The Great Bodhisattva Pass, Book 15: Monk Manshin

A troubling memorial tablet in a quiet country house draws Lady Ogin toward the buried history of the man she refuses to leave. Tsukue Ryūnosuke returns to violence, while she struggles with what his companionship now demands of her.

At Erinji, Utsugi Hyōma encounters Monk Manshin, an eccentric teacher whose blunt rejection of vengeance unsettles years of resolve. Thoughts of Omatsu begin to compete with his pursuit of his brother’s killer. In Kōfu, rumors threaten Komai Noto no Kami and Okimi, and a mysterious light on the castle roof attracts the town’s attention.

This complete English translation preserves all twelve sections of the fifteenth book of Nakazato Kaizan’s epic. Religious argument, affection, cruelty, comic disguises, and political intrigue unfold together. The source’s historical quotation, Buddhist verse, waka, and anecdotes remain intact, including uncertainty where the narrator leaves it. Monk Manshin’s peculiar humor leads toward action as the paths of travelers and fugitives cross once more.