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Miyamoto Musashi in fiction

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There have been many fictional depictions of Miyamoto Musashi, the 16th century Japanese swordsman.

Film and Television

There have been six films and one television series with the title Miyamoto Musashi:

Film:

Television:

  • "Miyamoto Musashi" (1984)
  • "Musashi" (2003), directed by Ozaki Mitsunobu. It stars Kabuki Actor Ichikawa Shinnosuke (currently Ichikawa Ebizō XI)

There is a particular story involving Musashi in a practice duel with another swordsman. At the end of the duel the other man calls it a draw whereas Musashi proclaims he would have killed the other man. The man insists on a duel to the death, and Musashi quickly kills the man. This episode appears as a setpiece (involving other characters) in the movie Seven Samurai directed by Akira Kurosawa, and (in suitably modified form) in the American Western remake of that film, The Magnificent Seven.

Miyamoto also appears as a character, alongside Jubei Yagyu, in Kinji Fukasaku's Samurai Reincarnation.

Musashi makes an appearance in Ryuhei Kitamura's film "Aragami" as the titular god of battle. He is portrayed as a godlike entity with a degree of immortality.

Print

  • Eiji Yoshikawa's famous novel Musashi (originally serialized in Asahi Shinbun prior to World War II) is more or less based on historical events with added fictitious characters. Yoshikawa's book was termed the "Gone with the Wind of Japan" by the translator, Japan expert and former ambassador Edwin O. Reischauer, in the foreword to the book.
  • The manga series Vagabond is loosely based on Eiji's famous novel, in which Miyamoto Musashi is the main character and is noted by many as a 'blood-lustful beast' throughout the series' beginning. After confronting Yagyu Sekishusai and personally contemplating that he had "felt The Way", Musashi became more mature in the art of the sword, vowing to become the greatest swordsman under the sun.
  • The movies Samurai I, II, and III are also based on the novel Musashi. They star Toshiro Mifune, the long term collaborator of Akira Kurosawa, as Musashi. A recent NHK television drama was done with the advice of Eiji Yoshikawa's son Eimei Yoshikawa. The NHK producer of this recent drama has plans to present another featuring a fictional story Musashi's life after the duel on Ganryujima with Sasaki Kojiro.[citation needed]
  • Sorekara no Musashi (Further Tales of Musashi), a novel by Katsukiro Kouyama. It has been made into several television specials over the years, one of which featured Kinnosuke Nakamura.
  • In Robert Jordan's book The Dragon Reborn, several references are made to a man named Jearom, who is considered the greatest swordsman of all time. It is remarked that his only loss was to a farmer wielding a quarterstaff, probably a reference to Musashi's fight with Gonnosuke in Yoshikawa's novel.
  • Manga artist Go Nagai gave the name Musashi to one of the pilots on his giant robot mecha creation, Getter Robo. He always carried a sword.
  • The comic book Usagi Yojimbo has as its central character a rabbit samurai who is inspired by Musashi.
  • In Steve Perry's Matador book series, and his novel The Musashi Flex, the "Musashi Flex" is an illegal underground martial arts competition, named after Miyamoto Musashi.
  • Was the subject of Sword of the Samurai by Michael Reeves and Steve Perry from the Time Machine interactive book series.
  • The book The Ninja by Eric van Lustbader there are several references to Musashi and The Book of Five Rings.

