The Great Bodhisattva Pass, Book 24: Flux, Volume 1

A drunken physician provokes trouble in a post town, and his diminutive companion proves an unexpectedly formidable defender. Public acclaim cannot quiet Yonetomo’s private grief: an inn woman’s face and name revive the image of someone he has lost.

Komai’s encounters open conversations about painting, faith, and the building of ships, while fencing-school rivalries and the traffic of letters connect other restless lives. Comic misunderstandings stand beside vengeance, affection, and the difficult interpretation of another person’s intentions.

Flux, Volume 1 is a complete translation of the first of two supplied volumes of the twenty-fourth book of Nakazato Kaizan’s epic. All eighteen narrative sections and the closing section 19 heading are preserved. Section 19 continues in Volume 2; this volume retains its original continuation boundary.