Miyamoto Musashi: The Legendary Swordsman and Philosopher

By Renshi Aaron Kenneally

Miyamoto Musashi (1584 - 1645)

Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵?, c. 1584 – June 13, 1645), also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was an expert Japanese swordsman and rōnin. As he was often known, Musashi became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age. He was the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryÅ« or Niten-ryÅ« style of swordsmanship and the author of The Book of Five Rings (五輪の書 Go Rin No Sho?), a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today.

Birth

The details of Miyamoto Musashi's early life are difficult to verify. Musashi states in Gorin no Sho that he was born in Harima Province. Niten Ki (an early biography of Musashi) supports the theory that Musashi was born in 1584: "[He] was born in Banshū, in Tenshō 12 [1584], the Year of the Monkey." The historian Kamiko Tadashi, commenting on Musashi's text, notes: "[...]Munisai was Musashi's father...he lived in Miyamoto village, in the Yoshino district [of Mimasaka Province]. Musashi was most probably born here." His childhood name was Bennosuke (弁之助).

Musashi gives his full name and title in Gorin no Sho as Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Genshin (新免武蔵守藤原玄信). His father, Shinmen Munisai (新免無二斎), was an accomplished martial artist and master of the sword and jutte (also jitte). Munisai, in turn, was the son of Hirata Shōgen (平田将監), a vassal of Shinmen Iga no Kami, the lord of Takayama Castle in the Yoshino district of Mimasaka Province. Hirata was relied upon by Lord Shinmen and so was allowed to use the Shinmen name. As for "Musashi," Musashi no Kami was a court title, making him the nominal governor of Musashi province. "Fujiwara" was the lineage from which Musashi claimed nominal descent.

Munisai and Musashi's birth date

Munisai's tomb says he died in 1580, which conflicts with Musashi's accepted birth date of 1584. Further muddying the waters, according to the genealogy of the extant Miyamoto family, Musashi was born in 1582. Kenji Tokitsu had suggested that the accepted birth date of 1584 for Musashi is wrong, as it is primarily based on a literal reading of the introduction to the Go Rin No Sho where Musashi states that the years of his life "add up to 60" (yielding the twelfth year of the Tensho era, or 1584, when working backwards from the well-documented date of composition) when it should be taken in a more literary and imprecise sense, indicating not a specific age but merely that Musashi was in his sixties when he wrote it.

Because of the uncertainty centred on Munisai (when he died, whether he was indeed Musashi's father, etc.), Musashi's mother is known with even less confidence. Here are a few possibilities:

Munisai's tomb was correct. He died in 1580, leaving two daughters; his wife adopted a recently born child from the Akamatsu clan, intended to succeed Munisai at his jitte school. Omasa, Munisai's widow, was not Musashi's biological mother.

The tomb was wrong. Munisai lived a good deal longer, later than 1590, possibly. Musashi, then, was born to Munisai's first wife, Yoshiko (daughter to Bessho Shigeharu, who formerly controlled Hirafuku village until he lost a battle in 1578 to Yamanaka Shikanosuke). Munisai divorced her after Musashi's birth, and after that, she decamped to her father's house, leaving Musashi with Munisai. Musashi grew up treating Munisai's second wife, Omasa (daughter of Lord Shinmen), as his mother. This second scenario is in an entry to the Tasumi family's genealogy. The daughter of Bessho Shigeharu first married Hirata Muni and was divorced a few years later. After that she married Tasumi Masahisa. The second wife of Tasumi Masahisa was the mother of Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi's childhood name was Hirata Den. During his childhood, he went to Hirafuku to find his birth mother. He moved in with the Tasumi family.

A variant of this second theory is based on the fact that the tombstone states that Omasa gave birth to Musashi on 4 March 1584 and died of it. Munisai then remarried to Yoshiko. As in the second theory, they divorced, but Yoshiko took Musashi, who was seven then, with her and married Tasumi Masahisa.

Kenji Tokitsu prefers to assume a birth date of 1581, which avoids the necessity of assuming the tombstone to be erroneous (although this poses the problem of from whom Musashi received the transmission of the family martial art).

