Musashi apparently was in his garden pruning his trees when Muso arrived. He took with him his Rukosahaku Bo (six foot staff). Feeling confident and very cocky, Muso obtained an address and prepared to pay Musashi a visit. But the encounter told by the 25th headmaster of the Shindo Muso Ryu, Shimizu Takaji is probably a truer version and is the story I will reiterate here: Muso having traveled to the same area (quite by chance) as Musashi heard that the famous sword master was living near-by. Now there have been numerous telling of their encounters, some were fanciful, some depicting long duels and Musashi winning by trapping Muso's Rokoshaku Bo (six foot staff) between his two sword blades (Musashi is also famous for developing Ni-To Ryu or two-swords school). Muso of course fit the latter category and it was fitting that these two were destined to meet. Musashi was a Ronin (master less Samurai) who kept a relatively low profile, fighting for Daimyos (War Lords) and accepting challenges by those who fancied themselves against him. Muso went from school to school challenging teachers to better his skills and make a name for himself. These two men were similar, but different. Musashi as a young boy, had killed his first opponent at the age of 13, with a Bokken (wooden sword), no less! A young undefeated Swordsman by the name of Miyamoto Musashi. Like Muhammad Ali, Muso brought a lot of attention to himself, but this wasn't a problem, as Muso could, like Ali would, back up all the bragging with exceptional skill and an almost transcendence of mere physical fighting abilities.Īlso around this time another legendary warrior was making his mark in Japan. This was no mean feat as most of the teachers he challenged were sword masters, Muso defeated all, with just his Bo. During this period, Muso was undefeated and it is said he wore a bright kimono with the kanji, number one under the sun, on his back. This basically meant he went from dojo to dojo (school to school) and challenged the head masters of the different styles. Muso armed with teaching licenses from the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu and the Kashima-Shin Ryu, became a Mushashugyo (a warrior who trained in many dojo to try out his skill). This exciting, young, talented Bo (Staff) master was a name to be feared by most Budo-Ka (Martial Arts exports) around this time. Muso Gonnusuke could have probably lived in any era and still reached the heights of fame and notoriety he did, in and around 1600 in Japan.
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