Hello everyone. We've been experimenting with a bit of a podcast (a few people were asking for audio versions so they can get Biographics while doing other things)! Fair warning: none of these are new biographies, but rather me having a bit more of a free form chat around the script. I'd love to know what you think, if these are useful, wanted etc :). Thanks, Simon. Links: iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/biographics-history-one-life-at-a-time/id1450405839?mt=2 Sitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/biographics-history-one-life-at-a-time Website: biographics.blubrry.net/ RSS: biographics.blubrry.net/feed/podcast/ Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/6N9PS4QXF1D0OWPk0Sxtb4 Trolled people: open.spotify.com/show/0JzjzwJcRqFZ3BcACtahh8?si=MG5HSm1oT0GTNm_r8_HQcg
You left out the part where he would show up incredibly late to duels, making his opponent irrationally mad, and win by taking advantage of their frustration. His favorite weapon was not a sword or a spear, it was his opponents anger.
He was tall even by today's standards and a doctor who read Musashi's journal in modern times applied his medical knowledge of health complaints, aches and pains. The doctor recognized symptoms of pituitary disorder including cancer. Looks like Musashi was a pituitary giant.
Or hear me out here just a peasant doing peasent things living a peasent life and dying with his peasent rights...not everyone was a hero back then my guy and not everything should be romanticized.🤒💨💨💨
In meditation death has a different meaning. It means to transcend the physical and become a spiritual being. You must die of your physical nature so you can be reborn into your spiritual nature. Like swordsmanship, It can only be understood from experience.
@@wyattasher1761 I'm the weirdo who only knows what he's talking about. I have experienced death hysically and spiritually. The former was when my soul rose to my throat during heart failure. That was frightening. The latter was very slow and over many meditation sessions. I can't explain it now because I'm distracted. A word of advice wyatt. Try learning something so you don't make such a fool of yourself. You're easy meat out here. Unlike what you may think stupid is not cool.
@@zipodipo7923 dude my original comment was a joke if you actually read it. Life is a gift and I think we both know that so do yourself a favor and stop taking it so seriously, you don’t have to go out of your way to explain things to make yourself sound smart. It’s a waste of time because nobody cares. Especially when it’s a RU-vid comment section
Danyal It’s doing the unexpected. People expect you to do one thing but you end up doing the opposite throwing your opponent off guard and getting yourself the victory. It’s essentially the only principle of war, there is no principle.
Misdirection can be a very powerful tool in war. But the reason he brought that “staff” was because it was longer than the “washing pole” that Kojiro used. Kojiro used a weapon that was 6 feet long. Musashi saw that his boat oar was over 8 feet so he whittled it down and used it to beat Kojiro to death. At sufficient range
I don't know how much the events of ''vagabond'' (a manga about musashi) is reliable, but i like to think that he used a pole in order to reduce the number of deaths he caused.
@@ludovicroy8001 There are numerous reasons. Musashi preferred the use of two swords, but he recognized the versatility of a staff and the unassuming nature of a wooden sword, which he repeatedly demonstrated by beating fully armed opponents to death. So it was probably less a matter of handicapping himself for the sake of his opponents and likely something more grounded in simple pragmatism. We may never know for certain.
@@oldleatherhandsfriends4053 well, Munisai was a very accomplished fighter himself. The current emperor even awarded him the title of Invincible Under The Heaven. That is one lofty title.
I'm surprised you glossed over his unique fighting style of using 2 swords. The way he lays it out in his book is hilariously blunt and amazing. He basically says 'Why limit yourself to one sword? Get strong enough to wield 2; now you're twice as good."
Mostly, yes, or at least those that became popular in the western world. Even mainline fighting game characters, such as Street Fighter's Ryu, owes their origin to Musashi. Technically, they're mostly based on Mas Oyama, but the man himself had stated that he idolized Musashi to such an extent that he based his every action and decision to what he learned from The Book of Five Rings.
Not really. Jubei Yagyu and many other great swordsman often become the inspiration for the fictional swordsman. Musashi is one of the best, but not become the only swordsman that all fictional swordsman based on
Deividas Melnikas: I’m only halfway through the video but where is the honor in besting an opponent by stabbing them in the back or catching them off guard?
