4 h 7 minAudiobook10 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the sword that stands for honor also carries the shadow of ruin?
In A Muramasa Blade, Louis Wertheimber draws you into feudal Japan, where samurai serve great lords and live by a strict code. A sword is more than a weapon here. It stands at the center of an adventure shaped by loyalty, duty and the uneasy pull of fate.
Muramasa’s name carries a dark legend: his blades are said to thirst for blood and lead their owners toward violence or ruin. Around this feared weapon, Wertheimber explores the strain between personal feeling and feudal duty. Honor demands loyalty, but feeling and conscience make that demand difficult.
What you’ll discover
- A sword under suspicion Discover a blade whose fearful reputation gives the adventure its shadow of fate.
- The weight of duty Explore the tension between a samurai’s personal feelings and the demands of feudal loyalty.
- A world of samurai Enter a setting where great lords command service and a strict code shapes lives.
- Loyalty against betrayal Follow an adventure built on strong contrasts, with honor and allegiance at its heart.
- Legend woven into adventure See how the lore surrounding Muramasa’s swords gives a single weapon a powerful presence.
Who will love it
Readers who love samurai tales, feudal Japan, swords and their lore, stories of duty and vengeance, and short historical fiction with a strong frame, a young hero and a mysterious craftsman.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A peaceful land waits for war
- A sad stranger joins the court
- The smith whom everyone fears
- Love, and a sword with strict rules
- War carries a young hero to Kamakura
- What the story is about and how it is told
Who’s who
- SennoskeThe modest, gifted son of Mutto, trained in body and mind, who longs to marry O Tetsu and to fulfill the duty his father leaves him.
- MuttoA grave, sad ronin who enters the Duke's service under a borrowed name, carrying a hidden wrong and a vow he cannot yet act on.
- MuramasaThe fearsome master swordsmith of Kuwana, whom rumor links to blood, who longs for fame and loves his daughter above all.
- O TetsuThe smith's lovely and strong-willed daughter, kept from the town's gossip, who loves Sennoske and waits for him to return from war.
- Ono ga SawaThe jovial, gouty Duke of Ise, who prizes valor, adores his supposed noble ancestry and wants the smith's loyalty and swords for his court.
- YamagawaThe old, loyal servant of Mutto's house, who raised Sennoske, guards his sword on the road and knows the secret of the family's past.
- Taka SukeA proud Hojo official, cruel and cunning, who is the bitter enemy of Mutto's house.
- Nitta YoshisadaThe lord who leads the rising for the Emperor and makes the young Sennoske one of his aides after seeing him in battle.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 4 h 7 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 10 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Una espada Muramasa in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Una espada Muramasa
by Louis Wertheimber · 1887
A smith's gift to a young samurai comes with strict rules, and strangers at an inn soon put them to the test.
Challenging2–5 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
A Muramasa Blade is a short historical tale by Louis Wertheimber, who died in 1893. It opens in Tokyo, where the author rests on the porch of an old jinrikisha man, a rickshaw puller, whose spotless hut holds nothing but quilts and a sword on two wooden pegs.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A peaceful land waits for war
The story proper begins in 1322, in the reign of the Emperor Go Daigo. For the first time in memory, Japan enjoys a general peace. Farmers bring in their harvests without fear, and trade, art and learning grow. The Hojo family rules from Kamakura in the name of the Shogun, and they have even beaten back the fleet sent by Kublai Khan.
Yet the author tells us that thoughtful people know this calm cannot last. At every lord's court, horses are trained, swords and lances sharpened, and armorers work from dawn until night. The Hojo have treated the imperial family with scorn, and anger at this is spreading quietly across the land.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Una espada Muramasa
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is A Muramasa Blade about?
It tells the story of a young samurai in 1322 whose sword, forged by the famed smith Muramasa, shapes his duty to his father, his love for the smith's daughter, and his part in a war against the Hojo rulers.
Who was Muramasa?
Senjuin Muramasa was a real Japanese swordsmith whose blades had a fierce reputation. In this tale he lives in Kuwana in Ise, and rumor says he needs fresh blood to temper his steel.
What does kataki-uchi mean?
Kataki-uchi is the Japanese vendetta, the duty of a samurai to avenge a wrong done to his lord or family. It shapes Mutto's silence, Sennoske's training, and many choices throughout the story.
The author
Louis Wertheimber
1820–1893 · Writer
Louis Wertheimber died in 1893. He wrote about Japan in the years when the samurai lost their privileges and the old feudal order ended. A Muramasa Blade shows an author who collected swords and admired the chivalry of the old order, and who wished to share its stories with foreign readers.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
