It is believed that Musashi learned martial arts from his father, Shinmen Munisai, a master of the Tori-ryū sword style, and also of jūjutsu and the jutte. The relationship with his father was a cold one, and after an incident between the two, he eventually left his home.
First duel
At 13, he won his first duel, against a samurai called Arima Kihei, a practitioner of the Shinto-ryū swordsmanship style. Even since childhood, it is said that Musashi's stature was much larger than the average height of the Japanese men of that time. Arima Kihei had been searching for opponents, by placing a challenge sign, that Musashi vandalized, and then he fought Kihei and beat him to death.
Musashi also participated in the famous battle of Sekigahara, which finally decided the unification of Japan and the end of the civil strife. However, he was on the losing side, and after the battle, he probably retreated to the mountains to escape the death reserved for battlefield stragglers, and continued his sword training.
Bringing down the Yoshioka school
The Yoshioka school was a famous swordsmanship dojo in Kyoto, run by the Yoshioka brothers, Seijūrō (the eldest) and Denshichirō (younger bother). Both were excellent swordsmen, and Musashi naturally sought to challenge an opponent as strong as Yoshioka Seijūrō. In his duel against Seijūrō, Musashi used a wooden sword and defeated him with a powerful blow, but Seijūrō's disciples saved him and carried him to safety. Unable to withstand the humiliation of being defeated by an unknown country samurai, Seijūrō later abandoned the sword to become a Buddhist priest.
To redeem the honor of the Yoshioka, Denshichirō challenged Musashi, but he was killed in the duel. After this, the disciples of the Yoshioka school plotted revenge against Musashi, and used Yoshioka Matashichiro, the 12 year old son of Seijūrō, as a lure, to bring Musashi to a third duel, at the Ichijoji temple, on the outskirts of Kyoto. Their plan was to assassinate Musashi, having assembled more than 70 men to wait in ambush for him. But he had arrived earlier and noticed their intentions, so it was them who were taken by surprise when Musashi suddenly jumped among them, killed Matashichiro, and then used the advantage of the terrain and his two sword style to cut them down, keeping them confused and leading them where they would be at a disadvantage. Few escaped with their lives, and this crushing defeat signaled the end for the Yoshioka school of swordsmanship.
The spear wielding monks of Hōzōin
After finishing with the Yoshioka, Musashi went to Nara and fought against the fabled spear technique of the Hōzōin monks, emerging victorious once again.
Facing the kusarigama master Shishido Baiken
Around 1607, Musashi faced a skilled wielder of the chain and sickle, Shishido Baiken, whose disciples also witnessed the duel. When Musashi killed Baiken, the disciples attacked him, but were quickly put to flight by Musashi's two-sword style.
The duels against Musō Gonnosuke
Musō Gonnosuke was another wandering swordsman, an arrogant samurai who reputedly wore an embroidery on his clothing that proclaimed him the "greatest martial artist in the realm". He came to Musashi and challenged him to a duel, which Musashi won with a single blow of a wooden stick. Gonnosuke was humiliated and he retreated to the mountains to meditate on his defeat. He eventually developed the Shindō Musō-ryū style of wielding the staff (jo), and fought another duel against Musashi, which ended in a draw (the only one in all of Musashi's duels).
Sasaki Kojirō - the Demon of the Western Provinces
The strongest opponent that Musashi faced in his most famous duel was Sasaki Kojirō. He wielded a very long sword, known as the Drying Pole, and had developed a lightning-fast technique called tsubamegaeshi (swallow reverse cut, inspired from the movements of a flying swallow). Their duel happened on a small island which is now known as Ganryū-jima. Musashi arrived late to the duel and holding a wooden sword (that he carved from an oar, according to some sources). Enraged by Musashi's attitude, Kojirō supposedly threw his scabbard in the sea, prompting Musashi's famous words "You’ve lost, Kojirō. Would the winner throw away his scabbard?"
They exchanged blows and Kojirō nearly managed to cut Musashi, but it was him who was struck and killed. This marked the end of the duels where Musashi killed his opponents.
Musashi preferred the wandering lifestyle of a ronin, instead of the more traditional practice of settling down to server a lord or opening a dojo. Nevertheless, he did take disciples and took residence in his later years with the Hosokawa clan in Kumamoto. He frequently retreated to the Reigandō cave, where he wrote the famous strategy treatise, The Book of Five Rings, which explains the teachings of his style. He died in 1645, possibly from stomach cancer.
Musashi's pragmatic teachings and nonconformist lifestyle set him apart from other master swordsmen of his era. His legacy continues to this day, in the form of his book and swordsmanship style.
Source(s): The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi
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