Eiji Yoshikawa (1882-1962), one of the best loved authors of Japan brought Musashi to life for modern Japanese people in his book; "Musashi." Japanese readers found the book as irresistible as "Gone with the Wind" was for American readers and just as Mitchell's book was produced in movie form, so was Musashi. The young actor Mifune played the role of Musashi, and that role gave him an immortal popularity in Japan, just as "Gone with the Wind" helped do for Gable.
Just as the movie version of Gone with the Wind did not exactly follow the book's story line, either did the movie version of Musashi follow it's story line, which became a trilogy of three movies released in the latter part of the 1950s.
Mitchell's book was sheer fantasy, while Yoshikawa's book was closely related to Musashi's life. Minus the love interests in the book, Musashi did face down and defeat Kojiro, the greatest swordsman then in Japan, using a wooden sword that he carved from a boat's oar on the way to the duel. I've held that wooden sword, and I can tell you that Musashi must have been an extremely powerful man.
Some of the turbulence of Musashi's young life is portrayed in the book and movie, and the role of a Buddhist monk in changing the direction of Musashi's life is also touched upon.
Musashi has come back to us in other theatrical releases, and the spirit of Musashi has become a reoccurring theme in many subsequent samurai releases. The most fun to watch still is the original 1950s version of Musashi, in it's trilogy form, played by Mifune. This release (pictured on the right) is available on VHS and DVD, and the Yoshikawa's book is still in print, in English.
Other portraials of Musashi include:
Kinnosuke Yorozuya (1932-1997), portrayed the character of Musashi, in the famous Miyamoto Musashi series, directed by Uchida Tomu: Hannyazaka No Ketto Miyamoto Musashi: Showdown at Hannyazaka Height (1962), Miyamoto Musashi: Nitoryu Kaigen Miyamoto Musashi: The Duel against Yagyu (1963), Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijoji No Ketto Miyamoto Mushashi: The Duel at Ichijoji (1964), Miyamoto Musashi: Ganryujima No Ketto Miyamoto Musashi: Musashi vs. Kojiro (1965). In the excellent series The Man of Five Rings, directed by Mashatsugu aka Tadashi Sawashima.