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Musashi fought a duel on Ganryujima against Sasaki Kojiro.
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It made him famous, but he never spoke about it.
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The life of Miyamoto Musashi that everyone knows and talks about...
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He was an unbeatable swordsman with a trained mind.
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A seeker of truth.
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But these are falsehoods created after his death.
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Falsehoods about the wild days of his youth.
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Falsehoods about his mastery of Zen.
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Falsehoods about his enthusiasm for art.
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And falsehoods about the swordsmen whom he fought.
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Musashi traveled to the capital at the age of twenty-one,
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met the greatest fighters,
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fought several duels,
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and always emerged victorious.
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After that, he traveled throughout the country,
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challenging fighters everywhere he went,
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and continued dueling until he was past sixty.
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He never lost during that entire time.
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Everyone knows his name from history,
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yet his life remains largely unknown.
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This is not unusual,
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and Miyamoto Musashi's life is one such case.
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Shinmen Musashi no Kami Fujiwara no Genshin, also known as Miyamoto Musashi,
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appears in countless historical works, which proves his existence.
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On the other hand, he has always been surrounded by various falsehoods.
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It may be a sign of how complex an impression he has made on the minds of the Japanese.
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The purpose of my research, and the main topic of this film,
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is to eliminate these falsehoods and to reveal the true image of Miyamoto Musashi.
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He had the strongest mind and the best combat skills.
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He admired religion but never believed in it.
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On the other hand, he was a cold-hearted fighter who did not hesitate to kill a child in order to achieve victory.
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What is the key to explaining these contradictions?
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We cannot understand them without discussing the Battle of Sekigahara.
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This battle will decide the next ruler of Japan.
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Will the knowledgeable General Tokugawa Ieyasu of the East rule after Hideyoshi?
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Or will it be Mitsunari of the West?
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It is a huge, earth-shattering battle.
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In this fierce war, Ieyasu emerges victorious,
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and places the capital of his shogunate in Edo.
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Musashi is seventeen years old at that time.
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He is stationed at the front of Ishida Mitsunari's army.
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He fights against Tokugawa Ieyasu's main force, led by Fukushima Masanori.
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He hopes to achieve great recognition on the battlefield.
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He is trying to become a warlord on horseback.
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There is a man by Musashi's side.
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He and Musashi have fled Miyamoto Village
and have promised to rise to power together.
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He is Hikoya, Musashi's childhood friend.
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Black smoke rises from every direction.
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It is dark even during the day.
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People and horses are in pain.
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Blood flows everywhere.
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Rifles, arrows, and swords all combine to spill blood.
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Enemies and allies clash everywhere, turning many people, including his friend, into corpses.
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The battle is over, and the rain has stopped.
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He looks at the piles of corpses that had been his army.
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What is going through Musashi's mind at this moment?
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Musashi stated that he fought in six battles, including the Battle of Sekigahara.
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Even after he established his reputation as a great swordsman, he insisted on fighting battles.
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But in all those cases, Musashi was treated as a lowly soldier.
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Even though he was a peerless fighter,
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on the battlefield he could do little more than mill around as a common soldier.
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Throughout his life, his heart was held prisoner by his mixed feelings of love and hatred towards generals on horseback.
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More accurately, he was obsessed with horses.
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Incredibly, his fetish for horses led directly to his two-sword fighting style.
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Note: A bushi is a soldier from a traditional warrior family.
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What did it mean to be a bushi at that time in Japan?
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Before we delve into that topic,
we need to look at the knights of the West.
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As you may know, like the bushi we will discuss later,
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horses were the key to their existence.
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An elite force of nobles who performed no labor,
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the cavalry came into existence
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during the Achaemenid Empire in Persia.
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The cavalry underwent a significant transformation
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during the agricultural empire of the Sassanids.
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Two revolutionary inventions allowed anyone to ride a horse:
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the saddle and stirrups.
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In close-quarter combat, stirrups performed a vital function:
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they prevented cavalry riders from falling.
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At the same time, they were essential to using various weapons while on horseback,
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especially accurate aiming of the bow-and-arrow.
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This is my assistant, Miss Iori.
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Later, during the time of the Crusades,
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three items were added to knightly equipment and later became symbols for them.
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These were armor, horses, and crests.
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What did this mean?
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It meant that knights rarely died in combat.
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During the Crusades, many knights were captured.
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Later, they were ransomed and returned home alive.
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The crest signified that the owner had the financial means to pay a ransom.
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In contrast, foot-soldiers without armor would be killed if they were captured.
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Knights made their foot-soldiers use bows and crossbows,
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but they never used these weapons themselves.
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These weapons were imprecise and
would kill knights and foot-soldiers alike.
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Knights were not supposed to kill other knights,
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so they used blunt weapons such as maces and flails.
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If used against armored knights,
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these weapons only inflicted concussions and other non-fatal blows.
