is a Japanese epic martial arts manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It portrays a fictionalized account of the life of Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, based on Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning since September 1998, with its chapters collected in 37 tankōbon volumes as of July 2014. Viz Media licensed the series for English release in North America and has published the current 37 volumes as of April 2015. The series has been on an extended hiatus since May 2015.
By December 2012, the manga had over 82 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. In 2000, Vagabond won the 24th Kodansha Manga Award for the general category, as well as the Grand Prize of the sixth Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002.
Summary
The story starts in 1600, in the aftermath of the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. Two 17-year-old teenagers who joined the losing side, Takezō Shinmen and Matahachi Hon'iden, lie wounded in the battlefield and pursued by survivor hunters. They manage to escape and swear to become . They find housing with two women, but are soon attacked by the Tsujikaze gang, and in the confusion of the fight their paths separate: Takezō decides to become a vagabond and wander the world challenging strong opponents, and Matahachi chooses to stay with the women. Takezō returns to his hometown, the Miyamoto village, to tell Matahachi's mother, Osugi Hon'iden, that her son is alive. However, Osugi reacts hostile because the village detests Takezō for his extremely violent and antisocial tendencies, and because the future of the Hon'iden gentry family is compromised now that their heir Matahachi is missing. Osugi pulls strings to accuse Takezō of being a criminal. Takezō fights his pursuers but is eventually caught by the monk Takuan Sōhō, who makes him reconsider his purpose in life. Takuan frees him and, to make him start his life anew, renames him Musashi Miyamoto.
After a 4 years timeskip, Musashi's arrival to Kyōto, his fight against the Yoshioka swords. Musashi takes several students but the area catches on fire, leading to the fight being postponed. Musashi is rescued by Matahachi and treated by Takuan. Musashi decides to continue his training with a young boy, Jōtarō, wanting him to teach him. In Musashi and Jōtarō's arrival to the Hōzōin spears, Musashi's first fight against the Hōzōin, its aftermath, Musashi's second fight against Hōzōin Inshun. Inshun's superiority causes Musashi to escape driven by fear but trains a for a rematch where he briefly overpowers his rival. Its aftermath, Otsū's situation with the Yagyū, while Matahachi becomes famous while stealing the name of a famous samurai known as Kojirō Sasaki. Musashi and Jōtarō's arrive to the Yagyū swords, the events while deliberating how to enter the Yagyū headquarters, Musashi's meeting with the 4 seniors, his solo fight against the Yagyū men, his encounter with Sekishūsai Yagyū and their talk, the fight's aftermath. Musashi's training, Matahachi and his family's troubles, the events directly leading to Musashi's fight against Baiken Shishido.
The story then reverts to 17 years before the story's start, featuring Kojirō Sasaki's difficult upbringing with Jisai Kanemaki adopting him, various displays of character backstories, and his growth as a genius samurai despite being deaf-mute. At his coming-of-age, Ittōsai returns dragging Kojirō to a night fight. He travels of with Ittōsai and Gonnosuke with a brief encounter with Takezō at the battlefield of Sekihagara, their splitting, the situation of Sadakore's squad, the fights against the peasant groups, Kojirō's fight against Sadakore's squad. After Kojiro's arc ends, Musashi meets Kojiro again while playing with a snowman simulating a brief sword fight in the process. Musashi meets Matahachi who expresses jealousy over Musashi's achievements and apparent relationship with Otsu. This angers Musashi and leaves his old friend. Musashi then fights the 70 Yoshioka all alone. Although he kills all of them, one of them leaves him with a severe wound. The aftermath of Musashi's solo battle, has him his return to wandering despite being offered the position of mentor. Meanwhile, Matahachi's mother passes away, leaving his son to tell the story of the manga. Musashi's new wandering leads him meet the orphan Iori, whom he decides to raise while dealing with a village with poor fields. Musashi, Iori and Toyozaemon's journey to the retirement estate of Yūsai Hosokawa, Otsū and Jōtarō's situation living with the Yagyū, while Kojirō deals with the Hosokawa.
