Miyamoto Musashi

For those who do not know, Miyamoto Musashi (also known as Shinmen Takezo, Miyamoto Bennosuke and Niten Doraku) is one of the most famous swordsmen in medieval Japan, towards the end of the Warring States Period and during the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate. He is famous not only because he was undefeated in duels, but also because of this skill in using two swords at once, his artistic talents as well as scholarly skills. Not only has he written a book on strategy, he paints too. And his swordmanship school of using two swords together survives today as the Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu school of kenjutsu.

Miyamoto Musashi is the true kensei, "sword saint". His life was devoted towards improving his skills with the blade, and in the end, he remained undefeated, dying in bed. A legendary figure in Japanese history, he has been portrayed in films and books, the most famous of which must be Yoshikawa Eiji's "Musashi". While the book seems to accurately portray the historical Musashi, there are actually some fictitious parts, such as the love story. But still, the action-packed novel, with the heroic duels, makes it one of my favourite books. And in the upcoming drama series "Heroes", there is going to be another character based on Musashi, Takezo Kensei.

He is also the model for my character Eldriz on the Forgotten Kingdoms MUD.