Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan by Eiji Yoshikawa

Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan Reviews

• 
  Philipp

  You know there used to be this thing in Japan called the "Sengoku" period which was basically civil war all over the place, the Shogun was kind of a loser and every lord of any clan tried to become the leader of Japan.
  
  This book is a fictionalized account of the life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the guy who finally united the country, first under Oda Nobunaga and later on by himself. Because that life was long and complicated the book is with 944 pages big enough to kill a cat, there's enough Japanese names to confuse any non-Japanese person (how many names are there? 500? Even the main guy's name changes three times!) and it's easily the most epic book I've read in the last 10 years (the Internet ruined the word "epic", by the way).
  
  The book details the life of Hideyoshi from son of a poor country warrior, to wandering salesman, to personal page, to soldier, to leader of a regiment, to trusted retainer to finally leader of the entire clan.
  
  There's a billion small stories about a country which attitudes are completely alien to me, one example is: Hideyoshi is laying siege to a castle, the enemy's leader doesn't want to give in, Hideyoshi doesn't want to lose thousands of soldiers in storming the castle, so he has a messenger approach the enemy general directly, asking him to commit suicide so that Hideyoshi can take the castle and everyone can safely go home. The general happily agrees (after all, his family and soldiers don't have to die, and he doesn't loose face), he commits ritual suicide on a boat in front of witnesses, everybody is happy and the campaign can continue. It's weird, but interesting.
  
  The style may not be anyone's cup of tea, here's a pretty central paragraph:
  
  

  
  How boring would be a life lacking the confusions of many digressions or the difficult struggles! How soon would a man grow tired of living if he only walked peacefully along a level path. In the end, a man's life lies in a continuous series of hardships and struggles, and the pleasure of living is not in the short spaces of rest.
  

  
  
  As you can see, it's a very "grandiose" style, but one that I find makes it relatively easy to read, took me about 2 weeks to read the entire book. There are a couple of downsides - I don't think Hideyoshi makes a single mistake in the entire book, which I find hard to believe, and judging from the Wikipedia-article on him it looks like his life isn't that well documented that you can safely say "these things actually happened". He's got a couple of mistresses but that's all the "bad" there is to him, the rest of the story he's the most perfect human being imaginable, which makes it boring here and there.
  
  One interesting side-effect is that you learn so much about warfare in Japan of the 15th and 16th century that the entire movie "The Last Samurai" is revealed as the complete bollocks that it is.
  
  Recommended for:
  - fans of historical fiction or ancient Japan, Samurais cutting off each others' heads, Ninjas murdering people, people who like to read about ritual suicide every 50 pages or so, people who like to see long plans work out nicely
  - people who like to play Total War: Shogun
  
  Not recommended for:
  - people who can't distinguish "Nobuo" from "Nobutada" or "Nobunaga" (these three are different, but related and quite important characters)
  
• 
  Barry

  I read Taiko for the first time more than twenty years ago and enjoyed it enormously as you might suspect, since I have chosen to read it again. To some extent, reading this book a second time was in preparation for a trip to Japan that Claudia and I will take a bit down the road. To that end, Taiko contains a great deal of Japanese history since it is a novel based on the life of one of the three great unifiers of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It also describes many elements of Japanese culture that are still alive today. Although I am far from an expert on Japan, I have been there a dozen times, primarily on business, and have had the opportunity to learn a little about a culture vastly different from the one in which I have lived most of my life.
  
  Taiko follows Hideyoshi from the time that he was a very young boy in a small village in Central Japan until his efforts to unify Japan ultimately succeeded when he 50 years old. I won't try to summarize the book - the print edition is 993 pages - because it might take more than the 20,000 characters I am allotted for this review. Hideyoshi's father was a samurai disabled in battle and unable to work so the burden of providing for the family fell on his mother. As a result, Hideyoshi grew up very poor and had to earn a living at a very young age. His progression through many positions in life is artfully described providing the reader with a detailed picture of his development.
  
  Although focussing primarily on one man, Taiko paints an incredibly detailed portrait of feudal Japan during the time that war between clans was continuous and alliances forged and broken on a daily basis. But more than simply describing the many battles and campaigns, it provides a view into the emotional side of life for warring samurai. Enduring relationships between people are woven through the entire book as the author, Eiji Yoshikawa, goes well beyond recorded history and imagines the inner feelings of the leaders, the warriors and the women of the time. The result of this is a set of primary characters that are truly three dimensional and who develop over time.
  
  This is not say that battles were overlooked - quite to the contrary, many were described in exceptional detail, perhaps too much for some readers but the fact is that battles between clans were an almost everyday part of life. An aspect of Taiko that I enjoyed was Yoshikawa's description of the changes taking place in samurai behavior. For example, the typical practice of shouting one's own name and clan before killing an opponent was beginning to disappear. By the time one finished his oration, his opponent who chose not to do so, may have won the contest.
  
  Each section of the book was preceded by a list of the key characters and places but, frankly, there were so many that I badly failed to keep them straight. In fact, many samurai were only mentioned once or twice. I was able to remember those characters and places that were mentioned frequently. After I stopped trying to keep every character straight, in my rapidly deteriorating mind, I was able to enjoy the book far more.
  
  If you enjoy historical novels describing conquest and civil war, you may well enjoy Taiko. I am four books into Conn Iggulden's five volume series on Genghis Khan so, as you can well see, I am a glutton for punishment when it comes to such books. Nonetheless, I eagerly looked forward to getting back to the book each evening during my customary reading time from 10:00 PM/22:00 until about 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. If you don't truly enjoy such books, this is just not one you should undertake. One more note: the ebook edition that I read had many, many mistakes - missing words or parts of words, etc. So,, if you chose to read Taiko, make sure you find an edition that is less flawed.
• 
  Farhan Sani

  Based on true story of Hideyoshi, the taiko, the ruler of japan on behalf of the emperor at feudal era.
  
  A fascinating story about a person who struggles from zero to hero, and yet still very "human" which his strengths and weaknesses.
  