Upbringing

Regardless of the truth about Musashi's ancestry, when Musashi was seven years old, the boy was raised by his uncle, Dorinbo (or Dorin), in Shoreian temple, three kilometres (~1.8 mi.) from Hirafuku. Both Dorin and Musashi's uncle, by marriage Tasumi, educated him in Buddhism and basic skills such as writing and reading. This education is possibly the basis for Yoshikawa Eiji's fictional education of Musashi by the historical Zen monk Takuan. Munisai trained him in the sword and the family art of the jutte. This training did not last for a very long time, as in 1589, Munisai was ordered by Shinmen Sokan to kill Munisai's student, Honiden Gekinosuke. The Honiden family was displeased, and so Munisai was forced to move four kilometres (~2.5 mi.) away to the village of Kawakami.

1592, Munisai died, although Tokitsu believes that the person who died at this time was Hirata Takehito.

Musashi contracted eczema in his infancy, and this adversely affected his appearance. Another story claims that he never bathed because he did not want to be surprised unarmed. While the former claim may or may not have some basis, the latter seems improbable. An unwashed warrior caste member would not have been received as a guest by such houses as Honda, Ogasawara, and Hosokawa. These and many other details are likely embellishments added to his legend or misinterpretations of literature describing him.

His father's fate is uncertain, but it is thought that he died at the hands of one of Musashi's later adversaries, who was punished or even killed for mistreating Musashi's father. However, there are no exact details of Musashi's life since Musashi's only writings are those related to strategy and technique.

Training in swordsmanship

The name "Musashi" was thought to be taken from the name of a warrior monk named Musashibō Benkei, who served under Minamoto no Yoshitsune, but this is unconfirmed.

He may have studied at the Yoshioka-ryū dojo (school), which was also said to be the school Musashi defeated single-handedly during his later years, although this is very uncertain. He had formal training from his father until he was seven years old or from his uncle beginning at 7. Ultimately, the name was taken from his original kanji, 武蔵, which can be read as Takezō or Musashi, as stated in Eiji Yoshikawa's book Musashi.

First duel

I have trained in strategy since my youth, and at thirteen, I fought a duel for the first time. My opponent was Arima Kihei, a sword adept of the Shinto ryÅ«, and I defeated him. At sixteen, I defeated a powerful adept named Akiyama, who came from Tajima Province. At twenty-one, I went up to Kyōtō and fought duels with several adepts of the sword from famous schools, but I never lost. —Miyamoto Musashi, Go Rin No Sho

According to the introduction of The Book of Five Rings, Musashi states that his first successful duel was at the age of thirteen, against a samurai named Arima Kihei, who fought using the Kashima Shintō-ryū style, founded by Tsukahara Bokuden (b. 1489, d. 1571). The primary source of the duel is the Hyoho senshi denki ("Anecdotes about the Deceased Master"). Summarised, its account goes as follows:

In 1596, Musashi was 13, and Arima Kihei, travelling to hone his art, posted a public challenge in Hirafuku-mura. Musashi wrote his name on the challenge. A messenger came to Dorin's temple, where Musashi was staying, to inform Musashi that Kihei had accepted his duel. This shocked Dorin, Musashi's uncle, and he tried to beg off the duel in Musashi's name, based on his nephew's age. Kihei was adamant that his honour could be cleared only if Musashi apologised to him when the duel was scheduled. So when the time set for the duel arrived, Dorin began apologising for Musashi, who merely charged at Kihei with a six-foot quarterstaff, shouting a challenge to Kihei. Kihei attacked with a wakizashi, but Musashi threw Kihei on the floor, and while Kihei tried to get up, Musashi struck Arima between the eyes and beat him to death. Arima was said to have been arrogant, overly eager to battle, and not a talented swordsman. —William Scott Wilson, The Lone Samurai

Travels and duels

In 1599, three years later, Musashi left his village, apparently at the age of 15 (according to the Tosakushi, "The Registry of the Sakushu Region", although the Tanji Hokin Hikki says he was 16 years old in 1599, which agrees time-wise with the age reported in Musashi's first duel). His family possessions, such as furniture, weapons, genealogy, and other records, were left with his sister and her husband, Hirao Yoemon.

He spent his time travelling and engaging in duels, such as with an adept called Akiyama from the Tajima Province.

