Hattori Hanzo: The template that defined how we think of ninjas.

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Hattori Hanzo

While not as well known as some of the other characters discussed in this article, Hattori Hanzo of Samurai Shodown fame also has historical roots. Born in Iga province (a western portion of Mie prefecture in modern Japan) in 1541, Hanzo was the son of Hattori Yasunaga, leader of the ninja in the region. Fighting his first battle at the age of 16, Hanzo quickly became well known for his skills as a warrior, and earned the nickname of “Devil Hanzo”. As time wore on, he eventually came into the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was attempting to overthrow the warlord, Oda Nobunaga, and unite Japan under a single ruler.

Hanzo’s home of Iga was one of the regions to suffer the greatest during the time of the Oda clan. While it was left well enough alone early on during the warlord’s reign, eventually the time came of the Oda to march on the province. Nobunaga’s son, Nobou, led the first two assaults attempted but unfortunately these both proved to be disasters. Fed up with his son’s inability to seize the region, Nobunaga eventually led an army of approximately 44,000 men himself in 1581, utterly devastating Iga in the process. This in mind, the charred, destroyed landscape in Hanzo’s stage from Samurai Showdown seems a little easier to explain now.

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In time, Hanzo would eventually have a son named Masanari, whose responsibility it would be to ensure the protection of Edo Castle, as the leader of its guards.

Even though Hanzo died in 1596, his reputation as one of the finest ninja in Japanese history lived on straight through to the twentieth century. From the 1970s to the present, he has appeared in various forms of pop culture entertainment

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from manga, to television, to videogames. The most popular of these is arguably Hattori Hanzo: Kage no Gundan, an action TV series loosely based on the adventures of the legendary ninja, starring Sonny Chiba. In fact, one could make a pretty good argument that it was Chiba’s character, decked out in a black jumpsuit and mask that helped solidify the getup as the attire of choice for all future ninja portrayed in pop culture.

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