Samurai certainly developed their own culture that was unique to them. They were more then just warriors, they had a unique lifestyle that followed, and in fact you will be surprised at some of the things you learn.

First of all Samurai may not have been the brightest souls in Japan, but they were certainly educated. Yes, Samurai were expected to know how to read and write, they were also encouraged to engage themselves in other arts. Samurai also had a series of different names throughout the course of their lives. All of the names were important to the Samurai in some way. At birth, a Samurai’s given name would stay with him until his coming of age. They were typically strong sounding; you know the “Big and Bad Samurai to be”. For example a common name might have been ‘Victory Forever’, a little bit pretentious yes but these were Samurai. As children Samurai were also given nicknames, for instance the sons might be nicknamed by order of their birth like firstborn: ‘Taro’. As a Samurai came of age, he would be given a name more fitting of him, firing of his character and fighting ability.

In terms of clothing, Samurai typically wore a Kimono and typically consisted of two layers, an outer and inner. There were also winter and summer kimonos, a ceremony would typically be held for the exchanging of summer to winter Kimonos and vice versa. The Kimonos were also plain, and bright or lavishly decorated kimonos were seen as foolish and immodest. This was the opposite however for women in Samurai families as well as young children. Beneath the kimono, a loincloth was worn. Socks were also worn and were called tabi, they were made to separate the first toe form the rest, in order to wear sandals. And yes, Samurai typically wore sandals, and sometimes clogs. There were also special raincoats that Samurai wore, they were made out of straw and are called Kappa. To top it all off, Samurai wore obi, a belt, in order to secure their swords in place at their waist. Hairstyle was also important for Samurai, and it was typically a topknot. This consisted of oiled hair that was slicked back and tied tightly at the top.

Of course, in terms of food, the main dish was rice. Rice was actually seen as food for the wealthy. Typically peasants ate millet. For Samurai, a daily portion of rice would be about 900 grams. Besides rice, potatoes, radishes, beans, cucumbers, yams, various nuts, peaches, apples, and several other foods were also eaten. More importantly fish served as a huge supply of food. Drinking wise, it is of no surprise that Sake was extremely popular, although, we must not forget tea.

When Samurai were to be married a person of higher rank or equal would arrange the marriage. They would typically choose women from a Samurai family. Although, Lower ranked Samurai were allowed to marry commoners. Samurai were also surprisingly allowed to divorce their wives given certain conditions. They had to obtain approval from someone of higher rank. Divorces were though, rare and a typical reason for divorce could be: the wife could not produce viable offspring. A better solution for this though, would have been adoption. Surprisingly also, women could divorce their husbands too, in the end however, it would appear as if the Samurai had divorced her.

And so that is how the culture of Samurai was, unique, and altogether interesting. But then again, what is there about Samurai that is not interesting?

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A true warrior, a woman, a leader.

Tomoe Gozen, was famed for both her beauty and skill as a martial artist. She is one of the most famed Females in Samurai History, and was a true example of a female warrior. She is described as a fearless warrior with great skill, one who “went into battle like a man”. Men both feared and admired her, she had the traits of a God, and no one defied her.

Gozen spent most of her years in the Heike Wars during the 12th Century. She was married to the famous General, Kiso Yoshinaka. Most of what is known about this grand warrior comes from stories and legends. You see, Gozen was not simply a female who knew how to defend her home well with a naginata like most females. Nor was she a female ashigaru (light foot soldier). She was indeed a high level samurai who possessed great skills in archery, riding, and kenjutsu. This meant that she was skilled in the Katana (kenjutsu refers to martial artists who specialize in the Katana).

Gozen was also fiercely loyal to her general; Minamoto no Yoshinaka. She became one of his senior captions in battle and even led his troops. Men respected her, and she fought right along with thing. If anything, this alone proves her worth as a Samurai, as men generally perceived woman as weak and inferior. Much of her life however is shrouded in mystery; there are many tales that account what happened to her. What is known for certain however is this, after Yoshinaka defeated the Heike in one of their battles, Yoshinaka desired to become the leader of the Minamoto clan. However, Minamoto no Yoritomo sent his brothers to kill Yoshinaka. Yoshinaka fought his foes in what is known as the battle of Awazu in 1184 on February 21. Yoshinaka and his troops were however, outnumbered and defeated. It must be noted also, that Gozen came out with at least one head of the enemy. When Yoshinaka was defeated he ordered Goken to flee on the principle that it would be shameful for him to die with a woman. What happened afterwords is cloudy, much mystery still surrounds Goken, and some believe her to be some sort of Goddess.

In short, Tomoe was beautiful and strong. She would have been ready to confront the devil himself. She was a warrior worthy of respect, she outweighed many male warriors in terms of courage, worth, and skill. She was and always will be a true Samurai.

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Sasaki was a great warrior for sure, but unlike most great warrior he was not remembered for his triumph, but rather for his loss. A brutal loss at that, Kojiro fought the legendary Miyamoto Musashi and lost. But before the loss, Sasaki was a prominent and famous swordsman, although he was like Musashi a bit odd when it came to weaponry choice. You see, he utilized a nodachi with a 90 cm straightedge blade. This weapon was also nicknamed the clothes drying pole because of its length. Surprisingly Sasaki was able to manipulate this sword in such a way that he fought with grace and speed. He was indeed a great warrior, and he was most certainly Musashi’s greatest challenge.

