Real-life figure Miyamoto Musashi was the most celebrated samurai of all time. The quintessential warrior-philosopher, Musashi authored A Book of Five Rings, a classic treatise in the canon of world philosophy and military strategy. But the path to enlightenment is an endless journey, and to get there through violent means--by way of the sword--makes mere survival an even greater challenge.

Sasaki Kojirō is the man destined to become Miyamoto Musashi's greatest rival and opponent in the most well-known duel in the annals of Japanese history. As a deaf-mute young man coming of age in a remote seaside village, Kojirō's innate ability with the sword compels him to become even better. This drive takes him beyond the borders of his peaceful village into the violent and chaotic world of feudal era Japan in the midst of a bloody war.