Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, c. 1584 – 13 June 1645),[1] was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels (next is 33 by Itō Ittōsai).

The Miyamoto Musashi Budokan training center, located in Ōhara-chō (Mimasaka), Okayama Prefecture, Japan was erected to honor his name and legend.

"[6] Musashi gives his full name and title in The Book of Five Rings as Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu (新免武蔵守藤原玄信).

[6] Munisai, in turn, was the son of Hirata Shōgen (平田将監), a vassal of Shinmen Iga no Kami, the lord of Takayama Castle in the Yoshino district of Mimasaka Province.

The second duel happened when Musashi was 16 years old, when he won another victory against a swordsman named Tadashima Akiyama, a native of Tajima Province.

[16] Daimon more leaned to the opinion that Musashi fought in Ishigakibaru instead of Sekigahara, by historical record of "The Transmission of Military Art to Master Bushu Genshin"[13] Meanwhile, Fukuda has pointed out that the name of Munisai appeared in Kuroda clan record under the category of "Kogofudai", or Kuroda clan vassals who had entered service before 1586.

Based on this fact, Fukuda concluded it was natural that Munisai and Musashi were on the Tokugawa side during the war, just as the Kuroda clan which they served.

[19][20] The duel ended when Musashi quickly and fatally struck Kojirō, crushing his skull with a vertical stroke aimed to his head.

[25] While he engaged in very few duels during this period, one occurred in 1634 at the arrangement of Lord Ogasawara, in which Musashi defeated a lance specialist named Takada Matabei.

The Niten Ki records "[he] received from Lord Tadatoshi: 17 retainers, a stipend of 300 koku, the rank of ōkumigashira 大組頭, and Chiba Castle in Kumamoto as his residence.

"[28] In the second month of 1641, Musashi wrote a work called the Hyoho Sanju Go ("Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy") for Hosokawa Tadatoshi.

On the twelfth of the fifth month, sensing his impending death, Musashi bequeathed his worldly possessions, after giving his manuscript copy of The Book of Five Rings to the younger brother of Terao Magonojo, his closest disciple.

[35] In contrast, many legends feature Musashi in trysts with women, some of which also reflect the view that he eventually chose to forego physical or emotional investments to attain further insight into his work.

[36] This predominant cultural view of Musashi is somewhat contradicted by old texts such as Dobo goen (1720) which relay his intimacy with the courtesan Kumoi in his middle age.

He frequently threw his short sword, and Kenji Tokitsu believes that shuriken methods for the wakizashi were the Niten Ichi Ryu's secret techniques.

[41] Within the book, Musashi mentions that the use of two swords within strategy is equally beneficial to those who use the skill for individual duels or large engagements.

He also disagrees with the idea of using a sword with two hands on a horse and/or riding on unstable terrain, such as muddy swamps, rice fields, or within crowds of people.

In short, it could be seen, from the excerpts from The Book of Five Rings, that real strategy behind Ni-Ten No Ichi Ryu, is that there is no real iron-clad method, path, or type of weaponry specific to the style of Ni-Ten No Ichi Ryu: You can win with a long weapon, and yet you can also win with a short weapon.

In short, the Way of the Ichi school is the spirit of winning, whatever the weapon and whatever its size.Even from an early age, Musashi separated his religion from his involvement in swordsmanship.

"[43] In his later years, Musashi said in his The Book of Five Rings: "When I apply the principle of strategy to the ways of different arts and crafts, I no longer have need for a teacher in any domain."

[44] Musashi also known as talented sumi-e who produced several paintings such as: "Shrike Perched in a Dead Tree" (Koboku Meigekizu, 枯木鳴鵙図) and "Wild Geese Among Reeds" (Rozanzu, 魯山図).

Eiji Yoshikawa's novelization (originally a 1930s daily newspaper serial) has greatly influenced successive fictional depictions (including the manga Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue) and is often mistaken for a factual account of Musashi's life.

He also appeared in the manga Baki the Grappler as a revived clone of himself with his real soul intact as one of the strongest fighters in the series, and used his two-sword style in most combat in which he was shown.

The series portrays a fictional version of an aging Musashi who embarks on a journey to defeat supernatural forces of evil using the Oni Gauntlet.

The song "Sun and Steel" by heavy metal band Iron Maiden off the album Piece of Mind is based on Miyamoto's life.