As a fighter, he went by the name of Ganryu, which literally meant large rock flow. This was also the name of the school that he taught at. Ganryu became famous at first, after he was honored by Lord Hosokawa Tadoki as the chief weapons master. Ganryu developed also, with his strange weapon, a unique style of fighting. It was called the Turning wallow cut, and was named after the animal. It was so called because the technique was an exact replica of the motion of a swallow’s tail in flight. His technique was quick and exact, and most likely involved a quick striking motion downward fooled by a quick strike upwards.

Soon, Ganryu had developed quite some fame, at the same time Musashi had developed into a famous warrior as well. Naturally the two were rivals, and as well Musashi wanted to challenge him to a duel. So he asked the lord Hosokawa Tadoki for permission to duel with Ganryu. Obviously, the lord agreed and the duel was set for April 13 1612 on the island of Ganryujima. This was a remote island, and was required so that none of Ganryu’s students would interfere.

As you may already know, Musashi arrived late, three hours late to be exact. At that he came gloating and taunting his rival. So naturally, Kojiro attacked first, but did nothing more than cause Musashi’s hair to swish in the air. Although, that is not to say that Kojiro did not cause any damage, because he came very close to victory several times. He lost it when Musaashi delivered a final blow to his skull with a wooden bokken.

This is not the only version of the story however; there are debates as to what really happened, but they generally run along the same lines. There are some that debate also that Musashi cheated in order to win, although we hope that this is not the case, as it is nice to think of the existence of a true Great among the warriors.

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Sure you have seen powerful swordsman in popular anime, films, and the like. But it is really impeccable when one hears of a real life “manslayer”. Miyamoto Musashi certainly was a great swordsman and he is considered to be perhaps the greatest swordsman of all time. Musashi, as he is known, gained his fame by remaining triumphant throughout various duels in his lifetime.

Musashi was born in 1584; his father was a skilled martial artist and master of the sword. When he was young, he won two out of three matches against Master Swordsman Yoshioka. It was then that he was granted the title “Best in Japan”. So, at this point it is obvious that this swordsmanship runs in the family. In terms of schooling, Musashi studied at Yoshioka ryu school. And, according to his book: The Book of Five Rings, Musashi fought in his first duel at the age of 13 against Arima Kihei. This was also his first victory. After that, at the age of 15, Musashi started in his travels, at which he also took part in several duels.

At the age of 20, Musashi arrived at the Yoshioka School to duel. Legend has it that he defeated all three brothers, and masters of the school. After leaving the school and Kyoto, and traveled all over Japan in an effort to hone in on his skills. On April 14, 1612, at age 28 Musashi dueled his most famous duel of all time. He fought with Sasaki Kojiro who wielded a nodachi. A nodachi, is a very large field sword. Musashi quickly defeated his opponent with a bokken, a wooden training sword. From 1614 to 1615 Musahi also joined the service. He helped in the battle between the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa. Musahi fought for the Toyotomi.

In 1643, sensing his declining health, Musashi retired from his dueling days to become a hermit and write. It was at this time that he wrote The Book of Five Rings. He died in June 1645 because of thoracic cancer, which is notable in its own sense, because he did not die in battle. Musashi was certainly a famous swordsman, there have been, in fact 36 films made about him, and 6 of those with the title Miyamoto Musashi.

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The Book of Five Rings was written by none other than Miyamoto Musashi who is and was the greatest swordsman and warrior that ever lived. In the Book of five Rings, Musashi goes in depth into sword fighting strategy and the philosophy of Zen. This is more than just a fighting manual however; it is a manual on how to prosper in life.

More than just a book, this is a passageway, a bridge of sorts, connecting you the reader to the great mind of this amazing warrior. You gain, as you read, knowledge that is unparalleled. Musashi simply does not tell you “how to fight”. He does delve into the philosophy behind combat art. You will learn also, that the most powerful weapon you hold is not one that fits in your hand, but rather your mind. With that, you will learn how to strengthen your mind, and improve your body as a whole.

Although with that said, this is certainty not an easy read. It is a book however that should be mediated on, studied almost. Secondly the principles taught in this book take years upon years to master. There is no such thing as the “overnight warrior”. Practice is absolutely essential for any warrior, and musashi was no exception.

The Book of Five Rings also serves as a source of life metaphors, and although it may seem difficult to connect your life to that of something in Medieval Japan, it is possible. Just make sure that you read with an open mind, and be ready to engage yourself in deep thought and refection. This book is so powerful in fact, that it requires a second, third, and fourth read. That s to say, one must revisit Musashi’s soul in order to fully gasp the concepts of his work.

The book itself is composed of five parts, and refers to he fact that there are different elements of battle just as there are different elements of life. The five different chapters are the Ground, water, fire, wind, and void chapters respectively. There are also, according to Musashi, five attitudes of swordsmanship, which refer to the five classifications of areas for attack on the human body. They are upper, middle, lower, left side, and right side, respectively. Musashi was a great warrior, and it is clearly evident in this work.

Quotes:

“In battle, if you make your opponent flinch, you have already won.”

“Do nothing which is of no use.”

“Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters”

“Develop intuitive judgment and understanding for everything”

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