Sarutobi Sasuke (猿飛佐助,Sarutobi Sasuke) is aninja who appears inkōdan narrative art and fictional writings. The nickname is generally believed to have been concocted sometime between theMeiji to theTaishō periods. Some argue he is based on real live personages, such asKōzuki Sasuke (上月佐助,Kōzuki Sasuke) andSarutobi Nisuke (猿飛仁助,Sarutobi Nisuke). His family name, meaning "monkey jump",[1] is written with twokanji;saru (猿) is the character for "monkey", andtobi (飛) is the character for "jump". He was known for his monkey-like agility and quickness,[2] especially in trees. Many depictions portray him as having been orphaned and raised by a band of monkeys,[3] therefore giving rise to the monkey-like abilities. He has been described as asuperhero ninja, and caused a boom ofninjas in popular culture during the 1910s-1920s in Japan.[4][5][6]
Sasuke is commonly listed as the leader of theSanada Ten Braves, a fictional group of ten ninja that supposedly assisted the warlordSanada Yukimura at theSiege of Osaka and he is by far the best known and most popular among them. When appearing withKirigakure Saizō, one of his fellow Ten Braves, he is often thus contrasted with his best friend/arch-rival, who usually has an elegant, or at least clean-cut, appearance and magic-like ability. Sasuke is generally said to be aKōga ninja, whereas Saizō is anIga ninja. As such, when the two appear together, they are almost always depicted as arch-rivals and later, after being recruited to the Sanada cause, best friends. (This rivalry parallels the Iga-Kōga rivalry and theHattori-Fūma rivalries inninja fiction.) It is said he fell in battle against the forces ofTokugawa Ieyasu during the Siege of Osaka in the summer of 1615;[7] but there is no historical record of this.[8] In another version, Sasuke infiltrated Tokugawa Ieyasu's stronghold during 1615 and, having caught his foot in a bear trap while escaping the enemy, cut it off at the ankle to escape and then took his own life rather than be captured.[9]
Sarutobi Sasuke's image has been very influential in ninja fiction, in which he is usually portrayed as a young boy. The character was immortalized in contemporary Japanese culture by the popular Tachikawa Bunko (Pocket Books) children's literature between 1911 and 1925,[10][11] as well as inSarutobi Sasuke, one of the more famous gag manga byShigeru Sugiura from the 1950s (followed byShōnenJiraiya).[12]
He has been described as asuperhero ninja.[4][5][6] By 1914, his abilities included superhuman strength, chanting incantations, appearing and disappearing, jumping to the top of the highest trees, riding on clouds, conjuring theelements (water, fire and wind), and transforming into other people or animals.[4] His popularity caused a boom ofninjas in popular culture during the 1910s-1920s in Japan.[4][5]
He is the title character of the films such asIbun Sarutobi Sasuke (known in the west asSamurai Spy),Sânada Daisûke to Sarutobi Sasuke,Sarutobi no Ninjutsu andSarutobi Sasuke Senjogadake no Himatsuri,[13] as well as of several other movies simply namedSarutobi Sasuke in 1918, 1919, 1922, and 1966 (the last one also known asNinja Spy).[14] He is also the lead character in the musical filmBrave Records of the Sanada Clan.Toei Animation's second full-length movie wasShônen Sarutobi Sasuke, dealing with Sasuke's childhood, which was followed by a TV series. This film was also the first time when both Sasuke and anime were introduced to the western audience (in 1961 asMagic Boy), although all the references to him being a ninja were removed in the English-language version. He is also the title character of an anime seriesManga Sarutobi Sasuke, of the video gameNinja Boy Sasuke, and ofSanpei Shirato's1961 manga, as well as of the manga seriesI am Sarutobi! by the "father of the modern manga"Osamu Tezuka two years earlier.
An adult Sarutobi Sasuke is a character in the anime and manga seriesSamurai Deeper Kyo, in which he serves Sanada Yukimura as the leader of the Ten Braves – the same role he has in the manga and animeBrave 10[15] and in the filmKamen Rider Den-O: I'm Born!. Sasuke also appeared in the historical anime and mangaShura no Toki (serving Sanada Tsubura), in the taiga drama seriesTenchijin, in the animeSanada Ten Braves and in the filmGoemon. In the video game and anime seriesSengoku Basara, and in its anime adaptationsSengoku Basara: The Last Party andSengoku Basara: Samurai Kings,[16] he is portrayed as a laid-back but cunning ninja, aiding Yukimura. In the filmShogun Assassins (Sanada Yukimura no Bouryaku), Sasuke is even shown to be literally ananthropomorphized ninja monkey.[17] TheNinja Sentai Kakuranger characterSasuke / Ninja Red and the title character of the manga seriesSarutobi Ecchan are each portrayed as being direct descendants of Sarutobi Sasuke.
The very name Sasuke has become something of a default ninja name ormoniker. For example, the sports entertainment show known in the other countries asNinja Warrior is titledSasuke in the original Japanese version, whileGreat Sasuke is stage name of the Japanese professional wrestler Masanori Murakawa. Various ninja characters by the name of either Sasuke or Sarutobi appear in the anime seriesGin Tama,Haō Taikei Ryū Knight,Ninja Nonsense andRanma ½ (Sasuke Sarugakure), the video gamesCaptain Commando,Ehrgeiz,Joy Mech Fight (as a ninja robot),Shall We Date?: Ninja Love (as a romance option for the player character),[18]Gotcha Force,Kessen (as a female ninja),Ninja Master's: Haō Ninpō Chō (where he is the protagonist),Samurai Warriors andSuikoden II, in theGanbare Goemon video game series (as another robot ninja), and in the trading card gameYu-Gi-Oh!. His legacy is also almost omnipresent in the manga and anime franchiseNaruto in which the father of a major supporting character, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is named Sasuke Sarutobi, hence making him the grandfather of Asuma Sarutobi (Hiruzen's son) and the great-grandfather of Konohamaru (Asuma's nephew). One of the main characters is namedSasuke Uchiha; it is mentioned that Sasuke was named after Sarutobi Sasuke in hopes that he would become a great shinobi just like him.
Sarutobi Sasuke precipitated a "ninja boom" among the young throughout the country. Sarutobi is an adolescent superhero who, in addition to his ability to chant incantations, appear and disappear at will, and leap to the top of the highest tree, can hear whispered conversations hundreds of yards away, is superhumanly strong, can ride on clouds, is able to conjure water, fire and wind as well as transform himself into other people and animals.