 | This articlemay need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia'squality standards. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page.You can help. The talk page may contain suggestions.(March 2025) |
Hattori Hanzō | |
|---|---|
| 服部 半蔵 | |
 | |
| Leader ofIgaNinja | |
| In office 1557–1597 | |
| Preceded by | Hattori Yasunaga |
| Succeeded by | Hattori Masanari |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hattori Masanari 服部 正成 c. 1542 Mikawa Province (now Iga-chō,Okazaki, Aichi) |
| Died | (1597-01-02)January 2, 1597 (aged 54-55) |
| Relations | Hattori Yasunaga, 1st-Hanzō (father) Hattori Masanari, 3rd-Hanzō (son) |
| Nickname | Oni no Hanzō (Demon Hanzō) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Matsudaira clanTokugawa clan |
| Battles/wars | |
Hattori Hanzō (服部 半蔵; c. 1542[1] – January 2, 1597) orSecond Hanzō, nicknamedOni no Hanzō (鬼の半蔵,Demon Hanzō),[2] was a famoussamurai of theSengoku era. He served theTokugawa clan as a general and is credited with saving the life ofTokugawa Ieyasu, later helping him to become the ruler ofunited Japan.
Hanzō was known as an expert tactician and a master ofsword fighting, and was included in cultural sobriquet as one ofTokugawa's 16 divine generals (Tokugawa jūrokushinshō).[3][4][5]
He became known as theSecond Hanzō. He would later earn the nicknameOni no Hanzō (鬼の半蔵, Demon Hanzō)[2] to distinguish him from another Tokugawa general named Watanabe Hanzō (Watanabe Moritsuna), who is nicknamedYari no Hanzō (槍の半蔵,Spear Hanzō).[6]
Hattori Hanzō was born the son of Hattori Yasunaga (服部 保長), theFirst Hanzō, a minor samurai in the service of theMatsudaira (laterTokugawa) clan.[7][2] His real name was Hattori Masanari (服部 正成). Despite being born inMikawa Province (now Iga-chō,Okazaki, Aichi), he often paid visits toIga Province, home of the Hattori clan. At the age of 15, his first battle was a nighttime attack during the siege of Uto castle in 1557.[7]
In 1561, Hanzō servedTokugawa Ieyasu (who at the time was still called Matsudaira Motoyasu) and has great contribution with Ieyasu's rise to power, helping the future shogun bring down theImagawa clan. AfterImagawa Ujizane had held Tokugawa's wife and son as hostages, Hanzō made a successful hostage rescue of Tokugawa's family atKaminogo castle in 1562.[8]
In 1563, a major incident occurred which involved Hanzō. TheIkkō-ikki followers hadrebelled in Mikawa and fought against Ieyasu. Moreover, the majority of the Tokugawa clan's vassals were followers of the Ikko sect. Honda Masanobu and most of the vassals joined the Ikko Ikki and began to take hostile action against Ieyasu. During that time, Hanzō, who was also a follower of the Ikkō-ikki, instead kept his loyalty to the Tokugawa clan and supported Ieyasu to fight the rebels.[9]
In 1569, Hanzō went on to lay siege toKakegawa castle against the Imagawa clan.[citation needed]
From 1570 to 1573, Hanzō served with distinction at the battles ofAnegawa andMikatagahara respectively;[7] it was during this conflict that Hanzō received the nicknameOni no Hanzō. According to theKansei Chōshū Shokafu[a], Hattori Hanzō rendered meritorious service during the Battle of Mikatagahara and became commander of an Iga unit consisting of one hundred fifty men. He captured a Takeda spy named Chikuan, and when Takeda's troops invaded Totomi, Hanzō counterattacked with only thirty warriors at theTenryū River. He andWatanabe Moritsuna performed with exceptional skill with their spears. This prompting Moritsuna to gain a nickname ofYari no Hanzō (Spear Hanzo) while Hanzō being nicknamed asOni no Hanzō, (Hanzō the demon).[10][11][12]
In 1575, he married the daughter of fellow military commander Nagasaka Nobumasa.[13] His son would be born around a year later.