  This book, together with "Musashi", indeed made me, until now, eager to learn anything related with japan. its culture, spirit, people, way of life, language...anything.
  Not mentioning that currently I am working in a japanese company :)
• 
  Edward

  I really recommend this for people who are really into Japanese history - it is a long, sometimes repetitive story that focuses on three of Japan's great leaders during the civil war (Sengoku Jidai period) in the 16th century. It feels quite dated at times - characters are caricature, motivations are blurred and the dialogue feels too modern to be immersive, but it is still an incredible feat of literature.
• 
  Angela Serban

  
  https://booknation.ro/recenzie-taiko-...
• 
  Farahani

  Novel ini mengambil seting Jepang zaman dahulu ketika keshogunan dalam masa kritis dan peperangan perebutan kekuasaan terjadi di mana – mana. Cerita dimulai dari tahun Temmon kelima, 1536, yaitu masa ketika Kinoshita Hiyoshi menjalani masa kanak – kanaknya yang berat. Setelah ayahnya meninggal, ibu Hiyoshi menikah dengan Chikuami. Hubungan Hiyoshi dengan ayah tiri yang memanggilnya Saru ini tidak baik, sehingga Hiyoshi dikirim ke kuil untuk belajar, namun dipulangkan karena berbuat kenakalan. Akhirnya Hiyoshi mengembara mencari pengalaman dengan berjualan jarum. Dalam perjalanan ini ia mengalami berbagai hal yang membuatnya belajar mengenai sifat manusia. Dari seorang yang sederhana, berkat kecerdikan dan ketulusannya Hiyoshi memperoleh kepercayaan dari orang – orang, sampai ia menjadi kepercayaan Oda Nobunaga. Sedemikian dalam kepercayaan Nobunaga padanya sampai – sampai Hiyoshi yang namanya menjadi Toyotomi Hideyoshi dianugerahi daerah dan kekuasaan militer. Sebagai tangan kanan Nobunaga, Hideyoshi berjumpa dengan banyak orang penting yang kelak berperan besar dalam sejarah Jepang, salah satunya adalah Tokugawa Ieyasu.
  
  Nobunaga, Ieyasu, dan Hideyoshi bertemu dalam masa kekacauan. Ketiganya sama – sama ingin menyatukan Jepang, namun siapa di antara mereka yang berhasil mewujudkan impian tersebut ?
  
  Ketiga tokoh tersebut merupakan tokoh penting dalam sejarah keshogunan Jepang. Kepribadian mereka diabadikan dalam senryu (comic haiku) berikut : “Nakanunara, koroshiteshimae, hototogisu. Nakanunara, nakashitemiseyou, hototogisu. Nakanunara, nakumadematou, hototogisu”. Arti dari haiku tersebut adalah “Jika burung tekukur tidak mau berkicau, bunuh saja. Jika burung tekukur tidak mau berkicau, buatlah ia ingin berkicau. Jika burung tekukur tidak mau berkicau, tunggulah.” Haiku tersebut melukiskan Nobunaga yang kejam , Hideyoshi yang cerdas, lalu Ieyasu dengan kesabarannya.
  
  Taiko yang berjudul asli Taiko Ki merupakan buah karya novelis legendaris Yoshikawa Eiji. Novelis bernama asli Yoshikawa Hidetsugu ini dilahirkan pada 11 Agustus 1892 di prefektur Kanagawa. Ketertarikannya pada sastra dimulai pada usia belia 18 tahun, namun beliau benar – benar terjun dalam dunia tulis – menulis setelah menjadi juara pertama lomba penulisan novel Kodansha pada tahun 1914 dengan karya The Tale of Enoshima. Beliau bergabung dengan koran Maiyuu dan menulis serial Life of Shinran di koran tersebut. Karya berjudul Miyamoto Musashi yang ditulisnya tahun 1915 membuat namanya dikenal sebagai penulis novel fiksi histori. Beliau terpengaruh oleh karya – karya sastra kuno seperti Sānguó Yǎnyì (Romance of Three Kingdoms), Heike Monogatari (The Tale of Heike) , Hikaru Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji), dan Shu¡hû Zhuàn (Outlaws of The Marsh). Sebelum meninggal pada 7 September 1962, beliau pernah mendapat penghargaan Cultural Order of Merit, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, dan Mainichi Art Award. Yoshikawa - sensei telah menulis puluhan cerita fiksi, beberapa di antaranya adalah Edo Sangokushi, Sangokushi (penulisan ulang Romance of Three Kingdoms), Uesugi Kenshin, Ooka Echizen, Shin Suikoden (penulisan ulang Outlaws of The Marsh), Shin Heike Monogatari (penulisan ulang The Tale of Heike) , dan masih banyak lagi.
  
  Sekitar tahun 90 – an novel Taiko pernah dirilis sejumlah sepuluh volume sebelum digabung menjadi satu buku seperti versi baru. Bentuk buku yang tebal dan jumlah halaman mungkin membuat beberapa orang sudah merasa malas duluan untuk membacanya. Saya mungkin tidak akan pernah membaca Taiko jika belasan tahun lalu saya yang masih SD disodori buku setebal ini. Terjemahan novel Taiko sangat baik, bahasa yang digunakan tidak begitu rumit sehingga enak dibaca serta mudah dimengerti. Plot cerita yang kuat dan karakterisasi yang tergali dengan baik membuat penulis betah membaca buku ini dari awal sampai akhir hampir tanpa jeda. Selain itu, peristiwa – peristiwa bersejarah serta kemunculan tokoh – tokoh sejarah dalam novel ini merupakan daya tarik bagi penggemar sejarah Jepang. Bahkan bagi pembaca yang bukan penggemar sejarah, novel ini tetap menarik karena menyajikan ajaran filosofis, intrik politik, dan taktik perang zaman dulu. Oleh karena itu jangan gentar duluan melihat tebalnya buku, cobalah membaca perlahan dan kamu akan terbawa dalam suasana Jepang pada ratusan tahun yang lalu.
• 
  Max Fallon

  It took me over a year to read this epic. Partly because I was busy and partly because there were a few parts of the story that were a struggle to get through. However the main reason it took so long is that I didn't want it to end.
  
