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People of the Sengoku period in popular culture
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Many significant Japanese historical people of the Sengoku period appear in works of popular culture such as anime, manga, and video games. This article presents information on references to historical people in such works.
hi Mitsuhide is featured in various fictional works, mostly as a hero.
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chika appears in the video game series Sengoku Basara as a playable character who takes the persona of a pirate commander.
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Many significant Japanese historical people of the Sengoku period appear in works of popular culture such as anime, manga, and video games. This article presents information on references to historical people in such works.
Akechi Mitsuhide is featured in various fictional works, mostly as a hero.
- He is featured in Capcom's Onimusha as Samanosuke's uncle/relative, as well as Onimusha Tactics as a playable character.
- Mitsuhide is also one of the playable characters in Koei's Samurai Warriors series. He wields a katana, obviously taking techniques from the sword school of Iaido, and is portrayed to have a very close relationship with Mori Ranmaru. In the second installment, the relationship is not present, instead, becoming closer to Nobunaga (and taking longer to fall out with Nobunaga) to a point where he doesn't want to kill him. This caused Saika Magoichi to assasinate Nobunaga from afar, leaving Mitsuhide as to blame.
- He also appears in the Warriors Orochi spin-off series as a starting character in the "Samurai"/"Sengoku" story lines. In this game, he shows no intention of killing or betraying Oda Nobunaga and follows him faithfully; in fairness, this depiction is based on the Samurai Warriors 2 incarnation.
- He is also featured as a playable character in Sengoku Basara, where in he is portrayed as a sadistic psychopath who wields dual scythes, and enjoys killing his opponents. For some reason, he is able to attack his allies without damaging them.
- Mitsuhide plays a part in Konami's Demon Chaos video game for the PlayStation 2 set during feudal Japan.
- In Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Taiko ki (released in English as Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan), Mitsuhide is emotionally abused by Nobunaga, who calls him by the nickname "kumquat head".
- In Koei's Kessen III, he is portrayed as an ally turned main villain through the game; this is because Oda Nobunaga is portrayed as the hero and unifier of Japan.
- In Hikaru no Go a character named Yuki Mitani plays Mitsuhide in a school play.
- In the manga series Tenjho Tenge, the character Sohaku Kago initially went by the name Akechi Mitsuhide, and killed Oda Nobunaga by decapitation. He then faked his death and became the High Buddhist priest called Tenkai.
- In the James Clavell historical novel Shogun, the character of "Akechi Jinsai" is a pastiche of Mitsuhide.
- Nagamasa makes appearances as a general in the Main Campaign and in various Historical Battles and Historical Campaigns in the PC game Shogun Total War. Additionally, Nagamasa returns as an Heir to the Azai Clan in the fan created Samurai Warlords Mod (aka the Shogun Mod) for the PC game Medieval Total War.
- Nagamasa is a featured playable character within the video game series Samurai Warriors, in which he is depicted as an extremely honorable man who will stop at nothing to ensure that his notions of justice are enforced. As like in history, Nagamasa decides to collaborate with his erstwhile allies, the Asakura, and fight against Nobunaga at Anegawa; he also expresses a more dramatized showing of love towards his respective wife, Oichi, and cares deeply for her welfare. In appearance, Nagamasa is depicted with his traditional kabuto helmet and carries a lance as his weapon of choosing. This version of the character also appears in the spin-off series Warriors Orochi as an unlockable character for the Cao Wei storyline. Cao Pi and Mitsunari Ishida attack Nagamasa's forces, including his wife Oichi and Gan Ning of Wu. Instead of death, as they wanted, Cao Pi enlists the three of them into his army against Orochi.
- Nagamasa is an NPC in Sengoku Basara 2, along with Oichi, but becomes playable in the expansion Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes. He wields a long sword and carries a shield with him and is portrayed as a justice loving man.
Motochika appears in the video game series Sengoku Basara as a playable character who takes the persona of a pirate commander. He wields a long anchor-like spear that is respectively equipped with a metal chain and appears within many variable conflicts as a supposed rival to Mori Motonari.
