Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable read for lovers of historical fiction
Review: Taiko was my second book by Eiji Yoshikawa. I loved his first book, Musashi! This book, Taiko, is a fictionalised account of life of one of three great unifiers of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi was born into the family of poor samurai who decided to become a farmer after suffering a heavy injury. In his childhood, due to his appearance, peers often mocked Hideyoshi calling him "the Monkey". This nickname well reflected the attitude of people towards Hideyoshi would stick with him whole his life. Having engaged in a lot of adventures in process of seeking a good lord to serve, Hideyoshi returned to his home province of Owari and entered the service to Oda Nobunaga.* The book gives a vivid picture of Hideyoshi's rise of the position of one of the most trusted Oda's generals at the same time showing utterly human sides of Hideyoshi, his friendships, love for a woman and respect for the mother. I had two closely interconnected reasons to give this book only three stars. First, throughout the book I had permanent feeling that the author bent actual history to a substantial extent. Some of the scenes, e.g. scenes of recruitment of some vassals, do not sound convincing. They give just too much undue credit to the persuasive and managerial skills of Hideyoshi having left out a lot of historical context which either turned out to be a sheer luck for Hideyoshi or was masterfully exploited by him. I was always left with a suspicion that the actual history of an event described in the book would be more complicated and the author just had not made his homework. The second star was cut off because throughout the book I had a feeling that the author tries hard to be politically correct. You just see that Hideyoshi and Oda are always credited with some kind of "national vision" attracting" the flock of followers. I would not probably object to the idea of "national vision" in itself, but not to such high degree that it would be visible to everybody at a great distance. I just immediately saw the desire of the author to credit a Sengoku era daimyo and samurai with the ideas of imperial restoration, which did not take place until late nineteenth century. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this book about times of glory - it is easy and enjoyable to read. *House of Oda was a not particularly remarkable mid-level Sengoku Daimyo having risen through ranks of more senior warrior houses in those turbulent ages (Eiji Yoshikawa does not give an account of Oda's life, this is from other sources). Being squeezed among many formidable enemies including warrior monks of Mount Hiei, Imagawa of Suruga, Takeda of Kai, Asai of Omi and others, Oda managed to subdue them all. His spectacular victory in the battle of Okazaki propelled Nobunaga to the top ranks of regional daimyos. From this position he would unify most of Japan paving the road to Hideyoshi's rise to the title of Taiko, the undisputed ruler of Japan.
Rating: 
Summary: Power triangle, a lesson from the past
Review: The beauty of literature is reading between lines. In this excellent book Yoshikawa depicts the painful birth of unified Japan in a vivid way. The atributes of the main characters are very useful to teach a class in corporation politics. The man with a vision and ruthless determination, Nobunaga Oda; the crafty Hideyoshi Toyotomi who out of loyalty and ambition completes the task, and the patient Tokugawa Ieyasu who bids his time to become the Shogun of the longest lineaje. I found that in facing any given everyday life situation, one of the three attitudes could work best to lead us to success.I'm applying this knowledge to Marketing these days with excellent results.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent depiction of feudal Japan
Review: The build up provided to the character of Hideyoshi keeps you riveted. Here's an ideal example of one man who plans his destiny & acheives his goals methodically. One looses the sense of time - a 17 year old Hideyoshi portrayed as a country bumpkin transforming into a fierce general - how & when he transforms & at which stage maturity piles up on this character is invisible to the reader. Yoshikawa had no choice but to enhance the personality of Hideyoshi to make it a winning story. And boy, has he done a remarkable job of that!! It's a pity though that the remaining years of the Taiko are not talked about. History reveals that Hideyoshi develops into a paranoid dictator - one who kills children & is extremely fearful of his & his clan's future. And how Iyeasu Tokugawa wins the support of the Taiko & bides his time to become the next shogun. All in all after reading this version - Hideyoshi is my outright favorite out of the trio of Nobunaga, Iyeasu & Hideyoshi.