Do not confuse honour with ego! Most swordsmen including the samurai ware actually pretty self-centred sheep which is contradictory, non the less true. They deemed an act honourable only if it coexisted with their "belief", it was rare to non-existent to find a warrior that would have compassion for another warrior and even less so for the public. Most of the mutual feelings that warriors shared with one another ware of hate and despise. THEIR HONOUR is misinterpreted in today's times, 5:02 - 6:53 Yoshioka Clan was the raining clan in that period, they could not comprehend the fact that Miyamoto Musashi defeated 2 of their members including their best swordsmen Yoshioka Seijuro so the next honourable thing to do was obviously to attack Musashi in the woods like a pack of wolfs, only to "preserve" the honour of their clan..... On top of that Seppuku was not an honourable death it the "eyes" of logic, it was idiotic! In MY eyes a good balance of logic and empathy leads to respect that inherently paths the way to obtaining honour.
Ah man, you missed an important point about the Yoshioka duels. You made it sound like Musashi caught them off guard and bum rushed him. The real story was that Musashi was intentionally hours late to the duels, enraging his opponents and breaking their focus. The following day he showed up early and ambushed his would be assassins while they were leaving a building, forcing them to fight him a few at a time. In my opinion these were the most important duels he had because it showed the kind of tactician he really was. That is the reason I love Musashi. Not only was he incredibly skilled but he was completely original in his approach to combat.
@@dravenocklost4253call it what you want, but its what he did and it worked. Even Conor McGregor was using the late tactic to rile his opponents up in pre fights. If you think its dishonorable, then you've never had to strategize an unlikely victory. And as for legitimacy, yes I've read he did that on literally all other accounts but this one. Even forgot my favorite story where he hid in a tree for an entire night, assassinated a kid who was pursuing him with an army, then fended off the entire army by using the environment to create chaos and escape. It's not dishonorable that he had the patience to wait the entire night for the perfect opportunity to strike, at a location he chose. Honorable in that case would've been guaranteeing his death.
The plot thickens. The first Yoshioka he fought was the one his father defeated. The third Yoshioka he beheaded was a 12 yr old boy. Japanese custom at the time dictated that Musashi take over as the Teacher of the school upon defeating the head teacher. But each time Musashi just walked off insulting the Yoshioka clan further. Also, the Yoshioka clan wasn't a random clan either. The head of the clan that Musashi's father defeated, was the official instructor to the Shogun.
Anyone else on a Japanese Samurai history/mythology binge because of “Ghost of Tsushima” ? I’m so in love with learning about their culture even more now.
@@aurourus6894 it's not that ineffective as even tho uncommon in Japan duel wielding was a viable technique used to not only having the ability to parry swords but to attack at the same time how ever the sword that would parry had a shorter blade than the other and use to stab if really close.... although we all know a sheild and spear is better
He's the only samurai who goes down in japanese history as second sword style user. in other word no one have ever beem able to use two sword style perfectly except for him.
First off all there's no such thing as a perfect swordsman. Main point, people have been using paired weapons since weapons were invented. It's only a rarely used style because it's damned hard to use effectively. There's no way Musashi was the only person in the history of Japanese swordsmanship to use a second weapon.
Musashi: The first protagonist to attack while is enemies are monologuing. Also I love how he frequently best his opponents who had swords by going Le Bonk.
@@Deffine yep arquebusses were pretty popular, being used effectively by both samurai and common soldiers Altough im not sure if there were actually muskets though, pretty sure those are a little bit more modern so most likely we’de have seen matchlocks and arquebusses
@@koekiejam18 I was just talking as an ignoramus on the subject, because i didnt bother to look up the name of the gun they used and thought it looked like muskets.
He used Niten Ichyru. It is a style he developed and is an anything goes style. *HOWEVER* many of his duels are shrouded in mystery, and the majority are thought to have never occurred at all, those that did were greatly embellished. Kinda like Bruce Lee.
Musashi used the oar to fight Saski since he knew it was slightly longer than the odachi, so his blow would land first. He's a fan of gaining an advantage using unconventional means; whatever it takes to win.