Motochika has also been featured within Samurai Warriors 2 Empires, but as an infamous general, he became playable in Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends where he wields a shamisen and sports a Glam rock inspired appearance, which leads him to continuously calling himself as "The Bat King".
- Date Masamune has featured in several video games including Koei's Kessen series (where he is a relatively minor officer), and Inindo: Way of the Ninja as the daimyo of the Rikuchu province.
- In Samurai Warriors, he is depicted as a young and hot-headed ruler who is chaotically interrupting the battles of other warlords, usually attacking multiple armies at once. His weapon in the first game is a pair of bokken. In the second game, he now looks a little more older, with his weapons changed to a western-style sabre and a pair of pistols. He frequently expressed ambitions to explore the world beyond Japan, and acquire new, foreign technologies. In the first game, Date's childhood name, Bontenmaru, is the name of one set of his weapons. In the related series Warriors Orochi, he is an officer for Orochi's forces, but is unlockable in the 5th Gaiden for Shu Han. With the help of Xing Cai and Zhu Rong, Magoichi Saiga defeats Masamune, and convinces him to join Shu's quest to save Liu Bei. In the sequel, however, he returns as a permanent member of Orochi's forces.
- In the manga series Samurai Deeper Kyo Date Masamune (referred to in the series by his childhood name, Botenmaru) is a member of the Shiseiten and former follower/rival of the main character Kyo.
- In the anime series Yoroiden Samurai Troopers, the character Date Seiji is a descendent of Date Masamune. Seiji wears his hair covering one eye, and is at one point asked by Hashiba Touma if he does so because he is related to the One-Eyed Dragon.
- Capcom's highly successful hack-&-slash game Sengoku Basara and Sengoku Basara 2, includes Date Masamune as one of the main characters. In Basara, a distinguishing trait of Date Masamune is his usage of Japanese-style English, or Engrish. Reminding fans of Dante of Devil May Cry's fame, Masamune is portrayed as a brazen young lord bent on having fun while conquering the country, dressed in blue and black with a tsuba over his right eye as well as the historically accurate golden arc on his battle helmet. He is also known in-game by his nickname, the One-Eyed Dragon (Dokuganryu). He is also depicted in constant rivalry with Sanada Yukimura, although there is no clear historical record to suggest such a rivalry ever existed.
- Masamune also appears in the PC game Shogun: Total War as a general in the Uesugi army but not until later in the game (around 1580). He also appears as the leader of the Date Clan in the Samurai Warlords Mod (aka the Shogun Mod) for the PC game Medieval Total War.
- He is also one of the Leaders (a class of Samurai) in Throne of Darkness.
- Date Masamune was also the main subject of the Japanese network NHK's Taiga drama Dokuganryu Masamune (One-eyed Dragon, Masamune) in 1987, starring the then young Ken Watanabe as Date Masumune. To-date, this series is the highest rated NHK Taiga drama.
- In the Thomas Harris novel Hannibal Rising, Hannibal Lecter's aunt, Lady Murasaki, is said to be a descendant of Date Masamune. It is one of Masamune's swords that Lecter uses to commit his first murder by killing a butcher named Paul Momund for insulting Lady Murasaki because she is Japanese.
- In Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, Daimyo Date Masamune is available as a daimyo unit. In the game, he's available with Shogunate wonder, only for Japanese civilization. Daimyos can receive shipments and train troops, while they are a powerful hand cavalry unit. They also provide an attack boost to nearby troops.
Fuma Kotaro
Fuma Kotaro is often depicted as the arch-rival of Hattori Hanzo (who is depicted as a ninja in the Samurai Warriors games). As the name Fuma means literally "wind demon", depiction of Fuma Kotaro is frequently more flamboyant, fantastical, and sometimes demonic, in contrast to Hanzo who is usually rendered with a relatively subdued appearance.
- Kotaro has been featured in the Capcom video game Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny, and has made an appearance as a non-playable character in Sengoku Basara 2. He becomes playable in Sengoku Basara 2:Heroes ,and is literally portrayed as a silent assassin.
