Samurai vs. Samurai : Miyamoto Musashi & The Boat Oar Fight

welcome to history of the okay Coral don't forget to click like subscribe and share this episode with a fellow history lover and now on to tonight's episode Japan April 13th 1612 on a tiny Island known as genri oima located between the larger islands of honu and kyoshu a well-known Samurai named Sasaki kojiro stalks the shoreline growing ever more incensed by the minute he has an appointment as it were to fight another Samurai and one-on-one sword duel the fight is an intensely serious matter one that can and often does lead to Grievous injury and death cojiro is an experienced Samurai the elite warrior class that even at this point in the 1600s has existed in Japan for centuries he is a veteran of many such tools and a highly acclaimed fighter known for his unique fighting style one that is based upon his unique choice of Weaponry cojiro employs a katana the legendary Long Blade of the Samurai that is substantially longer and heavier than the standard sword this has enabled him to strike with great power from greater range than all of his opponents thus far he goes by the fighting name ganu meaning large Rock style it is rumored that cojiro was a student of the legendary swordsman toyen who excelled in the use of the short blade known as the kodachi the local story holds that after months of sparring with a local short blade master cojiro adopted the longblade katana a more cumbersome but powerful weapon which better suited the young Samurai's physicality another account holds that it was actually kanaki jesi himself a former student of Toto saen who was kojiro's teacher regardless of the origin of his fighting style the results of kojiro's natural proclivity and his efforts and training have become the stuff of local Legend in recent years in duel after duel many of them being to the death cojiro has proven his skills and fortitude he is not only a formidable fighter he is one of the best perhaps the best swordsman in all of Japan since the beginning in accordance with the samurai tradition of discipline that will eventually become known as the code of Bushido kojiro has made it a point to show up on time and prepared be it for a training session or an actual duel today has been no different as cojiro has risen at dawn said his prayers dawned his armor and arrived at the appointed place of combat well ahead of time with a slew of onlookers and assistants in toe but his opponent on this day has not seen fit to extend such basic courtesy to all involved this is a major breach of etiquette and cojiro is understandably growing increasingly indignant finally a rowboat appears in the distance placidly making its way towards the island though its arrival is by now hours late The Vessel seems to travel at the speed of someone on a sightseeing tour finally the boat rides the gentle waves into the rocky Shore and out steps an austerely dressed unkempt and apparently unhurried man his demeanor is workmanlike seemingly almost bored as though he has been in this exact same place a hundred times before in an ostere location only minutes away from facing a highly skilled opponent in a fight that could be to the death this is because he has the man's name is mamoto moushi considered by many if not most to be the actual greatest swordsman in Japan considering the gravity of the situation at hand his seeming lack of concern is palpably disconcerted as he strides sure-footed away from the rot mamoto Musashi seems wholly unbothered by his obviously aggravated opponent while suzaki kojiro cuts the expectedly imposing figure of a samurai ornately adorned in polished armor gleaming steel blade in hand emanating an air of controlled Fury held in check only by his years of tireless training mamoto Musashi is clothed in simple garments with uncombed hair and eczema scarred skin however despite his slightly puzzling appearance he seems to possess the cold hard demeanor of a Hitman perhaps the most striking feature of the enigmatic Warrior making his way towards his opponent now is what he lacks a sword of his own instead he carries a boat or that he has spent the preceding few hours carving into a crude makeshift wooden Katana in this world of ritual and respect moushi has introduced an element of unadulterated chaos but in such chaos lies mhi's strategic calculated genius a genius he has fostered over the preceding decades in a life that will will ultimately become the stuff of Japanese Legend mamoto Musashi was born Shin Musashi Noami fujiwara noara noou in either the harima province or the Mimis Saka province in the year 1584 his father shinman munai was himself a legendary swordsman and martial artist Masashi was trained from an early age in both the ways of armed and unarmed combat but it was at the age of only seven that his father cast him into the streets after an argument not allowing him to return with mhi's mother having passed away only a few years earlier he was now relegated defending for himself luckily for the baguer youngster a kindly uncle named Doran Bo took him in and he was raised in a temple near Harajuku here dorino and another uncle named tasumi educated the young moushi in the ways of Buddhism as well as Reading Writing and arithmetic he also continued to train in the martial arts and swordsmanship and according to his own account in his legendary autobiography in treaties on combat known as Goen noo or the book of five rings he fought his first Duel at the age of only 13 Musashi's personal account of the events is as follows