MIYAMOTO MUSASHI

Day 4,770, 12:04 • Published in Croatia Austria • by Ludi Deda


Miyamoto Musashi
It’s hard to summarize at least part of Miyamoto Musashi’s life.
Miyamoto Musashi was born as Shinmen Takezo (March 12, 1584 - June 13, 1645), was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became famous through stories of his unique double-edged sword and record in his 61 duels. He is considered Kensei, the Japanese saint of swords. He is the founder of the fencing school Niten Ichi-ryū or Nito Ichi-ryū, and in recent years he has written the Book of Five Rings - Go Rin No Sho and Dokkōdō (The Way of Solitude). Miyamoto Musashi Budokan Training Center, located in Ōhara-chō (Mimasaka), Okayama Prefecture, Japan, was erected in honor of his name and legend

He had his first duel at the age of thirteen against the much older Arim Kihei, who was called the witch of the sword of Shinto rust. At the age of sixteen he defeated the famous master Akiyama of the province of Tajima. At the age of twenty-one he goes to Kyōtō and fights in duels with several sword artists from famous schools, but he never loses.
Duel with Sasaki Kojiro
Sasaki Kojiro was one of the most famous swordsmen of Japan at that time, overbearing and above all arrogant. He challenged Musashi to a duel.
The duel was scheduled for April 13, 1612, when Musashi was about 30 years old on the island of Ganryūjima. Sasaki Kojirō was known for wearing an oversized nodachi (Japanese big sword, O or Dai Katana) which people called a "clothesline" because of its length. He was nicknamed the "Demon of the Western Provinces." Kojirō arrived at the agreed time and waited for hours; Musashi overslept. Musashi intentionally comes late as a sign of disrespect. As he sailed across the Straits of Kanmon, Musashi used a paddle knife to make a boken (a wooden samurai sword). Kojirō angrily threw the cover of the katana (saya) into the sea. Musashi further provoked him by saying he would never have a chance to use the sword again.
The duel lasted a few minutes as long as a century, as they stood almost motionless facing each other, measuring themselves. At the same time, they launched an attack and, according to tradition, swung their swords almost simultaneously. They stood motionless for a few seconds and everyone present at the duel eagerly watched What Happened. Musashi made a chiburi (ritual shaking of blood from the blade) with his boken, and Kojirō collapsed dead with a crushed head.
Teachings
Musashi spent many years studying Buddhism and fencing. He was an excellent artist, sculptor and calligrapher. Records also show that he had architectural skills.
In Musashi’s latest book - THE BOOK OF THE FIVE RINGS (Go Rin no Sho), Musashi seems to have a very philosophical approach to looking at the “craft of war”: “There are five ways people go through life: as gentlemen, warriors, farmers, artisans and merchants.
His view of religion is clarified through the sentence, "Respect the Buddha and the gods without counting on their help."
Musashi created and perfected the technique of kenjutsu with two swords called niten'ichi ("two heavens as one") or nitōichi ("two swords as one") In this technique the swordsman uses both katana and wakizashi at the same time. Jutte techniques were taught to him by his father - jutte was often used in battle paired with a sword; the jutte would parry and neutralize the enemy weapon while the sword struck or the trainee would grapple with the enemy. Today, Musashi’s style of fencing is known as Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū. Musashi was also an expert in throwing weapons. He often threw his short sword, and Kenji Tokitsu believes that the shuriken methods for wakizashi were the secret techniques of Niten Ichi Ryu.
On May 20, 2000, at the initiative of Sensei Tadashi Chihara, Miyamoto Musashi Budokan was inaugurated the day after Miyamoto Musashi’s birthday It was built in Ōhara-Chou in Mimasaka Province, the birthplace of the samurai. Dedicated to martial arts, Budokan is the source of all Japanese official traditional schools of fencing and kendo. Practically, historically and culturally it is a blend of martial arts in the heart of traditional Japan dedicated to Musashi.
KAMIDANA (altar) of Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi

Teško je ukratko napisati bar dio života Miyamoto Musashija.

Miyamoto Musashi je rođen kao Shinmen Takezo (12. ožujka 1584.- 13. lipnja 1645.), bio je japanski mačevaoc, filozof , strateg, književnik i rōnin. Musashi je, kako su ga često jednostavno znali, postao poznat kroz priče o svom jedinstvenom mačevanju s dvostrukom oštricom i rekordu u svojih 61 dvoboja. Smatra se Kenseijem, japanskim svecem mačeva. Osnivač je škole mačevanja Niten Ichi-ryū ili Nito Ichi-ryū, a u posljednjim je godinama napisao Knjigu pet prstenova - Go Rin No Sho) i Dokkōdō (Put samoće) . Trening centar Miyamoto Musashi Budokan, smješten u Ōhara-chō (Mimasaka), prefektura Okayama, Japan, podignut je u čast njegovog imena i legende.

