Life of a Samurai in Chinese / Japanese...

The 12th century phrase, 一所懸命 (Issho Kenmei) is often referred to as “Life Of A Samurai.”

Breaking it down:
一 = one
所 = place
懸 = devote
命 = life

一所懸命 literally means “to stake your life on one place.” Today, Japanese people use it to mean giving your full effort to something.

Other translations of 一所懸命 include: Very hard, with utmost effort, as hard as one can, with all one's might, for dear life, eagerly, and/or desperately.

In the context of the Samurai, it is devoting oneself to the defense of one's territory.

Originally 一生懸命 meaning “to stake your life on one birth.”

Miyamoto Musashi is probably the most famous Samurai in all of Japanese history.

武蔵 is the short title for a man long in legend. While coming from a lower class, his new sword and fighting techniques put him on par with the best that feudal Japan had to offer. His long career started with his first duel at age 13!

He is credited with using two swords at once and never losing a single battle in his career. After becoming a Buddhist, and getting older, like many old warriors, he took up a peaceful and solitary life until his death around 1645 A.D.

Note: Technically, Musashi is his given name, and Miyamoto is his surname. However, it's suggested that he assumed both of these names and had a few other names in childhood, as well as being given a Buddhist name. It's hard to know what to call him, as with most Kanji, there are multiple pronunciations. The characters for Musashi can also be pronounced Takezō. But everyone in modern times seems to know him by the name Musashi.