In 1600, a war began between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans. Musashi fought on the side of the Toyotomi's "Army of the West", as the Shinmen clan (to whom his family owed allegiance) had allied with them. Specifically, he participated in the attempt to take Fushimi Castle by assault in July 1600, in the defense of the besieged Gifu Castle in August of the same year, and finally in the Battle of Sekigahara. Some doubt has been cast on this final battle, as the Hyoho senshi denki has Musashi saying he is "no lord's vassal" and refusing to fight with his father (in Lord Ukita's battalion) in the battle. Omitting the Battle of Sekigahara from the list of Musashi's battles would contradict Go Rin No Sho's statement that Musashi fought in six battles. Regardless, as the Toyotomi side lost, it has been suggested that Musashi also fled and spent some time training on Mount Hiko.

After the battle, Musashi disappears from the records for a while. The next mention of him has him arriving in Kyoto at the age of 20 (or 21), where he began a series of duels against the Yoshioka School. Musashi's father, Munisai, also fought against a master of the Yoshioka school and won 2 out of 3 bouts in front of the shogun at the time, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who granted him the title of "Unrivaled Under Heaven". The Yoshioka School (descended from either the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū or the Kyo-Hachi-ryū) was the foremost of the eight primary schools of martial arts in Kyoto, the "Kyo-ryū" / "Schools of Kyoto". Legend has it that these eight schools were founded by eight monks taught by a legendary martial artist resident on the sacred Mount Kurama. At some point, the Yoshioka family also began to make a name for itself, not merely in the art of the sword but also the textile business and for a unique dye. They gave up teaching swordsmanship in 1614 when they fought in the Army of the West against Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Osaka, which they lost. But in 1604, when Musashi began duelling them, they were still preeminent. There are various accounts of the duels - the Yoshioka family documents claim that there was only one, against Yoshioka Kenpō, which Musashi won.

Musashi challenged Yoshioka Seijūrō, master of the Yoshioka School, to a duel. Seijūrō accepted and agreed to a duel outside Rendaiji in Rakuhoku, in northern Kyoto, on 8 March 1604. Musashi arrived late, greatly irritating Seijūrō. Per their agreement, they faced off, and Musashi struck a single blow. This blow struck Seijūrō on the left shoulder, knocking him out and crippling his left arm. He passed on the headship of the school to his equally accomplished brother, Yoshioka Denshichirō, who promptly challenged Musashi for revenge. The duel took place in Kyoto outside a temple, Sanjūsangen-dō. Denshichirō wielded a staff reinforced with steel rings (or possibly with a ball-and-chain attached) while Musashi arrived late a second time. Musashi disarmed Denshichirō and defeated him. This second victory outraged the Yoshioka family, whose head was now the 12-year-old Yoshioka Matashichiro. They assembled a force of archers, musketeers and swordsmen and challenged Musashi to a duel outside Kyoto, near Ichijō-ji Temple. Musashi broke his previous habit of arriving late and came to the temple hours early. Hidden, Musashi assaulted the force, killing Matashichiro and escaping while being attacked by dozens of his victim's supporters. He was forced to draw his second sword and defend himself with a sword in each hand to escape and fight off his opponents. This was the beginning of his niten'ichi sword style. With the death of Matashichiro, this branch of the Yoshioka School was destroyed.

After Musashi left Kyoto, some sources recount that he travelled to Hōzōin in Nara to duel with and learn from the monks there, widely known as experts with lance weapons. There, he settled down at Enkoji Temple in Banshū, where he taught the head monk's (one of Tada Hanzaburo's) brother. Hanzaburo's grandson would find the Ensu-ryū based on the Enmei-ryū teachings and iaijutsu.

From 1605 to 1612, he travelled extensively all over Japan in musha shugyō, a warrior pilgrimage during which he honed his skills with duels. He was said to have used bokken or bokuto in actual duels. In most of the engagements from these times, he did not try to take the opponent's life unless both agreed, but in most duels, it is known that Musashi did not care which weapon his foe used — such was his mastery.

A document dated 5 September 1607, purporting to be a transmission by Miyamoto Munisai of his teachings, suggests Munisai lived at least to this date. This year, Musashi departed Nara for Edo, fighting (and killing) a kusarigama practitioner named Shishido Baiken. In Edo, Musashi defeated Musō Gonnosuke, who would found an influential staff-wielding school known as Shintō Musō-ryū. Records of this first duel can be found in the Shinto Muso-ryu tradition and the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū (Miyamoto Musashi's school). The Shinto Muso Ryu tradition states that, after being defeated by Musashi, Muso Gonnosuke beat Musashi in a rematch. There are no current, reliable sources outside the Shinto Muso Ryu tradition to confirm that this second duel took place.

