He was born in Miyamoto village, in the Yoshino area of Mimasaka province near Osaka .

Musashi's father, Shinmen (Hirata) Munisai was an martial arts instructor to the Shinmen clan. He was a master of several martial arts including the two-sword style, the use of the jutte, jujutsu, and the use of armor. He was known in particular as a skilled practitioner of the Tori Ryu style of swordsmanship, a style he would use to good effect against Yoshioka Kenpo in Kyoto . He also taught jujutsu to Takenouchi Hisamori, who stayed as a guest at the Hirata house when Musashi was about four years old and would later establish the Takenouchi Ryu school of jujutsu.

Musashi seemed to have begun training to use a sword with only one hand at quite an early age. This was no doubt helped by the fact that he was very large for his age, and grew to be a big man, well over 6 feet tall.

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He had his first fight, accepting a taryu-jiai (fight between schools) from a Shinto Ryu swordsman, named Arima Kihei. Musashi was armed with a short sword and bo (staff). After Arima blocked his first swing, Musashi rushed in and knocked Arima down, then beat him to death with the bo (staff).

Musashi joined up with the army of the Shinmen clan. This clan was under the command of Ukita Hideie, who had been one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's favourites. Ukita Hideie had been chosen to be one of the five tairo (senior official) by the dying Hideyoshi and was a mainstay of Hideyoshi’s forces. With this army Musashi took part in two minor battles before ending up at the historic battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Surviving this defeat, he again went wandering on what was known as musha shugyo (warrior pilgrimage).

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Now 21, a large and powerful man, he went to Kyoto seeking to make his reputation. It was at that time he challenged the Yoshioka family, which had provided sword masters to the Ashikaga Shogunate. He challenged Yoshioka Seijuro, the family head who accepted. In this fight with wooden swords he knocked out Seijuro and broke his arm in several places, causing his opponent to retire and become a monk. Denshichiro, Seijuro's younger brother then challenged Musashi. Musashi disarmed Denshichiro and killed him. The Yoshioka family then challenged Musashi in the name of Seijuro 's young son, Matashichiro but planned to kill Musashi in a mass attack. Musashi arrived at Ichijoji Sagarimatsu (see 2006 Japan Visits photos), in north Kyoto . Killing the boy and several others, Musashi escaped before he could be hit and killed by the Yoshioka archers.

In this period he also fought a fierce duel in Nara with a man named Shuji of the Hozoin Ryu a school famous for its use of the kamayari (spear).

Preceded by the reputation he had gained in Kyoto and during his travels, in Edo he met and fought with a number of talented men at a modest dojo which he had established there. Musashi had a match with Muso Gonnosuke, a master of the Tenshin Katori Shinto Ryu and founder of the Shindo Muso Ryu Jo (four foot staff) school. Gonnosuke, wielding a four foot wooden sword attacked Musashi, who at the time was sitting carving a small willow bow. Musashi disabled him with a single blow.

Other matches were held with Osedo Hayato of the Yagyu Shinkage Ryu and a great strong man named Tsujikaze Tenma.

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He fought his most famous duel with Sasaki Kojiro, another outstanding swordsman. This legendary duel took place on April 14 at Funajima, now Ganryujima (see 2006 Japan Visits photos) .

Musashi was involved in the Osaka Campaigns, called the Winter and Summer battles.

The record of his travels next finds Musashi staying with Ogasawara Tadame, lord of Akashi in Harima province as a supervisor of planning and construction on their new castle . On a visit to Himeji , Musashi met a swordsman named Miyake Gumbei. A fight developed and Musashi utilized his two sword technique for the first time in public. At around this time in Matsumoto, Musashi, armed only with a tessen (iron fan), faced another opponent armed with a sword.

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Musashi adopted two sons, Iori, a boy from Akashi whom he placed with the Ogasawara as a page, and Mikinosuke, who was placed with the Honda of Mimeji province.

He next opened a school in Takatsuki in Settsu province but eventually went to Edo in 1632 where a former student, Ogo Hisadayu, a retainer of the lord of Chikuzen province, provided him housing and a dojo.

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Musashi was a member of the Ogasawara field staff during the fighting at Hara castle. (“Shimabara no Ran”)

After the death of Lord Hosokawa, Musashi’s health declined and he retired to a cave called Reigendo, located behind Ungan-ji temple on Mount Kinbu , west of Kumamoto . It is here that he wrote his famous text, "Go Rin no Sho", for his student, Terao Nobuyuki.

Musashi died in his Kumamoto home on May 19 and was buried in full armor and honours from the Hosokawa.

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