  This is probably a novel more for the Japanese history buff, or the samurai nerd, however, like other Eji Yoshikawa novels like Musashi, there is a lot of practical wisdom in there, particularly for those interested in long-range strategy.
  
  This is the story of the rise and rise of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the second of Japan's three unifiers, who dominated in the later half of the 16th century during Japan's Warring States period, known as the Sengoku period.
  
  Yoshikawa mixes history with his unique style of storytelling as he describes the humble beginnings of a restless, seemingly poor-behaved child who wanders from place to place and job to job, trying to find a Lord worthy of his devotion.
  
  To those who know the history, you will turn each page with excitement, waiting for the historical events you have read about unfold in this brilliant fictional adaptation.
  
  The young Hideyoshi eventually becomes a sandal bearer for a minor warlord named Oda Nobunaga, a man destined to become one of Japan's three great unifiers. The combined efforts of these three men put an end to the Sengoku period and ushered in a new age that many consider the renaissance of Japan's history.
  
  Until I read this book, I didn't have a very positive view of Hideyoshi. I thought he just an opportunist who took advantage of the accomplishments and death of Nobunaga to seize power for himself.
  
  But now I have a lot more respect for the kind of strategist Hideyoshi was. Through this story, you will read how Hideyoshi used his gift of diplomacy, and his humble ability not to be driven by foolish pride, to overcome one enemy after another, eventually climbing to the dizzying heights of power, winning the title of Kampaku, regent of Japan.
  
  There are some great lessons to be learned along the way for anyone involved in politics or career strategy.
  
  As I stated earlier, there are a few sections that drag on a little and are hard to get through, but in the end all events contribute to the overall scope of the saga. For the reader not used to Japanese literature, you may struggle with the abundance of different characters and have trouble keeping track of all of the names, but it won't really matter. You will still keep track of the plot. You will know who the main players are by the way Yoshikawa highlights them.
  
  If you have read James Clavell's 'Shogun', you could almost pretend that this story is a prequel, as it covered events that are only hashed over in the past tense in Shogun. It gives the reader an opportunity to experience a younger Toranaga (Ieyasu.
  
  In my opinion, Taiko should be considered a literary classic, a must read in the same family as War and Peace and Moby Dick.
  
• 
  Rick

  Eiji Yoshikawa’s historical novel TAIKO chronicles the life of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the 16th-century unifier of Japan.
  
  Of humble origins, Hideyoshi found a way to attach himself to the court of the powerful Oda Nobunaga. Starting in the most menial positions, the brilliant, energetic and ambitious Hideyoshi excelled at every task and gradually worked his way up to become Nobunaga’s top general. After Nobunaga’s death, he succeeded in unifying Japan, completing the task Nobunaga had started.
  
  The novel bears some similarity to Yoshikawa’s MUSASHI, which traced the growth of Miyamoto Musashi, Japan’s greatest samurai. Both characters achieve their goals through single-minded perseverance and self-sacrifice, and both novels are compelling reading.
  
  In his introduction to MUSASHI, the translator points out that Yoshikawa’s novels are far more historically accurate than novels like James Clavell’s SHOGUN, which I throw in for what it’s worth.
  
  I highly recommend both Yoshikawa novels to anyone with an interest in feudal Japan.
  
• 
  Guguk

  Buku yang kayak kue bolu bikinan Ibu (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) sangat memuaskan~~
  
  Penggambaran berbagai adegan perang, perasaan orang-orang yang terlibat di dalamnya: putus asa, marah, takut, keberanian dan pengorbanan, setia sampai akhir—semua perasaan itu bisa dirasakan pula oleh pembaca, saking keren dan jeniusnya Yoshikawa-sensei menjalin kata-kata dan cerita ∑d(≧ω≦)
  
  Ini juga ga lepas dari jasa penerjemah, yang kuanggap sebagai Penerjemah Super ∑d(ﾟ∀ﾟd) Kata-katanya terasa mengalun, puitis tanpa menjadi sok-sokan berpuisi~ pokoknya nikmat dibaca!
  
  Salah satu kekurangan buku ini, selain diagram jam yang kebalik siang dan malamnya (^ ^;), adalah tidak adanya indeks tokoh di bagian belakang buku, juga daftar isi yang mencantumkan nomor halaman.
  Kebayang 'kan...dengan aku-nya yang gampang lupa nama orang, mau ngecek "Ini siapa sih?" musti nyari-nyari ke bagian awal tiap buku, yang ga ketauan ada di halaman berapa... (>..<)
  
  Tapi itu cuman sekedar satu hal kecil yang bikin ga nyaman, yang dalam sekejap tenggelam dalam kenikmatan membaca (o^-^o) Sangat direkomendasikan!
• 
  cindy

  tarik napas lega saat menutup cover hc-nya. akhirnya selesai juga.
  
  Yoshikawa sensei memilih untuk menuntaskan kisah ini saat Hideyoshi mencapai puncak kekuasaannya sebagai Kampaku. Bukan saat ia "mengkhianati" Hidegutsu. Bukan saat ia terkalahkan dalam penyerangan terhadap Korea. Bukan pula saat Perang Sekigahara. Dan untuk itu, aku bersyukur dan rela memberikan bintang 5 penuh kepadanya.
  
  Buku Taiko ini benar-benar novel tentang kemenangan Hideyoshi.
  
  Review lengkap ada di
  
  https://readbetweenpages.blogspot.co....
• 
  Kačaba

  Čtení Taika byl relativně dlouhý čtenářský boj. Hutný. Přesto dost dynamický a čtivý.
  
  Nabízí sondu do období feudálního Japonska, do mentality lidí, společnosti. Mapuje hezkou řádku let, potkáte se v něm s šíleným množstvím pojmenování, v němž může být nesnadné se orientovat. Já třeba měla na pozadí rozjetou mapu, dohledávala si reálie. Už jen z toho můžete cítit, že mě to dost pohltilo, pouštěla jsem si k němu i tématickou hudbu.
  
