Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi,a Self-portrait

Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584 – June 13, 1645), was also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku.[1] He was a Japanese Samurai and rōnin.[2] Even from a young age Musashi became well known for his excellent swordsmanship and won some sixty duels.[3] He always had money and had a number of other rōnins as followers.[4] Musashi is best known as the author of The Book of Five Rings. It is a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy. The book is very popular in modern Japan and the western world among successful business people.[5]

Miyamoto Musashi
Japanese name
Kanji 宮本 武蔵
Hiragana みやもと むさし

Miyamoto Musashi Media

References

  1. Toyota Masataka, 'Niten Ki (A Chronicle of Two Heavens)', Gorin no Sho, ed. Kamiko Tadashi (Tokyo: Tokuma-shoten, 1963), p. 239
  2. Matt Doeden, Life as a Samurai: An Interactive History Adventure (Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2011), p. 76
  3. Nick Evangelista, The Encyclopedia of the Sword (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), p. 318
  4. Kenji Tokitsu; Sherab Chodzin Kohn, Miyamoto Musashi: His Life and Writings (Boston: Shambhala: Distributed in the U.S. by Random House, 2004), p. 124
  5. Leo Gough, Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings: A modern-day interpretation of a military classic (Oxford, UK: Infinite Ideas, 2009), p. 8