What does Hattori Hanzo do? What's the origin?

Introduction to Hattori Hanzo

FORM; Japanese Modern Literature

In fact, Hanzo is not very unfamiliar to everyone, right? He is worth writing about in games and comics. Character Oh, let me introduce him now!

Iga (now northwest of Mie Prefecture) and Koga (now southern Shiga Prefecture) are the two birthplaces of Japanese ninjutsu. From the late Heian period, the Genpei hegemony era, to the early Kamakura period, that is, from the end of the 7th century to the beginning of the 12th century, there was only one jounin in Iga: Hattori. Iga-ryu ninjutsu was the best in the world at that time. Later, due to various reasons, the Hattori family set up additional "branch stores", namely Fujibayashi and Momochi. This is the origin of the three great jounin of Iga.

The ancestors of the Hattori family were originally descendants of the Qin family, one of the wealthy families in ancient Japan (mid-6th century), and the Qin family were immigrants who crossed the sea from the Wu Kingdom in China. Qin not only taught textile technology to the Japanese, but also held "new music" performances throughout Japan, which opened the eyes of the Japanese. The so-called "New Music" is a popular performing arts that was very developed in China from the end of the 3rd century to the beginning of the 4th century. It includes singing and dancing, acrobatics, power skills, magic, puppet theater, ventriloquism, and training of dogs, monkeys, birds, etc. Small animal performances for popular entertainment. It is said to be a new technique that combines Tibetan arts and Chinese arts. At that time, the Qin Group mainly toured cities and temples in southern China. Later, the organization gradually expanded and spread to various parts of China. Two or three of the bands crossed the sea to Japan in search of a new world. The traditional name of Japanese kimono is "Wu Fu", and its etymology comes from the Wu country where the Qin family was born.

The Hattori clan is one of the groups of the Qin clan. As for when to move to Iga? The year is not clear. How did the Hattori clan develop the "Xinraku" skill into the art of war and ninjutsu? There is no detailed historical data to trace the origin. In short, the Hattori clan left their hometown in the early 15th century and joined the Mikawa daimyo Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu), and became retainers of the Matsudaira family for generations. The most famous descendant of the Hattori clan is Hattori Hanzou Masanari (1542-1596), one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's bodyguard generals.

And why are the Hattori clan the personal bodyguards of the Tokugawa family for generations? It will be clear when you read the following.

The main title of this article begins:

Start On June 2, 1582, Oda Nobunaga encountered a rebellion by his retainer Akechi Mitsuhide at Honnoji Temple in Kyoto. He was outnumbered and committed suicide. At this time, Tokugawa Ieyasu was traveling in Osaka Prefecture, and planned to return to Kyoto that day to gather with Nobunaga. When they arrived at Mount Iimori on the way, they received a quick report that Nobunaga was dead. Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was 41 years old at the time, immediately said that he would commit seppuku and die. After being dissuaded by his retainers, he pondered for a long time before changing his mind to "we should raise troops to avenge Nobunaga." However, there are only about 80 guards around him at the moment. If there is a fight, let alone revenge, it will be difficult to save his own life.

After discussing with other retainers, Ieyasu came up with an escape route: a straight line from Iimori Mountain to Shirako Port in Ise Bay, and then take a boat to Takahama Port in Aichi Prefecture to escape. Return to your home country. The distance from Mount Iimori to Shiroko Port is 96 kilometers in total, and must pass through Iga on the way. Therefore, Hattori Hanzo Masashige, who was present, used the strength of his hometown to summon 200 Iga ninjas and 100 Koga ninjas to protect Ieyasu and escape from the rebellion scene. . This is the famous "Crossing Iga Incident" in history. In other words, without the help of the Iga and Koga ninjas at this time, there would be no Tokugawa shogunate in the future.

At this time, there is a reason why the Iga ninjas would risk their lives to protect Ieyasu. If anyone has watched the movie "Owl City", they should remember the scene of the massacre of the Iga ninja village at the beginning of the film, right? That was exactly the order given by Oda Nobunaga the previous year, to attack 2,000 ninjas with an army of 45,000, and the desperate battle lasted for 10 days. At that time, some jounin and chunin led many genin to break out of the siege and fled to various countries. Most of them fled into the Tokugawa Ieyasu clan and survived a narrow escape. Therefore, looking at it from another perspective, Ieyasu's escape trip, which lasted 96 kilometers and took 5 nights and 6 days, can actually be said to be an act of repayment by the Iga ninjas.

Indifferent to ninjas who are supposed to be ruthless, this mission is their battle of mercy. No matter the jounin, chunin, or genin, they all reflect their ninja ways. (Jounin: Also known as "brain tank nin", specializes in strategic combat planning. Chuunin: The commander in actual combat. Of course, the ninjutsu must also be outstanding. Genin: Also known as "body nin", equivalent to modern Special forces, ninjas who actually fight on the front line)

In the future, Ieyasu ordered Masashige to organize the "Iga-gumi Doshin" (equivalent to the modern police station) and let Masashige control these ninjas. Masashige also gave full play to the special abilities of this group and helped Ieyasu on his way to conquer the world. Unfortunately, Masashige died suddenly at the age of 54. His eldest son, Masanari Hattori, succeeded him, and the tragedy of the Hattori family began.