Miyamoto Musashi
The undefeated swordsman, strategist, and author of The Book of Five Rings.
Miyamoto Musashi · via Wikipedia: Miyamoto Musashi · Public domain
Through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in 62 duels, Miyamoto Musashi became renowned as a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer.[1] Musashi founded the Niten Ichi-ryū style of swordsmanship and is regarded as a kensei (sword saint) of Japan.[1]
Quick Facts
- Other names
- Niten Dōraku; Shinmen Musashi no Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu
- Birth name
- Shinmen Bennosuke
- Born
- c. 1583
- Birthplace
- Shinjuku Prefecture or Mimasaka Province, Japan
- Died
- 13 June 1645
- Place of death
- Higo Province, Tokugawa Shogunate
- Martial art
- Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū Kenjutsu (二天一流), Enmei-ryu (圓明流) (二天流)
- Students
- Takemura Yoemon
- Terao Magonojō
- Terao Motomenosuke
- Furuhashi Sōzaemon
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
The Niten Ki, an early biography, supports that he was born in 1583.[2] The archaeologist.org account notes that Musashi and Sasaki Kojirō were involved in a historic duel in 1612.[3] According to that same account, Musashi requested Lord Hosokawa Tadaoki to arrange the duel, which took place on 13 April 1612 at Ganryujima island.[3] Musashi arrived three hours late as part of his strategy, and the duel ended when he fatally struck Kojirō.[3][4]
He retired to a cave called Reigandō in 1643 to write The Book of Five Rings, finishing it in the second month of 1645.[5] It is believed that in 1614, during the Siege of Osaka, Musashi fought in the Tokugawa army under his personal friend Mizuno Katsushige, also known as Katsunari.[6] Sources disagree on where Musashi died, but the date is around 13 June 1645.[5]
What the cited sources add
The Nippon.com article by Takashi states that Musashi was born in 1582 and died in 1645.[7] Takashi also notes that Musashi authored Heidōkyō at age 24 and established his Enmei-ryū school under the alias Tenkaichi.[7] The same source reports that the account of Musashi arriving late to his duel with Kojirō is a fabrication, though he did defeat Kojirō with a longer bokken.[7] De Lange's account of the Siege of Osaka Castle describes Musashi carrying a five-yard-long banner while fighting with Mizuno Katsunari's troops.[8]
De Lange also states that Musashi's name appears on a roll call of men who fought under Katsunari titled Osaka o-jin no otomo.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Miyamoto Musashi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tokitsu, "Miyamoto Musashi : maître de sabre japonais du XVIIe siècle : l'homme et l'œuvre, mythe et réalité", Editions désiris, 1998, p. 19, 20; "Miyamoto Mushashi: Samurai Legend", warfarehistorynetwork.com; Musashi, "Book Of Five Rings", Tuttle Publishing (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Miyamoto Musashi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Musashi, "Go Rin No Sho", Tokuma-shoten; "Tanji Hokin Hikki", 1727, p. 130}}, quoting {{cite book; Toyota, p. 239 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "The Legendary Duel Between Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamoto Musashi", thearchaeologist.org, 15 November 2022. facts only, no text reused. thearchaeologist.org
- Wikipedia, "Miyamoto Musashi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lowry, "Bokken: Art of the Japanese Sword", Ohara Publications, 1986, p. 21–27 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Miyamoto Musashi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: De Lange, William (2011). The Real Musashi: The Bukōden. Floating World Editions. .; De Lange, William "Kumamoto Castle | Miyamoto Musashi". Retrieved 18 May 2026. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Miyamoto Musashi" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: de Lange, "The Siege of Osaka Castle", miyamotomusashi.eu, 2019; de Lange, "Mizuno Katsunari (1564–1651)", miyamotomusashi.eu, 2019; Fukuda, "【寄稿17】宮本武蔵と水野勝成 『宮本武蔵の大坂夏の陣』１／２", mizunoclan.exblog.jp, 2011; Tokitsu, "Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings", Shambhala Publications, 2006; Wilson, "The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi", Shambhala Publications, 2013, p. 66-67, 84, 251, 271 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Takashi, "Master Swordsman Miyamoto Musashi: The Man Behind The Book of Five Rings", Nippon.com, 25 July 2019. facts only, no text reused. nippon.com
- de Lange, "The Siege of Osaka Castle", miyamotomusashi.eu, 2019. facts only, no text reused. miyamotomusashi.eu
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Miyamoto Musashi (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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