At a glance
- Age
- 61
- Born
- November 30, 1583
- From
- Harima Province
- Lives in
- Chiba Castle
- Nationality
- Japan
Biography
The line most people meet first is from The Book of Five Rings, written near the end of his life. It came from a man who had already settled the question of whether his methods worked: 62 duels, no defeats.
He fought using two blades at once, an approach unusual enough that it became part of how he was remembered. From it he founded a school of swordsmanship, Niten Ichi-ryū. Japan came to regard him as a kensei — a sword saint — a status built as much on the stories told about him as on the record itself.
He was also a painter and a writer, and it is the writing that has outlived everything else. In his last years he produced two texts: The Book of Five Rings, on strategy, and Dokkōdō, a shorter set of precepts. Born in Harima Province in 1583, he died in 1645.
He fought using two blades at once, an approach unusual enough that it became part of how he was remembered. From it he founded a school of swordsmanship, Niten Ichi-ryū. Japan came to regard him as a kensei — a sword saint — a status built as much on the stories told about him as on the record itself.
He was also a painter and a writer, and it is the writing that has outlived everything else. In his last years he produced two texts: The Book of Five Rings, on strategy, and Dokkōdō, a shorter set of precepts. Born in Harima Province in 1583, he died in 1645.
Quotes 4
“Truth is not what you want it to be; it is what it is. You must bend to its power or live a lie.”
“Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.”
“The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win.”
“Do not sleep under a roof. Carry no money or food. Go alone to places frightening to the common brand of men.”
