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Hattori Hanzō (服部 半蔵, ~1542 – 1596), also known as Hattori Masanari (服部 正成), was a famous samurai and ninja of the Sengoku era.
Hanzō was born as the son of Hattori Yasunaga, a minor samurai in the service of the Matsudaira (later Tokugawa) clan. He would later earn the nickname Oni no Hanzō (鬼半蔵, Devil Hanzō) because of the fearless tactics he displayed in his operations; this is to distinguish him from Watanabe Hanzo, who is nicknamed Yari no Hanzō (槍半蔵, Spear Hanzō).
Biography
Though Hanzō was born and raised in Mikawa Province, he often returned to Iga Province, home of the Hattori family. He fought his first battle at the age of 16 (a night-time attack on Udo castle) and went on to serve with distinction at the battles of Anegawa (1570) and Mikatagahara (1572). His most valuable contribution came in 1582 following Oda Nobunaga's death, when he led the future shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to safety in Mikawa Province across Iga territory with the help of remnants of the local Iga ninja clans as well as their one-time rivals in Koga.
Hanzō was known as an expert tactician and a master of spear fighting. Various magical tricks such as disappearing and appearing elsewhere, psychokinesis and precognition were also supposedly attributed to him. Historical sources say he actually died in 1596 at the age of 55. According to a popular legend, the ninja of Fūma Kotarō killed Hanzō in sea combat during their raid against the Tokugawa forces in the Inland Sea.
Legacy
Hattori Hanzō was succeeded by his 18-year-old son, whose name was also Masanari, though written with different kanji. He was given the title of Iwami no Kami and his men would act as guards of Edo Castle, the headquarters of the government of united Japan. There have been also as many as three other Hattori Hanzōs leading his clan at one point or another (including one before him).
To this day, artifacts of Hanzō's legacy remain; the Tokyo Imperial Palace (formerly the shogun's palace) still has a gate called Hanzō's Gate (Hanzōmon), and the Hanzōmon subway line which runs from central Tokyo to the southwestern suburbs is named after the gate. Hanzō’s remains now rest in the Sainen-ji temple cemetery in Yotsuya, Tokyo. The temple also holds his favorite spear and his ceremonial battle helmet. The spear, donated to the temple by Hanzō as a votive offering, was originally given to him by Ieyasu and suffered damage during the bombing of Tokyo in 1945.
In popular culture
As a famous historical figure in one of Japan's greatest periods of samurai culture, Hattori Hanzō has significant cultural resonance among admirers of that culture, both within Japan and abroad. In the modern popular culture he is most often portrayed as involved with the Iga ninja clans.
Many films, specials and series on the life and times of Tokugawa Ieyasu depict the events mentioned above. For example, Hattori Hanzō appears in the novel Fukurō no Shiro (Owl's Castle), later made into two feature films. The actor Sonny Chiba played his role in the V-Cinema series Kage no Gundan (Shadow Warriors). In the 2009 film Goemon, Hanzō appears as a legendary shinobi and has a significant supporting role (played by Susumu Terajima). The life of Hanzō and his service to Tokugawa Ieyasu is fictionalised in the manga series Path of the Assassin. Hanzō also appears in the manga and anime series Gin Tama, Samurai Deeper Kyo and, together with his clan, in Tail of the Moon. In the manga Tenka Musō, the young Hanzō is the main character. He was also featured in the show Deadliest Warrior.
Hattori Hanzō appears as a recurring character in the Samurai Shodown video game series, appearing in every game in the series (along with the anime film and some guest apparances in the KOF series). In World Heroes, another SNK series, Hanzō serves as one of the main characters, and is portrayed as rivals with Fūma Kotarō, also featured in the games (their rivalry is based upon the legend surrounding Hanzō's death). In video game series Samurai Warriors, he is portrayed as a highly skilled ninja, highly loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu and attributed to the death of many of Ieyasu's rivals, including Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Sanada Yukimura, and having an extremely fierce rivalry with Fūma Kotarō. Hanzō is also featured in the games Taikou Risshiden V (as one of the main characters) and Kessen III (in Kessen and Kessen III also Okatsu is rumoured to be his descendant), and in a minor roles in Aika and Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword.
In the film Kill Bill, Sonny Chiba (Hanzō in Shadow Warriors) plays Hattori Hanzō, a master swordsmith who is called upon to create a special katana sword for the film's protagonist; it has been implied that this character is a descendant of the historical figure. In the film The Machine Girl, the yakuza villains state that Hattori Hanzō is their family's name. The manga and anime series Basilisk (as well as its feature film adaptation, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade) features a character named Hattori Kyohachiro as an attendant to the shogun; he the son of the second Hattori Hanzō and adopted son of the fourth Hanzō. Another Hanzō clan's descendant, private investigator Hanpei "Hanpen" Hattori, appears in Android Kikaider.
There are also many shoutouts: for example, in the franchise Ninja Hattori-kun, the main character Kanzo Hattori's name is a pun on Hanzō (his younger brother's name is Shinzo Hattori); in the video game series Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters, Mai Shiranui's grandfather is the ninja master Hanzo Shiranui; in the Mortal Kombat series, Scorpion's real name is Hanzo Hasashi; and in the first two games of the fantasy series Gensou Suikoden, a character named Hanzo is the leader of a hidden ninja village.
See also
References
- Alternative birth dates according to various sources are 1541, 1542 or 1543.
- Hanzo Hattori - Ninja of Iga by Stephen K. Hayes
- ^ Stephen Turnbull, Ninja AD 1460-1650 (2003), p. 12
- ^ Joel Levy, Ninja: The Shadow Warrior (2008), p. 157-158
- Stephen K. Hayes, The Mystic Arts of the Ninja (1985)
- Stephen K. Hayes, The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art (1990), p. 30
- Donn F. Draeger, Ninjutsu: The Art of Invisibility (2008), p. 129-131
- Sengoku Era Ranks and Titles
- The Spear of Hattori Hanzo, Bujinkan
- Stephen Turnbull, The Samurai Swordsman: Master of War (2008), p. 53
- Ninja Master Hattori Hanzo (Character)
- Hanzo Hattori - SNK Wiki
- Hattori Hanzo - The Fighters Generation
- Hanzo (World Heroes) - SNK Wiki
- Hanzo Hattori - Samurai Games Wiki
- Hanzō Hattori - The Koei Wiki
- Okatsu - The Koei Wiki
- Hattori Hanzo - Aika Wiki
- Hattori Hanzo - The Quentin Tarantino Archives
- Hanzo - Suikoden Wikia
External links
- Hattori Hanzô (Character) at the Internet Movie Database
- Template:Tvtropes
- Hattori Hanzo - Vintage Ninja
- Badass of the Week: Hattori Hanzo