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But against unarmored soldiers, these weapons were deadly.
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So the training regimen of Western knights did not include the horse-mounted archery
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or horse-handling of the Japanese bushi,
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but focused mostly on strength training to support the weight of their armor,
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through repetitive swinging of heavy swords, axes, and clubs.
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Because the knights were mounted,
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their odds of surviving on the battlefield were high.
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It also was a sign of their power and their membership in the nobility.
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This is off topic,
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but when the modern Olympic Games were established in the late 19th century,
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the competitions included fencing,
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wrestling, weightlifting, and similar sports,
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but did not include any archery events.
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This shows that the spirit of knighthood carried over into the athletic pursuits of the Western nobility.
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And another side story.
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In English public schools,
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they attempted to teach gentlemanly behavior, which is the modern version of knighthood.
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Ironically, it led to the English army being slaughtered during the trench warfare of World War I.
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On the modern battlefield, where high-speed bullets fill the air,
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knightly manners proved extremely risky.
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The English learned a lesson from that,
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and attempted to bring back the immortal image of the knight.
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As a result, they created a heavily armored vehicle called the tank.
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Now that I've provided a brief history of Western knighthood,
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let's shift our focus from West to East.
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Cavalry first appeared in China in the state of Zhao.
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This resulted in the extinction of chariots,
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the main fighting force of the Spring and Autumn Period.
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But the Han Empire, despite its financial power,
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could not support a large enough force of lightly-armored, horse-mounted archers
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to drive out the Xiongnu in the north.
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Moreover, the cavalry horses consumed a significant portion of the agricultural harvest,
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and the cavalry itself increased the risk of military factionalism.
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The central government wanted to keep the cavalry forces close to the capital city,
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but that gave the nomads the opportunity to strike first.
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The government's solution to this dilemma was the crossbow.
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The most appealing aspect of the crossbow was that training costs were negligible.
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Unless there is continuous training,
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the cavalry's spear-throwing, archery, and horse-handling skills deteriorate rapidly.
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Therefore, soldiers using these weapons had to be employed on a full-time basis.
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In contrast, crossbowmen could return to their farms when a campaign was over.
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Crossbowmen provided optimal cost-effectiveness.
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As a result, the Chinese never developed a European-style knightly class requiring special treatment.
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The cavalry riders were just mounted soldiers of ordinary rank.
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They were lightly armored, unlike the heavily armored European knights,
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and used the bow-and-arrow as their main weapon.
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This style came over to Japan from China.
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It had a tremendous effect on determining the bushi style.
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But why did the Chinese crossbow not come over as well?
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Actually, during the Yamato period,
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the Imperial soldiers used crossbows to fight the forces of Ebisu in the north.
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But in Japan's hot and humid climate,
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the composite bows, which used gelatin as glue, deteriorated quickly,
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and were never able to perform consistently.
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Also, battles were usually fought on thickly forested, mountainous land
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that was not suitable for battles between large armies.
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And thus, Japanese bushi ended up wearing light armor and using bows-and-arrows from horseback.
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Because the Japanese caste system divided society into four ranks,
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the bushi were placed in the higher social ranks, much like European knights.
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The core of Miyamoto Musashi's sword-fighting style was the mounted bushi.
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Now that Miss Iori has left, let's take a break before returning to our main point.
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I will introduce you to one of Musashi's better-known opponents.
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Shishido Nanigashi
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His name is Shishido Nanigashi.
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Note: Kusarigama means a chain and sickle.
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He is a master of the chain-and-sickle.
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Note: Wakizashi is a type of short sword.
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Musashi draws his wakizashi,
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sees that Shishido is taken aback by that move,
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and charges his enemy.
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The historical existence of Shishido Nanigashi cannot be proven.
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But it's truly interesting that people talk about this fighter and his unique weapon,
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in order to demonstrate the value of Musashi's two-sword style.
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How did this two-sword style, which seems suicidal on the surface, become useful?
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A certain literary work makes this point clear.
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Yes, I'm talking about The Book of Five Rings.
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Miyamoto Musashi said:
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"I name my style of fighting Niten Ichiryu.
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Note: Niten Ichiryu means "two worlds in one style."
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For the first time, I am writing down what I have learned."
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It was early October in 1643.
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He climbed Mt. Iwatono in the Higo region of Kyuushu.
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He worshiped the sky,
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bowed to Guanyin,
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and faced the Buddha statue.
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In The Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi wrote about his fighting style.
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But until the Edo period, it was known as The Five Books of Fighting Style, or Teachings on Fighting Styles.
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It only became known as The Book of Five Rings after the Meiji period.
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And later, a certain newspaper writer used the word gorin to mean the Olympic games.
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That made the word more widely known.
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What's more,
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The Book of Five Rings was only a draft,
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so the modern rumor that Musashi died right after finishing it is baseless.
