The Great Bodhisattva Pass, Volume 1: The Kōgen Ittō School

A young pilgrim goes to fetch water on a mountain pass. When she returns, her grandfather is dead. The killer, Tsukue Ryūnosuke, is a swordsman whose silent stance has defeated every opponent, yet whose skill offers no safeguard against cruelty or the workings of his own desire.

A public tournament, a stolen blade, a mill keeper’s immense strength, and the dangerous life of a samurai mansion draw other lives into the story. The orphan Omatsu finds that relatives can be less merciful than strangers. Utsuki Hyōma seeks to avenge his brother. Meanwhile a confrontation with the master Shimada Toranosuke forces Ryūnosuke to encounter a power he cannot explain or equal.

Published in 1913, this opening installment of Nakazato Kaizan’s vast historical novel combines swordplay, social comedy, spiritual inquiry, and sudden violence. The complete first installment appears here in a new English translation, with the author’s preface, all thirty-two sections, and concise explanatory notes.