Hojo Soun was born Ise Shinkuro in Kyoto in 1432. He was educated and taught martial arts by monks from Daitoku-ji. When he became Daimyo of his clan, he renamed his family Hojo. In 1495 Hojo personally killed Omori Fujiyori, Lord of Odaware Castle. He later assaulted and captured the castle. In 1512 Hojo attacked the Miura clan and in July of 1516 he captured Arai castle. Hojo was thought to have the most fanatical support of his people because he often cut taxes as much as 40 percent.

            Date Masamune was born in September 1566 at Yonezawa. A man named Yoshitsugu captured and killed Masamune’s father. He became enraged and killed Yoshitsugu. A war broke out between Date and a friend of Yoshitsugu named Hatakeyama. Hatakeyama was determined to capture the city of Motomiya from Date. Hatakeyama attacked with 30,000 men, but Date could only muster 7, 000 for the defense. Date set up several defensive forts on the way to Motomiya. Three forts fell, but the rest survived and the city wasn’t taken. When he was young, Date suffered an infection in his right eye, which he plucked out himself. Later he earned the nickname, “One-eyed Dragon.” In 1589 he defeated the Soma clan, another group associated with Yoshitsugu. In 1592, Date served in Hideyoshi’s headquarters at Nagoya during the Korean invasion. Much later in 1636 Date Masamune died.

            Miyamoto Musashi was born Shinmen Takezo in the Harima Province. Many parts of Musashi’s life are the stuff of legend. For instance, he wrote that he took part in a well-known battle with the Yoshioka School of Swordsmanship. He said that he fought sixty duels without losing once. It was believed that Musashi served at the battle of Osaka Castle on the defending side. Some of his more famous duels include his fight with the noted spearman Inei and his fight with the swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. Something not well-known about Musashi is that he was a skilled painter. In 1640, he was accepted into the Hosokawawa clan. Three years later, he began his book Gorin No Sho (The Book of Five Rings) and finished it in 1645, the year he died.