Miyamoto Musashi Festival - Duel at Ganryujima (Samurai Duel Festival)
An Epic Samurai Duel Frozen In Stone On the southern tip of Japan's main island, Honshu, lies the small city of Shimonoseki. It's a small place physically but historically it has seen some big historical events. During Golden Week (May 3-5) a pair of festivals are held to honor two of those events. One festival is a larger spectacle which celebrates a great battle that was fought there over 800 years ago between two rival samurai clans. The other festival is much smaller but in fame, it is almost equal. Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro - Ganryujima 1612 The smaller festival is held to honor a famous duel fought between two legendary swordsmen the likes of which will probably never be seen again. One of the duelists was Miyamoto Musashi one of the most famous swordsmen who ever lived. His opponent was Sasaki Kojiro known as " The Demon of the West " for his feared prowess with a blade. Nearly everyone in Japan knows of this duel as well as many o...