Musashi Didn't Kill Kojiro - Really!

Ganryujima

An obscure article printed in a Japanese newspaper （​Nihon Keizai Shinbun Jan 29,2010) may not have gained much notice amongst the Japanese readership.  But for those of us that are interested in Japanese history, especially martial history, this article was off the charts.  ​If ever a “Kenshi” or sword saint rose to international fame it would be Miyamoto Musashi. ​

There are many versions of his better known treatises and books in English, quasi biographies, television specials, and books of fiction about him that he has the image of being Japan’s ultimate swordsman.  Like the proverbial sign pronouncing that “George Washington slept here,” it seems that everywhere that Musashi travelled lays claim to some direct transmission of seminal sword knowledge. 

This two- column two-inch article was written by an ex-Prime Minister of Japan named Hosokawa Morihiro.  This is a famous clan name and indeed Hosokawa Morihiro is the 18th successor of the Hosokawa Han (fiefdom) It is home to the castle town of Kumamoto where 7 centuries of archives are housed intact in spite of fires, wars and changes in the social order. 

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