Rating:
Summary: Sengoku Jidai (Warring States Period)
Review: This book is for those who have an interest in Japanese history, geopolitics, medieval strategy, and complex feudal relationships. For those fluent in asian historical and semi-historical literature, Taiko is best described as the Japanese analog of the Chinese epic Three Kingdoms. That is, it is a novelized, and in some areas, a speculative account of actual historical events. Taiko (the english translation of which is an abridged version of the Japanese original) details the struggle to unify the numerous fragmented Japanese provinces during the late 16th Century. During this time, the militarily and politically impotent Ashikaga Shogunate was powerless to stop what were basically dozens of civil (clan) wars raging across Japan. The country's many provinces were ruled by various daimyo (warlords) of competing clans. The most powerful of these clans harbored ambitions to put the whole of Japan under their banner. Among the leaders of these powerful clans were names that ring out like a who's who of Japanese history; men such as Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, and Mori Motonari. However, these men could not unite the country on their own. They needed the help of talented retainers to lead their troops into battle, to formulate their grand strategy, and to administer their lands. Among the most talented of these retainers was also the man with the most humble of origins: Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi (given name) started off life as a poor peasant, ridiculed by the moniker "Monkey" by almost all who knew him. As a youth he worked several odd and menial jobs, but his dream was to be a samurai under the employ of a great lord. His opportunity came during a chance encounter with Oda Nobunaga, the daimyo of Owari, who hired him out of admiration for his audacity in directly asking for employment. Hideyoshi then rose in the ranks of the Oda clan from stable boy to kitchen hand to sandle bearer to retainer. Through the years Hideyoshi earned Nobunaga's trust and rewards by displaying talent on and off the battlefield. By the time of Nobunaga's death (due to the treachery of Akechi Mitsuhide), Hideyoshi was one of the most powerful men in the Oda clan (if not the whole of Japan). He protected his late lord's heir, and continued Nobunaga's legacy by completing the unification of Japan, ultimately being awarded the title of Taiko (one absolute ruler of the nation). To completely understand this book you must be prepared for the preponderance of Japanese names and places. Fortunately, each section has the leading players and locations briefly explained beforehand. Just remember that familial names come first and are the most important, for a samurai's family and clan defined his loyalty and being. Overall, a great read. If you are interested in other books based on Japanese feudal history try this list (which I have in chronological order): Tale of the Heike (rise and fall of the Taira clan during the Kamakura Shogunate, 13th C.); Taiko (16th C.); and Shogun (early 17th C.). For computer/videogames of the era try: Kessen (PS2); Nobunaga's Ambition 2 (PC/NES), Shogun: Total War or Shogun: Total War, Warlord Edition (both PC), and the rare Cosmology of Kyoto (PC/MAC).
Rating:
Summary: Sengoku Jidai (Warring States Period)
Review: This book is for those who have an interest in Japanese history, geopolitics, medieval strategy, and complex feudal relationships. For those fluent in asian historical and semi-historical literature, Taiko is best described as the Japanese analog of the Chinese epic Three Kingdoms. That is, it is a novelized, and in some areas, a speculative account of actual historical events. Taiko (the english translation of which is an abridged version of the Japanese original) details the struggle to unify the numerous fragmented Japanese provinces during the late 16th Century. During this time, the militarily and politically impotent Ashikaga Shogunate was powerless to stop what were basically dozens of civil (clan) wars raging across Japan. The country's many provinces were ruled by various daimyo (warlords) of competing clans. The most powerful of these clans harbored ambitions to put the whole of Japan under their banner. Among the leaders of these powerful clans were names that ring out like a who's who of Japanese history; men such as Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, and Mori Motonari. However, these men could not unite the country on their own. They needed the help of talented retainers to lead their troops into battle, to formulate their grand strategy, and to administer their lands. Among the most talented of these retainers was also the man with the most humble of origins: Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi (given name) started off life as a poor peasant, ridiculed by the moniker "Monkey" by almost all who knew him. As a youth he worked several odd and menial jobs, but his dream was to be a samurai under the employ of a great lord. His opportunity came during a chance encounter with Oda Nobunaga, the daimyo of Owari, who hired him out of admiration for his audacity in directly asking for employment. Hideyoshi then rose in the ranks of the Oda clan from stable boy to kitchen hand to sandle bearer to retainer. Through the years Hideyoshi earned Nobunaga's trust and rewards by displaying talent on and off the battlefield. By the time of Nobunaga's death (due to the treachery of Akechi Mitsuhide), Hideyoshi was one of the most powerful men in the Oda clan (if not the whole of Japan). He protected his late lord's heir, and continued Nobunaga's legacy by completing the unification of Japan, ultimately being awarded the title of Taiko (one absolute ruler of the nation). To completely understand this book you must be prepared for the preponderance of Japanese names and places. Fortunately, each section has the leading players and locations briefly explained beforehand. Just remember that familial names come first and are the most important, for a samurai's family and clan defined his loyalty and being. Overall, a great read. If you are interested in other books based on Japanese feudal history try this list (which I have in chronological order): Tale of the Heike (rise and fall of the Taira clan during the Kamakura Shogunate, 13th C.); Taiko (16th C.); and Shogun (early 17th C.). For computer/videogames of the era try: Kessen (PS2); Nobunaga's Ambition 2 (PC/NES), Shogun: Total War or Shogun: Total War, Warlord Edition (both PC), and the rare Cosmology of Kyoto (PC/MAC).