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The original manuscript for The Book of Five Rings has never been found.
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What we read today are merely copies,
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and there are numerous versions.
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The number of copies floating around or hidden somewhere in the country is simply uncountable.
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This has led to diametrically opposite interpretations of some of the topics that Musashi wrote about.
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But let us read through these books with our focus on the core values of Musashi the fighter.
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"If you can win against a lone enemy in any way you want,
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you can win against anyone in the world.
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'Winning' means the same thing,
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whether you face one person or ten million people.
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How a general leads an army to victory is based on his personal fighting style.
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This is the same principle as constructing a large Buddha statue from a small model.
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A one-on-one duel and an army-on-army battle are the same thing."
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Now, Musashi wrote this book because he had no intention of remaining an insignificant fighter.
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He mentions the same thing in various places throughout the book, not to make his style sound more authoritative,
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but because a battle between armies was his ultimate dream.
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His life's ambition was to be recognized as a great figure like a warlord because of his prowess on the battlefield.
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I must emphasize here that his ambition to be promoted was not based on greed for money.
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In fact, Musashi turned down numerous offers to command squadrons of 500 soldiers.
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His dream was to lead 3,000 soldiers, or more.
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Of course, some view this ambition as arrogance or ignorance of his station.
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But in fact, that is the smallest formation that can be effective on a battlefield.
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Near the end of his life, before he became an officer under the Hosokawa clan,
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he wrote a letter stating that he did not care about the quality of his housing,
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but that he must have enough horses, including the spares needed for a war.
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And when he accepted the position of an officer,
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he did not specify the size of his army,
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and preferred to be treated as a guest.
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But he received permission to participate in eagle hunting, which was normally reserved for the family elders.
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This also illustrates Musashi's thought patterns.
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He was willing to sacrifice his rank and lifestyle in order to go eagle hunting on horseback.
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Musashi was probably unable to pass up the opportunity of training himself in horseback riding,
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as preparation for a future war.
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His uncompromising beliefs also affected his fighting style.
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He was always thinking about riding a horse.
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Obviously, the core of his sword fighting style would be directed to combat on horseback.
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In another section, Musashi also wrote the following:
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"Hold the great sword as if you are lifting your thumb and index finger from the grip.
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The middle finger should neither be tight nor loose.
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The ring finger and little finger should grip the sword tightly.
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Your grip must not be too loose.
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You must always hold the sword in readiness to cut your enemy."
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What he wrote has been taught in dojos since the Edo period.
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But such a style won't work if a fighter grips the great sword with both hands.
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It only becomes a lethal level advantage
if a fighter holds the sword with one hand,
236
00:30:15,550 --> 00:30:17,620
as happens when fighting on horseback.
237
00:30:17,620 --> 00:30:21,680
If a fighter cannot control the movement of his blade with the utmost precision,
238
00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:26,210
he might cut the head of his own horse, leading to a fall.
239
00:30:26,210 --> 00:30:31,660
Furthermore, if he drops his sword during a chaotic fight on horseback because his arm is tired,
240
00:30:31,660 --> 00:30:35,640
he loses any means of protecting himself against attacks from the side.
241
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:38,050
Because Musashi dreamed of fighting on horseback ever since he was a boy,
242
00:30:38,050 --> 00:30:41,310
he must have trained himself to fight with either hand,
243
00:30:41,310 --> 00:30:47,700
switching to his left hand when his right hand tired.
244
00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:53,290
Of course, as a boy, he didn't have the means to own a horse,
245
00:30:53,290 --> 00:30:57,450
so he could only have trained in his imagination, simulating everything in his head.
246
00:30:57,450 --> 00:31:02,460
Because of that, he ended up with a fighting style intended for use with a walking horse,
247
00:31:02,460 --> 00:31:05,020
and that was the origin of his two-sword fighting style.
248
00:31:05,020 --> 00:31:09,230
"Use your feet like you are walking normally.
249
00:31:09,230 --> 00:31:11,550
Don't use just one foot.
250
00:31:11,550 --> 00:31:18,280
When you move forward, step back, or defend, always move your feet alternately.
251
00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:22,020
Never, ever make your move with only one foot."
252
00:31:22,020 --> 00:31:27,250
Musashi suggested not using traditional galloping steps,
253
00:31:27,250 --> 00:31:31,870
but to use a slow walking style instead.
254
00:31:31,870 --> 00:31:37,580
We can interpret that as his simulation of a ridden horse moving forward.
255
00:31:38,290 --> 00:31:43,540
"Remember that the middle guard position is the greatest of all in sword fighting."
256
00:31:44,490 --> 00:31:46,370
He wrote those words,
257
00:31:46,370 --> 00:31:51,980
yet he liked holding the great sword behind him with one hand.