In 1579, AfterMatsudaira Nobuyasu was accused of treason and conspiracy byOda Nobunaga and was ordered to commitseppuku by his[whose?] father, Ieyasu, Hanzō was called in to act as an official to assist the seppuku procession, but he refused to take the sword on the blood of his own lord. Ieyasu valued his loyalty after hearing of Hanzō's ordeal and was noted to have said "Even a demon can shed tears".[14][15]
In 1580, another incident involving Hanzō and the Hattori clan occurred. During that time, a military commander of theOda clan was staying inHamamatsu Castle in preparation to assist the Oda-Tokugawa alliance to attackTakatenjin Castle, which belonged to theTakeda clan's forces. However, a friction happened between the commander of the castle with a Tokugawa retainer over a trivial matter. Hanzō was trying to resolve the matter. However, the Ōgaki clan's retainers who were on the side of the castle commander attacked Hanzo, which caused the members of Hattori clan to fight them back, resulting in casualties on both sides. As a result of this incident, the Ōgaki clan demanded Hanzō to be held responsible executed. Ieyasu then managed to trick the Oda clan by pretending to arrest Hanzō at first. Then as Ieyasu allowed Hanzō to escape from his prison in Hamamatsu castle along with his wife and children. After that, Ieyasu deceived the Ōgaki clan by presenting them with a head of someone else, while claiming it was Hanzō's head.[16]
In the middle of June 1582, after theHonnō-ji incident, Tokugawa Ieyasu escaped from Sakai to return into Mikawa, in order to prevent capture fromAkechi Mitsuhide and his troops. Ieyasu had only 34 companions with him, including Hanzō. The journey they took was particularly dangerous due to the existence ofOchimusha-gari, or "samurai hunting" gangs[b]. Ieyasu and his party, therefore, chose the shortest route back to the Mikawa Province by crossing through theIga Province, which differed in many versions according to primary sources such as the records ofTokugawa Nikki orMikawa Todai-Hon:
Regardless of which theory is true, historians agreed that the trek ended at Kada (a mountain pass betweenKameyama town and Iga). Tokugawa's group suffered a last attack by the 'ochimusha-gari outlaws at Kada pass where they reached the territory of theKōka ikki clan ofJizamurai who were friendly to the Tokugawa clan. The Koka ikki samurai assisted Ieyasu to eliminate the threats of raiders and escorted them until they reachedIga Province, where they were further protected by other allied clans fromIga ikki which accompanied the Ieyasu group until they safely reached Mikawa.[19]
Portuguese missionaryLuís Fróis had recorded in his workHistory of Japan, that during this journey, Tokugawa retainers such asSakai Tadatsugu,Ii Naomasa,Honda Tadakatsu,Sakakibara Yasumasa, and many others[24]: 314–315 [18][25] fought their way out against the raids and harassments ofochimusha-gari outlaws during their march escorting Ieyasu, while sometimes also paying bribes of gold and silver to those which they could negotiate with.[26]Matsudaira Ietada recorded in his journal,Ietada nikki (家忠日記), that the escorts of Ieyasu had suffered around 200 casualties during their journey due to the raids from bandits and outlaws.[27][28]
According to Iga's history book (伊賀者由緒書) compiled during theEdo period, the Iga clan ninja which Hanzō hailed from never missed a single battle which involved the Tokugawa clan, from the Battle of Izu Nirayama in 1582, to the Summer Siege of Osaka in 1615.[29]
In late June 1582, a triangle conflict which was dubbed as theTenshō-Jingo war broke out between the Tokugawa clan,Uesugi clan, andHōjō clan.[30][c] Hanzō participated in this conflict on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu as he deployed his forces in various forts in theKōfu basin against Ujinao, who camped his army in the area of present-dayHokuto city. Hanzō led the Iga clan warriors to Katsuyama castle (Kamisone-cho, Kofu city), Misakuchi castle, and Kotohirayama castle (Misakuchi-cho, Kofu city), where he monitored the Nakamichi road connecting Kai and Suruga.[33] At the same time, a Tokugawa army detachment from theIga Province commanded by Hanzō invadedSaku District, where they were also aided by Shinano local samurai warriors from the Tsugane clan led by Ōbi Sukemitsu. In early September, Hanzō and Sukemitsu launched a night attack on Egusuku castle (also known as Shishiku castle) and successfully captured it, under the cover of heavy rain.[34][35][36] Later, he also took the Sanogoya castle inIzu Province under cover of heavy rain. Hanzō was praised by Ieyasu for this achievement.[37]
In 1584, Hattori Hanzō continued to serve Ieyasu at theBattle of Komaki and Nagakute. During this battle, Hanzo marched to Ise commanding 100 warriors of Iga and Kōka ninja as reinforcements from Matsugashima Castle. His troops used rifles in defending the castle from the attacking Toyotomi forces.[38] However, within a month, Takigawa Katsutoshi, the lord of Matsugashima Castle, was cornered to the Ninomaru (second bailey of the castle). In the ends, the castle fallen to the Toyotomi's force.[39]
In 1590, Hattori Hanzō participated in theOdawara campaign, where he led a troop of 50 members ofNegoro-shū, a group of mercenaries using firearms that originated inKii Province.[40] After this conflict, for his service in helping Ieyasu crossing of Iga, Hanzō was awarded with 8,000koku ofdomain inTotomi Province (present-day Shizuoka Prefecture). By the time Ieyasu relocated toKantō region, Hanzō was given the command ofyoriki officers and 200 civil officials.[41]
In 1597, Hanzō died on 2 January, succumbing to an unspecified illness.[42][d]
Hanzō's remains now rest in theSainen-ji temple cemetery inYotsuya, Tokyo. The temple also holds his favourite spear and ceremonial battle helmet.