- He also appears in Koei's Samurai Warriors 2 (Sengoku Musou 2) as Hanzo's foe, who, despite serving the Hojo, prefers chaos, and continually makes trouble for many of the factions (mainly in the form of ambushes). He commands the Hojo's defence during the Siege of Odawara Castle, laying numerous traps for the invading Toyotomi army. In his own story mode, he eliminates Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, establishing the Hojo clan as the most powerful in Japan, only to later betray them with the help of the Tokugawa. He then unifies the land himself, only to hand it over to Tokugawa Ieyasu, telling him to create his own history of how he came to power, before disappearing. He wields gauntlets that bestow him the ablility to elongate his arms at will. (Oddly enough it seems that he may be clairvoyant, as he predicts Nobunaga's death in fire at Honnouji before it happens, as well as spreading the news abnormally quickly.) He has light purple skin, tattoos, and red dreadlocks. He prefers to think of himself as the "winds of chaos"
- Kotaro also appears as a minor character in Nobunaga's Ambition II, as well as in Taikou Risshiden V. (While only daimyo can unify Japan, he is one of the ninja leaders who can be unlocked as a playable character, with his weapon-of-choice being the kunai.)
- He also is portrayed as the principal villain, in the popular Japanese TV series of the 1960s called, The Samurai, which became a cult hit in Australia.
- He is also a main character in the World Heroes fighting game series and his main rival was Hanzo Hattori. He along with Hanzo was also featured in Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. These Versions of Fuma and Hanzo were designed to look and fight just like each other in a similar fashion to Ryu and Ken.
- More recently, the Naruto character Pain was revealed to be of the Fuma clan. having previously killed the legendary ninja Hanzo.
- Fuma can be obtained in Kessen III after beating the game.
- Hanzo frequently appears in jidaigeki. Actor Sonny Chiba played the role in the V-Cinema series Shin Kage no Gundan. Many films, specials and series on the life and times of Tokugawa Ieyasu depict the events detailed above.
- In the film Kill Bill, Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba) is a master swordsmith who is called upon to create a katana for the film's protagonist. It has been implied that this character is a descendant of the historical figure.
- The life of Hanzo and his service to Tokugawa Ieyasu is fictionalised in the manga "Path of the Assassin," created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima.
- Hanzo also appears in the 1999 jidaigeki movie named Fukuro no Shiro (Owl's Castle). He was played by actor Jinpachi Nezu.
- The manga Basilisk features a character named Hattori Kyohachiro as an attendant to the shogun, being the son of the second Hanzo, and adopted son of the fourth Hanzo.
- In the novel Battle Royale the protagonist Shuya Nanahara's watch is described in page 82 as an "old, domestically manufactured Hattori Hanzo limited-edition diver's watch" donated to him through the orphanage.
- In a more romanticized setting, the manga Tail of the Moon features Hattori Hanzo and his clan.
- In the manga Ninja Hattori.
- In the parody anime and manga Gintama.
- In the anime Samurai Deeper Kyo.
- Hanzo appears as a recurring character in the Samurai Shodown video game series, appearing in every game in the series.
- In the World Heroes video game series, Hanzo serves as one of the main characters, and is portrayed as rivals with Fuma Kotaro, also featured in the games. Their rivalry is based upon the legend surrounding Hanzo's death.
- He features in Koei's video game series Samurai Warriors, where he is portrayed as a highly skilled ninja who makes frequent references to the shadows and is highly loyal to Tokugawa Ieyasu. In his Story Mode, he is attributed to the death of many of Ieyasu's rivals, including Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Sanada Yukimura. In Samurai Warriors 2, he has an extremely fierce rivalry with Fuma Kotaro. He wields a Kusarigama. He also appears in Warriors Orochi, a crossover between Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors, aiding the Wu forces.
- In the popular anime/manga franchise Naruto a character named Hanzo stood as the leader of a ninja village. Hanzo was portrayed to be a powerful ninja and his name is likely a homage to Hattori Hanzo.
