Miyamoto Musashi: The World's Greatest Samurai

 


Miyamoto Musashi, born 1584 in Mimasaka or Harima, Japan, and died June 13, 1645 in Higo, was a famous Japanese soldier-artist of the early Edo (Tokugawa) era (1603–1867).

Musashi began his military career at the age of 13 when he destroyed a warrior in single combat. In 1600, he was on the losing side at the Battle of Sekigahara, which cleared the foundation for the formation of the Tokugawa shogunate, and he became one of the rnin (masterless samurai). He eventually embarked on a personal quest to perfect his sword style. He established the nit ichi-ry, or two-sword fencing technique, which is sometimes referred to as kensai ("sword saint") today. Musashi claimed to have participated in more than 60 sword bouts, many of which were to the death and all of which he won.



Musashi's most famous bout came in 1612, when he squared off against his archrival Sasaki Kojir, a swordsman whose talent was thought to be similar to his own. The tournament was place on a tiny island off the coast of Japan. While being rowed out to the dueling venue, Musashi fashioned a wooden weapon out of an oar. When the two opponents finally met on the beach, Musashi swiftly dispatched Kojir with a well-placed hit to the skull with his wooden sword. Musashi withdrew from combat after that, feeling he had attained his zenith as a swordsman, though he did teach some students and help in the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637.



Man holding up a magnifying glass for a better look at the samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, woodblock print by Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital. id. jpd 01793)


On his deathbed, Musashi allegedly authored his renowned treatise on strategy, Gorin no sho (The Book of Five Rings), which dealt with the martial experience both personally and militarily. Following its first English translation in 1974, the book was seriously examined by Western executives in order to better comprehend Japanese management approaches and tactics.

Musashi was a suiboku-ga (monochrome ink painting) artist who painted in a forceful and direct manner with an incredible economy of strokes. He is most known for his bird paintings, such as Koboku meikakuzu ("Shrike Perched on a Dead Tree") and Rozanzu ("Wild Geese Among Reeds").



Koboku meikakuzu (“Shrike Perched in a Dead Tree”)









Rozanzu (“Wild Geese Among Reeds”)




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