29/04/2023
⚔️ Sasaki Kojirō vs Miyamoto Musashi.
👉 The duel took place on 13th April 1612, in the remote island of Ganryujima of Funashima.
👉 Sasaki Kojirō and Miyamoto Musashi were involved in one of Japan’s historic duels in 1612. The two swordsmen were bitter rivals at the time. There are several accounts on the story that led to the actual duel; the one considered the most accurate goes like this:
👉 Miyamoto Musashi, wishing to put an end to the notion of who is really the best swordsman, requested Lord Hosokawa Tadaoki (a respected samurai), through his trusted vassal Nagaoka Sado Okinaga, to arrange a duel between the two swordsmen. The duel took place on 13th April 1612, in the remote island of Ganryujima of Funashima, off the coast of the Bizen Province. As part of a strategy to throw off Kojirō ‘s inner state of being, Musashi arrived three hours late.
When he finally arrived, the officials of the duel as well as Sasaki Kojiro were extremely irritated; Kojiro was full of rage. On drawing his katana, he threw his scabbard aside, prompting Musashi to further enrage him by commenting, “If you have no more use for your sheath, you are already dead.”
👉 The duel began with both men on guard as a show of respect for the other’s skill with their own style and technique. In the end, though, there could be only one winner. Musashi had provoked Kojirō to make the first attack. Miyamoto quickly countered and succeeded in breaking Kojirō’s left ribs and puncturing his lungs, eventually killing him. Because of this event, it is thought that Musashi attained spiritual awakening and renounced ever doing lethal duels in the future.
