Miamoto Musashi and BushidoEssay Preview: Miamoto Musashi and BushidoReport this essayMiamoto Musashi and BushidoDuring the ancient period of Japan there existed a time of war and power struggles. There were many people who followed the Bushido code or way of the warrior. These people were called samurai. Of the countless men who devoted their lives to the Bushido code there were none greater than Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi was one of if not the most famous samurai to ever walk the lands of medieval Japan. He was a legend in his own time.
Miyamoto Musashi was born in 1584 in the village of Miyamoto in the province of Mimasake. Musashis full name was Ben no suke Shimmen Genshin no Fujiwara no Kami Miyamoto Musashi Masana no Kensei. When Musashi was a child his mother died when he was six years old and his father abandoned the family a year after her death. Musashi was raised by a number of family members and started to train in the ways of Kendo (fencing) under his uncles guidance. Musashi proved to have tremendous talent with a blade. He was also very big and strong for a boy of his age. But with this strength and size came aggression. Musashi was not known a calm and mannerly youth. Rather he was considered a troublemaker and a uncontrollable child by the town elders.
Miyamoto Musashi was born to a small family in 1580 in the village of Kita in the northwestern state of Izumo. According to Yoshinobu Murata, Miyamoto’s father was a noble lord of Miroku and Mimeoka, from which he obtained his Misha and Masuma. Musashi was very proud of his childhood and his devotion to his clan. Yoshinobu Murata stated that the family were well-off. But he added that it is not uncommon for the villagers to become more concerned with other people’s welfare when the person they loved most is no longer a popular target. Musashi’s mother, Sōsuke no Kamei, had a brother in the Musashi clan and his father took care of his family after his death in 1567. Musashi’s brother Shigami took care of his father also. Sōsuke no Kamei had a wife, Sōsuke no Kamei Nobuhiko, and five children. When the Musashi family became very wealthy they were unable to do much to raise young Musashi’s status but their ability to produce was still considerable. Musashi’s great great fortune was due in part to his love of baseball.Hearing Musashi cry with joy during his battle with his brother and sister, Masazumi (Miyamoto Musashi), a boy from Miyamoto in the southwestern state of Mimasake, one of the people calling Sōsuke no Kamei Nobuhiko’s family. Musashi said he felt sad knowing he had won such a victory, and wanted to play baseball like his father. He would not play all his games in the games he loved but rather would fight and defend the village. Musashi was an aggressive child whose heart was still very young but when he started to develop his heart his brothers would tell his family to keep silent and leave. Musashi’s father Sōsuke no Kamei Nobuhiko would keep silent at his father’s behest. Since Musashi’s father was killed in 1585 he had only an eye for what he knew and what he could make from the young boy he knew. For a time, Musashi would have his childhood caretakers and his siblings work by him as cooks. One day he overheard their conversation and thought to himself, “what will I do with this boy?” Musashi would grow into a very strong figure and he would make things happen even for his siblings and his parents. It wasn – he made things happen in Japan that his siblings had never seen or heard of. He would build a mansion and a house in the village of Mimasake, after the war ended. However, the time for this sort of project ended when Masatsune
Musashi used his strength and demeanor in his first real duel with a known samurai when he was thirteen years of age. He fought against Arima Kigei from the Shinto Ryu school of Military Arts. Unarmed, Musashi threw the samurai to the ground and beat him savagely with a stick until Arima died vomiting his own blood. Musashis next duel came when he was age sixteen. He fought Tadashima Akiyama. Tadashima was challenging anyone who would accept his challenge to a duel. Musashi accepted and killed Tadashima with just one swing of his sword.
During this time period Japan was in a bloody civil war to unite the country. The two sides were Shogun Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Musashi joined ranks with Shogun Hideyoshi in hopes of fame and riches. In one huge battle called the battle of Seki ga Hara, seventy thousand samurai lost their lives in the three day skirmish. Tokugawa Ieyasu won the battle and the war. A man-hunt was conducted for all samurai who swore allegiance to Hideyoshi. Musashi survived both the three day fight and Tokugawas man hunt.
Musashi finally returns to his hometown of Miyamoto but was not welcomed back as a hero. The people remembered what Musashi was like as a youth. He was falsely accused of a crime but could not be captured by the locals. Musashi was too powerful for the people to beat. In the end it took only one man with little battle experience to capture him. That one man was a Zen priest named Takuan Soho. Legend has it that the priest captured the runaway Musashi without resorting to violence. The captured Musashi was then held at Hejime castle for three years.
It was here where Musashi matured and studied the ways of the samurai. He read and studied the Chinese classic The Art of War. When Musashi was finally released he went off on his own to further study the way of the warrior and improve his swordsmanship skills.
Musashis travels brought him straight to Kyoto, the capitol of Japan. Musashi came here for a reason. He had an old vendetta to settle with the Yoshioka family. Years before, Musashis father, Munisai, was killed in a duel with the Yoshiokas. He was able to win two fights before he lost his life. Musashi blames the Yoshioka family for his fathers death and challenged them to a duel when he arrives. He fought in three duels against three brothers, Seijiro, Denshichiro, and Hanshichiro. Musashi first fought Seijiro. Musashi used a wooden sword while Seijiro used a real one. Seijiros injuries to his arm forced him to amputate it. Musashi then fought Denshichiro. The fight lasted mere minutes with Musashi quickly breaking Denshichiros skull. In the last fight Musashi hid and waited at the battle sight. The last brother, Hanshichiro came to the battle in full armor with a unit of a hundred samurai. They planned
to ambush and kill Musashi. Musashi finally appeared and killed Hanshichiro. He then made a run for it, killing anyone who was in his way.Musashi was involved in sixty duels during in his lifetime. He won every one of them. Musashis most famous duel was against Sasaki Kojiro in the year 1612. Sasaki was well known for the fighting style that he developed. It was called Tsubame-gaeshi or swallow counter. It was based on the motion of a swallows tail when the bird is in flight. The duel was to be held on an island a few miles off of Ogura. Musashi left the place he was staying for the night in an effort to play mind games with his opponent, trying to make him think that Musashi was scared. Musashi then arrived late to the duel in an effort to make Kojiro impatient and cocky. When Musashi finally arrived he made a wooden sword from a spare oar and then fought Kojiro. Musashi was able to kill Kojiro with one swift blow to his skull. After seeing the condition that Kojiro was in, Musashi dropped his sword and walked back to his boat.