Story

Based on the no’

Vagabond Vol. 4
This graphic novel contains Vagabond monthly comics #9 thrOugh #10
in their entirety and the first chapter from issue #11.

Story & Art by

Takehiko Inoue
Based on the novel “Musashi” by Eiji Yoshikawa
English Adaptation by
Yuji Oniki
Touch.up & Lettering/Steve Dutra
Cover & Graphics Design/lzumi Evers
Etitor/Andy Nakatani
Managing Eitor/Annette Roman
Vice President of Sales and Marketing/Rick Bauer
Vice President of Editorial/Hyoe Narita
Publisher/Seiji Horibuchi
Vagabond
1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 17: Planning, Inc.
Originally published in Japan in 1999 by Kodansha Lid, Tokyo. English
translation rights arranged with IT. Panning In
All rights reserved.
No unauthorized reproduction allowed. Although based on historical
sources, the stories, characters, and incidents mentioned in this publica
tion are entirely fictional.
Printed in Canada
Published by Vie Comics
PO, Box 77010
San Francisco, CA 94107
10987654321
First printing, December 2002
Veit us at wwvwia.com, stre.viz.com,
veww-pulp-mag.com, www.animericamag.com,
ae
jo iy
Mh
Me
ra
wh
YOU REALIZE
HOW PRECIOUS
LIFE IS?
 ON TOP
OF THAT,
HE DEFEATED
FIVE DISCIPLES...
ALL BY
HIMSELF!/
 HE
CARRIED
YOU ALL
THE WAY
OVER
HERE.
 228
Zz es
Pe
: ~lm
am

—-pmews
 A BIT MORE...)

ae
fo
C..AND
T'LL BE DONE)

z
Ss or)

am
;
 MUST BE
BECAUSE
I JUST SAW
TAKUAN...
 SUPPOSED
TO HAVE
CHOSEN THE
WAY OF THE
SWORD!!
 THERE'S
NOTHING
MORE WE
CAN DO...//
 DID
MIYAMOTO
MUSASHI
DO THIS/?

UEDA!!
HOW COULD
YOU HAVE
LET THIS
HAPPEN/?
 TEAR
DOWN WHAT'S.
AT
LEFT OF IT
THIS RATE,
SO IT DOESNT THE FIRE
SPREAD TO THE WILL
NEIGHBORING
‘SPREAD.
 I GUESS
THE YOSHIOKA
SCHOOL COULDNT
3{ LAST LONG
WITHOUT ITS

d
THEY
Got WHAT Gs CY SELJORO
THEY &#
DESERVED...
 : HOW COULD
2 HE NOT BE
ALL THE MEMORIES AFFECTED?
OF HIS FATHER
HAVE BEEN BURNED
TO THE GROUND.

SO AWFUL
I WANT
TO CRY.
 THIS IS
GIVING ME
THE OPPORTUNITY
TO BECOME
A MASTER
SWORDSMAN.

GOING
TO GET
BETTER.

witout
FATHER...
THERES
ONLY ONE
PERSON I
CAN LEARN
FROM...
 YAGYO
SEKISHOSAI...
 YES...
MIYAMOTO

B S‘SOMETHING

EXACTLY
WHERE...
 THE
YOSHIOKA
FOLKS
ARE PRETTY
DESPERATE.
RONIN STIRS
THE PLACE

NEVER BEEN
IN SUCH
 WHEN THE
STRONG ARE
DISGRACED.

MAKE YOURSELVES
FEEL BETTER
ABOUT YOUR
PATHETIC LITTLE
LIVES?

