An obscure article printed in a Japanese newspaper　（Nihon Keizai Shinbun Jan 29,2010) last week may not have gained much notice amongst the Japanese readership.  But for those of us that are interested in Japanese history, especially martial history, this article was off the charts.  

If ever a “Kenshi” or sword saint rose to international fame it would be Miyamoto Musashi. There are many versions of his better known treatises and books in English, quasi biographies, television specials, and books of fiction about him that he has the image of being Japan’s ultimate swordsman.  Like the proverbial sign pronouncing that “George Washington slept here,” it seems that everywhere that Musashi travelled lays claim to some direct transmission of seminal sword knowledge. 

This two- column two-inch article was written by an ex-Prime Minister of Japan named Hosokawa Morihiro.  This is a famous clan name and indeed Hosokawa Morihiro is the 18^th successor of the Hosokawa han (fiefdom) It is home to the castle town of Kumamoto where 7 centuries of archives are housed intact in spite of fires, wars and changes in the social order. 

Musashi grew up in the period between Senkoku Jidai (warring states period) and Edo Jidai (The relatively peaceful time of the Tokugawa regime). With the battle of Sekigahara, the role of the gun became firmly entrenched as did the formation of large group tactics to amass firepower. The far reaching consequences would be the eventual unseating of the warrior class with a conscript army trained with rifles requiring much less training.  During Senkoku Jidai the Yari (spear) was the primary weapon not the katana.  

It can be instructive to select such a famous historic figure as Miyamoto Musashi and study both the facts and the folklore surrounding this swordsman. Doing this particular to Musashi is nothing new but I think we’ve found some new general information that brings a bit of clarity to the questions if not the answers…

 Transcending geographical borders, the name “Miyamoto Musashi” is known all over the world.  Much of this common “knowledge” can be attributed to some very enjoyable works of fiction that have been translated into English, most notably, Yoshikawa, Eiji’s “Musashi” as well as non-fiction (depending upon the translator) works such as Musashi’sown text on heiho (strategy) called “Go Rin no Sho” (Book of Five Rings) and various publications that emerged after his death that are more suspect.

It is in vogue to look back on what is known of Musashi’s life and ask why he did not duel some of his more renowned contemporaries, men whom were also great swordsmen of the day?

One response to this question that I’ve heard paints Musashi as a braggart that inflated his reputation and allowed his followers to amplify his exploits as a marketing devise. Certainly he had followers who were zealous protectors of his reputation that would do anything to perpetuate their teacher.[1] There is no known written evidence however that can confirm nor deny that Musashi himself planned or endorsed this kind of behavior on the part of his students.