What is the author's style in Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa?

The book is written in a fairly straightforward style but the sheer length and the number of places and characters involved make it difficult to read. There are few words that would be unfamiliar to a reader with an adequate vocabulary and most readers will find a greater problem is simply remembering who the characters are. In many cases, the characters are introduced in a chance encounter and may then be a major player in a later scene. Some characters simply vanish and the reader never learns what happens to them.