Musashi: From Sekigahara to Reigandō

The Book of Five Rings has Musashi born in Miyamoto, a village in Harima Province, and an early biography gives the year as 1583. Historian Kamiko places the village in the Yoshino district of Mimasaka instead. He later claimed his first duel at 12 or 13, and in 1599 he left his village.

Location precision: Sources disagree on whether Miyamoto lay in Harima or Mimasaka; the pin falls in Harima (Hyōgo) and marks a candidate area only.

In 1600 Musashi served in Kuroda Yoshitaka's army on the Eastern side. The great battle at Sekigahara began at dawn on 21 October 1600, in fog, but whether Musashi was there is unclear. Some scholars think he fought instead at Ishigakihara, in Ōita Prefecture, where Kuroda's force defeated Ōtomo Yoshimune. Historians now generally agree he favoured the Eastern Army, the side that won.

Location precision: Musashi's presence at Sekigahara itself is debated, and Ishigakihara is in Ōita; the pin marks the Sekigahara battlefield area.

Musashi's most famous duel was fixed for 13 April on Ganryū Island, against the swordsman Sasaki Kojirō. The island filled with spectators. Musashi, it is said, arrived late on purpose; Kojirō, who fought with a long nodachi, lost his patience and taunted him. On the boat Musashi had carved an oar into a wooden sword. One vertical stroke ended the duel. Today the island has monuments and a walking path along its west coast.

Visitor guidance: Reached by ferry from Shimonoseki Harbor; part of the island is an industrial site.

In winter 1614 Tokugawa Ieyasu besieged the Toyotomi forces inside Osaka Castle. Musashi is believed to have joined the Tokugawa side, reportedly carrying the banner of the general Mizuno Katsunari. Years later, at the Shimabara Rebellion, he told another commander he had served under Katsunari at Osaka. His adopted son, Miyamoto Mikinosuke, is also said to have served under Katsunari during the siege.

Location precision: Musashi's role at Osaka rests on later accounts and is only 'believed'; the pin marks the castle, not a specific position.

In 1633 Musashi began staying with Hosokawa Tadatoshi, lord of Kumamoto Castle, to train and paint. He became a Hosokawa retainer in 1640. In 1641 he wrote the Thirty-five Instructions on Strategy for Tadatoshi, the basis of his later Book of Five Rings. Kiyomasa had greatly expanded the castle between 1601 and 1607. After the 2016 earthquakes, restoration of the main tower was completed in 2019.

In 1643 Musashi retired to Reigandō, a cave whose name means Spirit Rock Cave, and lived as a hermit to write The Book of Five Rings. He finished it in the second month of 1645. Sources disagree on where he died: the Nitenki says in the cave, while an earlier account says in his residence at the former Chiba Castle grounds in Kumamoto. The cave lies west of Kumamoto and is easily reached by bus.

Visitor guidance: Reached by bus from Kumamoto City or Tamana.