Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi

Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi is one of the most romanticized figures of the Edo era, and yet at the same time he is one of the least documented. The wealth of folk tales about the mysterious Jubei by far outnumbers the incidents of actual documentable evidence about his actions.

Jubei was born with the child name Shichiro, in 1607. One year after the death of his famous grandfather, Muneyoshi. He does not appear again in any official documentation until 1616, when he can be placed as a young attendant to the second Tokugawa shogun, Hidetada. After this, he is again placed as a follower of the third shogun, Iemitsu, and was occasionally called upon to teach the shogun swordsmanship in his father's stead.

This is where the facts stop, and the legend of Jubei begins. At the age of 24, Jubei, who was recognized as being the most skilled swordsmen yet to come from the Yagyu clan, and who was apparently an attendant in high standing in Iemitsu's court, was dismissed under unknown circumstances. His whereabouts are fully unknown, even in personal family records, until at the age of 36 he reappears suddenly at a demonstration of sword skill before the shogun, and is reinstated much as if he had never left. The story circulated at the time of his dismissal. Over a decade of Jubei's life is a total void, and it comes at a time when his fighting prowess would have been at its peak.

To quote from Wayne Muromoto, "In Jubei's case, the blanks in the official documentation of his life were filled with speculation. It was, perhaps, inevitable. He was a skilled swordsman, from such an illustrious family of swordsmen whose members were so deeply involved in the intrigues that brought the Tokugawa to power."

There are several perfectly acceptable explanations for Jubei's dismissal. Jubei was known as a "warrior's warrior," who known for his straightforward, blunt, and unpretentious manner and speech, but lacked his father's politically motivated ability to smooth-talk. Some say he got into an argument with the shogun, and was expelled from court. Other records say that he was found drunk in Edo Castle and was sent back to his home village to train and atone for his misconduct.

There is however one problem with these relatively simple explanations for his sudden dismissal. There is no record of such censure. This might not stand out as particularly interesting against the backdrop of Jubei's overall lack of documentation, but this instance is somewhat different. The Kansei Choshushokafu is a complete and well kept record of all the samurai who had committed offenses, what was done, and the punishments, ranging in severity from censure, to house arrest to seppuku (ritual suicide). This record contains no mention of Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi. While it is possible that his family used its ties with high court members to keep his name off the list, this cannot be proven.

Opinions and hypotheses, for that is the bulk of what is written of Jubei, about his whereabouts during this "lost" decade vary wildly in location, as well as complexity. There are those, who do seem to be somewhat supported by Jubei's own writings, which claim that he returned to his home village and traveled the surrounding countryside, perfecting his skill with the sword. Another similar explanation claims that he excused himself from court, and took a long journey across the length and breadth of Japan, honing his skills along the way.

These simple explanations however are not exciting enough to cut off further speculation by writers and common people down even to present day. It is widely believed, and could very well be true, that Jubei was dismissed from duties at court to hide his being sent on covert operations for Iemitsu. Several important facts about Jubei and Japanese society at the time would in fact support this hypothesis. First of all, Jubei would not have been lacking in the necessary skills. Although, growing up in this time of peace his experience in actual combat would have been limited, he was considered one of the greatest warriors of his day just with practice weapons. Secondly, the political situation under the Tokugawa shoguns did not lack in intrigue, and Iemitsu did not lack in personal enemies. Lastly, the Tokugawa shoguns are known for their concern for order and peace, and the quiet assassination of one's enemies rather than open conflict was not unheard of.

To again quote from Wayne Muromoto, "The popular image, therefore of Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi has become that of a swash-buckling warrior dressed in black, with a shock of hair tied simply with a cord, a flat sword guard covering his blind left eye, and a sedge hat obscuring his features." In this guise he traveled the countryside dispensing justice as he saw fit. This now traditional image mentions the blinding of his left eye, which supposedly took place in an unusually harsh training exercise while Jubei was practicing a leaping technique. To make the technique more difficult, Munenori swung a sword at Jubei's face striking him in the left eye and blinding him. This of course is not supported by official or unofficial documentation.

The tales of Jubei, who many believe to be the consummate ninja or shinobi figure, fill books with tales both believable and supernatural. His image has appeared in virtually every available medium for communication for nearly four hundred years. Perhaps the best known of these representations is his appearance re-enacting a well-known legend from the time of his disappearance, in the late Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Staying at the estate of a daimyo, Jubei is challenged by a ronin (masterless samurai), and two matches are played out before the daimyo. At the end of these two matches, Jubei asks if both saw the outcomes of the match. Both ronin and daimyo reply that the matches both ended with a tie (ai-uchi). Jubei, disgusted, tells them that they are too inexperienced to have seen the true outcome of the matches. This angers the ronin, who requests a repeat of the matches with live blades, seeing the quick defeat of Yagyu Jubei as his ticket to fame. Jubei replies by saying, "This would be a good time to stop asking for something unreasonable. You don't have two lives, you know." The ronin and daimyo persist, and eventually Jubei concedes saying, "Let it be on your own heads, then." The attacks were played out once again with real weapons, but before the ronin can attack a second time, Jubei has severed through his shoulder and into his chest, killing the ronin instantly. Jubei was also struck, but only his kimono was cut. Jubei had timed and distanced himself perfectly, something the inexperienced ronin and daimyo had not seen with the practice swords. Jubei asks that the match be verified, and than says to the stunned daimyo, "Look at this dead man. True swordsmanship is a matter of a hundredth of an inch. You should have seen it as such in the previous matches and ruled it as such. This death was a senseless one."

After Jubei's return to court, the events of his later life get only slightly clearer. Soon after his return, Jubei completes his treatise on the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, building upon the thoughts left by his father and grandfather. In this text, translated as "Notes on the Moon," Jubei writes a passage, which sums up the whole process behind the thought and action of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu. To quote, "The sword of the Shinkage school is not a yang blade, but a yin (kage) blade; it does not employ any posture, its posture being posturelessness. The position of the Shinkage school is to do things in response to the opponent's moves. It is a school which aims not to slash, not to take, not to win, not to lose." In short, kage means rejection of offense in favor of defense, of outward manifestations in favor of inner workings, of the body in favor of the mind.

Yagyu Munenori died in 1646 leaving Jubei as head of the family domain worth 8,300 koku. His younger brother, Yagyu Munefuyu, received 4,000 koku, and another brother, Retsudo (who was a priest), received a two hundred koku share. Jubei left civil duties shortly after, only to die suddenly in the early months of 1650. Some scrolls say that he died of a heart attack at home; others say that he died while falcon hunting in a small village. Others think that he was assassinated in retaliation for his actions during his "lost" decade. Some say that he left civil duty to hide the fact that he was being sent to assassinate his half-brother, and that it was his half-brother's retainers who slew him. This mysterious death is truthfully the only fitting end to a man whose life was as shrouded in mystery as Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi.

Jubei was survived by two daughters. The teaching of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu was passed down to another brother, and has successfully been kept in the Yagyu family through to the present day. The school is currently headed by 21st descendent, Yagyu Nobuhara.

Popular Images of Jubei as a Folk Icon

Interesting Quotes from Yagyu Jubei

-The undisturbed mind is like the calm body of water reflecting the brilliance of the moon. Empty the mind and you will realize the undisturbed mind.