Pierre and the Saber

Pierre and the Saber is the French name of the novel Japanese Musashi of Yoshikawa Eiji reporting in a largely fictionalized way the life of famous the Samurai, Miyamoto Musashi .

Various editions

The novel is appeared initially in the form of Feuilleton between 1935 and 1939 in the Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞), newspaper with the most pulling of the Japan.

Since, many editions in the form of book were published. The entirety of the series is appeared in the shape of seven named books: Ground, Water, Fire, Wind, Sky, Sun and the Moon, the perfect Light .

" Pierre and Saber" is the name of the first volume of the French-speaking edition gathering the first four books, the second being published under the title the perfect light . Each volume counts approximately 700 pages and published at I read.

History

Miyamoto Musashi was a real character but thanks to the novel of Yoshikawa, him and the other main characters of the book became integral part of the Japanese folklore alive.

This figure, image beyond the Samurai which really lived at the 17th century, is a true myth. " A history which one forgot the sens" , here is in substance the definition which gives of the myth one of the characters of Ilium, novel of daN Simmons. For simple that it is, it is authentic and rich. With its alder, the figure of Musashi is coloured of a very particular interest.

Historical figure, one can retain the screen given by the foreword of Reischauer: " Miyamoto Musashi historical, perhaps born in 1584 and died in 1645, was like his/her father an expert swordsman, and had its celebrity with the fact that it made use of two sabers. It practiced with heat the self-discipline as a key of martial arts, and he is the author of a famous work on the Escrime, the Gorin No sho ".

Teenager, it undoubtedly took share with the Bataille of Sekigahara, and its clashes with the Yoshioka school of Kyōto, warlike monks of Hozoin with Nara, and the famous fencer Kojirō Sasaki truly took place. Yoshikawa tells us the history of Musashi until 1612, year when he was yet only one young man of twenty-eight ans." The novel takes again important components of this historical screen and regularly refers to one of the books founders of the bushido, the Art of the war.

Contrary to a myth like that of Troy, which is so far from we that we pain to make us an exact idea of what was the Trojan War, Musashi is a recent figure. And it is still easy to bore the direction which sticks to the stories which are worked starting from its figure. Because the novel does not have a historical or biographical vocation. The figure of Musashi is pretext above all, and it is in that it becomes image, polysemous; it comprises several resonance levels, as well in intellect as in the imaginary one of the reader.

The gasoline of the novel is concentrated in this sentence, luminous, which concludes the foreword from Reischauer: " the stress which it lays on the research of the self-control and of the personal interior force thanks to an austere self-discipline of the type Zen constitutes a major feature of the Japanese character. The same applies to the supremacy of the love of nature, and the feeling of intimacy with it. Pierre and the saber are more than one large novel of adventures. It gives moreover an outline on the Japanese history, and the idealized image that are made themselves the contemporary Japanese. "

Following the example Iliade, whose drafting is strongly influenced by the political context and monk, and by no means by the contemporary concerns of the conflict itself, the novel of Yoshikawa thus constitutes a history whose aiming is beyond the simple idealized restitution of Musashi. It uses the image of the samurai to propose, and defend, a certain idea of what must be a Japanese. The course of the narration is thus enamelled of a succession of episodes to range highly moralisatrice, which clarify what is " well agir" in such or such circumstance. Their conclusion is invariable besides: very led in conformity with the order success is crowned, but which follows chaos always ends up falling. Because it is the apology for an immutable order, wanted by nature and the gods, whom proposes the stone and the saber . Thus, with the political agitator who want to be caught some with the Shôgun, and whose projects are thwarted, one prefers the figure of Musashi which, before dealing with reforming the State, first of all thinks of reforming, of criticizing, and of raising with a dimension higher its own person.

The route of Musashi is rich direction. If Yoshikawa is based on the historical events, and of the figures which existed at the time, it does not remain about it less than it insufflates a symbolic range to them. Thus, Musashi starts its course in the camp of the losers with Sekigahara, because it precipitated towards this battle without anything to know world. Then he flees, and makes error count, guided by his only instinct. However, providence places on its way another historical figure of Japan of the 17th century, the monk Takuan: " Thus Takuan, which holds place of headlight and of mentor to the Musashi young person he was a famous Zen monk, calligrapher, painter, poet and " Master of the" time . " By its great wisdom, it makes become aware with Musashi of the animality of its acts and its reactions, and guides it towards the awakening of the value to be granted to the life. At this point in time Musashi will reappear, at the time a length enfermement to the castle of Himeiji, at the end which it takes the name of Miyamoto Musashi instead of Shimen Takezo. And it is under this new identity that it will cross several times Japan, making many interesting meetings, but not having especially cease to progress on the Way of the samurai .

In counterpoint of Musashi, one meets two figures, which hold the role of double ranges of the hero. First of all Matahachi, friend of childhood which follows it in Sekigahara. He and Musashi are not truly different, if not that Musashi is shown more voluntary, courageous and strong from the start. While Matahachi appears a follower of little ambition, which does nothing but fall from forfeiture in forfeiture throughout the episodes, Musashi grows in grace and fame. Then Sasaki Kojirô, the rival of Musashi comes, which is opposed to him in a terrible duel which closes the novel. Gifted Pareillement that Musashi for the Way of the samurai, it causes the respect, and attracts itself the honors. But it continues before all glory, and seeks to be placed and make known its style of fencing the Ganryû. It thus ends up being embanked, because it " its confidence in the saber of the force and the address had placed. Musashi in the saber of the Spirit. It was all the difference between eux." Symbol of the way towards the domination of oneself, and the realization of its potential, such is the figure of Musashi in the work of Yoshikawa.

Comments

And there is extremely to guarantee that the Japanese recognized themselves in this figure, since " Stone and the saber" is a great classic of the Japanese popular literature. He is thus characterized by Reischauer " The stone and the saber differ much from the very psychological novels and often neurotics who formed the main part of the translations of modern Japanese literature. It is not any less into full in the principal current with the traditional Japanese novel and the popular thought japonaise." And if, indeed, the style of Yoshikawa is radically different from those from authors such as Kawabata or Mishima, it does not remain about it less than between these works, it is possible to launch bridges. The major nostalgia which haunts the Master or the sea of the fertility explains without any doubt by the confrontation of the image of Musashi, idealization of the Japanese heart, with compromisings which asked the modernization and of the occidentalization, and which did not enable him any more to be carried out as such.

Adaptations

The novel gave place to different adapted for the Télévision, the Cinéma and in Cartoons. See:

Wandering : Manga of Takehiko Inoue.

External bond

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