Miyamoto Musashi: A Life in Arms

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THE FIRST FULLY ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY OF JAPAN’S GREATEST SWORDSMAN

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) is the most celebrated swordsman in Japanese history. Yet few of the many works on the enigmatic warrior have hewn to the original sources. Fewer still have explored the emotional turmoil that drove him on to be the very best in his field.

A Life in Arms debunks many of the convenient myths, while at the same time uncovering the more controversial aspects that have been left hidden: his deeply troubled relationship with his father, his whereabouts during the battle of Sekigahara, his role in the siege of Osaka castle, and the birth and death of an illegitimate child, an event that deeply influenced his art.

It shows how Musashi’s path through life was shaped by strong personal traits: a reckless valor in the face of danger, a sensitive intelligence in the fields of art and architecture, a generosity toward peers and pupils, and a defiant stubbornness in old age. The complex yet human portrait that arises is a far cry from the accepted one-dimensional caricatures.

Drawing from a wealth of images, maps, photographs, and woodprints, this Illustrated Edition gives the reader an even more authentic and in-depth experience of the life of Japan’s greatest swordsman.