Musashi is said to have fought over 60 duels and was never defeated, although this is a conservative estimate, most likely not accounting for deaths by his hand in major battles. In 1611, Musashi began practising zazen at the Myōshin-ji temple, where he met Nagaoka Sado, vassal to Hosokawa Tadaoki; Tadaoki was a powerful lord who had received the Kumamoto Domain in west-central Kyūshū after the Battle of Sekigahara. Munisai had moved to northern Kyūshū and became Tadaoki's teacher, leading to the possibility that Munisai introduced the two. Nagaoka proposed a duel with a particular adept named Sasaki Kojirō. Tokitsu believes that the duel was politically motivated, a matter of consolidating Tadaoki's control over his fief.

Duel with Sasaki Kojirō

Sasaki Kojirō (c.1585 - 1612)

On April 13, 1612, Musashi (about age 30) fought his duel with Sasaki Kojirō, known as "The Demon of the Western Provinces", and wielded a nodachi. Musashi came late and unkempt to the appointed place — the Funajima island in the Kanmon Straits separating HonshÅ« and KyÅ«shÅ«. The duel was short. Musashi killed his opponent with a bokken that legend says he had carved from an oar used on the boat that carried him to the island. Musashi's late arrival is controversial. Sasaki's outraged supporters thought it was dishonourable and disrespectful, while Musashi's supporters thought it was a fair way to unnerve his opponent. Another theory is that Musashi timed the hour of his arrival to match the tide's turning. The tide carried him to the island. After his victory, Musashi immediately jumped back in his boat, and the turning of the tide helped his flight from Sasaki's vengeful allies. Another theory states that he waited for the sun to be in the correct position. After he dodged a blow, Sasaki was blinded by the sun.

Musashi briefly established a fencing school that same year.

Service

In 1614–1615, Musashi participated in the Toyotomi and Tokugawa wars. The war had broken out because Tokugawa Ieyasu saw the Toyotomi family as a threat to his rule of Japan; most scholars believe that, as in the previous war, Musashi fought on the Toyotomi side. Osaka Castle was the central place of battle. The first battle (the Winter Battle of Osaka; Musashi's fourth battle) ended in a truce. The second (the Summer Battle of Osaka; Musashi's fifth battle) resulted in the total defeat of Toyotomi Hideyori's Army of the West by Ieyasu's Army of the East in May 1615. Some reports go so far as to say that Musashi entered a duel with Ieyasu but was recruited after Ieyasu sensed his defeat was at hand. This may seem unlikely since Ieyasu was in his 70s and was in poor health already, but it remains unknown how Musashi came into Ieyasu's good graces.

Other claims he served on the Tokugawa side could be more proven. However, Musashi had a close relationship with some Tokugawa vassals through his duel with Sasaki Kojirō. In the succeeding years, he did not drop out of sight as might be expected if he were being persecuted for being on the losing side. In his later years, Ogasawara and Hosokawa supported Musashi greatly — an atypical course of action for these Tokugawa loyalists if Musashi had indeed fought on behalf of the Toyotomi.

In 1615, he entered the service of Ogasawara Tadanao (小笠原忠直) of Harima Province, at Ogasawara's invitation, as a "Construction Supervisor" after previously gaining skills in craft. He helped construct Akashi Castle and, in 1621, laid out the organisation of the town of Himeji. He also taught martial arts during his stay, specialising in instruction in shuriken-throwing. During this period of service, he adopted a son.

In 1621, Musashi defeated Miyake Gunbei and three other adepts of the Togun-ryu in front of the lord of Himeji; after this victory, he helped plan Himeji. Around this time, Musashi developed several disciples for his Enmei-ryū, although he had developed the school considerably earlier; at the age of 22, Musashi had already written a scroll of Enmei-ryū teachings called "Writings on the Sword Technique of the Enmei-ryū" (Enmei-ryū kenpo sho). 円/"En" meant "circle" or "perfection"; 明/"mei" meant "light"/"clarity", and 流/"ryū" meant "school"; the name seems to have been derived from the idea of holding the two swords up in the light to form a circle. The school's central idea is training to use the twin swords of the samurai as effectively as a combination of sword and jutte.

