Miyamoto Musashi

*"Never accept an inferior position to anyone. It is the strongest spirit that wins, not the most expensive sword."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
**Miyamoto Musashi** (**宮本武蔵**), born **Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu** (**新免武蔵守藤原玄信**), was a legendary samurai, rōnin and the greatest swordsman in the history of Japan.

## Biography

Miyamoto Musashi was a 17th century Japanese swordsman. After he was trained and disowned by his father, he was raised by his Buddhist uncle. He continued to training in martial arts and swordsmanship until he left to travel Japan. He served in his father's army before setting out to establish himself as a master swordsman. In Edo, he opened his own school of swordsmanship and taught for seven years before returning to Kitsuki. One of his former students requested him to serve in the war between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi clans, alongside the former. He would protect his student's son and eventually adopt his fallen comrade's son, Mikinosuke.

Miyamoto twice arrived late to duels and defeated both opponents, Yoshioka Seijuro and Yoshioka Denshichiro. Upon his next duel with Yoshioka Matashichiro, he arrived early, and ambushed the force that was assembling to ambush him. He killed half of the small army.

During his travels, he invented his own style of swordsmanship, Niten Ichi-ryū, where the user wields two swords in battle. He was inspired by the warrior Shishido Baiken, an undefeated master of the kusarigama; he asked to see his weapons, and when the latter refused, he said that he could only see them in a duel. Miyamoto later approached him with two swords, one long and one short, and said he was ready to fight. Unable to defend against two swords, Miyamoto struck him in the head with his short sword and thrust his long sword into his body.

### Legacy

*"Mi wo sutetemo myōri wa sutezu"*
—Miyamoto Musashi
Musashi's master swordsmanship inspired Lance White to view the katana as the superior weapon, as Musashi stated the blade is the truest guide to the way of the warrior.

Star Boisen, Deus Rex and Misako Takumi became practitioners of his special style of swordsmanship, Niten Ichi-ryū.

## Abilities

* **Peak Human Condition:** Miyamoto Musashi's physical ability surpassed even that of a gold-medal Olympic athlete. He had good reflexes; as a child, he once dodged a knife thrown at him by his father.

*"I have trained in the way of strategy since my youth, and at the age of thirteen I fought a duel for the first time. My opponent was called Arima Kihei, a sword adept of the Shinto ryū, and I defeated him. At the age of sixteen I defeated a powerful adept by the name of Akiyama, who came from Tajima Province. At the age of twenty-one I went up to Kyōtō and fought duels with several adepts of the sword from famous schools, but I never lost."*
—Miyamoto Musashi in *The Book of Five Rings*
* **Master Martial Artist:** Miyamoto Musashi was an extraordinary martial artist who was taught the fighting arts by his father and was a quick learner. He knew Okinawan Karate, despite the fact that he thought the martial art was child's play. He won his first duel at the age of thirteen, beating his opponent to death with a quarterstaff. Miyamoto later passed on his knowledge of combat to his adoptive son.
	+ **Sword Mastery:** Musashi was the most skilled swordsman in the world, renowned for being a practitioner of Kenjutsu and the founder of Niten Ichi-ryū. He was considered to be a Kensei, or a sword saint. His father taught him swordsmanship at a young age and he continued to train on his own. As a teenager, he quickly defeated Yoshioka Seijuro, the top swordsman of Kyoto's most prestigious school of swordsmanship, as well as his brother, Yoshioka Denshichiro, with his bokken. He also killed the latter's son, Matashichiro, after being set up to be ambushed. He was inspired to create his dual-wielding sword art after he heard of Shishido Baiken, a master of Kusarigamajutsu. He later defeated a monk's finest student who fought with a lance but could not gain the upper hand on him in both of their duels. The shogun invited him to teach at Edo castle, but he declined. Before returning home, he dueled and killed Sasaki Kojiro, a samurai master of the nodachi and his toughest opponent yet, with a sharpened ore to the throat. He wielded his wooden sword against the Toyotomi clan. Hosokawa Tadatoshi wanted Miyamoto to instruct his men in his way of fighting with two swords. He was undefeated in his record of 61 duels. Musashi claimed a sword was just a convenient tool to use.
* **Meditation:** Musashi learned to meditate from his Buddhist uncle.

## Equipment

*"The katana blade holds the soul of steel, and is the truest guide to the warrior's way."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
* **Bokken:**
* **Musashi Masamune:**
* **Quarterstaff:**

## Relationships

* Miyamoto Munisai † - Father
* Mother †
* Toshiko † - Step-Mother
* Dorin † - Uncle
* Miyamoto Shirota † - Brother
* Miyamoto Mikinosuke † - Adoptive Son
* Miyamoto Iori † - Adoptive Son

Allies* Mizuno Katsunari † - Student
* Nakagawa Shimanosuke † - Fellow Soldier
* Ogasawara Tadazane † - Daimyo
* Hosokawa Tadatoshi †
* Tadashima Akiyama † - Opponent
* Yoshioka Seijuro † - Opponent and Victim
* Yoshioka Denshichiro † - Opponent and Victim
* Yoshioka Matashichiro † - Opponent and Victim
* Okuzōin Dōei † - Opponent
* Shishido Baiken † - Opponent
* Musō Gonnosuke † - Opponent
* Hayashi Osedo † - Opponent
* Tsujikaze Tenma † - Opponent
* Sasaki Kojirō/Ganryū/Demon of the Western Provinces † - Opponent and Victim
* Miyake Gunbei † - Opponent

## Quotes

*"Do nothing which is of no use."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"Generally speaking, the way of the warrior is resolute acceptance of death."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"Perception is strong and sight weak. In strategy it is important to see distant things as if they were close and to take a distanced view of close things."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"From one thing, know ten thousand things."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"You can only fight the way you practice."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"The long sword should be wielded broadly, and the companion sword closely. This is the first thing to realize."*
—Miyamoto Musashi
*"You should not have any special fondness for a particular weapon, or anything else, for that matter. Too much is the same as not enough."*
—Miyamoto Musashi