Musashi's Dokkodo (The Way of Walking Alone)

particular, rape. In 1945 U.S. Forces executed 29 of their own
soldiers for rape in France. To add further impact, some of the
soldiers were executed at the scene of their crime. In U.S. General
and Supreme Commander of Allied Forces Dwight Eisenhower’s
mind there were combatants and there were civilians and they had to
be treated differently.
The culture of death, on the other hand, was with Musashi and he
was also of it, yet he still managed to stand outside of it. With this life
comes the responsibility of stewardship. To seek death in the
manner that the kamikaze pilots of Japan did during the later months
of World War II is contrary to proper stewardship. Understand the
difference—fighting to the death with one’s back against the wall is
distinctly different than actively climbing into an aircraft or strapping
on a bomb with intent to kill yourself in the line of duty. Gray area?
Maybe. However, that is the line that I draw.
Further the culture of death that the samurai engaged in held that
they could kill any lesser person in their caste system if they felt
insulted and would be fully justified in that killing. I have never heard
a report of Musashi killing anybody but a person who had accepted
the terms and conditions of a duel or taken the battlefield for the
opposite side to engage in mortal combat against him. This is an
interesting contrast that I think requires more thought, the fact that a

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man who killed for profit and status only killed those who had agreed
to the terms of battle. It appears that he never murdered anyone and
that speaks volumes to his character. He was a killer, a functional
psychopath, but he also stuck to a rigid moral code.
I want to imagine that before a battle Musashi was stoic, confident,
and ready to let the cards fall where they may. That is the icon that I
have in my mind. He was everything that a strong, resolute warrior
was supposed to be, yet I wonder if having seen the randomness of
death on the battlefield, knowing that he could be struck down from
an unforeseen place or an errant strike that was not meant for him
but landed anyway, that there must have been some uncertainty. It
seems fantastical that he would never at least consider these things
by the campfire the night before a battle. And yet, because of his
physiological make-up, the ideas of these random ways of losing
one’s life may simply not have gained traction in his mind or thought
process. After all, he was the hero of his own story and the hero
always wins.
Musashi may have lived in a culture of death, but he clearly did not
want to die, nor do I wish to do so on any day, but his day eventually
came and mine surely will too. I doubt Musashi feared his demise
and I doubt that I will either, but we both have different reasons for
coming to a similar conclusion. Whether or not it is based in religion
every human has faith, it is part of our deep seated psychological
makeup as individuals and sociological makeup as a society. That
conviction helps carry us through our trails and times of terror.