Prvi dvoboj je imao s trinaest godina protiv puno starijeg Arima Kihei, koga su zvali vještica mača šintoističkog rju. U šesnaestoj godini pobijedio je slavnog majstora Akiyama iz provincije Tajima. S dvadeset i jednom godinom odlazi u Kyōtō i bori se u dvobojima s nekoliko umjetnika mača iz poznatih škola, ali nikada nije izgubio.

Dvoboj sa Sasaki Kojirom
Sasaki Kojiro je bio jedan od najpoznatijih mačevaoca Japana tog vremena, prepotentan i nadasve bahat. Izazvao je Musashija na dvoboj.
Dvoboj je bio zakazan za 13. travnja 1612. godine, kada je Musashi imao otprilike 30 godina na otoku Ganryūjima. Sasaki Kojirō je bio poznat po tome što je nosio preveliki nodachi (japanski veliki mač, O ili Dai Katana) kojeg su ljudi zbog dužine nazivali "motkom za sušenje veša". Nosio je nadimak "Demon zapadnih provincija". Kojirō je stigao u dogovoreno vrijeme i čekao satima; Musashi je prespavao. Musashi namjerno dolazi kasno kao znak nepoštovanja. Dok je plovio preko tjesnaca Kanmon, Musashi je nožem od vesla napravio boken (drveni samurajski mač). Kojirō je ljuto bacio korice katana (saya)u more. Musashi ga je dodatno isprovocirao rekavši da više nikada neće imati priliku upotrijebiti mač.
Dvoboj je trajao nekoiko minuta dugih kao stoljeće, jer su gotovo nepomični stajali jedan nasuprot drugoga odmjeravajuči se. Istovremeno su krenuli u napad i po predaji gotovo istovremeno zamahnuli mačem. Stajali su nepomično nekoliko sekundi i svi prisutni dvoboju su s nestrpljenjem gledali Šta se dogodilo. Musashi je bokenom napravio chiburi (ritualno otresanje krvi s oštrice), a Kojirō se srušio mrtav smrskane glave.


Učenja
Musashi je proveo mnogo godina proučavajući budizam i mačevanje. Bio je izvrsni umjetnik, kipar i kaligraf. Zapisi također pokazuju da je imao arhitektonske vještine.
U posljednjoj Musashijevoj knjizi – KNJIGA PET PRSTENOVA (Go Rin no Sho), čini se da Musashi ima vrlo filozofski pristup gledanju na "ratni zanat": "Postoji pet načina na koje ljudi prolaze kroz život: kao gospoda, ratnici, poljoprivrednici, obrtnici i trgovci.
Njegov je stav o religiji razjašnjen kroz rečenicu: "Poštujte Budu i bogove ne računajući na njihovu pomoć."


Musashi je stvorio i usavršio tehniku kenjutsua s dva mača koja se naziva niten'ichi ("dva neba kao jedno") ili nitōichi ( "dva mača kao jedan") U ovoj tehnici mačevac istodobno koristi i katana i wakizashi. Jutte tehnike poučavao ga je njegov otac - jutte se često koristio u bitci uparen s mačem; jutte bi parirao i neutralizirao neprijateljsko oružje dok bi mač udarao ili se vježbač hvatao ukoštac s neprijateljem. Danas je Musashijev stil mačevanja poznat kao Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū. Musashi je također bio stručnjak za bacanje oružja. Često je bacao svoj kratki mač, a Kenji Tokitsu vjeruje da su shuriken metode za wakizashi bile tajne tehnike Niten Ichi Ryu.
Dana 20. svibnja 2000., na inicijativu Senseija Tadashija Chihare, Miyamoto Musashi Budokan svečano je otvoren dan nakon rođendana Miyamota Musashija Izgrađena je u Ōhara-Chou u provinciji Mimasaka, rodnom mjestu samuraja. Posvećen borilačkim vještinama, Budokan je izvor svih japanskih službenih tradicionalnih škola mačevanja i kendoa. Praktično, povijesno i kulturno to je spoj borilačkih disciplina u srcu tradicionalnog Japana posvećenog Musashiju.