Hattori Hanzō

"Hattori Hanzō" redirects here. For other uses, see Hattori Hanzō (disambiguation).

A portrait of Hattori Hanzō

Hattori Hanzō (服部 半蔵) (1541 – 1596), also known as Masanari or Masashige Hattori Masanari (服部 正成), the son of Hattori Yasunaga, was a famous Samurai and a head of clan from Iga region of Japan.

Hanzō served Tokugawa Ieyasu loyally and well. He is commonly depicted as Ninja in manga and novel fiction. Hanzō was born a vassal of the Matsudaira (later Tokugawa) clan; he would later earn the nickname Oni-Hanzō (鬼半蔵, "Devil Hanzō") because of the ferocity he displayed in battle. His nickname distinguishes him from another Tokugawa samurai, Watanabe Hanzō, called Yari-Hanzō (槍半蔵, "Spear Hanzō").

Biography

Though Hanzō was born and raised in Mikawa, he often returned to Iga, home of the Hattori family. He was an extremely skilled swordsman, tactician and spearman. This is because the Iga and Koga regions were the birthplace of ninjutsu, and there were over 70 clandestine organizations carrying out the art in the region. In the surrounding mountains, there were large institutes for training in martial skills. Onmyodo, a Chinese system of divination propagated in Kyoto by Abe no Seimei, had been brought from the capital. The village of Yagyu, along the Kyoto-Nara border, was home to a venerable school of sword technique. The Hozo-in temple in Nara supported a unique school of spear fighting, the Hozoin-ryu. All the arts necessary for ninjutsu could be acquired within a radius of 45 miles from Iga. Hattori, who fought his first battle at the age of 16, went on to serve at the battles of Anegawa (1570) and Mikatagahara (1572), but his most valuable contribution came in 1582, following Oda Nobunaga's death.

File:Hanzo Grave.PNG

Hanzō's grave located at the Sainen-ji temple cemetery in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Hattori Hanzō died in 1596 at the age of fifty-five of natural causes. However, there is a popular legend that a ninja, Fūma Kotarō, killed Hanzō in battle. He was succeeded by his eighteen-year-old son, whose name was also Masanari, though written with different kanji. His son was given the title "Iwami-no-Kami" and his men would act as guards of Edo Castle. Hanzō’s son mistreated the members of the Band of Iga.

To this day, artifacts of Hanzō's legacy remain; the Kōkyo Imperial Palace (formerly the shogun's palace) still has a gate called Hanzō's Gate, and the Hanzo-mon 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 Shinjuku, Tokyo. The temple also holds his favorite spears and his ceremonial battle helmet.

References in popular culture

• Hanzō frequently appears in jidaigeki. Actor Sonny Chiba played the role in the V-Cinema series Shin Kage no Gundan[1]. Many films, specials and series on the life and times of Tokugawa Ieyasu depict the events detailed above.
• In the film Kill Bill, Hattori Hanzō (Sonny Chiba) is a master swordsmith who is called upon to create a katana for the film's protagonist. Quentin Tarantino stated in the supplementary material on the Kill Bill DVD that the character was named in tribute to Chiba's former role as Hattori Hanzō in Kage no Gundan, and that, while not stated on camera, the modern Hattori Hanzō is a descendant of the ancient one.
• The life of Hanzō and his service to Tokugawa Ieyasu is fictionalised in the manga "Path of the Assassin," created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima.
• Hanzō also appears in the 1999 jidaigeki movie named Fukurō no Shiro (Owl's Castle). He was played by actor Jinpachi Nezu.
• The manga Basilisk features a character named Hattori Kyohachiro as an attendant to the shogun, being the son of the second Hanzō, and adopted son of the fourth Hanzō.
• In the novel Battle Royale the protagonist Shuya Nanahara's watch is described in page 82 as an "old, domestically manufactured Hattori Hanzō limited-edition diver's watch" donated to him through the orphanage.
• In a more romanticized setting the manga Tail of the Moon features Hattori Hanzō and his clan.
• He also appears in the manga, Ninja Hattori.
• He also appears in the anime, Samurai Deeper Kyo.
• Hanzō appears as a recurring character in the Samurai Shodown videogame series, appearing in every game in the series.
• In the World Heroes videogame series, Hanzō serves as one of the main characters, and is portrayed as rivals with Fuma Kotaru, also featured in the games. Their rivalry is based upon the legend surrounding Hanzō's death.
• He features in Koei's video game series Samurai Warriors, where he is portrayed as a highly skilled ninja who makes frequent references to the shadows and is highly loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu. In his Story Mode, he is attributed to the death of many of Ieyasu's rivals, including Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Sanada Yukimura. In Samurai Warriors 2, he has an extremely fierce rivalry with Fuma Kotaro. He wields a sickle with a chain attached.
• In the popular anime/manga franchise Naruto a character named Hanzo stood as the leader of a ninja village. Hanzo was potrayed to be a powerful ninja and his name is likely a homage to Hattori Hanzo.

External links

• Detailed biography of Hattori Hanzo
• More Detailed biography of Hattori Hanzo