My favourite is undoubtely Miyamoto Musashi, probably just because it's the one I know better by reading about his life and his works. It's absolutely fascinating. His life is the stuff of legend but many of the important events depicted in Yoshikawa Eiji's novel "Musashi" (I love this novel) have a basis in reality, to include his battle with the Yoshioka School, his defeat of the spearman Inei (chief priest of the Hôzô-in), and his duel in 1612 with Sasaki Kojiro, another famed swordsman. Less well-known is his skill as a painter and his works, including a number of self-portraits and naturescapes... Because of his travels and reflections, he epitomizes the image of the brooding wanderer samurai.


In 1643 Musashi began towork on his great book, Gorin no shô (The Book of Five Rings) that was quite well thought of in the United States during the 1980's as a glimpse into the Japanese mind.