  Taiko je fakt dobrá kniha a já ji ráda doporučím, ale vyžaduje čas a koncentraci.
• 
  Nanto

  Saya dulu pernah membaca beberapa jilid novel Musashi. Waktu itu bacanya karena tukar pinjam sama seorang teman. Saya punya novel silat lokal, Wiro Sableng, dia punya novel fiksi sejarah dari Jepun itu. Terakhir kemaren dapat lemparan buku dari
  Andri. Buku
  The Swordless Samurai yang bercerita mengenai sosok Hideyoshi. Lalu, saat Kopdar Goodreads di Rawamangung kemarin, saya berbincang-bincang dengan
  Haikal mengenai buku The Swordless Samurai itu. Di situ saya mengungkapkan kelebihan dan kekurangan buku The Swordless Samurai yang tak lain dianggap rangkuman perjalanan dan filosofi pemikiran Si "Monyet" Hideyoshi. Untuk ketidak puasan saya, Haikal menyarankan buku ini. Taiko bisa mengobati penasaran saya akan lika-liku detil kehidupan Hiyoshi, nama kecil Hideyoshi.
  
  Ketika semalam saya membuka buku ini, satu letupan kecil yang keluar dari mulut saya. Seperti seorang anak kecil di rumah yang baru saja menemukan kereta mainannya yang hilang dan berucap, "Mo senang Buti. Senang kereta Mo ketemu. Senaaa...ng deh. Mo senang Om Ci!" Yah saya senang dengan buku ini, yang tiba-tiba mengembalikan kepada saya saat-sata kenikmatan membaca buku tidak wajib, tapi tetap menyulut kepala ini kepada ide-ide bernas.
  
  Lain itu, selintas browsing beberapa pembaca lain yang telah membaca buku ini. Saya berkesimpulan saya harus membaca buku Musashi. Sebagian pembaca buku ini memuji buku Musashi lebih dari buku ini. Tapi buat saya yang hanya membaca beberapa jilidnya dulu, ingatan saya terbentur pada alur cerita dan sebuah pertanyaan, "KAPAN BERANTEMNYAAAAA...???" Ketidaksabaran yang sama saat saya menunggu adegan perkelahian waktu menonton sinetron kungfu yang dibintangi oleh David Caradine.
  
  Sejauh lembar yang terbaca saya menyukai beberapa kutipannya. Beberapa saya kutipkan di sini:
  
  1. Tak ada yang membenci Hiyoshi, tapi takseorang pun merasa kasihan padanya. Hiyoshi sendiri tidak terlalu ambil pusing. Begitu melangkah seperti tembok tanah, hatinya menyerap langit biru. Ia merasa terbebaskan. (Hlm. 55) ==> Bayangan saya adalah seorang jepun yang dengan gagah memunggungi masa lalunya karena ia tau setiap kegagalan adalah penghalang yang mengarahkannya kepada keberhasilan yang ia cari. Apalagi Hiyoshi digambarkan sebagai orang yang dengan raut muka tidak gampang merasa bersalah, atau muram. Ada dua orang model begini yang pernah saya temui. Satu junior saya di SMA, satu lagi junior di kampus. Mereka tipikal orang yang wajahnya, ditengah ketegangan apapun, mampu menyembulkan senyum yang menandakan air muka yang bergembira.
  
  2. Seorang samurai tidak bekerja sekeder untuk mengisi perut. Dia bukan budak makanan. Dia hidup untuk memenuhi panggilannya, untuk kewajiban dan pengabdian. Makanan hanyalah tambahan, sebuah berkah dari surga. Jangan menjadi laki-laki yang, karena terlalu sibuk mencari makan, menghabiskan hidupnya dalam kebimbangan. (Hlm. 58). ==> Nasihat dari Kato Danjo ini cukup berarti buat Hiyoshi. Sejak pertemuan pertama mereka, hanya Danjo yang terbilang "percaya" ada sesuatu dalam diri. Kali pertama bertemu, Danjo yang baru pulang dari pertempuran memanggil Hideyoshi dengan nama kecilnya, Hiyoshi. Nama yang hanya disebutkan oleh orang tuanya, karena di luar rumah ia lebih sering dipanggil "Monyet" oleh kawan-kawannya. Kali kedua, setelah diusir dari kuil karena membuat onar Hiyoshi kembali bertemu dengan Danjo. Bukan marah atau nasihat ala "orang tua" yang keluar dari mulut Danjo. Tak ada kerisauan mereka tampak akrab. Saat disuruh makan malam oleh istrinya, Danjo hanya menjawab, "kau makan duluan saja. Anak ini lawan tangguh. Kami lagi asyik. Ha ha! Dia memang ajaib". Nasihat yang ketiga adalah kutipan di atas. Diucapkan oleh Danjo dari kamarnya saat ia terluka lepas dari sebuah pertempuran. Hiyoshi yang baru diberhentikan dari toko tembikar, kembali menemui Danjo sebagai seorang yang bukan menceramahinya, tergambar dari dialog Danjo dan Hiyoshi:
  "Hiyoshi, kau diberhentikan dari toko tembikar?"
  "Ya."
  "Hmmm. Tidak apa-apa."
  "Apa?" ujar Hiyoshi. Ia tampak bingung.
  "Kau tidak perlu malu karena diberhentikan, asal bukan karena kau tidak patuh atau tidak jujur."
  "Aku mengerti."
  "Dulu rumahmu juga rumah samurai. Samurai, Hiyoshi."
  "Ya."
  
