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William De Lange

Miyamoto Musashi: A Life in Arms: A Biography of Japan's Greatest Swordsman Paperback – December 21, 2014

by William de Lange (Author)

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Miyamoto Musashi is the most revered and 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. This is the first biography to fulfill those aims, and to take advantage of a wealth of neglected or newly uncovered material.
William de Lange has translated all known extant texts on Musashi and draws on his research to illuminate controversial or even unknown events of the swordsman's life. These include the source of his troubled relationship with his father, his whereabouts during the Battle of Sekigahara, his unheralded heroism in the summer siege of Osaka castle, and his adventures over the years that followed. We learn of the hidden anger that impelled him to kill his first opponent in duel at age twelve, his single-minded destruction of the reigning Yoshioka sword clan, and his meticulously orchestrated showdown with the great Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryu Island. And finally we follow the remarkable gestation of his Book of Five Rings, the summation of his martial philosophy.
Surpassing his teachers and peers Musashi created a school of swordsman- ship unprecedented in Japanese martial history, the art of fighting with two swords: Niten Ichi-ryu. Yet throughout his life a yearning for respect was overshadowed by his disdain of authority; an attraction to the mayhem of battle competed with a joy in the contemplation of beauty; and a ceaseless quest for perfection in his art denied him the emotional ties for which he longed. The complex portrait of Musashi that emerges here is a far cry from the one-dimensional caricature in film and folklore.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Floating World Editions
Publication date

December 21, 2014
Dimensions

6.11 x 0.79 x 8.89 inches
ISBN-10

1891640623
ISBN-13

978-1891640629
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William Scott Wilson
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Miyamoto Musashi: A Life in Arms is an impressive work of scholarship, offering insanely detailed recounts of Musashi's battles and movements, some so richly rendered that you'd swear De Lange was present at the time, taking notes." -- Glenn Dallas, San Francisco Book Review

"De Lange has painted a remarkably vibrant portrait of Musashi, one that reveals all the contradictions of a remarkable life full of triumphs and disappointments, thrilling victories as well as bitter losses...This book is unquestionably a must-read for any student of budō." -- Jeff Broderick, Kendō World

"Miyamoto Musashi: A Life in Armsis highly recommended to anyone who is interested in the biography of this most interesting man who has inspired generations of swordsmen and manga fans alike." -- Kim Taylor, Iaido Journal

De Lange has already published two volumes giving translations of two of the principal source documents on Musashi's life. Drawing on these, as well as numerous other sources, he builds up a new version of the swordsman's story, covering much ground that will be totally new for many. -- Chris Hellman, author of The Samurai Mind

From the Author

Interview with the author (excerpt):
Q: How did you begin the process of telling his story?WdL: The first thing I did when I began my research was to look what original sources there were on Musashi. Of course there is Musashi's own Book of Five Rings, but sadly, Musashi spends only half a page in describing the event of his life. I therefore had to look elsewhere, to accounts of Musashi written by his contemporaries or their close descendants, who wrote down what was passed down to them by men who had known Musashi alive. I soon found that, in spite of widespread belief, there actually is a great wealth of different sources, some more, some less reliable. I also found that though various authors who had delved into Musashi's life had come across these text and and quoted from them, no western author had thus far taken the trouble to translate these texts in full. It was then that I decided to carefully translate all surviving text on Musashi before I set out to write the actual biography of Musashi's life. I wanted to become intimately familiar with every scrap of ancient writing that mentioned Musashi. In all I found more than thirty classical texts comprising some 150.000 words--original accounts of duels, battles and sieges, local histories, clan records, correspondence, family lineages-- all written during Japan's feudal era. Two of these texts, the Bushu denraiki and the Bukoden, have meanwhile been published.
Q: What about Musashi intrigued you the most during your research?WDL: What was it that drove this bright yet far from privileged young man to become the best in his field? What was it, that drove him to dedicate all his time and talent to master such a difficult and dangerous art, and why was he willing to sacrifice love and a safe home in the uncompromising pursuit for perfection?
Q: Why do you think so many people around the world have found such deep inspiration from Musashi's legend and his real life?WDL: I think that most people, including myself, are struck by his fierce independence of mind. At no stage in his life did Musashi truly submit to any form of authority, choosing instead a solitary life and only serving various warlords in the capacity of adviser. I think it is that spirit of independence that shines through, not only in his unique style of fencing, but also in his writing, calligraphy, and painting. He is a truly unique individual, with an absolute belief in his own abilities and approach to life and its inevitable difficulties.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Floating World Editions (December 21, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1891640623
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1891640629
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.11 x 0.79 x 8.89 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,772,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12,816 in Military Leader Biographies

