It is also well known that in Japan the martial arts and the military class have had a long connection with Buddhism, a religion that has as its very first precept the prohibition of killing or causing harm. There were the great number of warrior-priests in Nara during the Heian period (794–1185), the Hojo regents of the Kamakura period (1185–1333) who bolstered themselves against the Mongol invaders with Zen philosophy and meditation, and even among Musashi’s opponents one of the most formidable was the spearman-priest at the Hozoin temple.
The Zen sect in particular seems to have been attractive to the warrior class. With its rigorous discipline and uncomplicated methods of concentration, its insistence on the transcendence of the border between life and death, and its emphasis on practice and action rather than intellectual argument, Zen was well suited for warriors who had to put their lives on the line with quick, intuitive decisions. For these men, even some realization of the Zen concepts of muga, or No-self, and munen, or No-thought, must have helped them live their lives with equanimity.
Although Musashi seems to have begun his life in a Pure Land Buddhist household, and may well have spent time with Hon’ami Koetsu at his mostly Nichiren Buddhist artists’ conclave in his Kyoto days, he eventually made a commitment to Zen. This can be understood by his relationship with the Zen priests at the Hosokawa domain in Kumamoto at the end of his life, and most clearly by the subjects of his art such as Bodhidharma and Hotei. As a literate and highly inquisitive man, it is likely that he read through a number of the Zen Buddhist texts, and not just at Kumamoto, but throughout his life. As evidenced by his acquaintance with the concepts of Emptiness and No-thought in The Book of Five Rings, he probably had studied such Zen staples as the Heart Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, and the Mumonkan long before he arrived in Kyushu.
Another favorite in the Zen library that seems a constant presence in The Book of Five Rings is the early Chinese work, the Hsinhsinming (信心銘; in Japanese, Shinjinmei). This is a long poem of short, easy-toremember couplets, expounding the basic principles of Zen, and is said to be heavily flavored by Taoist concepts. The monk accredited with its authorship, Seng-ts’an, was the third patriarch of Zen (in Chinese, Ch’an) in China. He is thought to have died around 606 C.E. Just when this work was transmitted to Japan is not known, but it seems to have been widely read by Zen adepts since the thirteenth century.
The reader is by now well acquainted with the principles Musashi emphasized, so perhaps some examples of but a few of the Hsinhsinming’s 146 couplets will be sufficient to indicate how the swordsman will have warmed to its philosophy and made it part and parcel of his own.
To reach the Way is not difficult,
only avoid picking and choosing.
If you want to see its manifestation,
don’t live in “order” or “reverse.”
The conflict between correct and incorrect,
this makes the mind ill.
With the smallest bit of affirmation or denial,
the mind is lost in complications.
Release it and things will be as they are;
its essence is neither in going nor staying.
If the mind makes no differences,
all things are just as they are.
In the end, ultimately,
things do not reside in ruts or rules.
No residing here, no residing there;
the ten directions before your very eyes.
One thing is exactly everything;
everything is exactly one thing.
If you’re able to be like this,
why worry about what is incomplete?
Living and acting without preferences, keeping the mind wide open, applying the same principle to all Ways, and living without regret. The Hsinhsinming would have spoken to Musashi and reinforced what he had experienced in the intense affairs of his everyday life. Indeed, it is doubtful that such Zen literature would have “taught” Musashi anything about his art, but instead would have given him an intelligible framework with which to work on the dark and nameless concepts he had already made his own.
APPENDIX
3
A Musashi Filmography
What follows is a chronological listing of cinematic productions concerning Miyamoto Musashi that remain on record. Those produced from 1940 on are generally, if not widely, available today. Each movie’s title is given in English and then Japanese, followed by the names of the studio, the director, and, finally, the actors according to their roles. Note that some of these films in foreign release bear titles quite different from the original Japanese titles.
For those movies made before 1924, the names of the directors and actors are lost to history. In fact, much information, like the details of Musashi’s life, has been lost. Smaller studios may have produced more obscure movies of which there are no extant records, and even some of the works noted in this list were destroyed in the fire bombing of Tokyo during World War II.
