Hattori Hanzo

Many moviegoers first heard the name Hattori Hanzo when they saw Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. The "hip" film aficionados were smugly offering trivia to their seatmates about actor Sonny Chiba's performance as Hattori Hanzo on Japanese television many times -- and that the movie character was intended to be a modern descendant of the original character. But how many of these hipsters knew that Hattori Hanzo was a real, historical person?
Hanzo comes down to us as perhaps the most famous ninja in history. His fame is linked, as with so many other warriors, to that great powerbroker and general, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun.

Hattori Hanzo was born in 1541 to Hattori Yasunagi, a hereditary retainer of the the Tokugawa clan. Hanzo participated in a nighttime assault on the castle of Udo in 1557 when he was 16. This was a typical age for a warrior's first battle. We know he later participated in two more battles at Anegawa in 1570, and Mikata go Hara in 1572. Hanzo came into prominence in 1582 when he came to the aide of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

In June of that year, the virtual dictator of Japan, Oda Nobunaga, was assassinated by a rival. At the time, Ieyasu was a staunch ally of Nobunaga. He was making a visit to a noble whose loyalty to Nobunaga was also suspect. Thus, when the news of the assassination reached Ieyasu, he found himself behind enemy lines and far from his nearest stronghold with only a handful of warriors (including, as it happened, Yagyu Munenori). Ieyasu gathered his men and made a break for his closest fortress before the enemy armies could reach him. The enemies sought to cut off the route of escape, so Ieyasu made a gamble and crossed into the physically dangerous, bandit-ridden territory of Japan's Iga province, home of the families we know as ninja.

As Ieyasu crossed into Iga, Hattori Hanzo rendezvoused with him, bringing about 200-300 of his own men. Hanzo acted as a guide for the rest of the journey. The Hattori network of spies provided warnings and bulletins throughout the course of the escape. (It should also be mentioned that many historians also credit the local knowledge of the Yagyu in this escape, which calls into question their connections to the Iga ninja. This is a thread we may pick up again another day.) We don't know much about this trip after this point, other than Ieyasu arrived safely. It is hard to imagine that it was completely uneventful. What subterfuge was employed to slink the famous lord through the hostile territory? What methods of guerilla warfare were employed to clear otherwise immovable obstacles?
In gratitude, Ieyasu took Hanzo and his men into his service. Hanzo was appointed the head of security to the rear gate of Edo Castle, and to this day, the gate is referred to as "Hanzomon" or "Hanzo's gate." Hanzo is generally credited with establishing a national network of agents to spy on the recalcitrant lords. The network survived Hanzo's death and provided information to the Tokugawa for many years. The legend is that the Iga warriors and their descendants were employed as the Edo Castle "gardeners" between outside missions.

During the wars of consolidation fought by Ieyasu to establish his grip as shogun, Hanzo came to be counted as among his greatest generals. Hanzo died in 1596 at the age of 55. One story surrounding his death has it that he and a strike force of ninja commandos were engaged in putting down a mutiny of pirates, and Hanzo died on a burning ship. Hattori Hanzo is buried in Tokyo in the garden of Seinenji Temple. The temple also houses his spear.
Death, however, has rarely kept a good ninja down. The legend of Hattori Hanzo has continued to grow and today it would be safe to say that the legendary Hanzo is much better known than his historical original. There have been countless printed tales of Hattori Hanzo and almost as many films and television shows. As mentioned one of Sonny Chiba's most recognized roles was as multiple generations of Hattori Hanzo engaged in preserving Tokugawa-era Japan from conspiratorial plots. There's even an action figure of Chiba's Hanzo (see above). Modern ninja master, and sometimes actor, Hatsumi Masaaki has played Hanzo for TV. And anyone who has played the video game Samurai Showdown knows that Hattori Hanzo is a prominent character in the game. All of these enduring images of Hattori Hanzo typically show him in the stereotypical black uniform and hood of the ninja. Most of these are also fantasy images showing him skilled in the use of mystical powers or even magical spells. The real Hanzo was a skilled warrior with a flair for information.
"I'm done doing what I swore an oath to God twenty-eight years ago to never do again. I've created "something that kills people." And in that purpose, I was a success. I've done this because, philosophically, I'm sympathetic to your aim. I can tell you, with no ego, this is my finest sword. If, on your journey, you should encounter God, God will be cut."
-- Hattori Hanzo; played by Sonny Chiba, Kill Bill Vol. 1