Sanomo Shrine is known as a place associated with Miyamoto Musashi, the greatest samurai who had never been defeated. The shrine is located next to Musashi’s birth place in Mimasaka City, Okayama Pref. Spending his boyhood days in Miyamoto Village (present-day Mimasaka City), Musashi had repeated frictions with his father and finally declared the break of the tie between father and son. He went to his mother’s home town but was brought back again to his father’s house later. There he carried out a rampage to vent his loneliness and anger, called “Akuzo (a bad boy)” by the villagers. Though being such a bad boy, he got along well only with his close friend, Motoida Matahachi and his fiancée, Otsu, with whom Musashi ran around fields and mountains in his home land. Sanomo Shrine is said to have been the place where Musashi was inspired to create Nito-ryu, the two-sworded fighting style when he observed drum movements of the shrine priest. Two drum sticks create one drum beat! Can you imagine the flash of inspiration the great swordman had at this moment?