Theyari (Japanese spear) which preserved inThe spear's blade is ryō-shinogi zukuri, now completely rusted reddish-brown, with the steel no longer visible. The tip broke off in the 1855 Ansei Earthquake. The wooden handle is black-lacquered, fitted with a copper tube at the base, wrapped in sandalwood, lacquered, and secured with two copper bands. It was originally 14shaku (424 cm) long, 7.5 kg in weight, and given to him by Ieyasu, was donated to the temple by Hanzō as avotive offering, but was damaged during thebombing of Tokyo in 1945. This spear is traditionally said to have been awarded by Ieyasu to Hanzō for his valor at the Battle of Mikatagahara (1572). It was later donated to Saenen-ji temple (founded by Hanzō to honor Ieyasu’s eldest son,Matsudaira Nobuyasu, who was ordered to commitseppuku) by Hanzō’s descendants in the late Edo period.[45][46]
Another Hanzo's spear was recorded being passed down to Ōtani Masazumi, a vassal ofSakai Tadanao Shuri-no-daibu. The blade length is 3shaku and 7sun (approx. 111.8 cm), while the groove (hi) depth is medium, approximately 3 ''bu (about 9 mm).[47]
Hanzō's reputation as a samurai leader who commanded a 200-men strong unit of Iga warriors has grown to legendary proportions. Tales of Hattori's exploits often attributed various supernatural abilities, such asteleportation,psychokinesis, andprecognition.[2][7]
After his death in 1597, Hattori Hanzō was succeeded by his son, whose name was alsoMasanari (third Hanzō), though written with differentkanji (正就 instead of 正成). He was given the titleIwami no Kami (石見守)[48] and his Iga men would act as guards ofEdo Castle, the headquarters of the government of united Japan. "Hanzō" is actually a name passed down through the leaders of the Hattori family, meaning his father was also called Hanzō and so was his successor. Indeed, there were at least five people known as Hattori Hanzō throughout history.[2]
To this day, artefacts of Hanzō's legacy remain.Tokyo Imperial Palace (formerly theshōgun's palace) still has a gate called Hanzō's Gate (Hanzōmon), and theHanzōmon subway line which runs fromHanzōmon Station in centralTokyo to the southwestern suburbs is named after the gate, where his house was once located.[49][50][51] The neighbourhood outside Hanzō's Gate is known as Wakaba, but before 1943 was named Iga-chō ("Iga Town").[52]
As a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hanzō was more popularly known in modern era as archetypical ninja figure and is featured in many fictional works. However, Hanzō was not featured in the first ninja boom of theTaishō era (1912-1926), as during that era, the ninja archetype figure in fictional works were more dominated bySarutobi Sasuke andKirigakure Saizō. Hanzō only started to gain his acknowledgement as legendary ninja in fictional works in the 1950s in various mediums such as novels,manga,anime,Japanese television drama, movies, andtheatre of Japan. The famous Kill Bill movie is also heavily attributed to the speciality of his Sword. Important works in the process of creating "Ninja Hattori Hanzo" reputation include Shibata Renzaburo's "Akai Kageboshi" (1960) and Yamada Futaro's short story "Ninja Hattori Hanzo" (1964). The former portrays Hanzō as a central character who is deeply involved with the protagonist and runs through the story. The latter is a work that shows that "Hattori Hanzo" does not refer to a specific person, but is a name that is passed down.[53]
Kunio Yanagita "History of Japanese Farmers"
Tadashi Ishikawa quote
Akira Imatani"Practice of attacking fallen warriors"; 2000; p.153 chapter 4
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Luís Fróis;History of Japan..; Nihon Yoso-kai Annual Report", Japanese historical materials also show that Ieyasu distributed a large amount of gold and silver to his subordinates) A certain " Ishikawa Tadashi Sosho
From "The Truth About Tokugawa Ieyasu" in the February 2023 issue of Rekishijin article