Musashi
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawaby Eiji Yoshikawa and Charles S. Terry
Shares rank 8 of 13 historical novels by recommenders
People recommend it for Musashi's spiritual growth, vivid storytelling and a strong ending, with no common caveat raised.
People recommend it for Musashi's spiritual growth, vivid storytelling and a strong ending, with no common caveat raised.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Strong portrayal of Musashi's growth
“The spiritual quest of Musashi and his evolving understanding of warfare is probably the most rewarding part of it”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “I really love Musashi (novel) for this representation of the worthless youth who needs to be tied to a tree”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “What if remote working, not AI, is to blame for weak junior hiring?”
Other historical novels people recommend
The four most recommended other historical novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aubrey-Maturin seriesby Patrick O'Brian | 18 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Three Musketeersby Alexandre Dumas | 12 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The MANIACby Benjamín Labatut | 12 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| I, Claudiusby Robert Graves | 11 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Musashiby Eiji Yoshikawa and Charles S. TerryThis page | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it was easy for that entire book to play out in my head as an anime”
“The spiritual quest of Musashi and his evolving understanding of warfare is probably the most rewarding part of it”
“Mandatory Musashi[0] reference.”
“I really love Musashi (novel) for this representation of the worthless youth who needs to be tied to a tree”
“It has arguably the best ending of any book I've ever read”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.