WHO
DO You
THINK OWNS
YOUR LIFE
ANYWAY?
 AIEEE! fae)

FROM
NOW ON,
IM AN
ASSASSIN FOR
THE YOSHIOKA

MIYAMOTO
MUSASHI, I
WONT LET
YOU ESCAPE
 ui]
cawee 2wee) /) CZWEE ZWEED

(IF YOU LOOK AT ONE

CLOSELY, I'S PRETTY a
DISGUSTING.) eq

away
CSUZUMUSHI - BELL-RING CRICKET)
 AND THE
IF I STOP WAY OF
BY EVERY WELL- THE SWORD IS
KNOWN SCHOOL A THE ONLY THING
HE THINKS
ALONG THE WAY,
TLL EVENTUALLY
FIND HIM.

HAVE PLENTY (
OF OPPORTUNITIES
TO WORK ON
MY OWN
SWORDSMANSHIP..

THIS
MAY TURN
OUT TO BE
FUN AFTER
FE 4 < = g S. a — ») = g Dw
] = baal
 JUST HAPPEN
TO BE WALKING |
IN FRONT
 THAT
COULD BE
CONSIDERED
AN ASPECT
OF TRAINING
IN ITSELF...

an MAYBE
YOURE STL
NOT READY
FOR SOMETHING
LUKE THAT...
 TOLD GRANNY
HONIDEN THAT I
WASNT GOING TO
HAVE ANYTHING
TO DO WITH HER

CANT STAY
IN MIYAMOTO,
VILLAGE
ANYMORE.
NEVER HEARD
OF SOMEONE
TRAINING WITH
CANT STOP
DREAMING
MORE HUMAN
SINCE I LAST
‘SAW YOU,

NOT ONLY DOI

THINK ABOUT. HER...
 MONKS
ARENT
DISTRACTED
LIKE THIS

T ASKING
HIM ABOUT

WITH
THE STATE
YOURE IN,
EVEN I
COULD CUT
DIE BEFORE EL LIKE ME
YOU EVER -
SEE OTSi
SAY? LET'S
HAVE A
LITTLE
 8398
He

WITH THIS
CRUMMY
STICK
 IF THIS
WERE A
REAL MATCH,
YOUD BE
DEAD, HUH?
IN ORDER
TO WIN, IN
ORDER TO
‘SURVIVE...
 ‘SURVIVED A
FIGHT WITH
DENSHICHIRO,
IVE BECOME
 ITM

SPINELESS
BASTARD!! ~
SPINELESS
BASTARD!!
 DONT TELL
ME YOUVE
BEEN WAITING

‘TAKEZO'S
‘STILL ALIVE.

EVER SINCE
SEKIGAHARA,
THOSE TWO
HAVE BEEN
 WHY DID I EVER
LEAVE“OTSi?~
AND I CANT BEAR
TO FACE TAKEZO.
NOT LIKE THIS...

I WANT TO
GO BACK TO
MD AMOTO.
VILLAGE...
MATAHACHI WOULD
EVEN 7RY TO
BURN DOWN THAT
FAMOUS YOSHIOKA
MIYAMOTO
MUSASH/...
ALL BY HIMSELF,
WHY ISNT HE A
SUSPECT?
 oTsf's
DISTRACTING
YOU, AND
SHE'S NOT
EVEN HERE.

YOUR
HEART IS
PREOCCUPIED...
 FROZE UP
WHEN I
MENTIONED
oso.
 PREOCCUPIED
WITH A SINGLE
LEAF...

Ol
WONT SEE
THE TREE.

PREOCCLIPIED
WITH A
SINGLE TREE...
YOULL MISS
THE ENTIRE
FOREST.
 LEFT HER. /

THEYRE
FINISHED.
 HOZOIN
TEMPLE-A
SLOUCBA-TTEEDMPLOEN
THE GROLINDS
OF KPOLFEUKUIJNI
TEM

HOZOIN
T E M P L E IS
RENOWNED
FOR THE
FEROCIOUS
T E C H N I Q U E
SPEARCTICED BY
PRA
ITS MONKS.
 BACK WHEN
I WAS
SEVENTEEN,
BUT AS A EVERYONE
SWORDSMAN... / SHUNNED ME.
i PEOPLE
CALLED ME...

