Fūma Kotarō (Fifth) 風魔 小太郎 | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Died | 1603 (1604) |
| Allegiance |  Hōjō clan |
| Commands | Kanagawa Prefecture |
| Battles / wars | Battle of Omosu (1580) Siege of Odawara (1590) |
Fūma Kotarō (風魔 小太郎) was the name adopted by the leader of theninjaFūma clan (風魔一党,Fūma-ittō) during theSengoku era offeudal Japan. He was a retainer of theLater Hōjō clan. According to some records,[which?] his name was originallyKazama Kotarō (風間 小太郎).
The clan was based inKanagawa Prefecture, specializing in horsebackguerrilla warfare and navalespionage.[1][2] According to some sources, the family has roots in the 10th century when they servedTaira no Masakado in his revolt against theKyoto government. The use of the name started with the first leader (jonin) of the clan: originally surnamed "風間" (Fūma), with a differentkanji, it was later changed tohomophone 風魔. Each subsequent leader of the school adopted the same name as its founder, making it difficult to identify them individually. Thisschool was in the service of theHōjō clan ofOdawara.
Fūma Kotarō was the fifth and the best known of the Fūma clan leaders. Born inSagami Province (modernKanagawa Prefecture) on an unknown date, he became notorious as the leader of a band of 200Rappa "battle disrupters",[3] divided into four groups: brigands, pirates, burglars and thieves. Kotarō served underHōjō Ujimasa andHōjō Ujinao. His biggest achievement came in 1580 atBattle of Omosu, when the Fūma ninja covertly infiltrated and attacked a camp of theTakeda clan forces underTakeda Katsuyori at night, succeeding in causing severe chaos in the camp, which resulted in massive casualties among the disoriented enemies as they attacked each other.[4] Later in 1590, atSiege of Odawara, whenToyotomi Hideyoshi laid siege toOdawara Castle, which eventually fell, the Hōjō clan was forced to surrender.
When theTokugawa shogunate came to power, the remnants of Fūma-ryū were reduced to a band of brigands operating in and aroundEdo. A popular but fictional story says that in 1596, Kotarō was responsible for the death ofHattori Hanzō, a famous ninja in the service ofTokugawa Ieyasu, who had tracked him down in theInland Sea, but Kotarō has succeeded in luring him into a small channel, where a tide trapped the Tokugawa gunboats and his men then set fire to the channel with oil.[2][4]
Kotarō was eventually caught by the Tokugawa shogunate's special law-enforcement force, guided by his rival and a former Takeda ninjaKōsaka Jinnai (高坂甚内), and executed throughbeheading by an order of Ieyasu in 1603.
In a folk legend, he is often an inhuman figure: a supposedly part-oni monstrous giant (over 2 meters tall) with inverted eyes.[4] In fiction portrayals, Fūma Kotarō is often depicted as Hattori Hanzō's arch-rival. As the name Fūma literally means "wind demon", Fūma Kotarō's depiction is frequently more flamboyant, fantastical, and sometimes even demonic. In contrast, Hanzō is usually rendered with a relatively subdued appearance.
Kotarō is a player character in the video gameOnimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny.
His 18th-century descendant Fūma Kotarō Kaneyoshi is the hero's nemesis through most of the TV seriesThe Samurai.
A fictional weapon called theFūma shuriken is a large collapsibleshuriken with four blades.[5]
