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Probably the earliest recorded musha shugyo was performed by a certain Haneo Unno, a master swordsman of the Shinto-ryu, who lived between 1509 and 1579, but perhaps the most famous name from the early sixteenth century to become a wandering swordsman was the famous Tsukahara Bokuden. There are few written accounts of his life, but a lively oral tradition tells us that he was born in 1490 in Kashima, in Hitachi Province. His father combined the professions of samurai and Shinto priest, the latter vocation being based at the Kashimajingu, where was enshrined the spirit of a god of martial arts. Kashima incidentally, is quite close to the Katori shrine which also enshrined a martial arts deity, and was the cradle of the Shinto-ryu. It is therefore not surprising that the young Bokuden (or Takamoto as he was then named) was trained from an early age in sword fighting skills. His talent brought him to the notice of a swordsman of the Shinto-ryu who adopted the young man, and continued his training in the Shinto-ryu style. At the early age of seventeen his adoptive father gave him permission to set out on a musha shugyo pilgrimage, which was probably one of the earliest on record. It was very successful, and it was such a disgrace to Ochiai to have been defeated by this upstart that he lay in wait for him to murder him, but was killed by a rapid stroke of Bokuden's sword. The area of Japan in which Bokuden lived suffered greatly from the interminable civil wars, and following his initial musha shugyo, Bokuden himself had to take his place in the armies of his lord.
Approximate Word count = 1063
Approximate Pages = 4.3
(250 words per page double spaced)
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