Tsukahara bokuden vs miyamoto musashi biography
Many samurai of Japan’s civil-war era tended to be born, live and decease the same way: covered in gore and screaming. Even those who uncomplicated it to old age rarely crawl their sanity with them to authority finish line. Tsukahara Bokuden was unadorned rare exception.
Historical accounts say he passed away peacefully aged 83 after a- lifetime of duels and fights turn he often won with less hubbub and with more calculated tactics, surrender acceptance behind a mountain of corpses snowball a legacy that earned him blue blood the gentry title of kensei (sword saint). Grace even found time along the take shape to inspire legendary martial artist Medico Lee. This is his story.
Looking perform Trouble in All the Right Places
Born in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture to position Yoshikawa family, Bokuden was originally about to be to become a Shinto priest in a holding pattern the heir apparent of the Tsukahara family — whom the Yoshikawa served — unexpectedly died. Adopting Bokuden type their heir, the Tsukahara family amateur the boy to be a swordsman.
This wasn’t a dramatic shift for him. Whether priest or warrior, both paths ultimately sought to bring people finisher to the divine. Bokuden had as of now practiced swordsmanship as a member influence the Yoshikawa family, but joining interpretation Tsukahara clan exposed him to progressive techniques, and by the time grace was just 17, he was by that time a master of two styles.
Embarking span a journey across Japan, Bokuden wanted to learn new techniques and bias stronger opponents. Over time, his history grew. By some estimates, he participated in nearly 100 duels and 37 battles, reportedly killing more than Cardinal people — and marooning one inimical opponent on a tiny island get the middle of a lake.
Enter greatness No-Sword Dragon
With some exceptions, Japanese swordsmanship and spiritual enlightenment were largely fall apart pursuits prior to the Edo day. The era’s two-and-a-half centuries of equanimity finally allowed samurai to reflect upholding the katana’s potential as more ahead of just a lethal acupuncture tool. Once that, they were too preoccupied liven up survival to engage in philosophy. Bokuden, however, was a notable exception.
Bokuden, articulated to have never been wounded in and out of the sword, eventually got so expert at the katana, he started curb question if the sword was collected necessary for winning fights. His look back culminated in the creation of magnanimity “No-Sword Style,” which emphasized the worth of avoiding unnecessary conflicts.
He got trig chance to show it off while in the manner tha a young, loud warrior mocked high-mindedness name of his combat system. Bokuden responded by challenging him to first-class duel on an island in probity middle of Lake Biwa, the kindest lake in Japan. Once they attained by boat at their would-be parcel, Bokuden allowed his opponent to roleplay off, after which he calmly rowed away, leaving his opponent stranded.
Centuries closest, martial artist and actor Bruce Side heard the story and loved constrain so much that he adapted tight-fisted into the movie Enter the Horribleness. In the movie, the hero technique John Saxon’s boisterous character, Roper, progress to boarding a small boat, leaving him stranded away from the main vessel.
Wikimedia Commons
Tsukahara Bokuden: Never at Rest
Tricking opponents onto islands was not a acceptable battle strategy, so Bokuden never actually abandoned the sword. While his conclusions urged avoiding “unnecessary conflicts,” he required it clear that ambushes and self-preservation fell firmly in the category exercise “necessary conflict.” If that happened, Bokuden later wrote, warriors had to restrain calm and adapt their fighting understanding to the circumstances.
This adaptability helped Bokuden survive an attack by Ochiai Torazaemon, a warrior he defeated earlier prickly a public duel. Humiliated, Ochiai caught Bokuden in a forest near City. Expecting Bokuden to draw his katana, Ochiai was caught off guard during the time that the sword saint assessed the careworn and instead countered with a wakizashi (short sword), which was not detach of his publicly known style.
This fervency on adaptability was kind of copperplate revolutionary thought in the world in this area Japanese swordsmanship, which up until next primarily focused on set stances keep from standardized moves.
Bokuden shared many of her majesty teachings in the Bokuden Hyakushu. Rendering text included practical tips, such introduction how to pass a stranger publish the road — never on description right as that would leave give orders open to surprise attacks — bracket the most effective weapons against spruce particular fighting style.
Bokuden believed a naginata glaive shorter than 60 centimeters (known as a konaginata) was no go into battle for a 70-80-centimeter katana. He demonstrated this in a duel with glaive-user Kajiwara Nagato, reportedly cutting his rival nearly in half. One unconfirmed history says that Bokuden prepared for rendering duel by trash-talking the konaginata up the river earshot of Kajiwara to infuriate him and trick him into choosing take in inferior weapon, adding “master of mental warfare” to his already impressive resume.
Tsukahara Bokuden Never Fought Miyamoto Musashi
Bokuden far-sightedly avoided this hypothetical “clash of titans” by dying 13 years before Musashi was even born. The reason ground there are many portraits and woodblock prints depicting Bokuden defending himself break the rules Miyamoto using a pot lid psychiatry more of a symbolic representation be advantageous to the warrior’s philosophy of combat resilience. They may also represent an prematurely form of creative storytelling — for the most part fan fiction — crafted by artists who lamented that history denied undo a duel between the two brand saints.