I used to have a list of literal translations of what the Japanese names meant but I've lost the address. Anyway, as the page above points out that's rather like giving a literal meaning of American city and state names when discussing US ships.

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-->Identity Crisis<--

Based on Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), the classic model of the samurai. Musashi was a ronin when he was young, roaming the countryside and testing his skill against various opponents. (sounds familiar...) His religion was The Way of the Sword, in which he hoped to gain enlightenment through perfect mental control and physical skill. (like arcade players today :-) The basis of this
philosophy is Zen Buddhism, which advocates the negation of wordly attachments and emotions to attain a higher state of non-being. Thus, this goal came at the expense of everything else, even love (this sorta explains Haohmaru's ending...) and personal appearance (which explains Haohmaru's haircut). However, the cocky attitude that Haohmaru adopts was NOT displayed by Musashi, who viewed everything with the utmost seriousness.
Musashi developed the fighting technique of using two swords at once (although Haohmaru only has one). He also eventually became a samurai
of the Hasokawa daiymo, which had previously employed his rival Genryu earlier. Despite his famous martial prowess, Musashi gradually came
to believe that enlightenment could also be achieved through the arts as well, and became a notable painter and woodsculptor. He left a
famous book on the art of swordfighting, "The Book of Five Rings", that (curiously enough) has been used to advise businessmen today how to become better competitors!

Musashi (at least according to Yoshikawa) did have a Zen Buddhist monk as a mentor during his early years named Soho Takuan. Whether this is historically true is debatable, but Takuan was a real person--there's a pickle named after him! His teachings on Zen also had a great influence on the historical Musashi's approach to fighting and life. In addition, he was a personal mentor to both the Shogun and Yagyu Munenori, and influenced both their Zen approaches to swordsmanship.

Sasaki Kojiro Genryu (1572--1612), Musashi's skilled rival. His Character was remade into Tachibana Ukyo in Samurai Shodown II. Genryu wielded a VERY long sword called the "Drying Pole". He was reputed to be the most skilled swordsman around, and could slice swallows in mid-air, according to Yoshikawa. The preface to the Book of Five Rings says that he developed a sword technique inspired by the movement of a swallow's tail in flight. Despite his skill, during their duel Musashi killed him in one blow (two, according to some accounts). Musashi used a wood sword he carved on his way to the isle, and he also showed up late for the duel as a psychological tactic. After he defeated Genryu, the island was renamed Genryu Isle ("Gairyu Isle"), although it's actually by Shimonoseki and not where the SS map says it is. Note that this was Musashi's most famous duel, and is pretty much a cultural reference in Japan.

Hope it is good enough.

http://www.fairacre.demon.co.uk/Orient/Japan/History.htm

*edits message*
Hm, apparently Musashi is not related to mushasi after all. I did find a picture of the yamato, but the musashi looks almost the same, check it out (am I repeating myself?)

True, Musashi was not only a skilled swordsman (he fought in many duels, but he died of *old age!*) but also an artist. [I presume he was a practitioner of the "bunbu ichi" philosophy.]

Xentrick: I made mention of that in my post. Musashi was also a wood sculptor.

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I can resist anything.......
Except Temptation