OT:Looking for a good book/series set in Feudal Japan

[Fenrir]

Shogun again.

And Shogun is actually bigger than Musashi- but the action NEVER lets up. Clavell is a master at keeping a story moving. And the endng is great.

Yoshikawa's Musashi and Taiko are also very good novels. Musashi deals more with the common Japanese man, while Taiko aims at the high life and deals with much the same characters as in Shogun, although their names are changed in Shogun.

Clavell has a whole Asian series. Of his six books, two are set in feudal Japan- Shogun and Gai-jin. I have Gai-jin, but havent read it yet, but it looks decent. The others are set in 19th century Hong Kong and various Asian countries in the 20th century.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

I've read Musashi. It's a good series of novels. (I got it as five separate novels.)

Basically, not to give too many spoilers, it's about a hero that dresses in rags, rides a cow, runs from women, and so forth. Not your typical "knight in shining armor" type of hero, eh?

It's pretty darn good. I read it every five or so years, as my memory fades.

 

[Chun-tzu]

Thanks, guys. Anymore suggestions?

BTW, as mentioned in the Paladin thread, I love the Samurai Jack cartoon.

Since you like Samurai Jack, I highly recommend Rurouni Kenshin, which is out in both anime and manga formats. The anime is out on DVD here in the U.S., and you might be able to find some episodes you can rent at a video store, seeing as you live in NYC.

The main character is Kenshin, a wandering samurai ("rurouni" means wanderer, I think). It's set in the meiji era, just following the collapse of the feudal system. It's a great series, with some really great action scenes, and lots of humor, but not particularly explicit in its violence. Kenshin uses a "reverse sword" which is blunt on the outside, thus making it non-lethal.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Hello, everybody. This is my first time on the boards.

I went ahead and registered just so I could recommend 'Lone Wolf and Cub' and 'Blade of the Immortal'.

Imagine my chagrin when I found that Oni beat me to it.

Oh well.

At least I won't have that problem again.

I don't have anything to add to the discussion, but welcome to the boards, Tauric.

 

[Black Omega]

Shogun is a classic, as is Musashi, you can't go wrong there.

For something different, I'll pimp the Sano Ichiro novels from Laura Joh Rowland. Sano Ichiro is the Shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People. They are basically murder mysteries set in Tokugawa period Japan and focusing quite a bit on honor as well as typical investigations. Well worth a look.

 

[Villano]

I've only read two of the Rokugan books, The Crane, which I loved, and The Crab, which I absolutely hated.

For non-fiction, Secrets Of The Samurai is excellent. Everything you could want to know about the culture, weapons, armor, etc.. Plus, it's the type of book that you can get in the bargin racks of chain book stores (it's a $40 cover price, but I got mine at Barnes & Nobels for under $10).

 

[Black Omega]

In general, the more recent Rokuga books, Throne of Steel and Wind of Honor, are better than the Clan Wars series, which was too often written by people with no clue about Rokugan.

 

[maransreth]

Other books which noone has mentioned include Dov Silverman's series. The early books, not the later ones. They start from shortly before the time that USA begins negotitions with Japan.
Another 2 novel series includes Shike! by (I cant remember his name and I cant find the books anywhere in the bookshelves).
This duology is a bit older, written during the 80s I do believe and focus on a warrior monk and the Mongol invasions of Japan.

Both series contain some erotica, very minor, and not really important to the story and overall are fair.

Also I have read Musashi in the big hardcover version and it is a good read.

 

[CCamfield]

Another addition to a very late thread:

I agree with the recommendations for Shogun and Musashi. If you want something fantasy, try to track down Tomoe Gozen and sequels (The Golden Naginata, Thousand Shrine Warrior) by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. They were published about 20(!) years ago so it might take some doing.

The Paladin by C. J. Cherryh is Asian in flavour (somewhat generically, perhaps more Chinese than Japanese), and a good read.

 

[N Hammer]

As mentioned already..

Lone Wolf and Cub graphic novels by Dark Horse Comics

and another..

The Path from Cross-Gen comics