Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

katana
,
bushido
, and 
shogun
. In fact, he is often called 
kensei
, the “sword

---

saint” of Japan. Musashi is, without doubt, a larger-than-life figure.
However, he was not just a mythic hero; he was a real person too…
In studying his writings it is important to remember that. Before he
became the symbol of a bygone era, arguably the greatest
swordsman who ever lived, Musashi was a real person, and an
imperfect one at that. His icon is an affair of the heart, but to
understand his reality requires an analysis of the mind. Who is to say
that we cannot hold a perspective about him that blends both heart
and mind?
Today we know that Miyamoto Musashi (1584 – 1645) was born
Shinmen Takezō. He grew up in the Harima Province of Japan and
slew his first opponent, Arima Kihei, in a duel he fought at the tender
age of thirteen. Over a lifetime of blood and strife he killed more than
sixty samurai warriors in fights or duals during the feudal period
where even a minor battle injury could lead to infection and death, a
miraculous feat. He was the founder of the unconventional 
Hyōhō
Niten Ichi-Ryu
style of swordsmanship, which translates as “Two
Heavens as One,” or more simply “Two-Sword Style.” Like most
samurai, he was a highly trained martial artist, a veritable killing
machine, but he was also skilled in the peaceful arts as well, an
exceptional poet, calligrapher, and artist. Two years before he died,
Musashi retired to a life of seclusion in a cave where he codified his
winning strategy in 
Go Rin No Sho
which, in English, means 
The
Book of Five Rings
.
At an early age, Musashi exhibited the traits of a saint. Legends
state that when he was only eight years old he left home to learn
calligraphy, poetry, and other arts, leaving almost everything behind.
Impressive, right? Perhaps, but let’s try to separate the man from the
myth for a moment. In Japanese society 
tatemae
(official
truth/outward story) often varies from 
honne
(secret truth/inward
story). Was leaving home the first steps along a path toward
enlightenment in an ascetic lifestyle or simply a young man running
away from an abusive father?

---

At the age of thirteen Musashi challenged a famous swordsman,
Arima Kihei, to a duel and defeated him using a stick in lieu of a
sword. Was this a heroic battle as it is customarily portrayed
(
tatemae
) or did Musashi through grit, determination, anger, and a
burning desire for glory ambush Kihei, knock him to the ground, and
savagely beat him to death (
honne)
? Clearly we cannot know with
certainty what actually occurred, yet we are hard pressed to think of
a less elegant or more brutal way to murder another human being
than to pummel them with a hunk of wood. Imagine a young man
standing over a hapless swordsman lying on the ground and
repeatedly slamming a bludgeon into his victim’s face until he stops
breathing. Then, he keeps pounding on the samurai’s bloody pulp of
a face to ensure that he is not just unconscious but, in fact, dead.
And then he walks away smiling afterward, knowing that his
reputation has been enhanced…
In 1612, Musashi fought another famous duel, this time with Sasaki
Kojirō.
[3]
 Musashi showed up three hours late. When he finally arrived, both
his adversary and the officials of the duel were irritated by his
tardiness. Rather than carrying a steel blade he was once again
armed with a wooden sword. This time it was a