  Lalu terucap wejangan yang saya kutip di atas dari Kato Danjo. Bagaimana peran orang yang saat anda jatuh dan dilecehkan, dia dengan santai mengembalikan kemanusian anda. Tetap ngewongke, kalau orang jawa bilang. Tentunya orang itu lebih dari sahabat, ia layak dipanggil guru. Tanpa perlu ruang kelas dan tetek bengek ceramah di dalamnya, Danjo sudah menjadi guru karena ia telah membuat Hiyoshi berpikir mampu menemukan yang terbaik baginya. Menyebutnya sebagai seorang samurai, bahkan ditengah "kegagalannya".
  
  3. "Kau dilahirkan sebagai manusia di dunia yang kacau. Hal-hal paling memalukan adalah kesombongan dalam berpakaian, kesombongan dalam memilih makanan, dan menindas rakyat jelata yang cinta damai. Marga-marga pedesaan yang katanya tersohor melakukan hal-hal seperti itu, begitu juga para ronin. Keluarga Hachisuka Koroku tidak seperti mereka, dan kurasa aku sudah memperingatkanmu mengenai ini." Yang itu ceramah dari Korocuku kepada Tenzo, salah satu anggota keluarganya. Kelakuan Tenzo yang membuat malu keluarganya, karena membuat pamannya kedapatan menggunakan teko hasil curian. Ceramah itu juga membawa pesan, kewibawaan dan kekuasaan selalu terkait dengan tanggungjawab. Mengayomo merupakan salah satu bentuk tanggung jawab itu. Berapa banyak orang yang menikmati penghormatan lupa, bahwa ia dituntut balik atas apa yang diterimanya. Seperti ucapan Peter Parker, wajah keseharian dari Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility."
  
  O.K.I. Kesimpulan saya sejauh ini: buku ini berbahaya. Bisa bikin lupa kerjaan. Mas Haikal, sampeyan kudu tanggung jawab!!! :D
• 
  Kevin

  Taiko is a story set in the middle of the 16th century as the Ashikaga shogunate crumbled. As a consequence Japan came to resemble a huge battlefield as rival warlords vied for dominance. Three very different men emerged seeking to control and unify Japan. Those men were the brutal, rash, and charismatic Oda Nobunaga; the cunning Toyotomi Hideyoshi; and the patient Tokugawa Ieyasu. Their divergent leadership styles are eloquently expressed in the answers to this question presented at the beginning of the book:
  
  `What if the bird will not sing?'
  
  Oda Nobunaga answers `Kill it if it does not want to sing'
  Toyotomi Hideyoshi answers `Make it want to sing'
  Tokugawa Ieyasu answers `Wait until it sings'
  
  Essentially, this is Toyotomi Hideyoshi's story: how one man rose from obscurity to be the supreme regent of Japan. The novel follows Hideyoshi's life, his development from a peasant to a loyal servant of Oda Nobunaga and his final assumption of leadership after Oda Nobunaga is killed by Akechi Mitsuhide. We see his successes and failures in both love and war, and watch as he ultimately rises (after many struggles), to become Taiko, the supreme ruler of Japan under the Emperor even if it is to be a short lived reign.
  
  I find this book fascinating. Yoshikawa has an excellent way of taking the historical Japan full of political intrigue and bitter rivals and weaving into a simply story of a young man finding his way in a samurai dominated feudal Japan. He has also managed capture the motivations and the bonds of loyalty of the samurai class that enabled them to give their lives so freely to one another. To throw themselves into battle so willing is such a foreign idea, but Yoshikawa has managed to make the warrior code palatable to this westerner without the being too brash and beating the me over the head with it. I still can't imagine that people in a modern society would be so willing to trust their lives to the whims of a single person like that. Or that dying in battle for a master was not just honorable but was your duty. Anyway, Taiko is truly an engrossing epic from start to finish that demands to read again and again. I would even dare to say it is my Don Quixote of this year and that's not just because they are similar in length.
• 
  Csaba

  This is undoubtedly a great book about 16th century Japan. It’s bloody long, but I recommend everyone to read it at least once, it’s worth it!
  
  BUT! I was THIS close to giving 5 out of 5 stars, but at the end the book practically didn’t tell us explicitly how Hideyoshi became the de facto ruler of Japan and how he managed to unite it successfully. I missed this last piece of the puzzle, I missed the catharsis. Which is a bit shame.
  
  Apart from that sometimes it was quite confusing with the countless of names and places. Despite the maps at the beginning of the book and the main characters at the beginning of each chapter, it didn’t really help.
  
  But all in all it was very detailed, well-written and a really enjoyable story about Japan during the civil war era.
• 
  Nina

  Bagaimana jika seekor burung tak mau berkicau?
  Nobunaga menjawab, "Bunuh saja!"
  Hideyoshi menjawab, "Buat burung itu ingin berkicau."
  Ieyasu menjawab, "Tunggu."
  .
  Orang besar tidak lahir krn kemampuannya semata. Ia pun harus memiliki kesempatan-- hlm 430
  .
  #Taiko berkisah ttg Hideyoshi, mulai dari ketika dia berumur enam tahun sampai empat puluh sembilan tahun, setelah itu dia tetap berjuang membuat Jepang sbg bangsa yg besar.
  .
  Semakin kau mendaki sebuah gunung tinggi, semakin sukar bagimu merasakan kebesarannya-- hlm 956
  .
  Hanya orang besar dapat mengenali sesama orang besar -- hlm 1106
  
  #OdaNobunaga, #ToyotomiHideyoshi dan #TokugawaIeyasu sama" karismatik, cerdas dan memiliki visi misi luar biasa. Nobunaga adl orang yg paling ditakuti dan dihormati Hideyoshi, setelah Nobunaga wafat, Ieyasu-lah yg paling ditakuti dan dihormati Hideyoshi.
  .
  .
  Dari semua orang yg menentang laju perubahan, tak seorang pun berhasil selamat -- hlm 1138
  
