Takada Matabei
Encyclopedia
a retainer under the current lord over the Ogasawara
Ogasawara clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a Japanese samurai clan descended from the Seiwa Genji. The Ogasawara acted as shugo (governors) of Shinano province in the medieval period The was a...

 during the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 (17th century) of Japan. Matabei was renowned as a famous adept of the art of the lance. While the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi
Miyamoto Musashi
, also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age...

 had currently been staying within Kokura
Kokura
is an ancient castle town and the center of Kitakyūshū, Japan, guarding, via its suburb Moji, the Straits of Shimonoseki between Honshū and Kyūshū. Kokura is also the name of the penultimate station on the southbound Sanyo Shinkansen line, which is owned by JR Kyūshū and an important part of the...

, Matabei had visited him at many times as to receive his unique teachings. The lord of Ogasawara had at one time requested Matabei to duel Musashi. Matabei was compelled to fight even though he had not wanted to, as to obey his lord's command. Matabei chose to use a bamboo lance, while Musashi chose an ordinary sword made of wood. At the beginning of their duel, Matabei had at first attacked Musashi with his lance, in which Musashi had then calmly penetrated in close range using the middle-level guard and won two times. Matabei's lance had slid between Musashi's legs the third bout however. Due to this fact, Musashi said, "I was touched, therefore I lost this time". Musashi had then told all of the onlookers how much of an adept Matabei was with the lance. Matabei had later said after the duel, "Master Musashi is a true adept whom I was unable to touch. It was to save my face that he acted as though I had won once out of three times".
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