- In the first two games of the Gensou Suikoden series, a character named Hanzo is the leader of the hidden ninja village of Rokkaku.
- In World of Warcraft there is a weapon called the "Hanzo Sword" which looks like a Ninjato.
- Hattori Hanzo is a Great Spy in Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword.
- In the manga Hagane, a parasite is injected into a young boy, giving him the memories and skills of Hattori Hanzo. It is suggested that the parasite itself is the original Hanzo, and that the historical "Hanzo" was a host for the parasite.
- In the film The Machine Girl, the villains (Yakuza said to be descendents of ninja) state that Hattori Hanzo is their family's name.
Hojo Ujimasa is a playable character in Capcom's Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes, in which he wields a large sextuple-pronged-and-hooked spear and strongly fears and respects his ancestors.
He is rumored to appear in Samurai Warriors 3.
Gracia frequently appears as a character in Japanese historical fiction, both novels and drama. One website lists her as a character in over 40 stage dramas, movies, TV dramas, etc., from 1887 to 2006. She is also frequently referred to in popular writing or talks on the history of the period. A work that has been translated into English is Ayako Miura's novel, Hosokawa Garasha Fujin (English title: Lady Gracia: a Samurai Wife's Love, Strife and Faith), which follows history fairly closely.
James Clavell used Gracia as the model for the character of Mariko in his novel Shogun, which was later adapted for television as a miniseries. Elements of Mariko's story follows Gracia's quite closely, although the manner of her death is different and the two characters do not fundamentally have anything in common.
A very heavily fictionalized Gracia also appears in Futaro Yamada's novel Makai Tensho, as a sidekick to Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.
In the video game Kessen, there is a cut-scene depicting Gracia dying heroically because her religion (Christianity) forbade her to commit suicide.
Gracia is among the playable characters included in Koei's Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends. Her story mode, which differs greatly from historical events, depicts her having run away from home, eager to learn more about the world. She befriends and tags along with Magoichi Saika. She also wields a pair of bracelets sealed with magical powers, conflicting that she has one of the most powerful musou attacks, despite her low stats.
Imagawa Yoshimoto is a playable character in the Koei action game Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends. He also appeared early on in the company's action-strategy game Kessen III. Both games depict Imagawa as a childish dandy, although Samurai Warriors takes this to an extreme by giving him a kemari (a Japanese kickball), which he uses as a weapon (though he used a generic sword in the original Samurai Warriors game). In his story mode ending, Yoshimoto miraculously manages to defeat both Takeda Shingen and Oda Nobunaga in Kyoto, and then plays kemari to his heart's content in front of the other warlords who look on in amusement and disgust.
In Samurai Warriors 2 however, due to time constraints (as well as an overall shift away from Nobunaga's life towards the post-Nobunaga years), the Battle of Okehazama was shown as part of Nobunaga, Noh, and Mitsuhide's intro movies, and Yoshimoto was only mentioned and shown impaled to death within his palanquin by Nobunaga's spearmen. However in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends, the battle was brought back, and Yoshimoto himself is given an updated appearance and additional moves as well as a new story mode that tells about his quest for somebody to play kemari with him due to his extreme loneliness.
In Warriors Orochi, he is found retreating from the burning Wan Castle but, is rescued by the Tokugawa and escapes. Later, he becomes part of the Resistance against Orochi aiding Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin but, ends up supporting Wei after being defeated by them in the Saika Territory. Days later he had been ordered by Cao Pi to give Lu Meng aid at Osaka Bay.
Yoshimoto is also featured as an unplayable character in the Japanese action game Sengoku Basara (as well as the sequel). He becomes playable in Sengoku Basara 2: Heroes.
In the translation of Path of the Assassin, a Dark Horse Comics translation of Hanzo no Mon, which focuses on Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hattori Hanzo's perspectives, Yoshimoto is viewed more positively (perhaps ironically, compared to Nobunaga) and even decides during the Okehazama campaign to replace Ujizane with Ieyasu (then Matsudaira Motoyasu) as his heir, though dying before doing so.