258
00:31:51,980 --> 00:31:57,340
This means that the style was intended for a full-speed gallop attack, in which the attacker passed on the enemy's left;
259
00:31:57,340 --> 00:32:01,040
or for mounted close-quarter combat in which the fighter feints with his left hand,
260
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,270
but then uses the sword in his right hand to cut or thrust.
261
00:32:04,270 --> 00:32:05,870
Furthermore...
262
00:32:06,790 --> 00:32:13,200
"The great sword is most effective if the fighter extends his arm fully and then swings with great power."
263
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:17,810
Musashi wrote that exercises such as holding a sword with just one hand
264
00:32:17,810 --> 00:32:21,990
made his reach longer than gripping it with both hands.
265
00:32:21,990 --> 00:32:28,590
Also, a swordsman who grips with both hands must draw his sword back for each swing.
266
00:32:28,590 --> 00:32:30,390
But Musashi...
267
00:32:31,090 --> 00:32:36,740
"Swing from below when the enemy makes his move."
268
00:32:38,300 --> 00:32:40,080
That is also in his writings.
269
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:46,280
Aiming for the enemy's hand was something every swordsman practiced.
270
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:54,820
But this style was meant to be used in fully-armored combat.
271
00:32:54,820 --> 00:32:56,920
Another important point:
272
00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:02,820
When a swordsman is on horseback,
his blows are more likely to reach their target
273
00:33:02,820 --> 00:33:09,330
when made from a lower position,
augmented by the motion of the horse.
274
00:33:15,340 --> 00:33:19,640
Assuming that Musashi practiced this from the time he was young,
275
00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:24,440
it must have been easy for him to slash from low to high,
276
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:28,020
when everyone else was using both hands to swing from high to low.
277
00:33:28,020 --> 00:33:31,110
Also, by wielding swords in both hands,
278
00:33:31,110 --> 00:33:36,360
he could attack twice as fast as any enemy,
279
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:39,420
making him virtually unbeatable by other swordsmen.
280
00:33:40,370 --> 00:33:45,340
Musashi's insatiable spirit of inquiry also led to the development of armored components such as sword guards,
281
00:33:45,340 --> 00:33:51,640
and horse-related items such as saddles and stirrups.
282
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:55,000
He did not do this just for his enjoyment,
283
00:33:55,000 --> 00:34:01,220
but as part of his research and development to prepare for any large battles that might happen.
284
00:34:01,220 --> 00:34:02,720
He also said
285
00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:10,570
that any weapon should be chosen based on context of the current situation.
286
00:34:11,650 --> 00:34:17,660
Of course, he was extremely particular about his swords.
287
00:34:17,660 --> 00:34:21,510
After the Keicho era, when large battles were no longer frequent,
288
00:34:21,510 --> 00:34:24,570
swords lost their usefulness,
289
00:34:24,570 --> 00:34:30,280
yet swordsmen still liked to carry them as status symbols.
290
00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:36,380
But Musashi did not see the sword as his ultimate weapon.
291
00:34:36,380 --> 00:34:40,240
Musashi liked to use bokken, or wooden swords,
292
00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:43,460
and that is the weapon most associated with him,
293
00:34:43,460 --> 00:34:45,760
because he made so many improvements to it.
294
00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:51,270
A bokken was mostly straight, so it had a longer reach despite its lightness.
295
00:34:51,270 --> 00:34:53,980
Also, it was easy to make bokken that resisted breakage.
296
00:34:53,980 --> 00:35:03,240
One report states that the bokken he used to fight Sasaki Kojiro had two-inch nails along the entire length of the blade.
297
00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:11,190
It's worth noting that such a design is very similar to a mace, which European knights often employed.
298
00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:20,050
Another point Musashi emphasized was to always think like the enemy.
299
00:35:20,050 --> 00:35:23,000
Musashi made himself a flexible warrior.
300
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,880
He could switch weapons quickly to fit the situation.
301
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:32,320
He never stuck just to bokken, his weapon of choice.
302
00:35:37,570 --> 00:35:41,160
Heian Yoshioka Kenpo
303
00:35:43,290 --> 00:35:47,640
The most powerful school of swordsmen is the Yoshioka Dojo.
304
00:35:56,700 --> 00:36:03,780
Musashi fought Seijuro, the heir of the family, at Rakugai Rendaino.
305
00:36:03,780 --> 00:36:07,120
Musashi's bokken defeated Seijuro, who died from his wounds.
306
00:36:23,940 --> 00:36:32,750
Now Seijuro's younger brother, Denshichiro, seeking revenge, waits to fight Musashi at Rakugai.
307
00:36:39,430 --> 00:36:42,990
It's past the appointed time, but Musashi has not shown up.
308
00:36:42,990 --> 00:36:49,260
Denshichiro suppresses the rage inside of him and waits quietly for his foe.
