Very few also know that the shogun of Japan commissioned Miy. Mushasi to paint a triple pane painting for him.....


Musashi spent many years studying Buddhism and swordsmanship. He was an accomplished artist, sculptor, and calligrapher. Records also show that he had architectural skills. Also, he seems to have had a rather straightforward approach to combat, with no additional frills or aesthetic considerations. This was probably due to his real-life combat experience; although in his later life, Musashi followed the more artistic side of bushidō. He made various Zen brush paintings, calligraphy, and sculpted wood and metal. Even in The Book of Five Rings he emphasizes that samurai should understand other professions as well. It should be understood that Musashi's writings were very ambiguous, and translating them into English makes them even more so; that is why so many different translations of the The Book of Five Rings can be found. To gain further insight into Musashi's principles and personality, one could read his other works, such as Dokkodo and Hyoho Shiji ni Kajo.

Timeline[edit]

The following timeline follows, in chronological order (of which is based on the most accurate and most widely accepted information), the life of Miyamoto Musashi.^{[citation needed]}

Date	Age	Occurrence
1578	−6	Musashi's brother, Shirota, is born.
1584	0	Miyamoto Musashi is born.
1591	7	Musashi is taken and raised by his uncle as a Buddhist.
1596	13	Musashi duels with Arima Kihei in Hirafuku, Hyōgo Prefecture.
1599	15	Duels with a man named Akiyama in the northern part of Hyōgo Prefecture.
1600	16	Believed to have fought in the Battle of Sekigahara as part of the western army. Whether he actually participated in the battle is currently in doubt.
1604	20	Musashi has three matches with the Yoshioka clan in Kyoto. (1) Match with Yoshioka Seijuro in Yamashiro Province, outside the city at Rendai Moor (west of Mt. Funaoka, Kita-ku, Kyoto). (2) Match with Yoshioka Denshichiro outside the city. (3) Match with Yoshioka Matashichiro outside the city at the pine of Ichijō-ji.
1604	20	Visits Kōfuku-ji, Nara and ends up dueling with the Buddhist priest trained in the style of Hōzōin-ryū.
1605–1612	21–28	Begins to travel again.
1607	23	Munisai (Musashi's father) passes his teachings onto Musashi.
1607	23	Duels with the kusarigama expert Shishido Baiken in the western part of Mie Prefecture.
1608	24	Duels Musō Gonnosuke, master of the five-foot staff in Edo.
1610	26	Fights Hayashi Osedo and Tsujikaze Tenma in Edo.
1611	27	Begins practicing zazen meditation.
1612	28	Duel with Sasaki Kojirō takes place on Ganryujima (Ganryu or Funa Island) off the coast of Shimonoseki in which Kojiro is defeated.
		Briefly opens a fencing school.
1614–1615	30–31	Believed to have joined the troops of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Winter and Summer campaigns at Osaka Castle, but no significant contributions are documented.
1615–1621	31–37	Comes into the service of Ogasawara Tadanao in Harima Province as a construction supervisor.
1621	37	Duels Miyake Gunbei in Tatsuno, Hyōgo.
1622	38	Sets up temporary residence at the castle town of Himeji, Hyōgo.
1623	39	Travels to Edo.
		Adopts a second son named Iori.
1626	42	Adopted son Mikinosuke commits seppuku following in the tradition of Junshi.
1627	43	Travels again.
1628	44	Meets with Yagyū Hyōgonosuke in Nagoya, Owari Province.
1630	46	Enters the service of Lord Hosokawa Tadatoshi.
1633	49	Begins to extensively practice the arts.
1634	50	Settles in Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture for a short time with son Iori as a guest of Ogasawara Tadazane.
1637	53	Serves a major role in the Shimabara Rebellion and is the only documented evidence that Musashi served in battle. Was knocked off his horse by a rock thrown by one of the peasants.
1641	57	Writes Hyoho Sanju-go.
1642	58	Suffers severe attacks from neuralgia.
1643	59	Migrates into Reigandō where he lives as a hermit.
1645	61	Finishes Go Rin No Sho/The Book of Five Rings. Dies from what is believed to be lung cancer.

Philosophy[edit]

Calligraphy by Musashi.

In Musashi's last book, The Book of Five Rings (五輪書, Go Rin no Sho^?), Musashi seems to take a very philosophical approach to looking at the "craft of war": "There are five ways in which men pass through life: as gentlemen, warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants."
Throughout the book, Musashi implies that the way of the Warrior, as well as the meaning of a "true strategist" is that of somebody who has made mastery of many art forms away from that of the sword, such as tea drinking (sado), laboring, writing, and painting, as Musashi practiced throughout his life. Musashi was hailed as an extraordinary sumi-e artist in the use of ink monochrome as depicted in two such paintings: "Shrike Perched in a Dead Tree" (Koboku Meigekizu, 枯木鳴鵙図) and "Wild Geese Among Reeds" (Rozanzu, 魯山図). Going back to the Book of Five Rings, Musashi talks deeply about the ways of Buddhism.
He makes particular note of artisans and foremen. When he wrote the book, the majority of houses in Japan were made of wood. In the use of building a house, foremen have to employ strategy based upon the skill and ability of their workers.
In comparison to warriors and soldiers, Musashi notes the ways in which the artisans thrive through events; the ruin of houses, the splendor of houses, the style of the house, the tradition and name or origins of a house. These too, are similar to the events which are seen to have warriors and soldiers thrive; the rise and fall of prefectures, countries and other such events are what make uses for warriors, as well as the literal comparisons of the: "The carpenter uses a master plan of the building, and the way of strategy is similar in that there is a plan of campaign".