-I WAS
COMPLETELY
DEVOTED. I
WAS STRONGER
BACK THEN.

THEYRE
DISTRACTING
ME FROM THE
WAY OF THE ee,

ARE YOU
‘SUGGESTING
ARENT WICKED. = { THAT
THEY RE TSO I
PERFECTLY HEKED:
NATURAL

‘THESE FEELINGS
GO AGAINST THE
WAY OF THE WARRIOR.
BUT THEY ONLY GET
TWISTED AND BENT OUT
OF SHAPE WHEN YOU
REPRESS THEM AND
‘TRY TO KEEP THEM
CONTAINED.
 ARE THE MAN
WHO DRIVES
HIMSELF TO ALL
MANNER OF
EXTREMES IN
PURSUIT OF THE
WAY OF THE
SWORD.

ARE ALSO
THE MAN WHO
DREAMS OF OTSL
AND AGONIZES
HIMSELF OVER
IT.

ae

THEY'RE

es
ALL A
PART OF

oe
 THAT \S i
WHERE YOUR
TRAINING
SHOULD
DENSHICHIRO!!
 TM
GOING TO
BECOME
INVINCIBLE//
AWAY FROM
A LITTLE
KID LIKE
ME...
 DONT
HAVE FOLLOWED
PARENTS. ME ALL
THIS WAY...?

WELL
THEN, THE
OWNER OF THE} |. > a
4 TAVERN Must |” CAN You~
“) BE WORRIED |} FIND YOUR
WAY BACK
TO YOUR
PARENTS?
AND SERVE
THAT
 TO BE ABLE
TO SURVIVE BY
MYSELF...WITHOUT
ANYONE'S
HELP.

THATS
WHY I
WANT TO
BECOME A
SAMURAI...
 MASTER
MIYAMOTO...

NEITHER
OF US HAVE
HOMES TO
GO TO,
 COME TO
REALIZE
THAT SHE'S
MY REASON
FOR LIVING.

JOTARO,
LET'S
BECOME
STRONGER
 ™M
GOING TO
DEFEAT THEIR
FAMOUS
SPEAR
TECHNIQUE.
 WEVE BEEN
WANDERING
AROUND THE
GROUNDS OF
KOFUKUSI FOR
JOTARO!
 I SENSED
SUCH
MURDEROUS
BLOODTHIRST...

WAS IT JUST
MY IMAGINATION?
I THOUGHT HE WAS
GOING TO ATTACK...
 FEEL THE
NEED TO CLT
DOWN A
DECREPIT OLD
MAN, DO
you?
 YOUVE
HAD THE
PRIVILEGE...

DEFEATED
BY AGON
OF HOZOIN.
 5

THE PRIVILEGE
OF BEING CUT
DOWN By
GION TOJI!
 SURELY,
YOUVE HEARD
OF THE SPEAR
TECHNIQUE OF
HOZOIN TEMPLE?
YOU MUST KNOW
WHAT YOURE
 SHRIVELED

A FEW ACTING
LESSONS,
TOO!

IF YOU BEG
FOR OUR
FORGIVENESS
WELL LET

EVERYONE
ALWAYS SEEMS
- |}TO THINK MASTER
SEIJORO AND I
YOUNG FOR OUR /
 SUPPOSE A
GOOD FIGHTLL
BREAK THE
MONOTONY
OF MY
TRAVELS.

Pe
se oa oe
SusBoomonn i i]
PT
 n
\
We
 YOU WERE
GOING TO
KILL ME.

I FELT
LIKE YOU
WERE GOING
TO STRIKE ME
WITH THAT

IT JUST
IMAGINING
THINGS?
YOURE STILL
WET BEHIND
 ITS THAT
CLUMSY
BLOODTHIRST

INSULT MY
ATTACK YOU
WITH MY
 ME AS
elas THAT
OTHERS--WE
AAS wane ARE WAS YOUR
BLOODTHIRST.
REFLECTING
YOUR OWN
BLOODTHIRST.
 ENEMIES HOW
THEY WERE MANY
NOT...UNTIL PEOPLE
YOU FORCED HAVE YOU
THEM TO KILLED?