309
00:37:27,220 --> 00:37:29,220
I was getting tired of waiting, Musashi!
310
00:37:29,770 --> 00:37:31,560
Musashi doesn't even flinch.
311
00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:34,230
He looks down quietly at the group.
312
00:37:53,070 --> 00:37:54,750
I challenge you!
313
00:37:55,750 --> 00:37:58,360
Note: An odachi is a type of Japanese long sword.
314
00:37:55,750 --> 00:37:58,360
Denshichiro draws his odachi.
315
00:37:58,360 --> 00:38:01,530
Musashi still stands mysteriously motionless.
316
00:38:55,180 --> 00:39:00,580
Note: A kodachi is a type of Japanese short sword.
317
00:38:55,180 --> 00:39:00,580
Musashi slips under Denshichiro's swing, draws his kodachi, and attacks.
318
00:39:06,060 --> 00:39:07,770
Denshichiro!
319
00:39:13,210 --> 00:39:18,030
The clansmen search for Musashi, but he is nowhere to be found.
320
00:39:18,030 --> 00:39:21,880
He has disappeared into thin air.
321
00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:31,510
Kyoto was said to be especially cold that day.
322
00:39:31,510 --> 00:39:38,030
Denshichiro's handling of his sword must have been slowed by the long wait in the snow.
323
00:39:38,870 --> 00:39:47,950
But Musashi attacked quickly with his kodachi,
slipping under Denshichiro's arms to earn his victory.
324
00:39:48,940 --> 00:39:58,070
This was a very unusual move. Most swordsmen of the time used the same specific weapon on all occasions.
325
00:39:58,070 --> 00:40:04,210
Also, Musashi's effort to become a great man went far beyond the study of swordsmanship.
326
00:40:04,750 --> 00:40:10,010
He used his philosophy of swordsmanship in many areas of cultural activity,
327
00:40:10,010 --> 00:40:13,750
so he said that he did not need a teacher in any field.
328
00:40:13,750 --> 00:40:22,100
There is no way that an ordinary swordsman could lead an army, rule the citizens, and run the government.
329
00:40:22,100 --> 00:40:30,610
Musashi researched a wide variety of topics using ordinary common sense.
330
00:40:30,610 --> 00:40:38,530
Calligraphy, paintings, sculpture, poetry, the tea ceremony, go, Japanese chess...
331
00:40:39,220 --> 00:40:49,770
Musashi put extraordinary effort into subjects that were largely ignored by other swordsmen of his time,
332
00:40:49,770 --> 00:40:56,220
and he proved himself an expert in all of them.
333
00:40:58,820 --> 00:41:08,480
We must have the same attitude when we deal with society: always proceed wholeheartedly.
334
00:41:16,300 --> 00:41:22,770
We should also pay attention to the simple writing style used in The Book of Five Rings.
335
00:41:22,770 --> 00:41:29,880
Abstract writing in any language tends to become ambiguous over time.
336
00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:40,310
In Japanese culture, frequent use of vaguely worded images was considered more effective than rhetoric.
337
00:41:40,310 --> 00:41:48,260
This trend was further reinforced by Zen, which promoted the idea of not depending on words and letters.
338
00:41:48,260 --> 00:41:54,570
On top of that, the era of isolation limited the Japanese people's exposure to foreign languages,
339
00:41:54,570 --> 00:42:04,230
creating a situation where nobody compared the words in current use with the equivalent words in other languages.
340
00:42:04,230 --> 00:42:11,000
As a result, any one word came to have an unlimited number of associated images.
341
00:42:11,500 --> 00:42:17,520
At the beginning of the Edo era, when Zen philosophy was not widespread,
342
00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:25,310
The Book of Five Rings was one of the rare books on combat styles written in colloquial language.
343
00:42:25,310 --> 00:42:36,600
This book also proved that Japanese was a rational language, even though it was regarded as a highly irrational one.
344
00:42:42,930 --> 00:42:46,990
"I do not use the old words of Buddhism, Confucianism, or Shintoism,
345
00:42:46,990 --> 00:42:50,380
nor the old terms from military records or the tactical methods of the past."
346
00:42:50,380 --> 00:42:53,720
Unlike the other combat masters of his time,
347
00:42:53,720 --> 00:43:01,640
who used foreign words or Zen-centric terminology such as "Satsujintou," "Katsujinken," and "Houfutsu Satsubutsu,"
348
00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:08,350
in his writings Musashi used only his own experiences of what he had seen and heard, and his analysis of those subjects.
349
00:43:08,350 --> 00:43:13,650
He expressed his knowledge in a colloquial style that was completely different from the Zen practitioners.
350
00:43:13,650 --> 00:43:21,060
The latter claimed to be independent of words and letters but indulged in large amounts of wordplay.
