荒木又右衛門

Araki Mataemon Shigenao (1599–1638) was one of the greatest swordsmen of the early Edo period, a master of Mugai-ryū whose fame rests above all on his role in the Battle of Kagiya no Tsuji in 1634 — one of the 'Three Great Acts of Vengeance' in Japanese history. When his brother-in-law Watanabe Kazuma sought vengeance against Kawai Matagorō, Mataemon joined as his second despite the enormous odds: the enemy side had gathered a much larger force of supporters. The story as told in legend holds that Mataemon personally cut down eleven men, though historians consider this an exaggeration; what is not in doubt is that Mataemon was among the most formidable swordsmen of his age and that his contribution to the vendetta's success was decisive. He trained first in Yagyū Shinkage-ryū and Ittō-ryū before receiving complete transmission in the Mugai tradition from his teacher Tsuji Gettan — a sword style whose core principle is the Zen concept of cutting from a state of emptiness, 'no-self outside.' His preferred weapons were heavy-cutting blades of the dōtanuki type, chosen for their ability to cut through armor and multiple opponents: function absolutely first, aesthetics a secondary consideration. He died at thirty-nine, barely five years after Kagiya no Tsuji, his short life so thoroughly identified with the sword that his legend needed no further elaboration.