  Kedudukan, popularitas beralih pada Hideyoshi krn sesuai perkembangan zaman, ikut mendorong revolusi kecil dan kemajuan. Ieyasu pun menyadari hal ini.
  .
  Awal" buku ini menceritakan perjalanan dan perjuangan hidup Hideyoshi. Ketika ia menjadi orang besar, cerita didominasi usahanya melebarkan kekuasaan dan perebutan wilayah.
  .
  Tidak mudah merangkum buku yg tadinya terdiri dr 10 vol ini. Kalo tdk dibuat HC, barangkali punggung bukunya patah sejuta kali saat dibaca. #eijiyoshikawa piawai mengolah kisah karakter dan zaman #Jepang saat itu. Saya seolah bisa melihat sendiri apa yg terjadi; ketika senapan msh langka, agama Kristen masuk, peperangan yg diwarnai pemenggalan dan kepala musuh ditunjukkan sbg bukti, seppuku, zaman sulit maupun saat Hideyoshi memerintahkan benteng" dibangun dlm tempo singkat.
  .
  #Nobunaga yg mudah naik darah, #Hideyoshi yg riang dan #Ieyasu yg sabar memberikan kesan tersendiri. Saya mau lanjut ke #musashi.
• 
  The Bookseller

  It has taken me four years to read this book. The reasons why are because it is actually ten novels in one volume. Rather than read it from start to finish, I decided to dip in and out of it over a period of time.
  
  So was it worth it? Yes! Absolutely
  
  Taiko is a fabulous novel that encapsulates the time-period the story is set in. Hideyoshi is a fascinating character, one who prefers to make peace with his enemies than fight them. This is not to say he gives in, but instead convinces them, in bizarre ways, that he is their ally. This happens a lot and is always hilarious.
  
  Despite how long this book is, and how many characters there are to keep a track of, I never lost my interest. No matter how long a break I took from reading this book, I have always been able to pick it up and continue where I left off without a single problem.
  
  I am not sure I would tackle a book this size again in a long time. However, Eiji Yoshikawa does have another novel I am interested in reading.
• 
  Xabi1990

  Adjetivemos el libro:
  SOBERBIO: Si miramos la “ambientación”. La vida, costumbres, relaciones, ropas, viviendas...ahí el libro es maravilloso. Te metes en el Japón feudal y lo vives.
  MUY BUENA: la historia, la novelizacion de la vida del protagonista a ratos atrapa pero bien.
  ACEPTABLE: el ritmo narrativo a veces se estanca y se diluye en detalles que a un “japanofilo” igual le encantan pero a un lector estándar difícilmente lo hará.
  JODER QUE MALOS ( ya, como adjetivo no es muy correcto): los personajes. No tienen cuerpo, son nombres que hacen cosas pero no “veo” con cuerpo a ninguno. Menos mal que son históricos...
  INFUMABLE: la cantidad absurda de nombres difícilmente memorizables que aparecen en las ¡1500 pags! Entre nombres de personajes y de lugares es un suplicio.
  
  
  Resumen: para forofazos del tema. Avisados quedáis...
• 
  Kristína Holovová

  3,5⭐️
• 
  Sotiris Karaiskos

  RTF
• 
  Nabeel

  Incredible book with so many great moments! A must read for anyone interested in Japanese culture and history or even for those who just like a great coming of age story.
• 
  Gege

  Bener2 from zero to hero bgt Hideyoshi ini..., semangatnyaa, gmn dy melakukan sesuatu dgn sungguh2 dlm kondisi apapun daaaan ga peduli dgn omongan org, bkn dlm artian negatif tp dy ga pernah memperdulikan omongan2 negatif ttg dy, ga bkin dy down malah trus maju 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
• 
  Isnaini Nuri

  Whuahhh,,,hilang semua review gara2 inet ngerror :(
  Padahal udah nulis panjang bangettttt.... T,T
  Jadi singkat ajah lah....
  
  bagaimana jika seekor burung berkicau?
  
  Nobunaga menjawab "Bunuh saja!"
  Hideyoshi menjawab "Buat burung itu ingin berkicau"
  Ieyasu menjawab "Tunggu"
  
  dari jawaban ketiga orang tersebut terlihat bagaimana sifat ketiga tokoh besar zaman keshogunan Jepang tersebut.
  
  Oda Nobunaga, sang penguasa Oda, brutal, gegabah, tegas
  Dalam menjalankan strategi militer dia mengandalkan keberaniannya. Tanpa pikir panjang dia akan segera menyerbu musuhnya. Dalam masa kepemimpinannya rakyat dalam kondisi makmur. Sampai akhirnya dia dibunuh oleh Akechi Mitsuhide, salah satu pengikutnya yang berkhianat.
  
  Toyotomi Hideyoshi, sang Taiko, cerdik, sederhana, halus, dan kompleks
  Perjalanannya sampai puncak tertinggi dalam penyatuan Jepang benar-benar berawal dari bawah. Mulai dari pembawa sendal Nobunaga, pengurus dapur dan kandang sampai menjadi seorang komandan militer. Hideyoshi lebih menyukai diplomasi daripada cara militer. Dia lebih memilih merangkul semua provinsi untuk bersatu meskipun akan mengalami proses yang lama daripada menjalankan militer.
  Yang saya suka dari si Hideyoshi adalah ketulusan dan kesetiaannya. Ketulusannya dalam menjalankan semua pekerjaannya tak terlepas dari kesetiaannya terhadap junjungannya, Oda Nobunaga. Dalam suasana perang yang penuh tipu muslihat dia mengandalkan kejujuran dan komunikasi dari hati ke hati. Untuk membangkitkan semangat para bawahan dia menerangkan kepada mereka akibat-akibat yang akan mereka dapat jika mereka tidak melaksanakan tugas mereka sesuai perintah atasan. Karena apa yang diperintah oleh atasan akan memberikan keuntungan pada mereka juga.
  
  Tokugawa Ieyasu, tenang, sabar, dan penuh perhitungan. Ieyasu tidak terlalu memikirkan peperangan yang terjadi di luar sana. Dia hanya memikirkan kesejahteraan daerah kekuasaannya. Meskipun dia juga akan megerahkan pasukannya jika Nobunaga, yang merupakan sekutu Ieyasu, meminta bantuan dalam peperangan. Pertempurannya dengan Hideyoshi juga terjadi karena permintaan Nobuo, anak Nobunaga. Sikap Ieyasu yang tenang dan penuh perhitungan menjadikan dia menjadi lawan yang sepadan untuk Hideyoshi. Dan pada akhirnya semua pertempuran berakhir dengan perjanjian damai karena Nobuo melakukan perdamaian dengan Hideyoshi.
  
