First duel

"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 ryu, and I defeated him. At the age of sixteen I defeated a powerful adept by the name of Akiyama, who came from the prefecture of Tajima. At the age of twenty-one I went up to Kyoto and fought duels with several adepts of the sword from famous schools, but I never lost." -Musashi Miyamoto, Go rin no sho

According to the introduction of The Book of Five Rings, Musashi states that his first successful duel was at the age of thirteen, against a lesser-skilled Samurai named Arima Kihei who fought using the Shintō-ryū style, founded by Tsukahara Bokuden (b. 1489, d. 1571). The main source of the duel is the Hyoho senshi denki ("Anecdotes about the Deceased Master"). Summarized, its account goes as follows:

In 1596, Musashi was 13, and Arima Kihei, who was travelling to hone his art, posted a public challenge in Hirafuku-mura. Musashi wrote his name on the challenge. A messenger came to Dorin's temple, where Musashi was staying, to inform Musashi that his duel had been accepted by Kihei. Dorin was shocked by this, and tried to beg off in Musashi's name, but when he asked Kihei to drop the duel, he was adamant that the only way Kihei's honor could be cleared was if Musashi apologized to him when the duel was scheduled. So when the time set for the duel arrived, the monk began apologizing for Musashi, who merely leaped into the ring with a piece of wood shaped like a sword, shouting a challenge to Kihei. Kihei attacked with a wakizashi, but Musashi threw Kihei, and while Kihei tried to get up, Musashi struck him between the eyes and then beat him to death.

The duel is odd for a number of reasons, not least of which is why Musashi was permitted to duel Arima, whether the apology was a ruse, and why Arima was there in the first place.

Travels and duels

In 1599, three years later, Musashi left his village, apparently at the age of 15 (according to the Tosakushi, "the registry of the Sakushu region", although the Tanji Hokin hikki says he was 16 years old in 1599)^[1]. His family possessions such as furniture, weapons, genealogy, and other records were left with his sister and her husband, one Hirao Yoemon.

He spent his time travelling and engaging in duels, such as with an adept called Akiyama from the Tajima province.

In 1600, a war began between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa. Musashi apparently fought on the side of the Toyotomi's "Army of the West", as the Shinmen clan (to which his family owed allegiance) had allied with them. Specifically, he participated in the attempt to take Fushimi castle by assault in July 1600, in the defense of the besieged Gifu castle in August of the same year, and finally in the famed Battle of Sekigahara. Some doubt has been cast on this final battle, as the Hyoho senshi denki has Musashi saying he is "no lord's vassal" and refusing to fight with his father (in Lord Ukita's battalion) in the battle. Omitting the Battle of Sekigahara from the list of Musashi's battles would seem to contradict the Go rin no sho's statement that Musashi fought in six battles, however.

Regardless, the Army of the West lost decisively, and Shinmen Sokan fled to Kyushu province. It has been suggested that Musashi fled as well, and spent some time training on Mt. Hikosan.

After the Battle of Sekigahara, Musashi disappears from the records; the next mention of him has him arriving in Kyoto at the age of 20 (or 21), where he famously began a series of duels against the Yoshioka school.

Musashi's father had fought against an adept of the Yoshioka school in his youth, receiving the title of "Best in Japan" as mentioned earlier. The Yoshioka school (descended from either the Shinto ryu or the Kyo hachi ryu) was the foremost of the eight major schools of martial arts in Kyoto, the "Kyo ryu"/"schools of Kyoto". Legendarily, these eight schools were founded by eight monks taught by a nigh-mythical martial artist resident on the sacred mountain Kurama. At some point the Yoshioka family also began to make a name for itself not merely in the art of the sword but also in the textile business and for a dye peculiar to them. They gave up teaching swordsmanship in 1614 when they were in the Army of the West against Tokugawa Ieyasu, in the Battle of Osaka, which they lost. But in 1604, when Musashi began dueling them, they were still preeminent. There are various accounts of the duels- the Yoshioka family documents claim that there was only one, against Yoshioka Kenpo, which Musashi lost.