He also appears briefly in the short manga Kacchu no Senshi Gamu, by Yoshihiro Takahashi.
- The story of James Clavell's novel Shogun is based on the strife between Ishida (called Ishido in the novel) and Tokugawa (Toranaga) over the Taiko's son.
- Mitsunari also appears as one of the main characters of Koei's Kessen. He is the first of three commanders under the Toyotomi forces depicted opposing Tokugawa Ieyasu. Whether or not he survives the Battle of Sekigahara and defeats Ieyasu depends on the Player's actions.
- Mitsunari is also a playable character in Koei's Samurai Warriors 2. He wields a folded fan, and is shown to be arrogant and prone to making snide remarks in the game. He is also depicted as a friend of Sanada Yukimura and Naoe Kanetsugu. Towards the end of his story, he admits that he changed his arrogant ways due to the influence of his friends. In Sakon Shima's ending, he forms a friendship with him. In Kanetsugu's ending, he was defeated at Sekigahara and was never found, similar to his actual death.
- Mitsunari also appeared in Warriors Orochi, a crossover between Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors. In this game, he is part of Orochi's army, under the control of Da Ji but, later forms a friendship with Cao Pi after witnessing him allowing Sun Ce to escape from Orochi's forces during one of their battles and aids him throughout Wei's story line there on in.
- Mitsunari is a villain in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties campaign. In the Japanese campaign, players must kill him in order to win and unify Japan.
- In the anime Bleach, the character Uryu Ishida is based on Mitsunari and shares his last name.
- Mitsunari assumed the role of one of the main antagonists in Capcom's Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, and featured in the opening video fighting against Nankobo Tenkai using a folding fan. His Samurai Warriors 2 Interpretation may be based on him.
- Mitsunari is confirmed as the lead character of Koei's upcoming DS game Saihai no Yukue.
- In the Japanese eroge Sen goku Hime, the character "Ishida Futanari" is a parody of Mitsunari.
- He has been the subject of many Kabuki plays.
- He was the subject of Tomoyoshi Murayama's Shinobi no Mono novels, which in the 1960s became a film series starring Raizo Ichikawa as Ishikawa.
- A new Goemon movie is scheduled for 2009; it is directed by Kazuaki Kiriya.
- He is mentioned in connection with the Sanmon Gate at the Nanzen Temple in Yukio Mishima's work The Temple of the Golden Pavilion.
- He is the main character in a video game series produced by Konami known as Ganbare Goemon in Japan and as Mystical Ninja elsewhere.
- He is a character in the Koei Samurai Warriors game series, wielding a mace and with a cannon on his back. He was omitted from the second game. However, he appeared in the spin-off series Warriors Orochi.
- He is claimed to be the ancestor of Goemon Ishikawa XIII in the Lupin III movies, the first in a lineage of renegade samurai. In one of the Lupin TV movies, Burn, Zantetsuken!, the opening sequence shows Goemon Ishikawa XIII weeping while watching the famed kabuki performance based on his ancestor's life.
- He appears in the third and fourth episodes of the anime series Divergence Eve: Misaki Chronicles where it is hinted that he is a lineal ancestor of the title character, Kureha Misaki.
- In a Neo Geo fighting game called Ninja Master's, Goemon appears as one of the selectable characters. This rendition of him, however, carries a large cannonesque gun that he uses in battle.
- Japanese pro wrestler Koji Nakagawa regularly portrays a character named GOEMON, who is loosely based on Ishikawa Goemon.
Unlike her role in history, Okuni's appearances in fiction often portray her as a , a capable fighter skilled with weapons and magic.
- She is a playable character in Koei's Samurai Warriors series as a fighter using a parasol. As the game portrays her having a flirty personality, she is the cause of competition between Maeda Keiji and Ishikawa Goemon. In Samurai Warriors 2, she is a special character who is unlocked by clearing the Sugoroku game. She additionally appears in the spin-off series Warriors Orochi as a member of the Sengoku force, where she had developed a closeness with Ling Tong.
