Editing Miyamoto Musashi (section)

==Personal life==
It was said that Musashi practiced the way of the warrior and warfare strategy, which entailed the mastery of many art forms beyond that of the sword, such as tea ceremony (sadō), laboring, writing, and painting, all of which Musashi pursued throughout his life.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life: Five Lessons from Miyamoto Musashi's 'Way of the Warrior' |url=https://theobjectivestandard.com/2020/05/ancient-wisdom-for-modern-life-five-lessons-from-miyamoto-musashis-way-of-the-warrior/|access-date=2021-07-08|website=theobjectivestandard.com|date=28 May 2020}}</ref>

This predominant cultural view of Musashi is somewhat contradicted by old texts such as ''Dobo goen'' (1720) which relay his intimacy with the courtesan Kumoi in his middle age.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi| last= Wilson| first= William Scott |publisher=Shambhala Publications |year=2013| isbn=978-1590309872 |page=79}}</ref> The ''Bushu Denraiki'' details Musashi fathering a daughter by a courtesan. The daughter is said to have died young which caused him great grief. It is uncertain if this courtesan and Kumoi were the same person.{{cn|date= April 2025}} A rumor also connected Musashi with the ''[[oiran]]'' {{Interlanguage link|Yoshino Tayu|Ja|吉野太夫}}.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha|last=Downer|first=Lesley|publisher=Broadway Books|year=2002|isbn=978-0767904902|pages=}}</ref>

[[File:Kanjisenki.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Japanese calligraphy|Calligraphy]] by Musashi]]

===Niten Ichi Ryu===
{{Main|Niten Ichi-ryū}}
Musashi created and refined a two-sword ''[[kenjutsu]]'' technique called ''niten'ichi'' (二天一, "two heavens as one") or ''nitōichi'' (二刀一, "two swords as one") or ''[[Niten Ichi-ryū]]''{{efn|A Kongen Buddhist sutra refers to the two heavens as the two guardians of [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]].}} In this technique, the swordsman uses ''both'' a large sword, and a "companion sword" at the same time—a [[katana]] with a [[wakizashi]].<ref>{{Cite book| last1= Ratti| first1= Oscar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y47TAgAAQBAJ&q=Musashi+created+and+refined+a+two-sword+kenjutsu+technique&pg=PA241 |title= Secrets of the Samurai: The Martial Arts of Feudal Japan|last2=Westbrook|first2=Adele|date=2011|publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=978-1-4629-0254-5| page= 241 |language=en}}</ref>

The two-handed movements of temple drummers may have inspired him, although it could be that the technique was forged through Musashi's combat experience. ''[[Jitte]]'' techniques were taught to him by his father—the ''jitte'' was often used in battle paired with a sword; the ''jitte'' would parry and neutralize the weapon of the enemy while the sword struck or the practitioner grappled with the enemy. Today Musashi's style of swordsmanship is known as [[Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://niten.org/english/instituto/miyamoto_musashi/musashi-biografia |title=The life of Miyamoto Musashi| publisher= Niten Institute |website= niten.org |language=en|access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>

Musashi was also an expert in throwing weapons. He frequently threw his short sword and instructed others at throwing [[shuriken]].<ref name="tokitsu" />{{rp|38}} [[Kenji Tokitsu]] believes that shuriken methods for the wakizashi were the Niten Ichi Ryu's secret techniques.<!--the reference here does not support the statement<ref>{{cite book|last1= Hyakutake-Watkin|first1=Colin |last2=Masayuki|first2=Imai |last3=Norikazu |first3=Iwata |title= Hyoho.com |url= http://www.hyoho.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040615033613/http://www.hyoho.com/ |archive-date=15 June 2004}}-->{{cn|date= April 2025}}

Within the book, Musashi mentions that the use of two swords within strategy is equally beneficial to those who use the skill for individual duels or large engagements. The idea of using two hands for a sword is an idea that Musashi opposes because there is no fluidity in movement with two hands: "If you hold a sword with both hands, it is difficult to wield it freely to left and right, so my method is to carry the sword in one hand." He also disagrees with the idea of using a sword with two hands on a horse and/or riding on unstable terrain, such as muddy swamps, rice fields, or within crowds of people.

To learn the strategy of Ni-Ten Ichi Ryū, Musashi asserts that by training with two long swords, one in each hand, one will be able to overcome the cumbersome nature of using a sword in both hands. Although it is difficult, Musashi agrees that there are times in which the long sword must be used with two hands, but one skillful enough should not need it.

