SASAKI KOJIRO

[gsx1100s]

I thought because of the amount talked about the fella , people might like these links. Strangely or not so strangely , he mostly appears in tandem with Musashi. Sad as he was a swordsman of great renown in his own right. Some of these sites need a little sifting through unrelated articles. The last link has a great statue of him on the Kintai Bridge.

cheers michael.

http://www.hostallero.com/hostallero_musashi_kojiro.htm


http://www.hikyaku.com/cgi-bin/mainword?histg+Sasaki_Kojiro+dico/hisgifg


http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Courtyard/1553/duels.html

http://www.sol.dti.ne.jp/~sasaki-y/a005/b980618-e02.html

[Kenshin Axel]

That is a beautiful statue........... :beard:

[Blind Masseur]

Indeed, quite an awesome statue, full of dignity and reserve. I've been searching for days about Sasaki Kojiro info! It's great to know there are other people who are as interested in the man known virtually only for being defeated my Musashi. Also, does anyone know if Kojiro's "Swallow Turn" technique is still in practice? I would be very interested to know!

[Hyaku]

The records over here in Kokura point to the fact that Sasaki was still in his early twenties. This would account for the fact that he had yet to make a name for himself. Using a Sanjaku was not such a rarity in those times. Many ryu settled for a shorter weapon when Tokugawa enforced the Teisun standard which would force them to practice in secret with anything over 2.3.

We had a ceremony last year to commemorate Sasaki's death.

[Zaphiel]

The records over here in Kokura point to the fact that Sasaki was still in his early twenties. This would account for the fact that he had yet to make a name for himself. Using a Sanjaku was not such a rarity in those times. Many ryu settled for a shorter weapon when Tokugawa enforced the Teisun standard which would force them to practice in secret with anything over 2.3.

We had a ceremony last year to commemorate Sasaki's death.
you did???
is he really that famous in japan.....i didn't know!

his sword was 3 feet, wasn't it?
(did he really have a monky....or is this just fiction from the musashi tale?)

[fe-taru tora]

i have been looking for information on him for a while but nothing of great volume it is said though he never was able to make a proper name for himself and musashi gave him plenty of time to train for the duel they waited one year with the agreement to train and then duel, but that is the only "secret" stuff and I don't even know if it is true

[shotoblogger]

I found his portrayal in Eiji Yoshikawa's novel so off-putting that I think I will forever bear him bad will. Without any real historical information, how would one dislodge the bad impression?

You know what's really neat? Check out the picture of the Nozomi Super Express train at the bottom of the www.sol.dti.ne.jp (http://www.sol.dti.ne.jp) link.

[fe-taru tora]

I found his portrayal in Eiji Yoshikawa's novel so off-putting that I think I will forever bear him bad will. Without any real historical information, how would one dislodge the bad impression?

You know what's really neat? Check out the picture of the Nozomi Super Express train at the bottom of the www.sol.dti.ne.jp (http://www.sol.dti.ne.jp/) link.

what did it say ? was the history not ever correct ? or was it just the author's judgment of character ?

[shotoblogger]

what did it say ? was the history not ever correct ? or was it just the author's judgment of character ?
Well, you just have to read the book. It's only a novel, you know.

[Zaphiel]

and a damn cool one......

[Twobitmage]

3 feet doesnt sound THAT big to me..

[Hyaku]

3 feet doesnt sound THAT big to me..

One shaku is around 33 cm. That makes his 3ft 3 inches. A sword blade is measured from the habaki to kensaki. Tsuka is a seperate measurement. Not as you would measure a shinai.

Top pic on this page shows a blade the same length as Sasaki compared with a standard Japanese blade. (Bottom two above bokken)

http://www.hyoho.com/Nkage2.html

[fe-taru tora]

One shaku is around 33 cm. That makes his 3ft 3 inches. A sword blade is measured from the habaki to kensaki. Tsuka is a seperate measurement. Not as you would measure a shinai.

Top pic on this page shows a blade the same length as Sasaki compared with a standard Japanese blade. (Bottom two above bokken)

http://www.hyoho.com/Nkage2.html
that blade is insane !!! I could never even think of wielding that, maybe against a horse but jezzussss

[Zaphiel]

peaople were just smaller then.....

[devourment77]

I thought sasaki was portayed good in the Musashi tv series (49 eps).. he didn't have a monkey or wild bird like in the book.. but he seemed to bang every girl he met..

other than that.. he had a saitou hajime type of no bullshit personality, unlike the book where they made him seem like a kid who didn't want to grow up.

[gsx1100s]

I thought sasaki was portayed good in the Musashi tv series (49 eps).. he didn't have a monkey or wild bird like in the book.. but he seemed to bang every girl he met..

other than that.. he had a saitou hajime type of no bullshit personality, unlike the book where they made him seem like a kid who didn't want to grow up.
Wasn't there something to do with the fact that he didn't shave his head as other Samurai would , and kept his forelock as the younger children did? Or is that yet another fact blurred by time?

cheers Michael

[kojiro_sasaki]

i love to use tsubame no gaeshi but it s pretty difficult cuz its a very fast move.

[Gessho]

According to a history of Musashi in which the author derived his conclusions from primary sources (http://amzn.to/apN1WU), Sasaki Kojiro could have been anywhere from his late twenties to as old as his early fifties when he met Musashi for his fateful duel.

One story is that Musashi did stun Kojiro and then left victorious and that Kojiro was then killed by Musashi's followers before he could revive. One thing for sure, the island where Kojiro died is called Ganryujima which indicates that Kojiro was well-liked by some people. Just guessing, but maybe the fight between Musashi and Kojiro was an underhanded one and people named the island after Kojiro because of that.

[ScottUK]

Nice thread necromancy...

Er, I was of the understanding that Funajima got renamed Ganryujima by the lord across the Kanmon Straits in Shimonoseki, who was a) sympathetic to Ganryu, and b) was the controlling person of the island.

Perhaps it is nothing more than that? No underhandedness. No voodoo. No Yoshikawa legend silliness. Or is that too boring for everyone?

[Kokoro777]

I'm beginning to think Yoshikawa's book has done more damage than good to Musashi's true legacy and I definitely will not read it! Gessho's analysis is very similar to an hypothesis forwarded by Kenji Tokitsu's, however.

[ScottUK]

Well, Yoshikawa's book has filled a hole where the facts aren't available. I have a copy of it for reference, but don't take much notice of the fairytale parts.

I will have a gander at KT's book tonight and see where the hypothesis comes from.

[Kokoro777]

Check out pages 70-89.