This man never lost a battle in his life. If you are a fan of Shonen Jump, then you have probably read series such as Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, One Piece, and Rurouni Kenshin. Those series are full of heroes that know martial arts and have powers. Miyamoto Mushashi was the real life Shonen Jump hero that comes from history. His story has become a legend in Japan. He is the Japanese version of Hercules or Robin Hood.
Musashi’s story begins where ever he was born in 1584. It is unknown exactly where he was born. The two most likely places are Harima Province and Banshu. His father, Shinmen Munisai, was a master of material arts, the sword, and the jutte. His dad kicked ass and his ass when he trained him in swordsmanship and the jutte. Munisai stopped Musashi’s training when Musashi was seven because it’s hard to train someone when you’re dead. After his father died, Musashi honed his skills in on his own.
At the age of thirteen in 1596, Musashi won his first duel. He had won against Arima Kihei. Kihei was a traveler, whom would challenge people to duels in the towns he visited in order to improve his skills. When Kihei visited Musashi’s town, Musashi challenged Kihei and Kihei accepted. Musashi fought Kihei using a six-foot quarter staff. Kihei arrogantly thought he would take down Musashi, but he was dead (emphasis on dead) wrong. Musashi knocked Kihei to the ground and beat him to death with the staff in a finisher that would be put in a Mortal Kombat game. It’s more disturbing that he was only thirteen at the time and already he was more messed up than Alex from A Clockwork Orange.
In 1599, Musashi left his village and became a traveler. His goal was to fight in duels to become a master samurai. In 1600, he fought in the war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans. Musashi fought on the Toyomati side. With such an amazing samurai on their side it is no wonder the Toyomati side….lost the war. Then Musashi fled after it was over.
At the age of 20/21, Musashi arrived in Kyoto and challenged the Yoshioka School in many duels to prove he was the best. He first dueled against the head of the school, Yoshioka Seijuro on March 8, 1604. Musashi arrived to the duel late because his strategy was to psychology weaken his opponent. By arriving late he greatly irritated Seijuro and made Seijuro’s fighting style less tactical, making him more open. Granted showing up late to a duel a duel of honor is not exactly the honorable way to behave. After Seijuro’s death, his brother, Denshichiro, challenged Musashi. Musashi arrived late once again and was easily able to defeat Denshichiro. Then he was challenged by the next head of the school, Matashiro, whom was twelve years old. The clan knew having a twelve year old fight Musashi would make the school lose all credibility, so they sent a bunch of soldiers to fight with him. Musashi defeated Matashiro and the soldiers as if he was Arnold Schwarzenegger from Commando. This battle is significant because it was the first time Musashi fought wielding two swords at once, a style he would be best known for.
(Musashi wielding two bokken just like he would with his swords.)
After taking out the main branches of the Yoshioka School, Musashi fought in 60 or more duels. His arguably most famous duel took place on April 13, 1612. He dueled Sasaki Kojiro, a famous swordsman. What Musashi did in this duel is controversial. He arrived late, which people find in this duel inappropriate because it was too disrespectful. It’s like if Micheal Jordan showed up hours late for an NBA slam dunk contest. Also it’s not like he was Kakashi from Naruto. Legend says Musashi disarmed and beat Kojiro to death with a wooden staff he made from an oar. It’s a good thing Musashi didn’t use wooden weapons often. With this record he would have become a murdering psychopath like Jason Voorhees.
In 1645, the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans fought in another war. Once again he fought on the Toyotomi side. Over the next several years Musashi worked for different lords and daimyos. In 1643, Musashi retired from fighting to live in a cave named Reigando and there he wrote his most famous work, “The Book of Five Rings”. In the book, he talks about how in order to become a master fighter, one must practice extensively everyday and focus their mind. Musashi died on June 13, 1645.
This has been the eighth installment of my Interesting Biographies series. Follow my blog for more biographies in the future. Also check out some of my previous entries. Leave a comment if there is a person you want me to do a biography on.
Blake Bradford 