Very interesting story, I've heard the name previously but not being all that familiar with the history it's fascinating. Imagine living through such a violent time and as an early teen fighting a duel to the death. As he aged he turned inward as we all do in our own way, I write out my thoughts now much more than I did when I was younger.
Awesome post!
He was an interesting guy, and one of the most popular figures in Japanese history. Whereas most samurai actually have something of a negative image here (they were upper class assholes, after all) Miyamoto Musashi has a much more positive one. Watch that video clip I linked to. It is such a famous dual that it's actually been covered by numerous movies and TV shows. That one with Toshiro Mifune just happens to be my favorite.