As of this writing, by far the most accessible of the movies available to a non-Japanese audience on home video is the three-part saga by Inagaki Hiroshi known as Samurai or Samurai Trilogy released from 1954 to 1956, the first of which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. For non-Japanese-speaking film buffs who may want to view some of the non-English releases, familiarity with Yoshikawa Eiji’s novel Musashi would go a long way toward following the plots of many if not most of these films.
1908
Miyamoto Musashi’s Subjugation of the Lustful Old Man
(Miyamoto Musashi Hihi Taiji no Ba; 宮本武蔵狒々退治の場)
Yoshizawa Shoten (puppets)
1909
The Legend of Miyamoto’s Valor (Miyamoto Buyu Den; 宮本武勇伝)
M. Patei
1911
The Legend of Miyamoto’s Valor (Miyamoto Buyu Den; 宮本武勇伝)
Yokota Shokai
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本無三四)
Yokota Shokai
1914
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Nikkatsu Kyoto
Director: Makino Shozo
Miyamoto Musashi: Onoe Matsunosuke
1915
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Tenkatsu Osaka
Miyamoto Musashi: Ichikawa Ichijuro
1918
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本無三四)
Nikkatsu
Miyamoto Musashi: Onoe Matsunosuke
1919
Miyamoto Musashi Den (宮本武蔵伝)
Tenkatsu Kyoto
Director: Yoshino Jiro
1921
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Nikkatsu
Miyamoto Musashi: Onoe Matsunosuke
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Shochiku
Miyamoto Musashi: Sawamura Shirogoro
1924
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本無三四)
Nikkatsu Kyoto
Director: Kobayashi Yaroku
Miyamoto Musashi: Onoe Matsunosuke
1927
The Legend of Miyamoto’s Valor (Miyamoto Buyu Den; 宮本武勇伝)
Toa
Director: Goto Shusei
Miyamoto Musashi: Mitsuoka Ryuzaburo. Sasaki Kojiro: Segawa Michisaburo
1929
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Chiezo Production
Director: Inoue Kintaro
Miyamoto Musashi: Kataoka Chiezo
1930
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Makino Film Productions
Director: Katsumi Masayoshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Tanizaki Juro. Sasaki Kojiro: Tojo Takeru
1935
The Legend of the Valor at Sekiguchi (Sekiguchi Buyu Den; 関口武勇伝)
Kyokuto
Director: Nishina Kumahiko
Miyamoto Musashi: Shiba Kaisuke
1936
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Daito
Director: Otomo Ryuza
Miyamoto Musashi: Mizushima Michitaro. Sasaki Kojiro: Ukita Shozaburo
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Kanjuro Production
Director: Takizawa Eisuke
Miyamoto Musashi: Arashi Kanjuro. Otsu: Mori Shizuko.
Matahachi: Sugiyama Shosankyu (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1937
Miyamoto Musashi : The Earth Chapter
(Miyamoto Musashi: Chi no maki; 宮本武蔵地の巻) Nikkatsu
Director: Ozaki Jun
Miyamoto Musashi: Kataoka Chiezo. Otsu: Todoroki Yukiko.