As someone who took enough interest in Musashi to travel to Japan to visit places he stayed and the cave in Kumamoto I can say this is hands down the best bio of his life I've ever seen, top notch!!!!
That's because much of it is. Musashi was so successful that he became a legend after his death, and as a result many details about his life have been altered or embellished over the years due to lack of reliable sources. There is a lot of disagreement about what what his life was ACTUALLY like vs the way he is portrayed in media. For example, most people know about him because of a Manga called vagabond or a 1920s novel called Musashi. These books are very popular but also mostly fictional. Authors tell his story like a fairy tale for dramatic effect, changing details for fun. What really happened to him particularly during his early life, is not known for certain by anyone living. Musashi never wrote a complete autobiography so the truth is largely lost.
@@ponternal disagree. At least there were people with different agendas who wrote about them, including Europeans. Japanese also have a much greater tendency of failing to keep accurate records (like the Emperor lineage being 2000+ years old. The oldest actual records of an emperor are from the 6th century AD. And for humor let’s say WWll “incidents” too 😆
Anyone interested in Miyamoto Musashi, I highly recommend the manga “Vagabond,” which is a highly artistic and beautiful manga about Musashi by Takeiko Inoue. The moment you open up the first page, you will be shocked and thrilled by the beauty and craftsmanship of the manga artist. He is also the creator of “Slamdunk” if that means anything to you.
My legend of a wrestling coach that I took for granted introduced all of us to this man. At least I read up on him. He was a masterclass swordsman that won duels against countless renowned warriors. He never fought on anybody else's terms, and was known for winning with a boat oar. And I'd argue that he was more proud of his amateur art and poetry than his kills.
I first learned of Musashi a few years ago when I read the Book of Five Rings. I recall being surprised the variety of underhanded tactics he apparently employed in his many duels. He did not seem particularly "honourable" compared to other samurai... and I believe that was a key advantage that lead to why he was successful as he was. Obviously he was still extremely skilled, but his mentality for combat is what made him special, and the master of his time.
We aren't talking about some mythical figure before recorded history, where you can just BS whatever story you want. Japan kept written records. You want us to believe your ghost story over the written historical records of an entire nation?
swave158 Any inspiration for Il Principe, has nothing whatsoever with the author's ultimate purposes in writing the work. I dont know why you even bother to make such a weak correlation; Machiavelli's political and philosophical motivations is public knowledge, and has little to do with what you are insinuating..
swave158 Why are you suddenly reversing course and defending samurai now? I thought you were just belittling Musashi? At any rate, I have no fantasies about samurai "chivalry", so I have no idea what you are replying at; historically the samurai are more well-armed mafia than whatever movies say they are, just like European knights in fact. That little samurai fairy tale in your post is kind of laughable.
Musashi was not a samurai as you put... He was a RONIN samurai for the most part of his fighting years. The conducts of ronins and non-ronin were different.
“Instead of using a blade or anything similar to one, you must use a giant stick to beat your opponent to death so they can’t challenge you again.”-Musashi Miyamoto “Five Rings”
Even though he was famous for teaching the two sword style, he preferred the quarterstaff. Probably because the quarterstaff is possibly the deadliest melee weapon ever devised. A warrior hopped up on adrenaline and righteous anger can shrug off cuts and stabs for a while, and armor is designed to stop blades, but a 5-6 foot staff can be swung rather easily with enough force to break bones, even through armor. Broken legs, backs and skulls will keep any creature down, guaranteed. Quarterstaves are also easy to make, even on a battlefield, and can withstand much more wear and tear than a steel sword can, especially the Japanese swords of the time, because Japanese steel was pretty much crap. Sure they were sharp, but the steel had so many impurities in it that even a master crafted sword could develop fissures and cracks, which would be a death blow for a blade on the battlefield. And I don't care what animes say, a katana won't cut through a 2" thick piece of wood in one stroke. It just won't happen.
This, but people just want to jerk the fact that he used 2 swords. In reality, you can look at the curriculum of his school and see that dual-wielding was a very small part of it. He liked his sturdy staff/bokuto.
You're not wrong. But samurai swords used the folding metal method which made them stronger than most swords at the time. You should also know that samurai were trained to use the sword in battle by avoiding blade to blade fighting. They jus went in there and cut body parts and onto the next. Having cuts in your blade showed you were less skilled.