Rating:
Summary: Whew! I finally got thru it all...
Review: This book is pretty good, especially in the beginning, but let me caution you about the size of this book: This is a weighty "tome" consisting of 10 "books" which are novel-sized chapters in themselves.
I saw no availability of a paperback version, so the book I got weighed several pounds.
I saw many things to agree with in the reviews of others, such as the author glossing over or avoiding a balanced view, the lack of a full history of the Taiko other than a couple of paragraphs at the end, and so on...
But I read the whole thing and liked it okay but gave it 3 stars because it just isn't as well-rounded as the Musashi series by the same author.
If I could complain otherwise, I would say that the vast number of characters all bewilderingly thrown at the reader left me at something of a loss, along with the massively convoluted strategies, politics, and personal relationships of ALL the characters. The thinly described battlescenes and strategy were the bulk of the later "chapters" in this book. By thinly described I mean just that.
Once the story has degenerated into this morass of military "begats" it became quite a chore to finish the book. If there is anyone out there who can easily keep track of the many similar place-names and character-names and how they turn into a blizzard of interactions in the later chapters gets my vote for human database or gossip columnist.
Rating:
Summary: A fine read though not quite as appealing as "Musashi".
Review: This is the story of a Japanese commoner who rose from the ranks of peasant to foot soldier to chief general of the realm and, ultimately, to become the successor of his overlord after that man's assasination. In the process the man who was known as "Monkey" to many of his contemporaries became the Taiko -- completing the work of unification of Japan (basically military conquest of the other warlords & clans) begun by his predecessor, the brilliant and fearsome Oda Nobunaga. It was a time in Japan before the social classes had frozen into the near absolute rigidity of later days, when people could still become samurai, even if they weren't born to it, and Monkey displays his tenacity and genius for organization to good effect in this context, impressing Nobunaga who plucks him from obscurity to make him a lord. Thought the least likely to succeed Nobunaga of all that warlord's generals and allies, the Taiko outwits those who who would have the job (or the country, for that matter) after Nobunaga and, using his strategic skills and ability to manage large and complex organizations and expeditions, defeats one after another of them on the battlefield. He does this less by open conflict than by outmaneuvering, outlasting and outbuilding them. In the end he is the last one standing, the head of a triumvirate of lords guaranteeing a brief period of stability during a time of change and unrest in the land. But the Taiko's moment is to be shortlived, however dramatic his ascent, for he is already rather advanced in years and everything he has built is destined to go to another after his death: his ally and junior, Tokugawa Ieyesu -- the man who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate (subject of James Clavell's fascinating fictional account in "Shogun"). But that is grist for another mill, and a different book. -- Stuart W. Mirsky
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: When i found this bok on my bookshelf i felt a bit duanted being that it was 944 pages long and split into 10 bookshowever when i began reading it was well thought out and clearly written. i was able to breaze through the paragraphs without having to reread them as i found myself doing reading The unabriged addition of Count Of Mounte Cristo by alexander dumas the book has itself an intriguing storyline and always interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful insight into the Mindset of the Samurai
Review: Without the emotion of his other famous novel, this enormous tome sees the struggle of a small boy become the most powerful, brutal and respected man in Japan for his era. Not surprisingly, after Musashi, it is easy to become swept up in it's emotive brutality. As a westerner, the biggest mistake would be to call their brutality evil, it was their way. TAIKO explains the mindset of the Japanese Samuri class that condoned the slaughter of so many POW's in WWII. Brutality ruled, and it was a man's world. The survival of the fittest and strict rules of war. This was fine in the 15th century, but the Samurai class carried it to the twentith and thank god they were crushed. It is worth the read for that understanding alone.
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