Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)

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. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent, and unique double bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 60 duels. He was the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style of swordsmanship and in his final years authored 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.

Timeline

The following timeline follows, in chronological order (of which is based on the most accurate and most widely accepted information), the life of Miyamoto Musashi.

Date	Age	Occurrence
1578		Musashi's brother, Shirota, is born.
1584	0	Miyamoto Musashi is born.
1591	7	Musashi is taken and raised by his uncle as a Buddhist.
1596	13	Musashi duels with Arima Kihei in Hirafuku, Hyōgo Prefecture.
1599	15	Duels with a man named Akiyama in the northern part of Hyōgo Prefecture.
1600	16	Believed to have fought in the Battle of Sekigahara as part of the western army. Whether he actually participated in the battle is currently in doubt.
1604	20	Musashi has three matches with the Yoshioka clan in Kyoto. (1) Match with Yoshioka Seijuro in Yamashiro Province, outside the city at Rendai Moor (west of Mt. Funaoka, Kita-ku, Kyoto). (2) Match with Yoshioka Denshichiro outside the city. (3) Match with Yoshioka Matashichiro outside the city at the pine of Ichijō-ji.
1604	20	Visits Kōfuku-ji, Nara and ends up dueling with the Buddhist priest trained in the style of Hōzōin-ryū.
1605–1612	21–28	Begins to travel again.
1607	23	Munisai (Musashi's father) passes his teachings onto Musashi.
1607	23	Duels with the kusarigama expert Shishido Baiken in the western part of Mie Prefecture.
1608	24	Duels Musō Gonnosuke, master of the five-foot staff in Edo.
1610	26	Fights Hayashi Osedo and Tsujikaze Tenma in Edo.
1611	27	Begins practicing zazen meditation.
1612	28	Duel with Sasaki Kojirō takes place on Ganryujima (Ganryu or Funa Island) off the coast of Shimonoseki in which Kojiro is defeated.
		Briefly opens a fencing school.
1614–1615	30–31	Believed to have joined the troops of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Winter and Summer campaigns at Osaka Castle, though no significant contributions are documented.
1615–1621	31–37	Comes into the service of Ogasawara Tadanao in Harima Province as a construction supervisor.
1621	37	Duels Miyake Gunbei in Tatsuno, Hyōgo.
1622	38	Sets up temporary residence at the castle town of Himeji, Hyōgo.
1623	39	Travels to Edo.
		Adopts a second son named lori.
1626	42	Adopted son Mikinosuke commits seppuku following in the tradition of Junshi.
1627	43	Travels again.
1628	44	Meets with Yagyū Hyōgonosuke in Nagoya, Owari Province.
1630	46	Enters the service of Lord Hosokawa Tadatoshi.
1633	49	Begins to extensively practice the arts.
1634	50	Settles in Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture for a short time with son Iori as a guest of Ogasawara Tadazane.
1637	53	Serves a major role in the Shimabara Rebellion and is the only documented evidence that Musashi served in battle. Was knocked off his horse by a rock thrown by one of the peasants.
1641	57	Writes Hyoho Sanju-go.
1642	58	Suffers severe attacks from neuralgia.
1643	59	Migrates into Reigandō where he lives as a hermit.
1645	61	Finishes Go Rin No Sho / The Book of Five Rings.
		Miyamoto Musashi dies from what is believed to be thoracic cancer.

Outline of Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645)

HISTORIC PEOPLE

Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645)

Miyamoto Musashi was an expert Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent, and unique double bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 60 duels. He was the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style of swordsmanship and in his final years authored 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. View Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645) »

Biography: The details of Miyamoto Musashi's early life are difficult to verify. Musashi himself simply states in The Book of Five Rings that he was born in Harima Province.

Training in Swordsmanship: It is said that 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.

First Duel: 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.

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

Duel with Sasaki Kojirō: On April 13, 1612, Musashi fought his duel with Sasaki Kojirō, who was known as "The Demon of the Western Provinces" and who wielded a nodachi. Musashi came late and unkempt to the appointed place — the island of Funajima, in the Kanmon Straits separating Honshū and Kyūshū.

Service: In 1614–1615, Musashi participated in the war between the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa. The war had broken out because Tokugawa Ieyasu saw the Toyotomi family as a threat to his rule of Japan.

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.

Teachings: Musashi created and refined a two-sword kenjutsu technique called niten'ichi (二天一, "two heavens as one") or nitōichi (二刀一, "two swords as one") or 'Niten Ichi-ryū' (A Kongen Buddhist Sutra refers to the two heavens as the two guardians of Buddha).

Philosophy: Throughout the book, Musashi implies that the way of the Warrior, as well as the meaning of a "True strategist" is that of somebody who has made mastery of many art forms away from that of the sword, such as tea drinking (sado), laboring, writing, and painting as Musashi practiced throughout his life.

HISTORY

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645)

Miyamoto Musashi was an expert Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent, and unique double bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 60 duels. He was the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style of swordsmanship and in his final years authored 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.