How long was Musashi in the castle preparing, it said three years in the subtitles, but it was mentioned that it was five years from Sekigahara to the point where we see the castle for the second time and the mention that it was 3 years later follows that.
The difference can be from 13 months to those two years (for the girl to be 16 to 21). That time is the time they spent with both women, then him traveling and in the wild before he gets captured the second time.
shareI think it was an editing error. The scene with Akemi saying it's been five years was placed too early, probably some producer or studio type thinking it would improve the storyline. It makes sense that Takezo spent three+ years in the castle then 1 + year wandering, as Otsu says when she meets him again in Samurai 2. So about 5 years give or take a few months from when Takezo is captured by Takuan to the fights in Kyoto.
share