I have trained in the way of strategy since my youth at the age of 13 I fought a duel for the first time my opponent was called araki a sword added of the shintu Rio and I defeated him at the age of 16 I defeated a powerful adapt by the name of akiyama who came from the prefecture of Tajima at the age of 21 I went up to Kyoto and fought duels with several adeps of the sword from famous schools but I never lost in the interim at roughly the age of 20 mhi also found himself caught up in one of the deadliest large- scale battles in Japanese history in the year 1600 War had ignited between the the toyami and Tokugawa Clans Musashi had fought on the side of the toyami and what was known as the army of the West he is reported to have participated in the defense of jiu Castle The Assault on Fushimi castle and the devastating defeat suffered at the Battle of SE gahara during the Battle of SE gahara toyot tomi's Army of the West Was decisively routed and its forces dispersed as the men fled into the surrounding Villages and Countryside according to Legend moushi had sought refuge in the wilderness surrounding Mount heiko or hosan here he trained relentlessly refining the Marshall skills he had learned as a child over the coming years he would build his reputation as a formidable fighter as he traveled Japan to compete against other Samurai and Duels though not all duels were to the death unless this stipulation had been previously agreed to by both combatants injury was not uncommon and the Damage Done to one's reputation was often seen by many as worse than death as the years passed moushi built a progressively more formidable reputation as not only a skilled fighter but an innovator and a refiner of techniques as well as a deeply contemplative Warrior he would continue to live a vagabond likee existence until 1611 where he had begun to frequent the mioji dasan hin where he had met a man who served as a vassel to Lord hokus Sawa tadaoki a powerful local Lord who had been given charge of Northern kosu the man was named agoka sedo the two men developed a friendship at the temple as SED was well aware of Musashi's reputation and was likely an admirer of his skills as well some sources cite sedo as the critical proponent of the duel between moushi and sojiro arguing repeatedly that the time had come to determine who was in fact the greatest swordsman in Japan after the customary Challenge and negotiation the date of April 13th 1612 had been agreed to now the day of the fight has arrived and though the Gathering of Spectators has been expressly forbidden by Civic officials this has done little in the way of actually prohibiting onlookers from crowding onto the shoreline in hopes of catching even a glimpse of what will likely go down as the greatest Samurai duel in history moushi despite his unkempt appearance and detached unbothered demeanor here on the rocky Shoreline facing down his opponent has anticipated that cojiro will in fact be his toughest opponent to date he knows that he will need every strategic and tactical advantage that he can bring to bear thus every action he has taken today and every facet of his appearance has been part of a cold calculated plan meant to disrupt his opponent's mindset moushi has risen late slowly eaten his breakfast and made his way to the opponent place of combat under condition of deliberate tardiness he has shown up not only late and not only looking as though he has just rolled out of bed and virtually unarmed Sav for the boat ore that he carries though all of these affronts to the samurai code would seem to the Casual Observer to have set Masashi up poorly for potential success in this rare instance the inverse is proving true coiro one of Japanese most experienced and Adept Swordsmen has come prepared for the heist SS matchup under the opes of normality expecting tradition and S ceremony to be afforded their customary precedence but in introducing these purposeful slights of Honor not only to his opponent but to The Spectators and to the event itself Musashi has masterfully utilized chaos as a means to mentally unbalance his opponent cojiro is himself a master of the traditional form of Samurai dueling but moushi via a combination of foresight experience and natural-born disposition has refused to seed even the most minute of strategic ground preferring to defy social norms in the interest of personal victory in Japanese Marshall tradition this is a nearly unheard of instance however in keeping with the very core of Samurai tradition moushi has taken great care in envisioning and enacting his detailed plan every aspect of the chaos being introduced by moushi is purposely designed to impart a very specific psychological impact every skill that he will use to bring his vision to fruition has been carefully honed through years of rigorous training KIRO not impressed by these factors begins to berate his opponent for being late chiding him and implying that he has done so out of cowardice still in a fit of rage cojiro throws the Scabbard of his sword into the water indicating that he intends to fight to the death moushi while aware of the meaning of the gesture and in fact quite pleased that the strategy is working assures kojiro that this is just as well as he will never have an opportunity to use his Scabbard in this world again though these fights are generally officiated by a referee the two Warriors now Circle each other paying no attention to the opponent official intent only on their opponent's destruction as they move both bring their weapons forward