Musashizuka Park

Musashizuka Park in eastern Kumamoto is considered the most plausible of three sites associated with the burial of swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, who spent his final five years here under the patronage of the Hosokawa clan. According to legend, he asked to be buried standing upright in full armor, facing the old road to Edo that the Hosokawa family traveled, so he could guard them even after death. A bronze statue of Musashi in full battle stance stands at the park entrance. The grounds include a Japanese garden and a teahouse, and the park sits along what remains of that ancient road.