Way of strategy[edit]

Throughout the book, The Book of Five Rings, Musashi explains the principles of strategy. In the first book (the Ground Book) he compares his concept of strategy to a foreman carpenter. The foreman carpenter knows his tools and men so well that he is able to guide them; delegating who does what based on their abilities, while also being aware of their morale. The foreman carpenter, if he wants the better finished product, will treat his men in such a way as to receive their best work. This illustration begins many more battle-specific lessons in strategy.
Musashi says to learn one-thousand things from one thing; as a builder may build a large structure from a small one, so too must a strategist learn to see on the large scale of things.
Initially, Musashi notes that throughout China and Japan, there are many "sword fencers" who walk around claiming they are strategists, but are, in fact, not, which may be because Musashi had defeated some such strategists, such as Arima Kihei.
The idea is that by reading his writings, one can become a true strategist from ability and tactical skill that Musashi had learned in his lifetime. He argues that strategy and virtue are something that can be earned by knowing the ways of life, the professions around, and perhaps to learn the skills and knowledge of people and the skills of their particular professions.
However, Musashi seems to state that the value of strategy seems to be homogeneous:

The attendants of the Kashima Kantori shrines of the province Hitachi received instruction from the gods, and made schools based on this teaching, travelling from province to province instructing men. This is the recent meaning of strategy.

As well as noting that strategy is destined to die;

Of course, men who study in this way think they are training the body and spirit, but it is an obstacle to the true way, and its bad influence remains forever. Thus the true way of strategy is becoming decadent and dying out.

As a form, strategy was said to be one of "Ten Abilities and Seven Arts" that a warrior should have, but Musashi disagrees that one person can gain strategy by being confined to one particular style, which seems particularly fitting as he admits "I practice many arts and abilities — all things with no teacher" — this perhaps being one of the reasons he was so highly regarded a swordsman.
Musashi's metaphor for strategy is that of the bulb and the flower, similar to Western philosophy of "the chicken or the egg", the "bulb" being the student, the "flower" being the technique. He also notes that most places seem to be mostly concerned with their technique and its beauty. Musashi writes, "In this kind of way of strategy, both those teaching and those learning the way are concerned with coloring and showing off their technique, trying to hasten the bloom of the flower" (as opposed to the actual harmony between strategy and skill).
With those who are concerned with becoming masters of strategy, Musashi points out that as a carpenter becomes better with his tools and is able to craft things with more expert measure, so too can a warrior or strategist become more skilled in his technique. However, just as a carpenter needs to be able to use his tools according to plans, so too must a strategist be able to adapt his style or technique to the required strategy of the battle he is currently engaged in.
This description also draws parallels between the weapons of a trooper (or soldier) and the tools of a carpenter; the idea of "the right tool for the right job" seems to be implied a lot throughout The Book of Five Rings. Musashi also puts into motion the idea that when a carpenter is skilled enough in aspects of his job, and creates them with expert measure, then he can become a foreman.
Although it is not expressly mentioned, it may be seen that Musashi indicated that when one learned the areas in which your craft requires (carpentry, farming, fine art or battle) and is able to apply them to any given situation, one is experienced enough to show others wisdom, as foreman of craftsmen or as a general of an army.
From further reading into the book, the idea of "weapons within strategy" as well as Musashi referring to the power of the writer may seem that the strategy that Musashi refers to does not exclusively reside within the domain of weaponry and duels, but within the realm of war and battles with many men:

Just as one man can beat ten, so a hundred men can beat a thousand, and a thousand can beat ten thousand. In my strategy, one man is the same as ten thousand, so this strategy is the complete warrior's craft.

Ni-Ten Ichi Ryu[edit]

Within the book, Musashi mentions that the use of two swords within strategy is mutually beneficial to those who use the skill for individual duels or large engagements. The idea of using two hands for a sword is an idea that Musashi opposes because there is no fluidity in movement with two hands: "If you hold a sword with both hands, it is difficult to wield it freely to left and right, so my method is to carry the sword in one hand." 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.
To learn the strategy of Ni-Ten Ichi Ryu, Musashi employs that by training with two long swords, one in each hand, one will be able to overcome the cumbersome nature of using a sword in both hands. Although it is difficult, Musashi agrees that there are times in which the long sword must be used with two hands, but one whose skill is good enough should not need it. The idea of using two long swords starting with something new and difficult but will adapt to after much use.
After using two long swords proficiently enough, mastery of a long sword, and a "companion sword", most likely a wakizashi, will be much increased: "When you become used to wielding the long sword, you will gain the power of the Way and wield the sword well."
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.