351
00:43:21,060 --> 00:43:25,830
People say that Musashi was a Zen master,
352
00:43:25,830 --> 00:43:29,330
but that's another of the baseless falsehoods that surround him.
353
00:43:29,330 --> 00:43:32,960
In fact, because Musashi kept the influence of Zen to a minimum,
354
00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:37,820
the rational approach in The Book of Five Rings would not be surpassed for a long time.
355
00:43:37,820 --> 00:43:41,860
Few of Musashi's contemporaries understood his rational approach.
356
00:43:41,860 --> 00:43:46,090
Unnecessary problems since the Edo period, caused by that lack of understanding, have hurt the country badly.
357
00:43:46,090 --> 00:43:50,440
During the Meiji restoration, when the country was modernized,
358
00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:55,080
there were erroneous shifts in philosophy, including a false cult of "Bushido."
359
00:44:17,630 --> 00:44:21,750
It all sprang from the Russo-Japanese War that started in 1904,
360
00:44:21,750 --> 00:44:27,260
and from a close-quarter battle to capture a fortress in Lushun City from the Russian army.
361
00:44:27,260 --> 00:44:33,150
The Japanese army of the Meiji period had been dazzled by the smokeless powder used in the Franco-Prussian War.
362
00:44:33,150 --> 00:44:39,820
Because of that, they were ready to abandon close-quarter combat as an uncivilized method of fighting.
363
00:44:39,820 --> 00:44:47,530
But in fact, European armies, including the Russians, excelled at close-quarter fighting.
364
00:44:47,530 --> 00:44:52,020
At Lushun, the Japanese forces stayed on top of the hills and relied mostly on the power of powder,
365
00:44:52,020 --> 00:44:59,250
but the Russian soldiers fixed bayonets, charged out of their trenches, and counterattacked.
366
00:45:09,510 --> 00:45:15,640
The officers from bushi families stayed at their posts,
367
00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:22,240
but lower class privates enlisted from civilian families were frightened by the charging Russians
368
00:45:22,240 --> 00:45:25,370
and fled the scene disgracefully, turning their backs on the enemy.
369
00:45:25,370 --> 00:45:31,420
This was because the Meiji era government could not imagine that in the twentieth century,
370
00:45:31,420 --> 00:45:37,650
the Japanese would still be fighting tall white soldiers with spears and swords.
371
00:45:39,670 --> 00:45:46,940
The government believed that katana looked too barbaric to Western civilization and banned them early on.
372
00:45:46,940 --> 00:45:53,400
After the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, they prohibited Imperial Army officers from carrying Japanese swords.
373
00:45:53,400 --> 00:45:59,300
They also abolished all dojo schools, including kendo and judo.
374
00:45:59,300 --> 00:46:06,570
This caused the common people to lose the courage needed on the battlefield.
375
00:46:06,570 --> 00:46:17,000
For these reasons, starting in 1905 the Japanese populace began to have serious phobias about Caucasians and gunfire.
376
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:23,330
The Japanese government needed to eliminate this nationwide anxiety as quickly as possible.
377
00:46:23,330 --> 00:46:27,020
They researched possibilities for remedial action.
378
00:46:27,020 --> 00:46:30,680
In the end, the slogan they came up with was "Bushido."
379
00:46:42,820 --> 00:46:48,780
"Bushido" became a common Japanese word around the time of the Russo-Japanese War.
380
00:46:48,780 --> 00:46:56,500
This may sound shocking, but Bushido was not a familiar term to ordinary Japanese.
381
00:46:56,500 --> 00:46:58,320
It was used in books,
382
00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:03,240
but it had little currency in the Japanese mind.
383
00:47:04,460 --> 00:47:10,800
Nitobe Inazo wrote Bushido in the United States in 1899, in English.
384
00:47:10,800 --> 00:47:14,850
Only intellectuals in America were familiar with it.
385
00:47:15,810 --> 00:47:20,560
Nitobe's book was translated belatedly,
386
00:47:20,560 --> 00:47:24,820
imported back to Japan, and published in 1908.
387
00:47:24,820 --> 00:47:29,520
This was done at the request of the Japanese government after the Russo-Japanese War.
388
00:47:29,520 --> 00:47:35,730
An authoritative biography of Miyamoto Musashi was written and published in 1911.
389
00:47:35,730 --> 00:47:39,670
This was also a part of the Imperial government's strategy.
390
00:47:39,670 --> 00:47:44,010
This book became the basis of a heroic war myth.
391
00:47:44,010 --> 00:47:51,150
Bushido Seika Miyamoto Musashi was published by the Tachikawa Bunko publishing house as it was just starting up.
392
00:47:51,150 --> 00:47:56,200
This finally made Miyamoto Musashi known to the Japanese population at large.
393
00:47:56,200 --> 00:48:05,440
In the 1930s, this heroic tale became the basis of Yoshikawa Eiji's popular novel Miyamoto Musashi.
