by musashika » Mon Feb 06, 2017 6:04 pm
My namesake - the wild ronin and master swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi - for whom I have undying respect and whose book, Go rin ni sho, is still studied for its strategy and philosophy by modern businessmen.
A master painter, sculptor, poet and writer, he is accounted the greatest duellist in all Japan and some of his students went on to become almost as famous. he is also one of the very few who established his own successful sword fighting styles. He had no verifiable teachers and seems to have taught himself. He was fortunate to survive the battle of Seki go Hara where sixty thousand heads were taken and learned many lessons from the experience which would serve him well throughout his long life. In spite of the great dangers, he was only 18 at the time, he refused to abandon a wounded comrade and carried him and nursed him through the long hunt for Western Army survivors of the battle
Minamoto no Yoshitune. A great samurai, a heroic and tragic figure who defeated the famous warrior monk, Benkei, in a duel, who then served him faithfully until his "standing death" with him at the siege of Koromogawa. Yoshitune was betrayed at the last by a trusted ally and murdered and this, with his other admirable qualities, gave him a place in the hearts of Japanese people. His strategies and skill in warfare were unmatched at the time and he won a number of key battles against superior forces of the Taira clan.
Musashika.