Miyamoto Musashi

Life

An ink painting by Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi was born June 13, 1584, in the Harima Province of Japan. He died at age 61 on June 15, 1645. He wrote The Book of Five Rings, a book on battle tactics that is still studied to this day.

The details of his life are vague, but stories of his tremendous skill in sword duels have remained. Musashi devoted his life to the way of the sword, training both physically and spiritually to refine his art. He is also known to have been a fine calligrapher as well as an ink painter.

Fictional Interpretations

The modern-day mythology of Musashi's life has been largely influenced by the book Musashi, written by Eiji Yoshikawa. This fictional biography of the swordsman's life was massively influential, and became the basis for many subsequent takes on the character. The book is hefty, coming it at nearly 1000 pages in the English version.