After using two long swords proficiently enough, mastery of a long sword, and a "companion sword", most likely a wakizashi, will be much increased: "When you become used to wielding the long sword, you will gain the power of the Way and wield the sword well."

In short, it could be seen, from the excerpts from ''The Book of Five Rings'', that real strategy behind Ni-Ten No Ichi Ryu, is that there is no real iron-clad method, path, or type of weaponry specific to the style of Ni-Ten No Ichi Ryu:

{{blockquote|You can win with a long weapon, and yet you can also win with a short weapon. In short, the Way of the Ichi school is the spirit of winning, whatever the weapon and whatever its size.}}

===Religion===
Even from an early age, Musashi separated his religion from his involvement in swordsmanship. Excerpts such as the one below, from ''The Book of Five Rings'', demonstrate a philosophy that is thought to have stayed with him throughout his life:

{{blockquote|There are many ways: [[Confucianism]], [[Buddhism]], the ways of elegance, rice-planting, or dance; these things are not to be found in the way of the warrior.<ref name= FiveR-KT1963 />{{rp|57}}}}

However, the belief that Musashi disliked [[Shinto]] the religion is inaccurate, as he criticises the similarly worded [[Kashima Shintō-ryū|Shintō-ryū]] style of swordsmanship which is not the religion. In Musashi's ''[[Dokkōdō]]'', his stance on religion is further elucidated: "Respect [[Buddha]] and the gods without counting on their help."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/education/hinokuni/isan/siteijoukyou/2003.9.12/dokoudou.html |title= 獨行道 | website= kumamoto.jp| publisher= Kumamoto Prefectural Government| language= ja | trans-title= Lonely Road |date= September 12, 2003 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081218202853/http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/education/hinokuni/isan/siteijoukyou/2003.9.12/dokoudou.html |archive-date=18 December 2008| access-date= April 16, 2025}}</ref>

===As an artist===
[[File:Kobokumeigekizu.jpg|thumb|upright|''Shrike in a barren tree'', by Miyamoto Musashi]]
In his later years, Musashi said in his ''The Book of Five Rings'': "When I apply the principle of strategy to the ways of different arts and crafts, I no longer have need for a teacher in any domain." He proved this by creating recognized masterpieces of [[calligraphy]] and classic [[ink painting]]. His paintings are characterized by [[sumi-e]], skilled use of [[ink wash]]es and an economy of brush stroke. He especially mastered the "broken ink" school of landscapes, applying it to other subjects, such as his ''Kobokumeikakuzu'' (''[[Shrike]] Perched on a Withered Branch'';{{efn|''Shrike Perched in a Dead Tree'' (''Koboku Meigekizu'', 枯木鳴鵙図)}}<ref>{{Cite web |title= 枯木鳴鵙図 | trans-title= Shrike Perched in a Dead Tree | url=https://www.ikm-art.jp/degitalmuseum/num/001/0010141000.html |access-date=2025-03-12 |website= ikm-art.jp| publisher= デジタルミュージアム |language=ja}}</ref> part of a [[triptych]] whose other two members were ''[[Budai|Hotei]] Walking'' and ''Sparrow on Bamboo''), his ''Hotei Watching a Cockfight'', and his ''Rozanzu'' (''Wild Geese Among Reeds'', 魯山図).<ref>{{Cite web |date= 2025-01-16 |title=Miyamoto Musashi {{!}} Samurai, Duelist, Swordsman |website= [[Encyclopedia Britannica|Britannica]].com |url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miyamoto-Musashi-Japanese-soldier-artist |access-date=2025-03-12 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250116114703/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miyamoto-Musashi-Japanese-soldier-artist |archive-date=16 January 2025 }}</ref> ''The Book of Five Rings'' advocates involvement in calligraphy and other arts as a means of training in the art of war.<ref name="nippon-musashi">{{cite web |title= Master Swordsman Miyamoto Musashi: The Man Behind The Book of Five Rings |website=Nippon.com |first= Uozumi| last= Takashi |date=25 July 2019 |url= https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00689/master-swordsman-miyamoto-musashi-the-man-behind-the-book-of-five-rings.html |publisher= Nippon Communications Foundation| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200305121209/https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00689/master-swordsman-miyamoto-musashi-the-man-behind-the-book-of-five-rings.html |archive-date= 5 March 2020}}</ref>