  Yang saya suka ketika membaca kisah Jepang Klasik adalah sikap para samurai yang memegang teguh Janji Samurai. Kesetiaan, tanggung jawab, harga diri..
  Setidaknya dengan membaca novel ini saya jadi ngeh dengan sejarah yang satu ini. Soalnya dari dulu sering denger soal Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu di komiknya si Conan tapi tetep gak ngerti hubungan antara mereka. Sampai saya baca novel ini dan,,yah saya jadi tahu hubungan yang terjadi antara ketiga orang ini. Sejarah akan lebih mudah diingat jika disajikan dalam bentuk novel..:D
  Eh, tapi tetep saya masih suka perjalanannya si Mushashi. Si samurai bebasss.....:D
• 
  Vít

  Pokud vás zajímá středověké Japonsko, tak tohle (a
  Musaši) je povinná četba. A bohužel, jako často u povinné četby, zjistíte že je to tlustospis, kterým se budete prokousávat nějaký čas. Ale stojí to jednoznačně za to, odnesete si nejenom strašnou spoustu informací, ale dostane se vám i docela hlubokého ponoru do japonské mentality. Přesněji řečeno do samurajské, prostí zemědělci a tak dál Jošikawovi moc nestojí za zmínku. Je to jiný svět, pro nás často nepochopitelný, ale umí to vtáhnout, uvidíte.
  
  A pokud se vám, tak jako skoro každému, líbil Clavellův
  Šógun, máte o důvod víc, proč se do téhle kroniky pustit. Její děj totiž Šógunovi předchází jen o pár let a je tam spousta a spousta souvislostí.
• 
  Csaba Sali

  I was browsing aimlessly in a bookstore when I first tumbled across Taiko. I never read any Japanese historical fiction before, so I thought that this would be a great opportunity to widen my horizon. I was very pleased that I did.
  This book absolutely sparked my interest in the era of the shogunate. The detail with which Yoshikawa tells of the customs and honorary codes of the samurai had me intrigued. It was refreshing to learn of a culture so different to that of 21st Century Western society. The setting of feudal Japan really came alive due to masterful storytelling, and a plethora of fantastic characters. The insight that Yoshikawa gives to each character is really his greatest strength in my opinion. Each were uniquely shaped by their own personal history and set of philosophy.
  Taiko is also rich in satisfying battles, heartwarming encounters, and a refined humour. Overall an amazing read
• 
  Knigoqdec

  А ако птицата не поиска да пее?
  Нобунага отвърна: „Убийте я!“
  Хидейоши отвърна: „Накарайте я да поиска.“
  Иеясу отвърна: „Почакайте.“
  
  Тази книга ме върна към не толкова отдавна изминалото време, когато изобщо се запознах с въпроса около хаотичния XVI-ти век в Япония. Въпреки че реално знаех какво ще се случи, понеже е невъзможно да си се поинтересувал от темата и да не си научил купища факти, беше много хубава книга.
  По какъв още начин спечели одобрението ми, добавих тук:
  
  http://knigoqdec.blogspot.bg/2016/07/...
• 
  Peter Tieryas

  This book is simply amazing. I'll try to write a longer review later, but I was riveted from page 1. Hideyoshi is such a fascinating protagonist, unlike any of the samurai of his time, which is part of why I love this so much.
• 
  Pratik Dash

  In mid-16th century Japan, the Emperor rules by tradition, the shogun rules by law: but the true master of the realm is Chaos. This tumultuous and violent epoch of Japanese history is known the Sengoku Jidai (the Warring States period). The zeitgeist of this era can be encapsulated by the Japanese phrase: “花は桜木人は武士” (Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi; which means, as among flowers the sakura (cherry blossom) is foremost, similarly, among men the warrior is considered the best.”
  
  Lacking any real centralized authority, the nation is riven by conflict as scores of fiefdoms and potentialities vie with each other to control land and resources; some even hope to unify the realm under their banner.
  
  One of these fiefdoms is the province of Owari. Owari is a small and utterly nondescript province, a veritable minnow among Tritons. However, in spite of being minuscule in size and poor in resources, Owari is fortunate enough to be led by a man whose ambition knows no limit and who has the mental faculties and gumption to bring it about. That man is Oda Nobunaga and his foremost desire is to unify Japan. However, Taiko is not the story of this man.
  
  Verily, Taiko is a historical semi-fiction novel (the characters are real life figures although a bit romanticized) about ambition and the desire to mean something; to stand for something. Over the course of 1400 pages (on my kindle), we meet a bewildering and multifarious array of characters, but they all attempt to fill this cup of ambition. Indeed, this cup varies in size and this decides the pecking order of the dramatis personae.
  
  The character with the largest cup is probably Oda Nobunaga, and fittingly he is the prime mover of the events that lead to the unification of Japan. Filled with perfervid ardor (In an ironic twist of fate, he is burnt to a frazzle due to his ardor) blessed with surprising sapience and possessing a proclivity for achieving goals without regard for methods, he is the ideal man to spearhead the reunification.
  
  However, subduing thousands of recalcitrant and proud clans is too arduous and hellacious even for a man like Nobunaga; and this is where Toyotomi Hideyoshi (the future Kampaku, regent of Japan and later to be the Taiko, retired regent) comes in.
  
  But the name and title were not his, to begin with. Born Hiyoshi (no last name indicating his low status), into an indigent soldier-farmer’s family –whose only desire was to have enough to survive –he was an eminently unlikely candidate for being the master of a nation. But, in spite of this, his cup of ambition was no smaller than Nobunaga’s. Filled with stars in his eyes, a fervent desire to become a great man and to put a smile on the haggard face of his work-weary mother, Hiyoshi left home at an early age, to chart his path to glory.
  
