MovieChat Forums > Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettô Ganryûjima Discussion > Oar Vs. Katana (curtain rod)?

Oar Vs. Katana (curtain rod)?

posted 13 years ago by ubermutant
5 replies | jump to latest

Why did Miyamoto choose to discard his katana to fight his greatest duel with what is essentially a stick or homemade baton?

Another question is wouldn't the somewhat vain Kojiro take this as an insult? Also, note that he rejects prayers and well wishes, because he wants the victory to be entirely his own. Wouldn't a supposedly inferior weapon be an unfair advantage to Kojiro?

My theory regarding the first question took me a while, but is it Miyamoto somehow reconciling himself with the reckless Takezo? (Recall in Samurai I, he spent half the film whomping people with a stick or baton)

As to the second question, my take is that Kojiro is so obsessed with fame and status, that he doesn't care how the duel is won. Or perhaps he is frightened of such a worthy opponent. Although, I'm not sure this answer satisfies me.

I watched the trilogy only once, so I don't know if I may have missed something. I'd love to hear your own take on these questions. Thanks!

[–] ranran-001 12 years ago

The first question, I don't know why Miyamoto chooses a stick over his real blade, I'll have to watch the film(s) to pick it up. I figure Miymoto wanted to injure Kojiro and not kill him unless he had no other option. Which is why he kept his secondary blade.

I don't think Kojiro would want to fight Miyamoto with anything less than a steel blade. If you remember from a previous duel Kojiro crippled a spear-man using his sword's scabbard. He confided with a woman that he regretted not drawing his sword because it meant the person he crippled would live with the pain of defeat for the rest of their life, to him that was worse than death.

I think Kojiro drew his katana out of a respect for Miyamoto. He would rather strike Miyamoto dead, than to be reminded of a life where Miyamoto lived a life of agony every day.

[–] tmcdaniel1 12 years ago

Going with the wooden sword was Musashi's way of saying the victory will go to the mentally superior warrior and that the steel weapon was an illusion compared to the pure reality of inner control.

I was surprised that Kojiro did not respond in any way (that I saw) to the unusual weapon.

[–] phindar 12 years ago

I saw a documentary about Miyamoto and it said that he chose to use a carved oar because it was longer than the sword of his opponent, and that would give him a reach advantage. Kojiro's katana looked longer than the other swords people were using, so this might have been a factor. Don't know if it was mentioned in the book though.

[–] BossGalka 10 years ago

This. The sword, as mentioned in the title of the OP, is called Clothes Rod because it is so long. Musashi always used a normal or average katana, but would have been killed due to the disadvantage of a shorter weapon since they are about equally skilled. He decided to use a makeshift stick/oar for the reach to make it even.

This is made pretty obvious in the final blow they each gave. The clothes rod knicked the skin on Musashi's forehead, but the oar, which is supposed to be longer, landed a full blow. Perhaps they could have added some blood to show this, but it was easily understandable and implied.

--
"Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." - Lord Acton

[–] melinda2001 8 years ago

Since Musashi had plenty of time to plan his encounter, why didn't he at least bring an even longer sword or other proper weapon?

About the fatal blow, I could be wrong but my impression was that it was done with his short sword which he drew while in the air, hidden by the sun's glare.