- In the manga and anime Samurai Deeper Kyo, she is initially a foil for the main character, Mibu Kyoshiro, but later becomes a spy for Oda Nobunaga.
- Okuni is a playable character in the Capcom videogame Onimusha Tactics. She fights with a spear and can use healing magic. She is also mentioned as a close friend to Jubei Yagyu in Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, where she is described as being a great dancer and fighter. According to the the game's comic tie-in "Night of Genesis", she's also a long-standing friend of Tenkai Nankobo.
- Okuni also appears as a character in the NHK drama Musashi; however, in this series she remains a performer and does not have any fighting skills.
- Okuni makes a small appearance as a little girl in Okami singing about the Water Dragon.
- The courtesan and geisha Kiku from James Clavell's novel Shogun is based on Okuni.
- Katakura has appeared as a character in fiction, appearing in the video game Sengoku Basara 2.
Komatsuhime
In the video game Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends, she goes by her childhood name, Ina. She is a warrior who is deeply conflicted on her reason for fighting; for peace or enjoyment. She wields a long bladed bow, and can attack in melee combat and also at range. She is depicted as a proud daughter of Honda Tadakatsu, and that she would make her Lord and her Father proud as well. She also has a strong tomboyish tendency, where she may rather be fighting than be a regular woman. In the first installment, she is friends with Kunoichi.
Additionally, in the game, she is charged with one of Hattori Hanzo's accomplishment during Ieyasu's journey in Iga: escorting Anayama Nobukimi, while Hanzo escorts the lord personally. Historically, Hanzo took both tasks at once and succeeded them both.
Ina also appears in the crossover game Warriors Orochi. In it, she befriends Sun Shang Xiang after Orochi blackmails the Tokugawa and the Wu Army into servitude. Although both of them are forced to fight for Orochi against their will, they end up joining the Resistance after Ina convinces Sun Shang Xiang to reunite with her older brother Sun Ce at Sekigahara.
In fiction, Kosa usually appears with the name Honganji Kennyo.
- Kennyo appears as a non-playable character in Koei's Samurai Warriors video game, in which he possesses a distinct Buddhist wheel on his back. He also appears in Capcom's Sengoku Basara 2, where he is portrayed as a large and greedy man.
Matsu is despicted in Capcom's Sengoku Basara video game series as a woman who wields a naginata as her respective weapon, possessing a significantly close relationship with her husband, Toshiie.
Matsu had also been featured within a certain TV drama shown by NHK within Japan, depicting her relations with Toshiie, and thus making her a primary figure of romantic fame.
Although not a real playable character, Matsu is also a bodyguard in Koei's Samurai Warriors 2 under the "Lady Samurai" class.
- Maeda Toshiie appears as a playable character within the video game Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends, in which he is depicted as an apprentice to Shibata Katsuie and a man that would sacrifice himself in the name of a warrior, one of the common romanticizations that Koei regularly use to individualize their characters. He wields a serrated sword, accompanied by two spears.
- His Sengoku Basara portrayal is most likely to be serving the Oda clan off screen, but his story mode depicts him as a dysfunctional family man, in which he has a close relationship with his wife Matsu , and their "nephew" Keiji, where the first two story modes tell on their unusual methods to support one another.
- The 2002 NHK Taiga drama "Toshiie to Matsu" (?????~???????~) was based on the story of their lives together. Maeda Toshiie was played by Toshiaki Karasawa, and Matsu by Nanako Matsushima. Karasawa later made a special appearance as the same character in the 2006 NHK Taiga drama "Komyo ga Tsuji" (eps 39 and 40)
Toshimasu (often depicted under the name of Keiji or Keijiro) is often portrayed as somewhat of a prankster and is often dubbed crazy, or kabukimono, by others for his wild ways. Sampling this where is was showed/mentioned in a few video games that he filled his uncle's (Toshiie)'s bath with cold water.
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