Miyamoto Musashi

>>3180478
He is revered in Japan? I thought they were more like "wow, pretty cool guy huh?"

In my opinion the greatest duelist in Japanese history.

>>3180487
IIRC, top businessmen in Japan sees him like how they see Sun Tzu

>>3180478
Because he won.
Then he wrote a book about him winning.

>>3180493
What did he won exactly? Sure the fight with Sasaki Kojiro is amazing and all but other samurai are even better like Benkei or Nasu no Yoichi, but why aren't they getting the spotlight

>>3180525
Oh no you don't understand. He won. Like a lot. Like winning so much you get tired of it winning.

>>3180478
He was the duelist with more confirmed victories. He wrote a cool book.

Because he wrote some good books and a really fun historical fiction novel was written about his life.

>>3180478
He just captured the popular imagination. probalby because his students wrote a book about him and then a novel was written.

you can rest assured among Japanese sword art practitioners he is just one of many admirable swordsmen.

He wasn't even regarded as the best swordsman in Japan during his life, a Yagyu held that title, He might have been considered the best in Kyushu.

>>3180862
He never fought against Togo Chui.

>>3180865
Perhaps not, but he did take challenges from several other prominent swordsman in the area.

The strength of a style today or in the bakumatsu is not necessarily a reflection of how strong its founder was, being that the scope and severity of training is often changed generation to generation.

>>3180862
This is the correct answer, in times of Musashi the best swordman of all Japan was considered Yagyū Munetoshi and later his son Munenori.

>>3180525
He quite literally always won. Every single fight. Despite being a part of a warrior culture that fetishized dying in battle he lived to old age and became a docile painter because he just couldn't be killed.

>>3182247
To be fair most of his fights were probably not to the death but to surrender or incapacitation. In one of his later duels they other party used a stalk of bamboo as a makeshift shinai.

fighting like that can still be dangerous, since there is no guarantee that a hard blow with wood or bamboo will not cause bodily harm, but the intent was probably to prove skill rather than kill or maim.

During the later part of his life when he was a sword instructor, rules were beginning to be levied on challenge matches and duels. fights with live blades began to require the approval of the local daimyo.

File: 08GGkhC.jpg (156KB, 1280x720px) Image search: [Google]

156KB, 1280x720px

>>3180478
Cause he wrote a book and it caught on.

>>3180478
He wrote a book, that's really it. If Jubei Yagyu wrote a book about himself and his feats we might be considering him as the greatest samura but instead Jubei disappears for long periods of time while Musashi had his autobiography to play himself (whether exaggerated or not).

>>3183269
Musashi was also kind of a cheater. Throwing his sword, starting duels before the other opponent was prepared, etc. His victories are due as much to mind games and being able to fight dirty as they are to skill.

>>3183444
>Throwing your sword
There is nothing wrong with throwing your sword.

>>3183424
His book was probably written by his students based on his stories and teachings. He probably did not write it himself.

It is interesting however how is book shits on many of the popular sword schools at the time, either directly or indirectly

OP here, what inspired Musashi to adopt the dual-wielding style that he is so famous for and what is it main purpose for? Disorienting the enemy or for parrying?

>>3185921
Supposedly watching Portuguese using rapier and main gauche, probably just decided to try it out from boredom

>>3185937
Did he ever even seen a Portuguese in his life? Wasn't Musashi living during the Sakoku period?

>>3185984
Sakoku only came into effect when he was in his 50's

>>3185921
>>3185937
As far as I know this is incorrect. He was not the first person to use two swords and two sword techniques predate both his birth and the arrival of the Portuguese

>>3187069
Ok, so where did he got the idea from then?

>>3183444
that's a pretty important lesson in of itself to be fair

>>3189052
Like I said, as far as know two sword technique existed before he was born,he could have picked it up anywhere.