Miyamoto Musashi: Arms and Life (TOYO Illustrated Editions)

Miyamoto Musashi, the most revered and celebrated swordsman in Japanese history, has been the subject of many works, yet few have stuck to the original sources. Even fewer have delved into the emotional turmoil that drove him to become the very best in his field. This biography, the first of its kind, aims to address these shortcomings and take advantage of a wealth of neglected or newly uncovered material.

Drawing on extensive research, William de Lange sheds light on controversial or unknown events in the swordsman's life. This includes the source of his troubled relationship with his father, his whereabouts during the Battle of Sekigahara, his unheralded heroism in the summer siege of Osaka castle, and his adventures in the years that followed. Readers will also learn about Musashi's first opponent in a duel at the age of twelve, his destruction of the reigning Yoshioka sword clan, and his meticulously orchestrated showdown with the great Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryu Island. The biography also covers the development of his Book of Five Rings, which is the summation of his martial philosophy.

Musashi, who surpassed his teachers and peers, created a school of swordsmanship unprecedented in Japanese martial history: the art of fighting with two swords, known as Niten Ichi-ryu. Throughout his life, a yearning for respect was overshadowed by his disdain of authority, an attraction to the mayhem of battle competed with a joy in the contemplation of beauty, and a ceaseless quest for perfection in his art denied him the emotional ties for which he longed. The complex portrait of Musashi that emerges here is a far cry from the one-dimensional caricature in film and folklore.

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