His Book of Five Rings is now considered a landmark text on martial arts and strategy.

Having never been bested in battle, Musashi later retired from dueling and became an acclaimed ink painter and writer. Kojiro was known as one of Japan’s greatest swordsmen, yet Musashi easily dodged his attacks and delivered a fatal blow with his wooden weapon. He is said to have perfected a two-blade fighting technique, but he was so accomplished that he often engaged in single combat armed with only a wooden sword, or “bokken.” One such duel came in 1612, when he squared off against a rival samurai named Sasaki Kojiro using a sword carved from the oar of a boat.

While he occasionally served as a soldier, Musashi spent much of his career wandering the Japanese countryside and doing battle with any warrior who dared challenge him. The life of Japanese samurai Miyamoto Musashi is obscured by myth and legend, but this “sword saint” reportedly survived 60 duels-the first of which was fought when he was just 13 years old. Musashi Miyamoto with two Bokken from an ancient Japanese scroll.

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