I’m interested in both and I’m a bit of a history buff, but I can’t decide which one out of the two to read first. I read that Shogun takes place before the Battle of Sekigahara while Musashi takes place after it so I guess maybe it’s best to read Shogun first? I’m not sure.
by ABCBA_4321
2 Comments
Both are great.
They’re completely different type of stories. So it won’t matter which you start with from a chronological perspective.
I personally enjoyed Musashi more, but only because I’m a big fan of Musashi and Japanese swordsmanship.
You won’t go wrong with either.
Well I guess it’s more about what your looking for. Musashi is more of pure Japanese view point of Samurai culture while Shogun is more of an outsiders perspective. Clavell really enjoyed East meets West storytelling. With Shogun you’ll get a better understanding of not just the region but of the outside influences on Japan and it’s culture. With Musashi you get real deep dive into what it means to be Samurai.
In the end Shogun is chronologically first so I would start there. But I highly recommend both in any order.