MUST HAVE
FACED SO
MANY ENEMIES
THROUGHOUT
YOUR LIFE...
 YOUR OWN
BLOODTHIRST...

AGAINST
 YOURE THATS
JUST : NOT TRUE
CLUMSY : STRENGTH.
AND
GRACELESS.
HAVE JUST
GIVEN US
DIRECTIONS

WAITING FOR
YOU TO GET
ANGRY AND
CUT HIM

IM
GETTING
EXCITED!
 MASTER!?

WAS
THAT OLD
#39|Inshun
MY SPEAR...
MY ARMS...
THEY WENT
FLYING...//
 SAME TIME, I
FEEL LIKE THERE
ARE PLENTY
OF OTHERS
STRONGER
THAN ME.
CAN ONLY
PERCEIVE
WHAT TRUE
STRENGTH
IS...
TRULY VAST
IT IS...
 y
7 HE SAYS...
HE WILL COME
BACK HERE EVERY
DAY UNTIL A
i MAN NAMED
MIYAMOTO MUSASHI
APPEARS.
 INSHUN, YOu
MUST HAVE HEARD

HE
PROVED TO
BE AN EQUAL
MATCH AGAINST
THE SECOND
SON, YOSHIOKA
DENSHICHIRO.
 YOSHIOKA
KEMPO
PAID US A
VISIT FROM
KYOTO...

OLDEST . vullS AN
SON, Ne Waa : \ ASSASSIN
SEIJORO ‘ é “S FOR THE
WAS WITH . =e s YOSHIOK A/?
 THE
MAN THAT
HAD YOSHIOKA
DENSHICHIRO
INA

ASSASSIN
FROM THE
YOSHIOKA
SCHOOL!/
 “YOU
CAN ONLY
PERCEIVE
WHAT TRUE
STRENGTH

YOU YOURSELF
BECOME TRULY
STRONG.”
HRMPHY
TRUTH IS
OBVIOUS
YET EVER
ELUSIVE!//

LETS
SAY THERE
WILL COME A
TIME WHEN YOU
FINALLY UINDER-
STAND TRUE
STRENGTH...
 CAN
YOU KEEP
YOURSELF
ALIVE UNTIL
THEN?
 >
THI

[THIS BLOODTHIRST-
T SENSE...
ITS MORE
RECKLESS AND =
PRIMITIVE...
 ALREADY
ATTACKING
ME!
 wh

x r ‘M
MIYAMOTO
‘MMUSASHI!/
})
 ALLOW
-- THE ME TO
SPEAR DEMONSTRATE
TECHNIQUE
OF HOZOIN
TEMPLE.

“CAN YOU KEEP 4

YOURSELF ALIVE, (/\/
 ITS LIKE 5
HE'S LLINGING A
LOG AT ME!
 HE
BECAME
CARELESS
WITH HIS
ATTACKS AFTER
1 LOST MY
WEAPON...
 successful, by the time of his assassination in 1582, he managed to control approximately one-third
About the Author of all of Japan. One of Nobunaga's chief generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, became Nobunaga's
Vagabond was created by Takehiko Inoue, author of the best selling manga Slam Dunk, with over successor to carry on the quest for unification. Through a process of conquest and conciliation,
100 million copies in print worldwide. For his work on Vagabond, Inoue received the 2000 Media Hideyoshi succeeded in creating an orderly federation amongst the daimyo and by 1590, order was
Arts award for Manga from the Japanese Ministry of Culture as well as the 2000 Kodansha Award restored to Japan under Hideyoshi’s rule. Hideyoshi’s death in 1598, however, presented the
for best manga. Most recently in 2002, Inoue's Vagabond received the prestigious Tezuka award question of succession. Most of the daimyo from the domains in the west remained loyal to the
for best manga. To date, Vagabond hassold well over 22 million copies throughout the world, In Toyotomi Clan and its 5-year-old heir, Toyotomi Hideyori, Tokugawa leyasu, however, leading the
addition to his numerous manga tiles, Inoue also created the character designs for the PlayStation ‘major daimyo trom central and eastern Japan, challenged the Toyotomi clan's leadership. The two
basketball game, One on One. sides clashed at the Battle of Sekigahara{1800) in Mino (located in present day Gifu Prefecture)
where the Tokugawa claimed an overwhelming victory. From that point on, the Tokugawa clan
would effectively rule Japan for the next 250 years

