佐々木小次郎

Sasaki Kojirō is the legendary swordsman who faced Miyamoto Musashi in the famed duel on Ganryū Island. Kojirō's signature weapon was the exceptionally long tachi called 'Monohoshizao' (the Drying Pole), said to have been forged by Bizen Osafune Nagamitsu. He wielded this outsized blade with extraordinary skill and devised his deadly secret technique 'Tsubame-gaeshi' (the Swallow Cut) — a lightning-fast returning stroke said to be capable of cutting down a swallow in flight. Kojirō trained in the Chūjō-ryū (or Toda-ryū) and is credited with founding his own school, 'Ganryū.' His duel with Musashi reportedly took place in 1612, where he fell to Musashi's wooden sword. Much of Kojirō's life remains shrouded in mystery — his age and origins are subject to various theories — but the brilliance of his swordsmanship and his tragic end shine eternally in the annals of Japanese swordsman legends.