Yeah, plate armor says hi to both katana and staff. With your staff, I raise you a pole arm like a halberd or preferably, a bec de corbin. Not knocking Musashi, dude was legit, but if he could have had plate, he would have taken it on the battlefield.
@@KingKida22 The folding was to deal with how bad the available steel was (and to drive out impurities). It made them better, but the steel was still garbage. Wootz and later (but earlier than Musashi's time) European steels were vastly superior. This ignores the crappy balance of Japanese swords. They handle like a sharpened crowbar. Sure, that makes for "great cutting power," but it's not really ideal in combat because it's slow.
I recently visited a museum in Greece that had Japanese weapons and armour, and it was incredible. The quality and time taken to make was astonishing. It even had small daggers for female assassins.
Well this is one of the biggest legendary yet true stories in Japanese history. It's such a large part of their culture that even 450 years past tense it influences modern artists to this day. Much in the way that Shakespeare and Cervantes influence western stories. Except those were fictional, and Musashi was as real as it gets.
For those who don't know, fighting with 2 swords almost never happened in history. They get in the way of each other and can leave you very open. This is why he would be considered so special
To be fair, he fought with 1 longer sword and 1 shorter sword, which discards some of the weakness attributed with holding 2 swords of the same length.
the leverage and parry strength of having both grips on one sword is outstanding, that is why it's hard to give up a hand for another blade, but now you have 2 kensens (two sword-lines) it's extremely difficult, especially against an opponent that can overpower your grip on your blade.
Two of the greatest writers of military strategy are Miyamoto Musashi and an even older one who inspired him as well as many generals and businessmen today: Sun Tzu.
This man is the reason I came to Japan and hence now have a family here, I even have a traditional Japanese style tatto of him on my arm, god bless Miyamoto Musashi 🙇
I like the story and the end of act 2 was fucking badass. But I feel like it kind of drags a bit sometimes... maybe it’s that I play it for such a long time and take a break idk. Jin is a fucking badass though
@Franky Singh I don't think you realize that human height has exploded in the past 150 years during industrialization. Have you stood next to a suit of armor at a museum? I remember having this image of knights as being towering figures, but I went to the Chicago Art Institute for an exhibit when I was 12 (tbf I was already at 6 feet tall, but still) and I was almost a half-foot taller than most of the suits of armor
Greatest swordsman ever,taught the art of fighting with two swords,but basically beat to death everyone who faced him with a stick(Bokuto)Perhaps thats what he was doing in the forest,if you can beat a tree to death with a stick,the rest is easy.Enjoyed the video
He didn't kill all his opponents, it depended on the circumstances of their duels, two of his opponents in facts survived meeting him twice, one a monk (mentioned in the video) another a stick fighter whos name elude me for now.
My wife is Japanese and her family line heirs back in history to the early Samurai in the Kyushu areas. She loves history and was glued to watching this video (and others). She wants to say thank you sir for posting these. 🙏🌸
This is one of the few channels I really enjoy the content of. Tifo, top tenz, visual politik are good but I feel this is simons best content. I enjoy channels who produce this well researched and produced but infrequent content. Too bad youtube likes 1 10 minute video daily...
Also, what I've learned from my senpai is that, nito ryu is not actually the way of fighting with two katanas but using a katana and a wakizashi, katana for striking, and wakizashi for guarding.
I have tried to imagine the unbridled fury, the balls out, nothing held back charge of a wild samurai...it had to be terrifying! The fact that he ignored all the conventions of challenges and duels, must have instilled horrified disbelief in his opponents in such a controlled and stately society.
The 1950's produced a 3 movie series called Samurai 1/2/3. They were often called Japan's Gone With the Wind. The 3 movies were about the life of Miyamoto Musashi and they are GREAT. Great acting, great music and super great photography. The fight scene on the beach with the boat oar is unforgettable.
Great work as usual guys. I'd recommend The book "Musashi" by Eiji Yoshikawa as a fantastic read for anyone who wants to more about this legendary swordsman. I'd also love to see a video done on Cyrano de Bergerac a man whom I feel could be described as more than capable with a rapier....
