Miyamoto Musashi
A difficult and dangerous journey for a warrior's wisdom
In the village of Miyamoto, ancient Japan, during the Warring States period, a boy named Takezō is born, dreaming of one day becoming a great warrior. He doggedly pursues his dream, studies the way of the sword, trains hard, and tests his skills against strong and fearsome opponents. On his difficult and dangerous journey to attain a warrior's wisdom, he comes to know love and pain, beauty and futility. In the colourful reality of Japan at the turn of the 17th century, he receives a cursed sword from his father, forged by the mad swordsmith Muramasa. The dangerous weapon becomes his faithful companion on his path to becoming the most famous swordsman in the Land of the Rising Sun. But his life's journey is intersected by a terrifying conspiracy that could bring ruin to all of Japan. This historical mosaic, seen through the eyes of Jakub Zeman and presented in the form of personal notes from one of the most famous samurai of all time, Miyamoto Musashi, bears witness to the first half of the warrior's life, which shaped his combat strategy, his way of thinking, and his later direction. From fragments of history, the author has created a cohesive story from a period about which little is still known, yet he offers a sensitive look at the gradual formation of Musashi's persona, both as a samurai and as an ordinary man with a good heart and a desire to know the way of the sword and the secrets of ordinary life.
Jakub Zeman
Jakub Zeman (born 1975) is a lover and populariser of traditional Japanese samurai culture and history. For many years, he worked as a lecturer and later a curator at the National Gallery, and he continues to be involved with Far Eastern art, which he lectures on at the Rudolfinum Academy. Specialising in Asian art, he is a member of the expert committee of the Association of Antique Dealers. His main areas of expertise are Japanese swords, tsuba (sword guards), netsuke, etc. He publishes, lectures, organises exhibitions, social events, and records podcasts on this subject. Thanks to his many activities related to his interest in the Land of the Rising Sun, he is known by the nickname “The Czech Samurai”. As a long-time practitioner of martial arts, he teaches the way of the sword (Happō ryū) in his dōjō, Hakuzan, and organises tournaments (Taikai) in the disciplines of Gekiken, Shuriken, and Tameshigiri. He is also devoted to haiku poetry and tea culture. He made his debut as a writer with his first collection of haiku poetry (2000). In his novel Miyamoto Musashi: A Story Written with a Sword, he presents a fictional mosaic about one of the most famous samurai of all time and his journey to fulfil his own destiny, which is based on the prosimetric form of Far Eastern literature.
Specifications
Basic
Format & type of protection
| Code: | EK55596 |
| Manufacturer information |
Nakladatelství Epocha s.r.o., Kaprova 12, 11000 Praha 1-Staré Město, Česká republika, 224 810 352 
|