The Great Bodhisattva Pass, Volume 8: Mount Shirane

A mountain pass divides the travelers with a sudden act of violence. Okinu flees with the injured Ganriki, while the blind swordsman Tsukue Ryūnosuke falls into the care of women whose mountain journeys bind them in a strict fellowship. Hyōma and Shichibei follow uncertain tracks, and a young gold panner guards secrets of his own.

At the foot of Mount Shinonoi, the widow Otoku offers Ryūnosuke shelter. Her child, songs, and household rhythms draw him briefly into another kind of life. She takes him to the hot springs of Narada, where legends of an imperial visitor mingle with preparations for a local wedding.

But the promise of sanctuary is broken when supposed officials descend on the wealthy Mochizuki family. Their demands turn hospitality into imprisonment, and an old acquaintance’s name becomes the opening for a dangerous intervention. This complete English translation of Nakazato Kaizan’s eighth installment preserves all nine sections, the mountain songs, and the startling final encounter.