Life and Legend
The famed swordsman Miyamoto Musashi was born Shinmen Takezo in Harima Province and may have fought at Sekigahara under the Ukita as a common soldier. He makes no mention this (perhaps unsurprisingly) in the brief biography in his book, rather confining himself to his achievements in single combat. He claimed to have defeated his first opponent (a certain Arima Kihei) at the age of 13, following this up with a victory over "powerful martial artist called Akiyama of Tajima province." After 1600 Musashi drifted to Kyoto and became involved in a well-known battle with the Yoshioka School of swordsmanship, emerging victorious. He wrote that he engaged in sixty duels without suffering defeat once, and was noted in this regard for his skill at handling two swords at once. He was also remembered for employing a simple bamboo sword, which he used to deadly effect.
Much of Musashi's life between 1600 and 1640 is the stuff of legend and some have postulated that he served at Osaka Castle (1614-1615) on the defending side, taking quite a few heads in the process. In a similar vein, he is sometimes said to have helped quell the Shimabara Rebellion of 1638 - a theory which, as with his glories at Osaka, is impossible to prove. On the other hand, many of the important events depicted in Yoshikawa Eiji's famous novel Musashi have a basis in reality, to include his battle with the Yoshioka School, his defeat of the noted spearman Inei (chief priest of the Hôzô-in), and his duel in 1612 with Sasaki Kojiro, another famed swordsman. Less well-known is his skill as a painter, his works including a number of self-portraits and naturescapes.
Musashi the man must have cut a forbidding appearance: he was said to have rarely bathed or changed his clothes as well as suffering from a somewhat disfiguring skin condition. Following his duel with Sasaki, he seems to have focused his energies on perfecting his style of swordsmanship, spending much time in travel and reflection - thus epitomizing the much-beloved image of the brooding wanderer samurai.
In 1640 Musashi accepted service with the Hosokawa clan, and three years later, in Higo Province, began work on his great book, Gorin no Shô (The Book of Five Rings). He finished this influential work on swordsmanship in May 1645 - the same year he died.
Musashi has enjoyed an immense popularity in the 20th Century and beyond, largely as a result of Yoshikawa's novel (which was originally published in serialized form in the Asahi Shimbun). Musashi skillfully weaves fact and fiction together to create an engrossing tale that has experienced increasing renown in the West. Interestingly, the Asahi Shimbun noted in 1988 that at least one Edo Period source questioned Musashi's duel with Sasaki, stating that Musashi was not alone at the fight, and that his followers killed Ganryu when he had been knocked down to the ground.
Musashi's own book, the Gorin no Shô, was quite well thought of in the United States during the 1980's as a glimpse into the Japanese mind, and was thus consumed by American businessmen - perhaps to the ironic amusement of their Japanese counterparts.
Musashi in Fiction
Film
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) 1936 (Director: Takizawa Hidesuke)
- Musashi&Kojiro (武蔵と小次郎) 1952 (Director: Makino Masahiro)
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) 1954 (Director: Inagaki Hiroshi)
- Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijôji no kettô (続宮本武蔵) 1955(Director: Inagaki Hiroshi)
- Miyamoto Musashi: Kettô Ganryû-jima (宮本武蔵) 1956 (Director: Inagaki Hiroshi)
- Miyamoto Musashi Series (宮本武蔵) 1961-1965 (Director:Uchida Tomu)
- Shinken Shoubu (真剣勝負) 1971 (Director: Uchida Tomu)
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) 1973 (Director: Kato Yasushi)
- Aragami 2003 (Director: Kitamura Ryuhei)
- Ganryuujima (巌流島) 2003 (Director: Chiba Seiji)
Television
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) CX 1961
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) NTV 1965
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) NET 1970
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) CX 1975
- Sorekarano Musashi (それからの武蔵) TX 1981
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) NHK 1984-85
- Ganryujima (巌流島) NHK 1992
- Tokugawa Kengo-den,Sorekarano Musashi (徳川剣豪伝それからの武蔵)TX 1996
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)TX 2001
- Musashi (武蔵) 42nd NHK Taiga Drama 2003
Books
- Musashi (武蔵) Yoshikawa Eiji
- Yojo (よじょう) Yamamoto Shugoro
- Sorekarano Musashi (それからの武蔵) Koyama Katsukiyo
- Futarino Musashi (二人の武蔵) Gomi Yasuhiro
- Shinsetsu Miyamoto Musashi (真説宮本武蔵) Shiba Ryotaro
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) Shiba Ryotaro
- Kettosha Miyamoto Musashi (決闘者宮本武蔵) Shibata Renzaburo
- Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵) Tsumoto Yo
Appearances
- Aoi: Tokugawa Sandai (葵・徳川三代) 39th NHK Taiga Drama 2000
Sources
- Cleary, Thomas. The Japanese Art of War. Shambala, 1991
- Miyamoto Musashi. (trans. Thomas Cleary) The Book of Five Rings. Shambala, 1994
- Turnbull, Stephen. The Lone Samurai and the Martial Arts Arms and Armour. 1990