Anime

  • Musashi, the female half of Team Rocket in the Pokémon anime, was named after Miyamoto (in English, she is known as Jessica or "Jessie"). Her partner is ironically called Kojiro. The name of her mother, who only appeared in an audio drama, was Miyamoto.
  • Musashi appears in the first seven episodes of the anime Shura no Toki - Age of Chaos, duelling against a martial artist where, after a stalemate, he supposedly stops fighting because he has achieved fighting against the perfect match to his skills. His adopted son appears in the next couple of episodes as well, but without any involvement from Musashi himself.
  • The two main male characters in the Japanese television drama "Bus Stop" are named Miyamae Musashi and Sasajima Kojiro, and in one episode, the main female character remarks that she is like the island where Musashi and Kojiro held their duel.
  • In the anime Yaiba, Musashi appears as an old man, still alive after 400 years, living as a hermit. Later on, Kojiro is resurrected by Onimaru to fight for him and confronts Musashi again when he comes to visit Kojiro's grave.
  • In the episode "Generous Elegy (Part 2) - Elegy of Entrapment (Verse 2)" of the anime Samurai Champloo, an old man saves Jin from drowning after an assassin's ambush. Appearing almost insane at times, he talks to Jin about fishing - giving him, almost by accident, an important clue as to how he can defeat his enemy. When Jin later asks him his name, the old man gives it as Miyamoto Musashi, before cracking up and treating his last statement as a joke.
  • In the anime Ninja Resurrection, Miyamoto Musashi makes a brief appearance fighting the main character, Jubei. It is never clearly shown if Musashi loses this duel in the film, however, only that he has retired to the life of a hermit at this point around the year 1640.
  • Musashi is also briefly quoted in Cowboy Bebop. At the end of episode 22 titled "Cowboy Funk", Spike's rival Andy rides off into the sunset, claiming to have changed his name to Musashi.
  • The main character in the anime Musashi Gundoh is Miyamoto Musashi, who is loosely based on the historical Musashi.
  • Miyamoto Musashi also appears in the American cartoon Samurai Jack. In one of Jack's flashbacks he sees Musashi with Iori, being approached by evil robots of Aku. He then disposes of them rapidly. Samurai Jack stands in awe, as Musashi walks on.
  • In episode 10, "The Shredder Strikes", of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) cartoon, Leonardo cites Sword Master Musashi as he tells Splinter why he thinks he has the superior weapon, the katana sword.
  • In one episode of Ranma 1/2, Tatewaki Kuno is possessed by an old bokuto that was wielded by Musashi in his duel with Kojiro. While under its control, he believed himself to be Musashi and would disappear during the day and wander the halls of Furinkan High School at night, looking for a powerful opponent. It was destroyed by a lightning bolt after Kuno was kicked skyward by Akane, whom he had mistaken for his long-lost love.
  • Kurz Weber briefly refers to Musashi Miyamoto in the anime series Full Metal Panic in episode 13, A Cat and a Kitten's Rock and Roll. When Teletha Testarossa is late for an Arm Slave battle with Melissa Mao. When Melissa gets impatient and frustrated, Kurz briefly asks her if she's heard of Musashi Miyamoto.
  • In Dr. Slump, Arale, Gatchan, and Taro used the time slipper to go to the day of his dual with Kojiro. Arale questions his power, so they spend two days playing each other in rock, paper scissors to see whoes stronger. Musashi is amazed later on, and goes with her to the present, attending her school, while Kojiro spends the rest of his days waiting for him.
  • In Shaman King, Yoh Asakura's spirit partner Amidamaru is possibly based on Musashi.
  • In the anime and manga Shugo Chara!, Kairi Sanjou's idol is Musashi Miyamoto, and thus his Guardian Character was born out of it. He character is also called Musashi.

Video games

  • The character Haohmaru, from SNK's Samurai Shodown video game series, is loosely based on Musashi. Likewise, Tachibana Ukyo, also from Samurai Shodown, is based on Sasaki Kojiro. He is also a playable character in the video game Time Killers.
  • The Neo-Geo game Musashi Ganryuki (known outside Japan as Ganryu) was based on Musashi's fight with Sasaki Ganryu Kojiro.
  • The PlayStation game Brave Fencer Musashi and its PlayStation 2 sequel Musashi: Samurai Legend are also loosely based on the legend of Musashi. While Musashi used two swords and had a rival named Kojiro in the first game, and an arch nemesis named Gandrake (also based on Kojiro), the plot of both games involve Musashi and these two getting sent to an alternate world and bear no relation to the life of Miyamoto Musashi. The game also contains many vague links between the fictional character and the real legend. In the game, you must obtain 5 legendary swords of earth, water, fire, wind, and void, vaguely representing the five rings. The main secondary weapon used, called the "Great Oar" is a take on the sword the real man created from an oar. He had this sword, in an turn of events leading up to fighting Gandrake.(Kojiro)
  • In the game Live A Live, Ode Iou resurrected Musashi and uses him to distract Oboromaru.
  • Onimusha Blade Warriors features both Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamoto Musashi as bonus characters.
  • Miyamoto Musashi is a playable character in Koei's Samurai Warriors 2 and Warriors Orochi. In compliment to this, Sasaki Kojiro was additionally added as a playable character in Xtreme Legends, the expansion to Samurai Warriors.
  • The character Mitsurugi, from Namco's Soul video game series, is also based on Miyamoto Musashi.
  • The legendary swordsman Frandar Hunding of The Elder Scrolls universe is heavily based on Miyamoto Musashi. Hunding even wrote a book called the Book of Circles, a strong parallel to Musashi's The Book of Five Rings.
  • In Sengoku Basara 2, Capcom's sequel to Sengoku Basara, Musashi is a playble character wielding a wooden sword and a boat oar as weapons.
  • The character Musashi, from SNK's The Last Blade, is also based on Miyamoto Musashi.
  • Miyamoto Musashi is a playable character in the Warcraft III map Tides of Blood.
  • Musashi appears in Ninja Gaiden II as a tradesman and a blacksmith. Surely, it is hard to figure out that he is the Miyamoto Musashi until one finds the dual wielding Katanas where upon further inspection, it says that there is an inscription on the Tsuba saying "Musashi's". A clear reference to Miyamoto Musashi considering that he is the alleged founder of Nitten ryu, the dual wielding technique of Japanese sword fighting.

Music

  • On the critically acclaimed 1983 album Piece of Mind, British heavy metal band Iron Maiden gives a brief glimpse of Musashi in "Sun and Steel".
  • John Zorn's Ganryu Island (1984 Tzadik release tz7319)does an excellent job depicting the famous duel between Musashi and "Nemesis" Sasaki Kojiro.
  • Drum and bass producer Photek made a song called Ni Ten Ichi Ryu. The video clip features a samurai who fights using a similar technique by Musashi
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