When armor and swords clashed...

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

Originally Posted by Excessum

Btw, >here< is a good article on Miyamoto Musashi... You should know him, he IS the most famous samurai, sword crafter and philosopher in Japanese culture...

Yeah Miyamoto Musashi was wicked cool. I love that history period of Japan, there is so much information to learn on Tokugawa Ieyasu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi etc. It is so interesting to me.

[CoolNard]

how did he die?
im assuming he got honourably killed in a battlefield of blood or smth.. hmm...

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

Who are you referring to? Miyamoto? If so here's a bit of information:

Miyamoto was a famous Japanese swordsman, and is considered as the greatest samurai. He is believed to have been one of the most skilled swordsmen in history. Musashi, as he is often simply known, became legendary through his outstanding swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age.

He is the founder of the Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu, or Niten Ryu style of swordsmanship and wrote The Book of Five Rings a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today.


It is notable that Musashi died of what is believed to be thoracic cancer, and was not killed in combat. He died peacefully after finishing the Dokkodo ("The Way of Walking Alone", or "The Way of Self-Reliance"), 21 precepts on self-discipline to guide future generations.

His body was interred in armor within the village of Yuge, near the main road near Mount Iwato, facing the direction the Hosokawas would travel to Edo; his hair was buried on Mount Iwato itself.

Nine years later, a major source about his life—a monument with a funereal eulogy to Musashi—was erected in Kokura by Miyamoto Iori; this monument was called the Kokura hibun.

[Excessum]

Originally Posted by Kanji_The_Wanderer

...Nine years later, a major source about his life—a monument with a funereal eulogy to Musashi—was erected in Kokura by Miyamoto Iori; this monument was called the Kokura hibun.

[lame]A great rock for a guy that rocked! [/lame]

[CoolNard]

Wow, nice going, Excessum! Good pun too, i guess... O.o
So anyone know any more famus samurai?

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

I forgot all about this thread!
There were so many! I'll be editing this post soon with some more.

Okay! more famous samurais. I like this one:

Sanada Yukimura, 1567-May 7, 1615 was a Japanese samurai, second son of the Sengoku period Daimyo, Sanada Masayuki. His proper name was Sanada Nobushige, named after Takeda Shingen's younger brother Takeda Nobushige, who was a brave and respected warrior.

Sanada Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in hundred years", and Shimazu Tadatsune called him the "number one soldier in Japan."

He was the second son of Sanada Masayuki. He was married to Akihime a foster-daughter of Otani Yoshitsugu. They had two sons, Daisuke and Daihachi, and several daughters.

In 1575, the Battle of Nagashino claimed the lives of two of Sanada Masayuki's elder brothers. Masayuki, previously serving Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori, as a retainer, who inherited the Sanada clan and left for Ueda Castle. Yukimura also went, taking the Sanada name as well.

1582: Oda-Tokugawa forces had destroyed the Takeda clan. The Sanada surrendered to Oda Nobunaga, but, after the Incident at Honnōji, became free, drifting between stronger daimyo such as the Uesugi clan, the late Hōjō clan, and the Tokugawa clan. Eventually, the Sanada clan became a vassal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

During this period, Hideyoshi treated Yukimura with extreme care and hospitality. Hideyoshi's fondness is shown by the fact that Yukimura was given the right to use the surname of Toyotomi Clan.

The Sanadas retreated to and fortified Ueda Castle. When Tokugawa Hidetada marched a large army on the Nakasendō the Sanadas resisted and were able to fight back Hidetada's 40,000 men with only 2,000. However, it took much longer to take the castle than was expected. Hidetada lost focus and never showed up on the battlefield during the Battle of Sekigahara where the main force was awaiting the arrival of his crucial army.

Because of this, Tokugawa Ieyasu wanted to execute the Sanadas, but, because of Nobuyuki's contribution to his own cause, they were spared and instead exiled to Kudoyama in Kii Province. Masayuki died there. Twelve years later, as the relations between the Toyotomi clan and Tokugawa shogunate soured, the Toyotomi clan started to recruit ronin in preparation for war. Yukimura escaped from Kudoyama and entered Osaka Castle to answer the call.


Sanada Yukimura at Sanko Shrine, located just south of Osaka castle. During the Winter Siege of Osaka, Sanada Yukimura built fortifications along the south of Osaka Castle at its weak points. From there, he defeated the Tokugawa forces approximately 30,000 men with groups of 6000 arquebusiers.

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

The next year, during the Summer Siege of Osaka, Yukimura decided not to fight defensively but to attack the Tokugawa forces head-on. First he defeated 12,000 mounted led by Date Masamune (who is considered to be one of two best strategists in the creative and unique use of an army of cavalry and footmen totalling 3,000.

After the army of Date Masamune was defeated, the elite Echizen armies behind him, approximately 20,000 - 30,000 in number, dared not move forward to fight Yukimura. Yukimura's army shouted "one million boys in the eastern army, not one real man!" before returning to Osaka castle.

The next day, Yukimura attacked Tokugawa Ieyasu's army directly. His charges were so ferocious that he purportedly reached Tokugawa Ieyasu's main camp several times.

Though not many sources can verify the actual facts, during the Summer Siege of Osaka in 1615, Yukimura led several assaults against the Tokugawa main camp using the tactic of 8 kagemushas (decoys) to confuse the enemies. The strength and determination of these attacks was said to have been caused by his personal vendetta against the Tokugawa family.

He reached the main camp thrice, close enough that Ieyasu could be seen from only metres away from their charge, but Yukimura never managed to kill him. After the Osaka castle was captured by the Tokugawa Bakufu, Tokugawa himself was said to have fear of Yukimura's name till his dying days. After this, Yukimura was considered the greatest warrior of the last days of the Sengoku Jidai period.




Statue of Sanada


Ancient Drawing of him.

[Rikku777]

Wow, Thanks L! That is some great info. I was waiting for something like this!
Do you know what era these guys were in? Yeah, yeah, I can see the dates, but I can't look it up right now. Also can someone post a link to this thread in the Japanese Period History Lessons thread? I add it in my table of contents when I get back. Thx!

[CoolNard]

Lol, wow, and I thought intelligence like L's and Light's only existed in anime XD~!

Kanji: Do you seriously have all that in your head?! Sugoi!!

Aww... but either way, he died honorably. *Salutes*

one question: how come Yukimura wasn't able to kill Ieyasu?

[twilightsamurai]

Hmmmm Miyamoto Musashi, now there's a book I found really captivating.
When they did an English translation of "Go Rin No Sho" or the 5 rings it demonstrated just how disgusted he was of the samurai behavior and decided to write a sort of samurai instruction manual on how to fight, how to win and how to be the perfect servant to the lord and land owner.

Tell me though is it true that sword making in Japan was banned until a few years back as some modern day Politicians believed that they should forget their past and continue with the future ?