Musashi challenged Yoshioka Seijuro, master of the Yoshioka school, to a duel. Seijuro accepted, and they agreed to a duel outside Rendaji Temple on 8 March 1604. Musashi arrived late, greatly irritating Seijuro. They faced off, and Musashi struck a single blow, per their agreement. This blow struck Seijuro on the left shoulder, knocking him out, and crippling his left arm. He apparently passed on the headship of the school to his equally accomplished brother, Yoshioka Denshichiro, who promptly challenged Musashi to get revenge. The duel variously took place outside Kyoto or in a temple called Sanjusangen-do. Denshichiro wielded a staff reinforced with steel rings (or possibly with a ball-and-chain attached), while Musashi arrived late a second time. Musashi disarmed Denshichiro and defeated him. This second victory outraged the Yoshioka clan, whose head was now the 12 year old Yoshioka Matashichiro. They assembled a force of archers, riflemen, and swordsmen, and challenged Musashi to a duel outside Kyoto, near Ichijoji temple. Musashi broke his previous habit of arriving late, and came to the temple hours early. Hidden, Musashi assaulted the force, killing Matashichiro, and escaping while being attacked by dozens of their supporters. With the death of Matashichiro, that branch of the Yoshioka school was destroyed.

After Musashi left Kyoto, some sources recount that he travelled to Hozoin in Nara, to duel with and learn from the monks there, widely known as experts with lance weapons. There he settled down at Enkoji Temple in Banshu, where he taught the head monk (one Tada Hanzaburo's) brother. Hanzaburo's grandson would found the Ensu ryu based on the Enmei Ryu teachings and iaijutsu.

From 1605 to 1612 he traveled extensively all over Japan in Musha-Shugyo, a warrior pilgrimage during which he honed his skills with duels. He was said to have used bokken or bokuto in actual duels. Most of the duels from these times did not try to take the opponent's life unless both agreed, but in most duels it is known that Musashi did not care which weapon the other was using - such was his mastery of the way of strategy.

In 5th of the 9th month of 1607, a document purports to be a transmission by Miyamoto Munisai of his teachings, suggesting Munisai lived at least to this date. In this year, Musashi departed Nara for Edo, in the meanwhile dueling (and killing) a kusari gama practitioner named Shishido Baiken. In Edo, Musashi defeated Muso Gonnosuke, who would found an influential staff school, the Shinto Muso Ryu.

Musashi is said to have fought over 60 duels and was never defeated, although this is a conservative estimate, most likely not accounting deaths by his hand in major battles. Japanese historians seem to believe that he could not have won all of them alone, without some assistance from his students; although this is unlikely because of the sheer mastery Musashi had above his students, particularly noting that most students found his techniques difficult, even as he states in his own books.

In 1611, Musashi began practicing zazen at the Myoshinji Temple, where he met Nagaoka Sado, vassal to Lord Hosokawa Tadaoki; Tadaoki was a powerful lord who had received the fief of northern Kyushu after the Battle of Sekigahara. Munisai had moved to northern Kyushu and became Tadaoki's teacher, leading to the possibility that Munisai introduced the two. Nagaoka proposed a duel with a certain adept named Sasaki Kojiro. Tokitsu believes that the duel was politically motivated, a matter of consolidating Tadaoki's control over his fief.

Duel with Sasaki Kojiro

Main article: Sasaki Kojiro

In April 14, 1612 aged approximately 28, Musashi had his most famous duel with Sasaki Kojiro who wielded a nodachi (a type of long two-handed sword). Musashi came late to the appointed place the remote island Funajimu, north of Kyushu, and unkempt. The duel was short and Musashi killed his opponent with a bokken that he had made from an oar (this may be related to the Okinawan weapon known as the shureido eaku^{[citation needed]}) to be longer than the nodachi, an impressive feat by the standards of any samurai or swordsman.

Musashi's late arrival is controversial. Sasaki's outraged supporters thought it was dishonorable and disrespectful while many others thought it was a fair way to unnerve his opponent. Another theory is that Musashi timed the hour of his arrival to match the turning of the tide. The tide carried him to the island then it turned by the time the fight ended. After his victory, Musashi immediately jumped back in his boat and his flight from Sasaki's vengeful allies was thus helped by the turning tide.

He briefly established a fencing school that same year.