Miyamoto Musashi

Japanese: 宮本武蔵 - みやもと・むさし

Year of death: 13 June 1645 (2nd year of the Shoho Era)
Year of birth: Tensho 12 (1584)
A swordsman in the early Edo period. Founder of the two-sword style (Enmei-ryu, Niten Ichi-ryu, Miyamoto-ryu). His given name was Genshin, and his pen name was Niten. In addition to the theory that he was born in 1584 (Tensho 12), calculated backwards from the preface of the "Book of Five Rings," there is another theory that he was born in 1581, based on the "Miyamoto Family Genealogy" created by his adopted son Iori. His birthplace is Miyamoto, Sanmo Village, Yoshino County, Mimasaka Province (Miyamoto, Ohara Town, Aida County, Okayama Prefecture), and there is also the theory that he was born in Banshu (Hyogo Prefecture). His father was Hirata Takehito (Munisai). There are two theories about his mother: Omasa, daughter of Shinmen Munemasa, and Yoshiko, daughter of Bessho Rinji. As a famous swordsman in the history of kendo, a heroic image has been created for him through memoirs, novels, plays, movies, etc., but much about the accomplishments of the first half of his life remains unknown. He devoted himself to military strategy from an early age, and at the age of 13, he won his first match against Arima Kihei of the Shinto-ryu school. Since then, he has never lost a single match in over 60 matches. After a duel with Sasaki Kojiro on Funajima (Ganryu Island, Shimonoseki City) in 1612, he participated in both sides of the Osaka campaign, and then traveled around the country, but his achievements were not revealed until 1634, at the age of 51. He became a guest of Ogasawara Tadamasa, the lord of Kokura Domain, and during the Shimabara Rebellion, he served as a military inspector with his adopted son Iori. At the age of 57, he became acquainted with Hosokawa Tadatoshi, the lord of Kumamoto Domain in Higo, and lived as a guest at the site of Chiba Castle in Kumamoto, where he compiled the Thirty-five Articles of Military Strategy. At the age of 60, he often retreated to Reigando Cave on Iwatoyama in the western outskirts of Kumamoto, where he spent his time meditating and wrote the military strategy manual, The Book of Five Rings. "The Book of Five Rings" not only chronicles the way of the Niten Ichiryu style of swordsmanship, but is also a work that expresses the ideological state of mind of sword and Zen as one. He also compiled "The Nineteen Articles of Dokukodo" as a self-reproach. He died one week later. His grave is said to be at Musashizuka in Yuge, Tatsuta-machi, Kumamoto City. In addition to swordsmanship, Musashi also excelled in calligraphy, painting and metalwork, demonstrating extraordinary talent. His ink paintings in particular show sharp, spirited expression and marked the end of his career as a warrior-painter. Some of his representative works are said to be "Cormorant," "Reed Geese," and "Shrike on a Dead Tree." <References> Mori Senzo, "The Life of Miyamoto Musashi," and "All About Miyamoto Musashi" edited by Okada Kazuo and Kato Hiroshi

(Hideki Ozaki)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：正保2.5.19(1645.6.13)
生年：天正12(1584)
江戸前期の剣客。二刀流(円明流,二天一流,宮本流)の開祖。名は玄信,号は二天。生年は『五輪書』序文から逆算した天正12(1584)年説のほかに養子伊織の作成した『宮本家系図』による同10年説がある。生地も美作国吉野郡讃母村字宮本(岡山県英田郡大原町宮本)のほかに播州(兵庫県)説もある。父は平田武仁(無二斎)。母は新免宗貞の娘於政と別所林治の娘率子の2説がある。剣道史上著名な剣客だけに,実録,小説,劇,映画などによってヒーロー像が創られてきたが,前半生の事績には不明な部分が多い。幼少のころから兵法に心がけ,13歳ではじめて新当流の有馬喜兵衛と試合して勝ち,以後六十余たびの勝負に一度も負けたことはなかった。慶長17(1612)年に舟島(巌流島=下関市)で佐々木小次郎と決闘したのち,大坂両陣に参戦,その後諸国を遍歴し,事績が明らかになるのは寛永11(1634)年,51歳以後である。小倉藩主小笠原忠真の客分となり,島原の乱に際しては養子伊織と共に軍監として出陣する。57歳のとき肥後熊本藩主細川忠利の知遇を得て,客として熊本千葉城址に住み『兵法三十五箇条』をまとめ,60歳で熊本西郊岩戸山の霊巌洞にしばしば籠り,座禅三昧の暮らしを送り,兵法伝書『五輪書』を執筆した。『五輪書』は二天一流の剣の道をつづるとともに剣禅一如の思想的境地をしめす著作だった。さらに『独行道十九条』をまとめ自戒とした。その1週間後没した。熊本市竜田町弓削の武蔵塚がその墓とされる。武蔵は剣のほかに書,画,金工などにもすぐれ,非凡な才をしめした。特に水墨画には気魄のこもった鋭い表現がみられ武人画家の最後を飾る。代表作に『鵜図』『芦雁図』『枯木鳴鵙図』などが伝えられる。<参考文献>森銑三『宮本武蔵の生涯』,岡田一男・加藤寛編『宮本武蔵のすべて』

(尾崎秀樹)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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