with cojiro taking a unique stance in which his hands are held high baiting moushi in for a strike which he plans to counter by capitalizing on his weapon's Superior range but the weapon moushi wields is also part of his larger plan he is carve the boat or a mere few inches longer than kojiro's sword effectively nullifying one of kojiro's greatest advantages however this scarcely perceptible tactic is lost amid the torrent of confusion and a frony that moushi has Unleashed in the midst of this though mhi's demeanor remains that of a laborer on a work site not in the least caught up in the of his opponent not to mention the crowd and officials whom he has also kept waiting Musashi's eyes fade into a shark-like emotionless Focus holding the boat or out as a gauge for distance moushi makes no move to give cojiro and attack to counter taking this as a further display of cowardice kojiro has now worked himself into a blinding Fury in kojiro's mind moushi has not only deeply disrespected him but he has wholly disregarded the Amai tradition of honor and respect between dueling opponents coiro now decides that moushi must not be allowed to besmer the code that so many have lived by and died for now he decides is the time to cut this Vagabond down once and for all for his insolence gojiro Moves In A Flash charging forward in short decisive steps as he whips his blade in a circular pattern known as the swallows cut moushi however has rendered his next movements relatively unpredictable as he has not taken up a traditional stance and is weighed down with a heavier than normal weapon in a rare instance kojiro's cut misses as moushi Sid steps the elongated plade by some accounts doing so by such a close margin that his headband is cut and falls to the ground now in a decisive blow akin to the local butcher dispatching an Autumn hog moushi crashes down upon the skull of cojiro with the b or stri King him with several blows so powerful that the mere audible memory alone will haunt many onlookers present for days to come within seconds the fight is over Sasaki kajiro one of Japan's greatest Samurai Now lies dead on a remote beach as a group of horrified onlookers and officials gaze at his Gore covered opponent in equal parts shock and awe mamoto Musashi now stands boat or in hand over his Fallen opponent in later accounts Musashi will write of kajiro as his greatest Challenge and toughest opponent and it can only be imagined the wash of relief rage and reverence that befell the nervous system of Japan's greatest duelist but now is no time for sentimentalities though his genius will go on to fill the pages of one of the most seminal Works in Practical approaches to combat in history genius is often not recognized in its own time such is the case now as several of the onlookers are unhappy and while many of the crowd indeed admire the Showcase of skill and psychological gamesmanship they have just witnessed mhi is well aware that he has created a contentious situation and that now would be the most prudent time to make his exit and so with little Fanfare moushi jumps back into his rowboat with his paid oresman already in place for their return Journey with no more Fanfare nor ceremony than the forementioned local butcher mamoto Musashi sits emotionless as the boat makes its way back to the main island this duel will go down as one of the most seminal events in Japanese Samurai history as well as one of the turning points in mhi's life seeing the regrettable nature of losing one of Japan's greatest Fighters simply to resolve an ego-driven quarrel Masashi began more and more to contemplate the philosophical implications of fighting and how he felt they should or perhaps or Appley that they must be applied to combat certainly though this is but one Duel of many in the legendary career of mamoto Musashi who would go down in history as perhaps the greatest Samurai swordsman of all time as well as a nationally revered figure in a fitting twist one that would likely suit both men suzaki quiro has also become a revered figure in Japan known as a courageous skilled Warrior who ardently upheld the code of Bushi but the tales of the many battles of mamoto Mushi as well as the countless other legendary Samurai and samurai battles are for tonight other stories for other times thank you for joining us on this episode of history at theok Corral be sure to click the like button share this episode with a friend and become a subscriber also if you'd like to support our work and gain Early Access to episodes as well as ad free viewing you can become a member of this channel by clicking the join button below or click the in the description below to become a member on patreon thank you again for watching and we'll see you next time on history at the okay Corral home of History's Greatest shootouts and 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Channel: History at The OK Corral

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Keywords: history at the ok corral, miyamoto musashi, sasaki kojiro, martial arts, samurai history documentary, miyamoto musashi quotes, japanese samurai history documentary, martial arts journey, musashi vs kojiro, shogun full episodes, shogun documentary, shogun history, samurai, japanese history, japan, katana, boat oar fight documentary, shogun trailer, history documentary, history documentary full episodes, japan history full episodes, japanese history full episodes, samurai duel

Id: kF7kp_-VfB8

Length: 17min 39sec (1059 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 06 2024