December 12, 2017 ▸ People, War & Conflict

Episode 257: Miyamoto Musashi : Japan’s Samurai Sword Saint

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On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we travel back in time and discuss the life of the ultimate Japanese samurai sword master, Miyamoto Musashi. Though many people don’t know about this genuine badass, he is the author of the classic book on war and strategy, The Book of Five Rings. He is also the most renowned sword master in all of Japanese history, an artist, author, and painter. He was a bit of a rogue, and he was considered a wild man because he never bathed (he’d have to be without his swords too long) or did his hair.

Musashi was born into a noble family and was part of the samurai class upon his birth. He trained with his father on the ways of weaponry, though his father either died or left him at the age of ten, when Musashi moved to a Zen monastery and studied with monks. By age 13, he was so fierce and skilled, he fought in his first duel and beat a full grown, experienced warrior to death with stick. And that was just the beginning of his decades of duels.

Miyamoto Musashi traveled on a “Warrior’s Pilgrimage” around Japan, fighting in life-and-death duels, joining different armies in times of war, and trying to find enlightenment in the Way of the Sword the whole time. Some of his most famous exploits include his attempt to get revenge for the wrongs that were done by a family to his father years ago. He went and challenged the father to a duel and beat him unconscious. Then, he was challenged by the first son, and then the second son. He killed them both, plus their guards, using brilliant tactics and sword play.

He continued to go undefeated in life or death duels, most accounts putting him around a total of 60 by the time of his death. Eventually, he became so skilled with a sword that he decided to only fight with wooden swords for the rest of his life in order to up his sword skill game. He kept on winning. Eventually, after a couple more duels and a fight with a guy who cheated with a deceptively long sword, he settled down and started to teach. In his last days, he moved to a cave for seclusion and wrote the masterpiece The Book of Five Rings, a book still studied by martial artists, military leaders, politicians, and corporate CEOs to this day. If you want to hear tales of an immortal warrior who is now the sword saint of Japan, this one’s for you!

Full Text of the Book of the Five Rings: Great introduction!

https://archive.org/stream/MiyamotoMusashi-BookOfFiveRingsgoRinNoSho/Book_of_Five_Rings_djvu.txt