Matahachi: Hara Kensaku (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
Miyamoto Musashi: The Wind Chapter
(Miyamoto Musashi: Kaze no maki; 宮本武蔵風の巻)
Jo Studio
Director: Ishibashi Seiichi
Miyamoto Musashi: Kurokawa Yataro. Sasaki Kojiro: Sawamura Shonosuke. Otsu: Takao Mitsuko. Matahachi: Kiyokawa Soji (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1938
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Daito
Director: Otomo Ryuzo
Miyamoto Musashi: Matsuyama Sozaburo. Sasaki Kojiro: Daijoji Hachiro
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Shinko
Director: Mori Kazuo
Miyamoto Musashi: Otani Hideo
1940
Miyamoto Musashi: (1) The Pioneers (2) Gateway to Success (3) The One Road of Sword and Mind
(Miyamoto Musashi: 1. Kusawake no Hitobito, 2. Eitatsu no Mon, 3. Kenshin Ichiro; 宮本武蔵 (1) 草分の人々 (2) 栄達の門 (3) 剣心一路)
Nikkatsu
Director: Inagaki Hiroshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Kataoka Chiezo. Sasaki Kojiro: Tsukigata Ryunosuke. Otsu: Miyagi Chikako (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1942
Duel at Hannya Slope (Kessen Hannyazaka; 決戦般若坂)
Daito
Director: Saeki Kozo
Miyamoto Musashi: Konoe Jushiro. Otsu: Shiroki Sumire (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
Duel at Ichijoji (Ichijoji Ketto; 一乗寺決闘)
Nikkatsu
Director: Inagaki Hiroshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Kataoka Chiezo. Otsu: Miyagi Chikako. Yoshioka Seijuro: Asaka Shinpachiro (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1943
Initiation to the Two-Sword Style (Nito-ryu Kaigan; 二刀流開眼)
Daiei
Director: Ito Daisuke
Miyamoto Musashi: Kataoka Chiezo. Otsu: Soma Chieko (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1944
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Shochiku
Director: Mizoguchi Kenji
Miyamoto Musashi: Kawarazaki Chojuro. Otsu: Tanaka Kinuyo
(BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1950–51
Sasaki Kojiro (in three parts) (佐々木小次郎)
Morita Production
Director: Inagaki Hiroshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Mifune Toshiro. Sasaki Kojiro: Otani Tomoemon
1952
Musashi and Kojiro (Musashi to Kojiro; 武蔵と小次郎)
Shochiku
Director: Makino Masahiro
Miyamoto Musashi: Tatsumi Ryutaro. Sasaki Kojiro: Shimada Shogo
Coward at Ganryu Island (Koshinuke Ganryujima; 腰抜け巌流島)
Daiei
Director: Mori Kazuo
Miyamoto Musashi: Morishige Hisaya. Sasaki Kojiro: Oizumi Akira. Otsu: Sanjo Miki. Nagaoka Sado: Ban Junzaburo
1954
Samurai I (a.k.a., The Legend of Musashi; Samurai Trilogy, part 1) (Miyamoto Musashi ; 宮本武蔵)
Toho
Director: Inagaki Hiroshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Mifune Toshiro. Otsu: Yachigusa Kaoru.
Matahachi: Mikuni Rentaro. Akemi: Okada Mariko
—Academy Award for Best Foreign Film (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
—AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH-SUBTITLED VERSION—
1955
Samurai II (a.k.a., The Duel at Ichijoji Temple; Samurai Trilogy, part 2)
(Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijoji Ketto; 続宮本武蔵 一乗寺決闘)
Toho
Director: Inagaki Hiroshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Mifune Toshiro; Sasaki Kojiro: Tsuruta Koji. Otsu: Yachigusa Kaoru. Matahachi: Sakai Sachio. Shishido Baiken: Mizushima Michitaro (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
—AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH-SUBTITLED VERSION—
1956
Samurai III (a.k.a., Duel at Ganryu Island; Samurai Trilogy, part 3)
(Ketto Ganryujima; 決闘巌流島)
Toho
Director: Inagaki Hiroshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Mifune Toshiro. Sasaki Kojiro: Tsuruta Koji. Nagaoka Sado: Shimura Takashi (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
—AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH-SUBTITLED VERSION—
Summary of the Secret Legend of Moonlight
