Yoshikawa Eiji

Growing up in the late 16th century Sengoku era Japan, Shinmen Takezo is shunned by the local villagers as a devil child due to his wild and violent nature. Running away from home with a fellow boy at age 17, Takezo joins the Toyotomi army to fight the Tokugawa clan at the Battle of Sekigahara. However, the Tokugawa win a crushing victory, leading to nearly three hundred years of Shogunate rule. Takezo and his friend manage to survive the battle and afterwards swear to do great things with their lives. However, after their paths separate, Takezo becomes a wanted criminal and must change his name and his nature in order to escape an ignoble death. Note: Won the 24th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2000. Won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002 and was nominated for the 2003 Eisner Award in the Best Writer/Artist category. This was never released in japan

The "true" final chapter of Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue, which was shown in The LAST Manga Exhibition that took place in Ueno Royal Museum in 2008 as well as The LAST Manga Exhibition Complete Catalogue; a printed catalogue that included all the artworks showcased in the exhibition, however due to the limited number of copies, only a very small number of fans were able to get their hands on it.

Based on Eiji Yoshikawa's "Shinshu Tenma Kyo," this action-period drama by prodigious Go Nagai is filled with imagination. In May 1575, the Koshu Takeda forces were defeated by the combined forces of Oda and Tokugawa at the Battle of Nagashino. 7 years later, in March 1582, Takeda Katsuyori and Nobukatsu, the heads of the Takeda family, committed suicide in the Battle of Tenmokuyama, leaving Inamaru, the son of Katsuyori's wife Kaede, as the next head of the family. Inamaru hid in Erinji Temple, in order to escape the combined forces of Oda and Tokugawa, and to rebuild the Takeda clan. With the Kagami Ninja Sword, which is over six feet long, as his traveling companion, Inamaru sets off to reassert his power in the Warring States period!

Growing up in the late 16th century Sengoku era Japan, Shinmen Takezou is shunned by the local villagers as a devil child due to his wild and violent nature. Running away from home with a fellow boy at age 17, Takezo joins the Toyotomi army to fight the Tokugawa clan at the Battle of Sekigahara. However, the Tokugawa win a crushing victory, leading to nearly three hundred years of Shogunate rule. Takezo and his friend manage to survive the battle and afterwards swear to do great things with their lives. However, after their paths separate, Takezo becomes a wanted criminal and must change his name and his nature in order to escape an ignoble death. Awards: Won the 24th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2000. Won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2002 Note: was nominated for the 2003 Eisner Award in the Best Writer/Artist category.

(from ebookjapan): Musashi (Takezo) was born in Miyamoto Village, Sangan County, Mimasaka Province (Okayama Prefecture), and spent his days being bullied by his stepmother. Taking advantage of his strength, he was a nuisance in the village, committing all kinds of violent acts. One day, he is captured and punished by the monk Sozen of a nearby temple. Musashi was told by the monk that his strength was the strength of a monster, not a human being, and set off on a journey in search of what true strength was. Shotaro Ishinomori vividly depicts the tumultuous life of Miyamoto Musashi!