi teknik bermain pedang masih dipelajari sampai saat ini. ...more

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Nov 08, 2010 Della added it · review of another edition

Sebuah novel yang diangkat berdasarkan sejarah Jepang saat masih bernama Edo, dengan tokoh utama bernama Matsunaga Seiichiro yang dibesarkan oleh ahli samurai, Miyamoto Musashi, nun di pegunungan Hiro.
Pada usia 26, Seiichiro pergi ke Yoshiwara, Edo, untuk menunaikan amanat terakhir Musashi. Takdir membawanya pada Gensai, seorang tua yang kelak akan banyak membantunya.
Takdir pula yang membawanya pada shinkun gomenjo. Seiichiro tidak tahu apa itu shinkun gomenjo dan bertekad mencari tahu. Menur ...more

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Aug 29, 2010 Sharon rated it liked it

Historical fiction translated from Japanese into English. This is the story of how Matsunaga Seiichiro becomes the swordsman who represents the interests of the geisha courtesans of the Yoshiwara, the pleasure district of Edo.
I really liked the story, but it was awkwardly worded in some places which I think occurred because of translation. Two other drawbacks with reading it were: the abundant use of Japanese names and the author told many brief stories within the story.

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Oct 26, 2011 Sally rated it really liked it

I loved this book, it transported me to Japan and times of the samurai and shoguns, with a hero to look up to. Unfortunately, it was either poorly edited or poorly translated with some glaring errors marring the reading. And, there was a lot of Japanese minutiae, historically speaking, and many many names to keep track of, many were minor characters. Still, if you want to be transported, give yourself a few minutes a day in this book.

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Aug 18, 2011 Diana rated it did not like it

The first two chapters failed to capture my attention and imagination, so I stopped reading it.

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Mar 11, 2011 Yudi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Bagi penggemar cerita fiksi berlatar belakang sejarah, khususnya sejarah Jepang, buku ini tidak boleh dilewatkan.

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Jul 24, 2010 Tyson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history, scifi-fantasy, literature, read-in-2010

My review here ...more

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Feb 07, 2010 Bee-Man rated it really liked it

Lg cr info apakah benar Miyamoto Musashi punya anak angkat. Secara keseluruhan bukunya seru dibaca, serasa nonton pilem samurai/silat cina...

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Dec 21, 2010 Michele rated it liked it

Thought it was going to be a history lesson, but turned out to be a really nice read.

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Jul 13, 2016 Marchel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, based-on-fact, cerita-silat, dewasa, karya-sastra, terjemahan

Kisah tentang murid yg langsung dididik dari bayi oleh Miyamoto Musashi.

Kisah ini terjadi di Yoshiwara baru, tempat tinggal kaum Ugutsu, kaum 'temen seperjalanan'. ...more

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