Taiko
by Eiji Yoshikawa · first published 1992
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Historical fiction following Oda Nobunaga's rise during Japan's Sengoku period, set before the events of Shogun. It offers a sweeping, page-turning overview of the era and suits readers interested in Japanese history.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…get the general sense wrong. I'd recommend start with Eiji Yoshikawa if you like Japanese history and want to learn more - of course, start with "Musashi", which is fantastic. If you really like it, "Taiko" is good too. Musashi (my favorite book, huge for people who have lots of potential and are having a hard time dealing with people close to them because of it) - http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572/r...…
on “What are you reading?” ↗Think & Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill Taiko - Eiji Yoshikawa Alexander of Macedon - Peter Green and +1 for Staunch's choice: Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗Second that, great historical fiction. Yoshikawa's other book, Taiko, is equally good.
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗…almost like a Shakespearean drama. Anyway, a very interesting and unique author. I also recommend Musashi from Eiji Yoshikawa. He writes big historical fiction novels that read like fantasy page-turners. Taiko is his lesser known novel in translation, but it is a really awesome overview of the Japanese feudal period and a fun read as well.
on “Haruki Murakami Introduces the Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories” ↗…to love a book, but I figure almost anyone here would. Everyone, literally everyone I'd recommended or gifted a copy of Musashi too is crazy about the book. At the risk of getting way ahead of myself, Taiko by the same author is quite good too, but larger in scope - more characters, more history, a bit more work but still a good story. If you really like Japan or Yoshikawa's writing style, check that out…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗For a Japanese twist, read Eiji Yoshikawa's novels - he fictionalized historical accounts into novels, Taiko is set before Shogun and is about the rise of Oda Nobunaga, who was succeeded by Clavell's Tokugawa Ieyasu. Musashi is about the famous swordsman's life.
on “Australian convict pirates in Japan: evidence of 1830 voyage unearthed” ↗…fictionalized biography to be sure, but I highly recommend Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa: https://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Epic-Novel-Samurai-Era/dp/156... about the famous samurai. It reads like a fantasy novel. Also Taiko by the same author is a fictionalized version of the 3 kingdoms period, told from an interesting perspective.
on “Ask HN: Biographies recommendations – both Westerner and Non-westerner” ↗Not exactly the same vibe, but I highly, highly recommend Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa. It follows Hideyoshi's weird rise to power and has a lot of the same focus of him doing counter-intuitive things and being weirdly convincing while navigating an era of warfare. Plus…
on “Oda Ujiharu: Why the ‘weakest Samurai warlord’ is admired” ↗…to the early Roman Empire, and Renaissance Italy. You can find good narratives and commentaries of these eras, like Edward Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Eiji Yoshikawa's Taiko (historical fiction, but accurate enough jumping off point). Reading a biography that follows one guy around can be pretty good - Julia Cartwright's "Baldissare Castiglione" is pretty good, it's a good…
on “Ask HN: Best books on Politics” ↗…ruthless without hurting others, breaking the law, or otherwise being bad people. You can even learn from people who might go too far - I just ordered "Titan" about John Rockefeller from Amazon, along with "Taiko" about 1600's Sengoku Japan. Some ruthless men in those books - I try to understand and internalize the drive while spotting potential Tony Montana style pitfalls in advance.
on “Branson: Fortunes to be made in downturn” ↗