The Great Bodhisattva Pass, Book 18: The Province of Awa

The province of Awa may be small, but its shores and mountains hold histories of devotion, adventure, and danger. The blind young monk Benshin lights a guiding lantern each night, while Shigetarō catches snakes and predicts a storm. Across the water, Okaku boards a boat whose passengers soon face the storm’s terrible force.

A demand for sacrifice reveals how quickly honor can turn into accusation. Elsewhere, the paths of Komai’s circle, itinerant performers, and the pursuers of Tsukue Ryūnosuke continue to cross. Children’s mischief, martial learning, political uncertainty, humor, and cruelty all have their place in the unfolding epic.

This complete English translation preserves all nineteen sections of the eighteenth book of Nakazato Kaizan’s Great Bodhisattva Pass. The geographical opening, Buddhist mantra, songs, inscriptions, and conversations remain intact, with uncertainty retained where the source leaves it. Benshin’s encounter with Ryūnosuke leads toward a closing meditation on skill, suffering, and a life bound to the sword.