(Hiden Tsukikage Sho; 秘伝月影抄)
Daiei
Director: Tasaka Katsuhiko
Miyamoto Musashi: Kurokawa Yataro
The Master Swordsman’s Two-Sword Style (Kengo Nito-ryu; 剣豪二刀流)
Toei
Director: Matsuda Sadaji
Miyamoto Musashi: Kataoka Chiezo. Sasaki Kojiro: Azuma Chiyonosuke
1957
Sasaki Kojiro (Part 1) (佐々木小次郎・前編)
Toei
Director: Saeki Kiyoshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Kataoka Chiezo. Sasaki Kojiro: Azuma Chiyonosuke
Sasaki Kojiro (part 2) (佐々木小次郎・後編)
Toei
Director: Saeki Kiyoshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Kataoka Chiezo. Sasaki Kojiro: Azuma Chiyonosuke
1959
The Night Before Ganryu Island (Ganryujima Zen’ya; 巌流島前夜)
Shochiku
Director: Osone Tatsuo
Miyamoto Musashi: Mori Miki. Sasaki Kojiro: Kitagami Yataro
1960
The Two Musashis (Futari no Musashi; 二人の武蔵)
Daiei
Director: Watanabe Kunio
Hirata Musashi: Hasegawa Kazuo. Okamoto Musashi: Ichikawa Raizo. Sasaki Kojiro: Katsu Shintaro
1961
Miyamoto Musashi (a.k.a., Zen and Sword, part 1) (宮本武蔵)
Toei
Director: Uchida Tomu
Miyamoto Musashi: Nakamura Kinnosuke. Otsu: Irie Wakaba. Matahachi: Kimura Isao (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1962
Duel at Hannya Pass (a.k.a., Zen and Sword, part 2)
(Hannyazaka no Ketto; 般若坂の決斗)
Toei
Director: Uchida Tomu
Miyamoto Musashi: Nakamura Kinnosuke. Otsu: Irie Wakaba. Takuan: Mikuni Rentaro (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1963
Initiation to the Two-Sword Style (a.k.a., Zen and Sword, part 3)
(Nito-ryu Kaigan; 二刀流開眼)
Toei
Director: Uchida Tomu
Miyamoto Musashi: Nakamura Kinnosuke. Sasaki Kojiro: Takakura Ken. Otsu: Irie Wakaba. Akemi: Oka Satomi (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1964
Miyamoto Musashi: Duel at Ichijoji (a.k.a., Zen and Sword, part 4)
(Ichijoji no Ketto; 一乗寺の決斗)
Toei
Director: Uchida Tomu
Miyamoto Musashi: Nakamura Kinnosuke. Sasaki Kojiro: Takakura Ken. Otsu: Irie Wakaba. Yoshioka Seijuro: Ebara Shinjiro. Yoshioka Denshichiro: Hira Mikijiro. Osugi: Akagi Harue & Naniwa Chieko (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1965
Duel at Ganryu Island (a.k.a., Zen and Sword, part 5)
(Ganryujima no Ketto; 巌流島の決斗)
Toei
Director: Uchida Tomu
Miyamoto Musashi: Nakamura Kinnosuke. Sasaki Kijiro: Takakura Ken. Otsu: Irie Wak
aba. Nagaoka Sado: Kataoka Chiezo. Yagyu Tajima no kami: Tamura Takahiro (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
1967
Sasaki Kojiro (佐々木小次郎)
Toho
Director: Inagaki Hiroshi
Miyamoto Musashi: Nakadai Tatsuya. Sasaki Kojiro: Onoe Kikunosuke
1971
Swords of Death (Shinken Shobu; 真剣勝負)
Toho
Director: Uchida Tomu
Miyamoto Musashi: Nakamura Kinnosuke. Shishido Baiken: Mikuni Rentaro. Shishido’s wife: Okiyama Hideko (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
—AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH-SUBTITLED VERSION—
1973
Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵)
Shochiku
Director: Kato Tai
Miyamoto Musashi: Takahashi Hideki. Sasaki Kojiro: Tamiya Jiro. Otsu: Matsuzaka Keiko. Matahachi: Franky Sakai. Takuan: Ryu Chishu (BASED ON YOSHIKAWA EIJI’S MIYAMOTO MUSASHI)
NOTES
Prologue
1. The other battleship was the Yamato, the ancient name for Japan. These twin ships and the ideals that they represented gave hope to the country toward the end of the war, and it seems fair to imagine that these names were chosen because the spirit of one was considered identical to the spirit of the other.
CHAPTER
ONE
The Way of the Sword: Banshu to Ganryu Island
1. Gaki daisho: leader of a children’s gang or group of kids. Gaki means “hungry ghost,” the inhabitants of the second-lowest of the six realms in Buddhist belief. They have distended stomachs and pinhole-sized throats, and can never get enough to eat. Japanese people still affectionately call children “gaki.” Daisho (Taisho) means general.
The Lone Samurai Page 23