About Vagabond and Miyamoto Musashi Takuan Soho (1573-1645)

A monk of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, by the time Takuan was 37, he was
Takehiko Inoue's Vagabond, based on Eiji Yoshikawa’s novel Musashi, is a fictional account of the appointed abbot of the leading temple of the Rinzai sect, Daitokuji Takuan was an
life of Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), The historical figure Miyamoto Musashi, author of the important figure whose acute and brutally honest advice was sought by
philosophical strategy guide A Book of Five Rings, was a master of the sword and was revered influential and powerful figures such as Emperor Go Mizuno and the shogun
as 2 “swort:saint” He founded the Niten Ichi style of sword fighting which is typified by fighting Tokugawa lemitsu. His correspondence to Yagyu Munenori discussing Zen and
with both long and short swords at ance, holding the long sword with the right hand and the short swordsmanship entitled The Unfettered Mindhasbecome an influential treatise
sword with the left. Musashi was also a master of the “gentler arts"—he was a master of sume in both the areas of philosophy and martial arts. The pickled daikon radish,
(black ink drawings), metalworking, and woodcarving. The films, The Samurai Trilogy, directed by takvan, also bears his name.
Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune were also based on Yoshikawa's Musashi
The Yagyu Clan
Yagyu Muneyoshi Sekishusai (1527-1606) was the founder
of the famed Yagyu-Shinkage school of sword fighting. His son Yagyu Munenori (1571.
Glossary and Extraneous Background 1646) was one of Tokugawa's key general's at the Battle of Sekigahara, Munenori
Information was appointed as the official fencing instructor of the Tokugawa Clan and in
1632 the Yagyu were appointed as the ometsuke-tesponsible for the
Hozoin Spear Technique surveillance of the daimyo. Although the Yagyu clan has been depicted
Created by the Buddhist monk Kakuzenbo Hoin In’ei (1521-1607) in Kazuo Koike's Lone Wolf and Cub as the plotters of the
cf Hozoin Temple which was a sub-temple of Kofukuji Temple downtall of itto Ogami, the general Japanese popular culture
in Nara, This spear technique is typified by quick take on the Yagyu Clan is more positive. More specifically,
dexterous movements rather than the use of brute Munenori’s son, Yagyu Jubei (1607-1650), is viewed as a
force wandering hero protecting the people from evildoers.
The Sengoku Period and the Battle of Sekigahara Yoshioka Kempo (dates unknown)
The Warring States or Sengoku period (1882-1558) in Japan was atime A distinguished warrior during the Sengoku period
of chaos and conflict. Central authorities, in the form of the imperial (1482-1558) and the founder of the renowned
court and the shogunate, had grown increasingly weaker and Yoshioka school of sword fighting. Yoshioka Kempo
the land was effectively ruled autonomously by ‘mastered the Kyohachi style of swordmanship and
numerous daimyo (domainal lords) then modified it to form the Yoshioka style. In the
Looking to expand their spheres of context of Inaue’s Vagabond as well as in
control, the daimyo were constantly Yoshikawa's Musashi, Yoshioka Seijuro and
at war with each other. One Denshichiro are Kempo's sons who are
deimyo in particular, Oda historically thought to have dueled with
Nobunaga, set out on a mission Miyamoto Musashi on numerous
to unify Japan by means occasions.
of conquest. Incredibly
 this reads like an Akira Kurosawa film captured on the
printed page. Takehiko Inoue's fine line art, much more
detailed for the norm for Japanese manga, is a real treat,
while the storyline captivates.
—Liiff Biggers, Comic Buyer's Guile