394
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:10,920
This novel was published while the Second Sino-Japanese War was in progress,
395
00:48:10,920 --> 00:48:16,690
and it changed the meaning of "Bushido" from the study of rationalism to the study of spirituality.
396
00:48:16,690 --> 00:48:23,020
Now, let's forget the falsehoods intentionally created by the government of a later era,
397
00:48:23,020 --> 00:48:29,050
go back in history, and look further at the true personality of Miyamoto Musashi.
398
00:48:31,430 --> 00:48:40,100
Musashi believed that the intellectual power of the leader determined the outcome of a war.
399
00:48:40,100 --> 00:48:47,110
That power had to be trained in advance for effective use in future large-scale battles.
400
00:48:47,110 --> 00:48:53,970
He demonstrated this in his third battle against the Yoshioka family,
401
00:48:53,970 --> 00:48:57,810
which was fought in Ichijoji Sagarimatsu.
402
00:49:01,450 --> 00:49:04,320
The Book of Five Rings says this:
403
00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:10,590
"Always position yourself in the highest place possible, in order to look down on the enemy."
404
00:49:10,590 --> 00:49:16,510
So, where he should take his stand is very obvious on this occasion too.
405
00:49:19,950 --> 00:49:26,500
He has slain the Yoshioka brothers.
406
00:49:26,500 --> 00:49:30,480
He now faces their uncle, Genzaemon,
407
00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:41,390
and the latter's son Genjiro, also known as Matashichiro.
408
00:50:02,270 --> 00:50:07,940
As he waits for the next day's battle,
Miyamoto Musashi looks up at the sky.
409
00:50:07,940 --> 00:50:13,500
He thinks about the battle by himself, with the breeze rushing by above him.
410
00:50:34,300 --> 00:50:40,380
Musashi thinks, "What good does it do to pray to the gods now?
411
00:50:40,380 --> 00:50:54,620
No matter how much I pray, why would the gods listen to my selfish plea?"
412
00:50:56,250 --> 00:50:58,650
From the Chapter of Fire in The Book of Five Rings:
413
00:50:58,650 --> 00:51:08,750
"It is critical to know the enemy's mood, learn his character, find his strengths and weaknesses, and strike first."
414
00:51:33,850 --> 00:51:38,510
Genjiro has not yet come of age.
415
00:51:38,510 --> 00:51:46,700
Some seventy men of the Yoshioka clan protect this young head of the family.
416
00:51:46,700 --> 00:51:54,220
Under the bright light of the torches, they ready their spears and bows.
417
00:51:54,220 --> 00:51:58,590
The Yoshioka force is ready.
418
00:51:58,590 --> 00:52:05,850
The location is Ichijoji Sagarimatsu.
419
00:52:07,390 --> 00:52:12,190
What is Musashi thinking about now?
420
00:52:12,190 --> 00:52:24,160
His regrets from the Battle of Sekigahara must haunt him.
421
00:52:25,640 --> 00:52:26,950
This is a war.
422
00:52:47,180 --> 00:52:50,600
The lord of the Yoshioka Clan is within my reach!
423
00:52:57,410 --> 00:53:00,820
As promised, I, Miyamoto Musashi, am in your presence!
424
00:53:08,100 --> 00:53:14,730
I have slain the lord of the Yoshioka Clan, Yoshioka Genjiro!
425
00:53:14,730 --> 00:53:24,940
The clansmen desperately fight back with spears and swords,
426
00:53:24,940 --> 00:53:33,830
but Musashi doesn't give them a chance.
427
00:53:33,830 --> 00:53:43,330
They call and cry out for him, but he has turned his back
428
00:53:43,330 --> 00:53:54,780
and run off into the mist.
429
00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:14,060
What we can observe in the battle at Ichijoji is Musashi's skill as a strategist.
430
00:54:14,060 --> 00:54:23,940
Apparently, Musashi talked about this battle many times before he died.
431
00:54:29,490 --> 00:54:42,190
However, he hardly ever spoke about the legendary battle against Sasaki Kojiro that made him famous.
432
00:54:42,190 --> 00:54:45,090
Why was that?
433
00:54:45,110 --> 00:54:50,730
It is time to find the answer to that mystery.
434
00:54:56,760 --> 00:55:05,560
With a serious face, Miyamoto Musashi looks at the sea water passing by.
435
00:55:05,560 --> 00:55:09,290
He is traveling to Funashima by boat.
436
00:55:09,290 --> 00:55:16,290
He has a bokken that he has made himself.
437
00:55:16,290 --> 00:55:28,550
Tied around his head is a hand towel that acts as a bandana.
438
00:55:58,950 --> 00:56:04,420
The strongest of the swordmasters...
439
00:56:04,420 --> 00:56:11,970
He is Sasaki Kojiro of the Ganryu Style.