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William De Lange

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William de Lange is the author of books, ebooks and apps on Japan's traditional culture, from history, samurai culture, to arts & crafts, and language dictionaries.

Bio: William de Lange was born in 1964 in Naarden, the Netherlands to Dutch and English parents. In the late 1980s, he traveled to Japan, where he supported himself by making traditional Japanese scrolls, working as a carpenter, and writing articles for the Japan Times Weekly. Having studied at Leiden and Waseda universities during the nineties, he lived in Japan for the next decade, studying the art of Japanese fencing under Akita Moriji sensei, eighth dan master of the Shinkage-Ryu. Since then, he has written a large number of books on Japanese history, culture, and art. More recently, he has appeared in the Netflix documentary Age of Samurai. His many books include Samurai Battles, Samurai Sieges, An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles, and The Siege of Osaka Castle. He is perhaps best known for his epic history of the Yagyu clan, and his acclaimed biography of Miyamoto Musashi.

William de Lange lives and works in the Netherlands and loves to travel, enjoying good food and wine with the love of his life.

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Patrick O. Hardy

Great Book! Goes Into Depth On Musashi's Duels And Battles!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 16, 2017

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One of the better books of Musashi I have read. This book only goes into Musashi, the swordsman and warrior. Having read a number of Musashi books, this is one of the better. It is taken from old records so some has to, IMO, be taken with a grain of salt as to where and who the information came from. The author gave a description of Musashi's defeat of the first Yoshida Brother he fought that I have problems with. Although Musashi had no problem with arriving late or early, in a one on one duel, the idea of Musashi playing sick and attacking an unaware opponent goes against Musashi's idea of Honor and Strategy. Further, there are other documented accounts that make more sense based on Musashi's Character then this one.
This author's idea that Musashi fought with his father on the side of the Tokugawa Shogunate is exceptional and, IMO, makes more sense then majority's belief Musashi fought at Sekigahara against the Tokugawa Shogunate. This book is written not to give the reader a look at the complete Musashi, but of Musashi The Fighter.Based on that narrow look, it's in the top two books I have read of Musashi's Duels And Battles.

2 people found this helpful

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Robert Scicluna

The book is pretty hefty with details on his duels

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 26, 2015

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A very insightful book to whoever wishes to expand their knowledge on the famous Swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. The book is pretty hefty with details on his duels, his art commision, his political and military involvement, his adopted children, etc... A surprising amount of detail that is usually left out and when mentioning Musashi!

It is also hefty in the source, and explanation of where the details come from, keeping the detail on the book as historically accurate as possible (as opposed to the Musashi novel written in 1930s by Eiji Yoshikawa which people assume is the facts).

I cannot recommend this astounding book enough!

3 people found this helpful

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Paul J. O' Brien

The DEFINITIVE account of Musashi's life - A MUST READ.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 1, 2015

This is perhaps one of the most vital and important texts on the life of Miyamoto Musashi. In many aspects the book was a revelation. As a student of Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu, (the art Musashi founded and developed) I try to read as much as I can about Musashi and have read many of major biographies - however many of these are as much a work of fiction and supposition as Eiji Yoshikawa's fictional masterpiece on Musashi - This is not the case in de Lang's work.

Unlike the many bio's I have read, William de Lang cites original Japanese sources such as the detailed military records kept by the various Japanese army divisions during the pivotal battles Musashi was involved in and is thus able to provide accurate information as to where Musashi was and what he did. This simply has not been done in any other biographies and as result the vast majority of publications make multiple errors and draw poor conclusions.