“Takehiko Inoue's vibrant postmodern spin on the

(samurai) genre is topnotch in every respect.”
S.A. Bennett, Comic Buyer's Guide

This beautifully drawn series has incredible action, a hint

of romance, and a strong core of Japanese history..this
‘book now has the possibility of taking off like a rocket with | was entranced within pages of reading Vagabond:
the American audience. Inoue's adaptation of Yoshikawa's Musashi pulls you right
“Troy Brownfield, Shotgun Reviews into the story and doesn't let you go.
—Greg McEihatton, icamies.com
Inoue's artwork is flat-out gorgeous, whether it's in the
brief color sections or in black and white. There is a "What makes Vagabond stand out, and makes this
stunning amount of detail in the backgrounds and in the something more than just a retelling of Musash's life is
character designs, and it's clear that there has been a lot Inove's feel for characters, breathing life into figures who
of research into the costumes, weapons and settings of the lived in a world so long ago and far away.
era —Matt Brady, Newsarama
Randy Lander, TheFourthRail.com
“Inoue masterfully portrays the brutality of Vagabond's
it is a masterwork in story and art. In no time you are setting and the interaction of the characters...noue can
drawn into the characters, first by the skillful art and then surprise and even shock the reader with the turns his story
by the story. Ifound Takehiko’s art most appealing and his and their lives can take. Combined with often breathtaking
storytelling ability superb. art, this makes for an extremely satisfying comics
—David LeBlanc, Comic Book Net Electronic Magazine experience.” —Tony Isabella, Comics Buyer's Guide

1think this manga has something for everyone. A MUST

READ!
Phoenix, MangaManiacs org

“An excellent manga, presented with noticeable care. If

you're 2 fan of Japanese history, you need this in your
library. I's that good”
~Patrick King, animefringe.com
This is the LAST page of this comic!
Vagabond bas been printed to read from right to left in its original Japanese
format-presenting Takehiko Inoue's dynamic artwork the way it was meant to
be seen!
When most Japanese comics are published in English, a mirror image of the
original artwork is printed in order to accommodate the left to right reading or
entation of English. For this reason, errors in continuity occasionally occur and
characters who were originally right-handed suddenly become left-handed. In
order to present manga in its purest form, Vagabond is being printed to read
from right to left. This way, kimono are worn with the left side over the right
and the samurai’s long and short swords are carried on the left side, the way
they were traditionally worn.

To properly enjoy Vagabond, start from the other end of comic and read
from right to left

A note on names: The names presented within the context of this comic are
presented in the traditional Japanese order—surname, followed by first name.
Miyamoto” is Miyamoto Musashi’s last name and “Musashi” is his first name.
The name of the creator of Vagabond, however, has been presented first name
first, last name second. “Takehiko’ is the authors first name and “Inoue” is his
last name.
 If you're interested in Japanese culture, this is a must-buy for you. The
story is fast-paced; the artwork is a feast for the eyes...This is one of the
best works of historical fiction I've ever read...
—Patrick King, animefringe.com

Legendary sword-saint, Miyamoto Musashi, was one of the most renowned

samurai of all time. But the path to greatness is filled with difficulty—Musashi is
divided between his aspiration to be the greatest swordman in the land and his
growing feelings of love for his friend from childhood, Otsu. As Musashi struggles
to deal with these issues, he heads to Hozoin Temple, to challenge the practi-
tioners of its famous spear fighting technique.

Yu COMIES. $12.95 USA/S20.95 CAN

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Is N 1-5b931-854-49

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