In 1622, Musashi's adoptive son, Miyamoto Mikinosuke, became a vassal to the Himeji Domain. This possibly prompted Musashi to leave, embarking on a new series of travels, winding up in Edo in 1623, where he became friends with the Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan, one of the Shogun's advisors. Musashi applied to become a swordmaster to the Shogun. Still, as he already had two swordmasters (Ono Jiroemon Tadaaki and YagyÅ« Munenori — the latter also a political advisor, in addition to his position as the head of the Shogunate's secret police), Musashi's application was denied. He left Edo in the direction of ÅŒshÅ«, ending up in Yamagata, where he adopted a second son, Miyamoto Iori. The two then travelled, eventually stopping in Osaka.

In 1626, Miyamoto Mikinosuke, following the custom of junshi, committed seppuku because of the death of his lord. In this year, Miyamoto Iori entered Lord Ogasawara's service. Like other such attempts, Musashi failed to become a vassal to the lord of Owari.

In 1627, Musashi began to travel again. In 1634, he settled in Kokura with Iori and later entered the service of the daimyo Ogasawara Tadazane, taking a significant role in the Shimabara Rebellion. Iori served with distinction in putting down the rebellion and gradually rose to the rank of karō — a position equal to a minister. Musashi, however, was reputedly injured by a thrown rock while scouting in the front line and was thus unnoticed.

Later life and death

Six years later, in 1633, Musashi began staying with Hosokawa Tadatoshi, daimyo of Kumamoto Castle, who had moved to the Kumamoto fief and Kokura to train and paint. Ironically, at this time, the Hosokawa lords were also the patrons of Musashi's chief rival, Sasaki Kojirō.[clarification needed] While there, he engaged in very few duels; one would occur in 1634 at the arrangement of Lord Ogasawara, in which Musashi defeated a lance specialist named Takada Matabei. Musashi would officially become the retainer of the Hosokawa lords of Kumamoto in 1640. The Niten Ki records "[he] received from Lord Tadatoshi: 17 retainers, a stipend of 300 koku, the rank of ōkumigashira 大組頭, and Chiba Castle in Kumamoto as his residence."

In the second month of 1641, Musashi wrote the Hyoho Sanju Go ("Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy") for Hosokawa Tadatoshi; this work overlapped and formed the basis for the later Go Rin No Sho. This was the year his third son, Hirao Yoemon, became Master of Arms for the Owari fief. In 1642, Musashi suffered attacks of neuralgia, foreshadowing his future ill-health. In 1643, he retired to a cave named Reigandō as a hermit to write The Book of Five Rings. He finished it in the second month of 1645. On the twelfth of the fifth month, sensing his impending death, Musashi bequeathed his worldly possessions after giving his manuscript copy of the Go Rin No Sho to the younger brother of Terao Magonojo, his closest disciple. He died in Reigandō cave around June 13, 1645 (Shōhō 3, 30th day of the 4th month). The Hyoho senshi denki described his passing:

At the moment of his death, he had himself raised. He had his belt tightened and his wakizashi put in it. He seated himself with one knee vertically raised, holding the sword with his left hand and a cane in his right hand. He died in this posture at the age of sixty-two. The principal vassals of Lord Hosokawa and the other officers gathered, and they painstakingly carried out the ceremony. Then, they set up a tomb on Mount Iwato on the lord's order.

Musashi died of what is believed to be thoracic cancer [citation needed] and was not killed in combat. He died peacefully after finishing the Dokkōdō ("The Way of Walking Alone" or "The Way of Self-Reliance"), 21 precepts on self-discipline to guide future generations.

His body was interred in armour within the village of Yuge, near the main road near Mount Iwato, facing the direction the Hosokawas would travel to Edo; his hair was buried on Mount Iwato itself. (NB - Mount Iwato is part of the Mount Kinpo range in Kumamoto, where Musashi wrote the Book of Five Rings in the Reigando cave. His grave is not there, but about 45 minutes away, to the east and on the other side of Kumamoto, in the Musashizuka area). Some of his remains were given to Mimasaka so that he could be buried (in part) with his parents. The Mimasaka graves are located in the precincts of Musashi Shrine.

Nine years later, a significant source about his life — a monument with a funereal eulogy to Musashi — was erected in Kokura by Miyamoto Iori; this monument was called the Kokura hibun. An account of Musashi's life, the Niten-ki 二天記, was published in Kumamoto in 1776 by Toyota Kagehide, based on the recollections of his grandfather, Toyota Masataka, a second-generation pupil of Musashi.

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