I'm fascinated with Musashi and almost visited the cave where he wrote the Book of Five Rings while I was in Kyushu but sadly I didn't have enough time
Extended Origin: Years after his death his soul was summoned by a female witch into a genetically modified body created by modern scientists. He would then have multiple duels against the strongest man in the world and his son, the leader of Japanese Yakuza, a chinese kung fu prodigy, and a prehistoric dinosaur hunting caveman, and much more.
I believe the saying is something to the effect of "Do not fear the young warriors. Fear the ones who are able to grow old, for they have survived all the world has thrown at them."
although many argue that his most famous duel was cheating, I would say he only played fair in that one, Sasaki Kojirō ordered his students to ambush Miyamoto if he was defeated. Being late on purpose (so he can retreat safely with the tide and avoid assignation), using customized wooden sword is nothing more than teeth for teeth.
Yea, he knew the odds were stacked against him and that they were going to cheat/gang up on him anyway if he won... so he used some psychological tactics/warfare, which pretty much every country throughout history has used at least at some point or another. It's life and death, it's war, after all.
One of my favorites in this series. You didn''t mention that Musashsi's legend due to some of his early battles, particulerly the one against an entire school of esteemed swordsman that he won he was partially responsible for the term 'Melee', meaning 'One against a thousand'. That alone shows how well respected he was, he was seen as able to defeat a thousand men in single combat. Though he never faced those odds (without back-up) the fact that he was so feared and respected was not something to forget. Besides, he did essentially break a clan that held the reputation of producing the best swordsman in Japan by swift killing its top two students, then butchering a sizeable portion of the rest of the clan when they came seeking revenge. He did manage to escape that battle during the confusion but estimates were that he had single highhandedly killed or crippled at least 100 of them before vanishing. Either way, their honor was damaged beyond repair and Mushashi's legend only grew. In conclusion... 1. Book of the five rings is essential reading for anyone interesting in fencing or the martial arts in general. 2. Its also required reading for anyone who wants to make it in the world of business as lessons in warfare can prove invaluable in the boardroom. Thats why I make my employees read 'Book of the Five Rings', 'Sun Tzu's Art of War', and Machiavelli's 'The Prince (satire against the Borgia family I know, but that doesn't diminish the excellent teachings within).
You MAKE them read? Are they getting paid for it? Can they read it while at work? Why not just rest, instead of referencing to other people's work why not just perfect your craft? .
I haven't read "Book of the Five Rings" but all three of them was made very long ago, and so very hard to read. Don't misunderstood, but the difference in culture and literature makes it very hard to take usable info from most of the ideas. I suggest to read "The 48 laws of power" instead by Robert Greene. It is written based from other notable figures like Machiavelli and Suntzu. Meanwhile, they're already ideas that you could use today which makes it a little bit easier of a read.
Thanks Mind smash you have also helped me overcome my fear. I fought someone who was trying to hurt me at my house and got very violent and aggressive while we we so called sparing. I used self defense, he kept asking why I looked paranoid or nervous. He is no friend. He wants other things besides the sparring. I'm not like that. Did I do the right thing?
might be disappointed on that one. he was a samurai and though he did implement spys (Iga) they mostly acted as intelligence gatherers who were former farmers, and would act as merchants to gather info but rarely if ever fought or performed assassinations. because some of his late life is uncertain due to gaps in history text a lot of superstition built up around his exploits thus his depiction in a lot of media as a supernatural ninja. not that his story would be boring, but like Nobunaga their fictional depiction is so vastly different from reality most cannot accept the disillusionment. though that may also show how good they were with their own propaganda at the time as well.
I’ve been watching one of your other channels “Casual Criminalist” for a few years now and absolutely love your content. Today I randomly saw a Facebook real about this samurai, and decided to search his name up on RU-vid. Low and behold I find a video from one of my favorite content creators on a completely different channel than the one I’m familiar with, and turns out five years ago he covered this random samurai i happened to Learn about just today in 2023. Life is strange and awesome
Plot twist: He killed Sasaki with a gun and beats his wound so badly that the Bullet wound can't be recognised and flee so that he won't be questioned.