Perhaps the most damning example of this is that Musashi fought against the Tokugawa during the battle of Sekigahara. The majority of English language books and documentary's (including National Geographic, Discovery etc) state that Musashi fought for the Western Army against the Tokugawa. Thus, he could not find a position in a samurai house after Tokugawa won and remained a wandering swordsman all his life. This is not fact however, this is nothing more than key plot point from Yoshikawa's fiction of Musashi to give the character drama. It has sadly become part of the accepted history.

By contrast de Lang asserts that Musashi was in fact not on the field of Sekigahara at all and was in fact, along with his father Muni part of the attacking force of Kuroda Yoshitaka, a supporter of Tokugawa Ieyasu ,on the plains of Ishigaki. Musashi continued to fight and distinguish himself in the taking of several castles.

This of course has a MAJOR impact on the every aspect of Musashi's life following - the fact that so many authors repeat fiction as thiugh it was fact has led to enormous errors's being made about Musahi's life.

Unlike many other author's, rather than basing his account of Musashi on fiction and commonly accepted knowledge, William de Lang has spent a lifetime translating the original Japanese accounts of Musashi's life as written by the students of his school and those samurai houses with whom he found employment. In addition to this, de Lang has also sought the original military records of the campaigns Musashi was involved with and other supporting documents to provide, the first accurate assessment of Musashi's life in the English language. He directly quotes these sources on many occasions (such as text describing Musashi's valour in the siege of castles during Sekigahara campaign).

William de Lang's, Miyamoto Musashi: A Life in Arms is a MUST read for the martial artist or anyone with an interest in such an impactful figure as Musashi. The book is filled with detailed facts, supported and continuously cross referenced by multiple sources. No where have I seen such detailed information in the English language on Muni, Musashi's father who would perhaps have the strongest influence on Musahi's life, his battles, and his famous duels which serves to highlight and illuminate many aspects of Musashi's strategy.

This book is a must read and should be in every serious martial artists library.

8 people found this helpful

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Jason Hulott

An fantastic insight into one of Japan's great swordsman!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 24, 2015

I recently obtained a copy of William De Lange’s new book the Real Musashi - A Life in Arms - having read two of his other Musashi books (The Bushu Denraiki and Bokuden ) as part of this series on the famous Japanese swordsman. I was looking forward to the read as I have found the writing style very easy to understand and digest unlike other books on the Japanese sword arts,
which can be quite difficult and disjointed.

Firstly I would say the book is very enlightening and again like previous books, a very easy read but fascinating with references used to weave the story of Musashi in a way that allows room for further study. It also provided access to resources that I had not come across before, so the sword geek in me now has some others sources to investigate.

The actual book is split into two - there is the written narrative section with the sources interwoven, then there is a huge appendix of related resources and historical references.

The book is suitable for all - so students of Japanese swordsmanship and historical students looking for some further insight into Musashi.

If you are looking for a looking for a good read and fantastic resource into the period Musashi lived then this is a great addition to your Koryu Library.

3 people found this helpful

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Shugotaki

I highly recommend Mr De Lange's books as a student of Musashi-sensei's ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 10, 2015

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I have so far read 3 of Mr De Lange's books around Miyamoto Musashi. These include The Real Musashi: The Bokuden, Bushi Denreiki and this book Miyamoto Musashi: A Life in Arms.

I am really impressed with the amount of research, drawing on many historical sources in order to separate the reality versus misconception. I highly recommend Mr De Lange's books as a student of Musashi-sensei's ryuha (Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu) to
members of my study group and for people who want to learn more about the Real Miyamoto Musashi.

Lastly what I like about this book and frankly the other two books is that it is so straightforward to read, with additional numbered notes to give you the idea of where the sources come from. Reviewing the different view points etc. So my conclusion is if you have an interest in Miyamoto Musashi get this book. If you have read the previous Real Musashi books which give you contrasting view points (which at the same time complement each other) GET THIS BOOK! This is a great follow on to those books.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Probably the best collated record of Musashi's life

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on June 25, 2015

Verified Purchase

Fantastic historical record of the life of Musashi. Well written and a pleasure to read. Wonderful insights into a complicated character.

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