  After divagating across the country and failing to gain steady employment in a samurai household (the first step in becoming successful), Hiyoshi finally gets himself enrolled as a sandal-bearer (page) for a certain someone who was himself desirous of walking down the avenue of greatness: that man was Oda Nobunaga.
  
  Overawed by his master’s brilliance and ambition, Hiyoshi serves him with zeal. His diligence at work and his uncanny ability to use the insights into the human character gleaned from his travels to make men do his bidding gets him into the good offices of Nobunaga.
  
  So, begins the tale of the dyad of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi; a tale to fill the grail of ambition. However, they aren’t the only ones who thirst for greatness. Many others want to fill their grails too, but alas only one can slake his thirst.
  
  Who shall that be?
  
  This question is a Gordian knot, and to undo it one must do what Alexander the Great did to undo the original Gordian knot: to cut it with the sword.
  
  And so, begins a rollicking 1200 page ride replete with political machinations, intrigue, and sundry sanguinary battles. The Sakura blossoms fall, and so do castles and men; great lords hastily compose poignant death poems moments before receiving their quietus from this vale of tears; mountains are turned into funeral pyres and rivers are diverted to submerge castles.
  
  All the hallmarks of Japanese feudal history –gallant samurais treading the path of the warrior (the literal meaning of the Bushido code), dashing into battle brandishing the famous katanas; officers and cavalry, resplendent in armor and seated upon richly caparisoned steeds, sortieing against the enemy; fleet-footed ninjas stealthily infiltrating enemy castles to sow the seeds of discord, to surreptitiously eavesdrop upon discussions, or to carry out assassinations; and Ashigaru (foot-soldiers) standing in serried ranks with their identity banners fluttering in the wind–are presented in copious detail for the delectation of history aficionados.
  
  Nobunaga’s strategic acumen and his ready adoption of the “Tanegashima” firearms –reverse engineered Portuguese arquebuses (matchlock firearms) that Portuguese priests and merchants brought as gifts to Japan–neatly dovetails with Hideyoshi’s ability to open the hearts of men and concomitantly the gates of castles to turn the Oda clan into a juggernaut that humbles mightier fiefdoms. The orchestra mounted atop this juggernaut plays a strange song that sounds like a dirge to their enemies and like a song of rejuvenation for their subjects; such is the genius of the composer: Nobunaga.
  
  However, are the Oda immune to the vicissitudes of life and the caprices of fate? Does the Sword of Damocles hang over Nobunaga too? Is Hideyoshi destined to remain at Nobunaga’s feet or might he one day grasp the reins of power in his own hands? And, what about the taciturn and sagacious Lord of Mikawa, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who is ostensibly an ally of the Oda? What devious stratagem lurks behind his inscrutable face?
  
  These questions are not explicitly raised but the discerning reader quickly sniffs them out and waits in painful suspense for the denouement: it is a worthwhile wait indeed; one brought out by machinations and political maneuvering in addition to overt military ones. Due to this, the novel manages to stay riveting despite its enormous length and numerous digressions.
  
  However, Taiko is not just 1400 pages of war, ambition, and intrigue; the author beautifully limns the ethos, mores, dressing styles, the relationship between husbands and wives, between lords and their retainers, and many quaint Japanese customs of the time. The one I found most intriguing was the art of tea in which the host and his/her guest quietly sit in a teahouse and listen to the water bubbling in the kettle. Supposedly, this practice unencumbers the war-weary samurai and their lords of their tensions and allows them to relax as they quaff their ocha (tea). Other old Japanese customs like the practice of bowel-cutting (Seppuku) and that of jotting down a death poem (Jisei) are movingly presented.
  
  Finally, yet importantly, it must be said that Eiji Yoshikawa’s prose is anything but prosaic.
  
  A few choice specimens of the beauty of his prose:-
  
  “Fragments of thought appear and disappear in the human mind, like an endless stream of bubbles, so that one’s life is carved out instant by instant. Right up to the point of his death, a man’s words and actions are decided by this chain of fragments. Ideas that can destroy a man. A day in a man’s life is constructed according to whether he accepts or rejects these flashes of inspiration”.
  
  “In a period of transition, a cataclysm separates the past and the future. Almost all those who perish are those who, because of their blind attachment to the past, fail to realize that the world has changed”.
  
  “The summit is believed to be the object of the climb. But its true object—the joy of living—is not in the peak itself, but in the adversities encountered on the way up. There are valleys, cliffs, streams, precipices, and slides, and as he walks these steep paths, the climber may think he cannot go any farther, or even that dying would be better than going on. But then he resumes fighting the difficulties directly in front of him, and when he is finally able to turn and look back at what he has overcome, he finds he has truly experienced the joy of living while on life's very road.”
  
  Richly embellished with metaphors, onomatopoeia, imagery and observations on human life, Yoshikawa-San successfully and effortlessly manages to add poetic elegance to his prose that makes it eminently enjoyable to read. He proves himself to be fully capable of expressing the gamut of emotions from the pathos of a beloved one's passing to the exuberance of a jamboree.
  
  However, a perspicacious Ming Chinese author once observed, “Translation can at its best be only the reserve side of a brocade –all the threads are there but not the subtlety of color or design”.
  
  Unfortunately, I had to contend myself with observing the obverse side of this brocade, as my Japanese is not yet advanced enough to read a Japanese novel in its native language (I barely manage to read manga in Japanese, so I have a long way to go). Still, I am certain that one day, after getting better with Japanese, I will return and try to observe the brocade from the front in order to truly grasp and appreciate its beauty.
  
  All in all, Taiko is a fantastic historical book, replete with well-etched characters and written in beautiful prose that would delight any historical fiction buff. Those with even an inkling of interest in Japan should read this book; even those who are not very interested or aren’t aware of Japanese history or its culture could give this book a try, for I believe that it would be an eminently interesting introduction to the Land of the Sakura and the Rising Sun.