Miyamoto Musashi - Myths & Legends

Q - Did Musashi never bathe?

A - It was written in Eji Yoshikawa's book that Musashi never took a bath, lest he get caught without his swords.  This romanticism of Musashi's philosophy of always being ready to fight was highly unlikely considering Musashi was a guest of (and thought very highly of by) such people Honda Tadakatsu, Ogasawara Tadanao and Hosokawa Tadaoki.  It is worth noting here that Ogasawara-ryu reigi and saho formed the basis upon which the Japanese behavioural code was created, and one of the major teachings was cleanliness.