was a famed swordsman during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

(17th century) of Japan. Magonojo was the elder brother of Terao Motomenosuke, the successor to the School of Musashi. Magonojo has been noted as

Miyamoto Musashi , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a ''Kensei (honorary title), kensei'' (swo ...

's favorite student, to whom Musashi entrusted his '' Gorin no sho'' (''Book of Five Rings'') before his death. Throughout Magonojo's early years working alongside Musashi, he trained with the

kodachi A , literally translating into "small or short ''tachi'' (sword)", is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (''nihontō'') used by the samurai class of feudal Japan. Kodachi are from the early Kamakura period (1185–1333) and are in the ...

, a type of

short sword The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification, or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a single- ...

. On one occasion when they were training together, Musashi attacked Magonojo with a large wooden sword, which Terao parried with his short wooden sword and counterattacked. After several repetitions of this action, Terao's sword broke while Musashi was in the middle of striking his sword from above; however, Musashi's swing stopped just shy of hitting Terao's forehead. Magonojo received no injury, showing Musashi's skill with the weapon and high level of control. Before the death of Magonojo's master, he assumed the role of successor, which was subsequently passed on to his younger brother. It is thought that Magonojo burned the original ''Gorin no sho'' on Musashi's orders, because the complete original version cannot be found.

References

''Miyamoto Musashi - Life and Writings''

References

Further reading