Yagyū Hyōgonosuke

Yagyū Hyōgonosuke (柳生 兵庫助, 1579 – 1650) or — Toshitoshi (利厳) was the founder of the Owari mainline of the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū style of swordsmanship in the early Edo period. He was a son of Yagyū Toshikatsu and a grandson of Yagyū Muneyoshi (Sekishūsai). His name is sometimes mispronounce Toshiyoshi, but the kanji 厳 reading was passed down as "toshi" in the Yagyū family.

He was favored by the old Sekishūsai over Munenori, who had been recomanded to the Shōgun.

From 1603 to 1607, he served Kato Kiyomasa. Thereafter, he became an itinerant warrior. Beginning in 1615, he served Tokugawa Yoshinao, the founder of the Owari branch of the Tokugawa clan. He directly instructed Yoshinao in the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.

In legend

While the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi had at one time stayed at Nagoya, Musashi had noticed a certain warrior walking in the street, in which is way of carrying himself was striking to Musashi. Musashi then approaced Hyogonosuke, and Hyogonosuke did the same. Musashi then asked, "Aren't you Lord Yagyu Hyogonosuke?" Hyogonosuke replied, "I am. Aren't you Lord Miyamoto Musashi?". Though the fact that Musashi and Hyogonosuke had never once met each other at any time in the past, because of the way that he had carried himself, along with the certain martial energy that he had been emanated, It couldn't have been anyone else but Hyogonosuke. So instead of measuring each other in combat, Hyogonosuke and Musashi had instead conversed like old friends within the house of Yagyu.

References

Miyamoto Musashi - Life and Writings