440
00:56:11,970 --> 00:56:27,260
He waits for Musashi with a three-foot longsword.
441
00:57:03,270 --> 00:57:07,110
Why did you arrive late?
442
00:57:07,110 --> 00:57:09,320
Kojiro, you have now lost.
443
00:57:09,860 --> 00:57:11,280
Why do you say that?!
444
00:57:11,280 --> 00:57:15,240
Why else would you throw away the sheath?
445
00:57:45,760 --> 00:57:50,330
No one knows what these fighters are thinking.
446
00:57:50,330 --> 00:57:55,820
No matter how strong a fighter is, one day he will be injured and die.
447
00:59:28,240 --> 00:59:30,860
Kojiro has a smile on his face.
448
00:59:30,860 --> 00:59:34,620
But nobody can see Musashi's face.
449
00:59:34,620 --> 00:59:39,620
Musashi does not pray for Kojiro to rest in peace.
450
00:59:41,110 --> 00:59:50,220
A black kite flies above the staircase connecting heaven and earth.
451
00:59:50,220 --> 00:59:58,010
Either you win or you lose.
452
00:59:58,010 --> 01:00:13,530
All is destiny.
453
01:00:26,560 --> 01:00:36,980
Why was Musashi unwilling to speak about this battle on Funashima, also known as Ganryujima?
454
01:00:37,500 --> 01:00:44,360
It's because Musashi did not regard himself as a skilled swordsman,
455
01:00:44,360 --> 01:00:50,540
but as a general who led an army of skilled swordsmen.
456
01:00:52,420 --> 01:00:56,670
No matter how strong his opponent was,
457
01:00:56,670 --> 01:01:02,840
a one-on-one battle would not prove his skill as a war tactician,
458
01:01:02,840 --> 01:01:08,190
nor would it help him achieve his dream of becoming a recognized leader.
459
01:01:09,970 --> 01:01:18,490
What drove him from beginning to end was his desire for large battles.
460
01:01:18,490 --> 01:01:21,440
If we interpret this argument liberally,
461
01:01:21,440 --> 01:01:27,800
all of his duels were attempts to avenge his losses at the Battle of Sekigahara.
462
01:02:34,680 --> 01:02:38,450
This is the man who was always dreaming of fighting on horseback.
463
01:02:38,450 --> 01:02:45,590
What was he thinking after defeating Kojiro?
464
01:02:56,730 --> 01:03:05,410
On his deathbed, Musashi ordered that he be dressed in armor.
465
01:03:05,410 --> 01:03:11,940
It was a sign that he was ready for battle even in death.
466
01:03:14,360 --> 01:03:18,190
Why was he so adamant about battles?
467
01:03:18,190 --> 01:03:23,270
His attitude appears quite strange to us.
468
01:03:23,270 --> 01:03:25,480
If he had been born several decades earlier,
469
01:03:25,480 --> 01:03:31,970
he could have become a great warlord and fought numerous victorious battles.
470
01:03:31,970 --> 01:03:35,040
Or if he had been born several decades later,
471
01:03:35,040 --> 01:03:42,080
he could have spent his energy becoming a great master of both the fine and martial arts.
472
01:03:57,400 --> 01:04:03,040
Musashi founded and elaborated the Niten Ichiryu school of swordsmanship.
473
01:04:03,040 --> 01:04:08,770
But his methodology fractured repeatedly and eventually died off.
474
01:04:08,770 --> 01:04:17,990
Note: Nitou Ichiryu means "two swords in one style."
Niten Ichiryu means "two worlds in one style."
475
01:04:08,770 --> 01:04:17,990
Interestingly, in The Book of Five Rings, Nitou Ichiryu and Niten Ichiryu are used interchangeably.
476
01:04:17,990 --> 01:04:24,290
But in the end, Musashi named his style Niten Ichiryu.
477
01:04:24,780 --> 01:04:31,680
It was because the focus of his style was not the use of two swords.
478
01:04:31,680 --> 01:04:36,990
Rather, if the world was split in two, and another large battle occurred,
479
01:04:36,990 --> 01:04:41,920
his style would be the way to reunite those worlds.
480
01:05:02,320 --> 01:05:09,110
He was born in a rare interregnum between two major shogunates.
481
01:05:09,110 --> 01:05:11,560
He was aware that his style was not a good fit for his time,
482
01:05:11,560 --> 01:05:16,710
yet he was unable to give up on his dream and his style.
483
01:05:16,710 --> 01:05:26,540
That was probably his only irrationality,
when he was a rationalist in everything else he did.
484
01:05:47,990 --> 01:05:49,850
Miyamoto Musashi.
485
01:05:50,310 --> 01:05:55,590
The supreme rationalist with an unreachable dream.
486
01:05:55,590 --> 01:06:00,360
This is the ultimate philosophy he forged after his extreme studies.