Miyamoto Musashi

This past summer (July 2012), I went to Japan (again) for a short visit with friends. While there, I also had an opportunity to travel and sightsee a bit in some of the places made famous by one of my favorite martial artists, Miyamoto Musashi.

Even if you are not very familiar with Musashi, you have probably heard Shihan mention him in class. He was the consummate martial artist, with a special emphasis on the artist part of that title. Musashi believed that true martial artists are not devoted to their discipline only in the dojo, but work to hone the techniques important to every facet of their lives. To this end, he rejected many offers by prominent samurai lords to become a teacher of his swordsmanship, and instead wandered the country trying to attain perfection in the pursuit of several different arts. He became an accomplished landscape painter, lived as a simple farmer for over a year, and often paid for his room and board by carving wooden statues of the Buddhist deity Kannon. In each of these arts, he applied the same focus and

determination that he brought to his training with the sword because, in each case, he hoped to achieve an understanding of the aesthetic principle behind the art.

My favorite Musashi story comes from the early part of his career when he still struggled to perceive the art of the sword. He was staying at an inn near the ancient Japanese capital of Nara because he hoped to make a name for himself by challenging a renowned swordsman, Yagyu Sekishusai Muneyoshi, to a duel. Another swordsman, Yoshioka

Denshichiro, was staying at the same inn and had already challenged Sekishusai several times, but he was always told that the old Yagyu master had retired and would not accept his challenge. On the last such attempt, Sekishusai decided to test Denshichiro’s martial awareness, and responded to his request by sending him a peony flower. Denshichiro was

insulted by what he perceived as a deliberate attempt to shame him (after all, warriors don’t like flowers!). He told the young maid who had brought the flower that she could keep it. When that same maid brought a light lunch to Musashi’s room, he noticed the flower and asked to see it more closely. He was entranced by the cut end of the flower’s stem because he believed that only a great sword master could have made such a clean slice. This very keen insight into the art of the sword was the nature of the test that Sekishusai had in mind for Denshichiro, but only Musashi was willing to look for the secret of the Yagyu Shinkage sword style someplace other than an actual sword!

Also, while in Nara, Musashi fought a famous duel against a monk from the Kofuku-Ji Temple, pictured here.

This duel is especially remarkable for Musashi as it was, apparently, the only time he ever lost! The duel is especially remarkable for us karate-ka because the monk, Hozoin Inshun, beat Musashi with a bo staff!

The second stop on my Musashi pilgrimage was Kitakyushu, which is located on the southern island of Kyushu and is the former domain of the Hosokawa clan, who would later be Musashi’s employers. This is a picture of Kokura Castle, the official residence of the Hosokawa lord and his family.

Of course, just across the water from the castle, in the strait separating Kyushu from the main Japanese island of Honshu, is the most renowned of all Miyamoto Musashi sites: Ganryujima Island. Here, in 1612 (exactly 400 years ago this year!), Musashi fought his most famous duel against the kensei (sword saint) Sasaki Kojiro. At that time, Musashi and Kojiro were the two greatest swordsmen in Japan. Their respective accomplishments were so well known and so often compared that the two became the subject of a prolonged debate as to who was better. This situation was very similar to the Gretzky vs. Lemieux argument that still dominates hockey discussions here in Canada. For years, samurai lords contrived many scenarios to try and bring the two fighters together, but Musashi never wanted to cooperate. Some people began to believe that his esoteric interests in farming and painting were just a convenient excuse that he used to avoid Kojiro because he was afraid he would lose in an actual fight. While Musashi lived in poverty in the mountains communing with nature, Kojiro was the superstar celebrity samurai who lived in elaborate castles and wore fancy clothes. He is popularly remembered in Japanese artwork as a brash, young pretty boy.

While Musashi, on the other hand, was apparently not as easy on the eyes.

It’s that hard country living, I guess. Anyways, competing factions inside the Hosokawa clan argued over which of the two swordsmen should be hired as their new martial arts instructor. It was decided (no surprise here) that the two should have to fight for the post. So the confrontation that was years in the making was finally going to take place. The only question was where. Because these two fighters were so famous, and the prospect of a match between the two was likely to attract spectators from all over the country, the Hosokawa lords decided to hold the match on a little unused island called Funashima. As a result, just as in today’s world, the rich and powerful were the only ones with front row seats to the show. The duel itself is somewhat controversial because apparently Musashi finally showed up hours after the agreed upon time. Many historians argue that this was a deliberate tactic to unsettle his opponent. It worked!

When Kojiro saw Musashi’s boat approach the beach after having waited for hours in restless anticipation, he flew into a rage and immediately drew his sword while throwing the scabbard into the surf. Musashi pointed to the rashness of this action and taunted Kojiro still more by telling him that he had already lost the fight. Musashi reasoned that, if Kojiro actually believed he could win, he would want to sheathe his sword again once the duel was over. Not yet done, Musashi had one final mind game to play on his opponent. When Kojiro demanded that he draw his sword, Musashi instead picked up a crude wooden bokken that, legend says, he had carved out of an oar while the current carried him out to the island. The implication, of course, was that Musashi did not need to use a real blade to beat Kojiro. This insult was the final straw, and Kojiro attacked with all his strength. In one swift motion, Musashi calmly snapped the oar against the side of Kojiro’s head, crushing his skull. Musashi then bowed reverently to his greatest ever opponent, climbed back in his boat and paddled away. Interestingly, though he won the fight, the island where it took place was renamed in honor of Musashi’s rival, Ganryu Sasaki Kojiro. Here is a picture of a statue of the famous duel that I took while visiting Ganryujima.

In his twilight years, Musashi wrote a book of his thoughts on martial arts training and military strategy called Go Rin No Sho, or Book of Five Rings. Unfortunately, you won’t find any of these stories in that book, and I should add that, though his skill with a sword was unquestionable and his brush paintings were very well done, Musashi’s mastery of the art of writing is perhaps an acquired taste. So if you want to learn more about Japan’s greatest swordsman, try instead to find an old copy of Yoshikawa Eiji’s aptly titled Musashi.

Sensei Lattimer