Hattori Hanzō, also known as Hattori Masanari or Hattori Masashige and nicknamed, was a famous Samurai of the Sengoku era, who served Tokugawa clan, credited with saving the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu and then helping him to become the ruler of united Japan. He is often a subject of varied portrayal in modern popular culture.
Biography
Born the son of Hattori Hanzō Yasunaga, a minor samurai in the service of the Matsudaira clan. He would later earn the nickname because of the fearless tactics he displayed in his operations; this is to distinguish him from Watanabe Hanzo, who is nicknamed Yari no Hanzō. Though Hanzō was born in Mikawa Province, he often returned to Iga Province, home of the Hattori family. He fought his first battle, a night time attack on Udo Castle 1557, at the age of sixteen.
Service under Ieyasu
Hanzo had a great contribution to Tokugawa Ieyasu's rise to power, helping the future Shogun bring down the Imagawa clan. After Imagawa Ujizane had held Ieyasu's wife and son as hostages in 1561, Hanzo made a successful hostage rescue of Tokugawa's family at Kaminogo castle in 1562; and went on to lay siege to Kakegawa castle in 1569. He served with distinction at the battles of Anegawa in 1570 and Mikatagahara in 1572. According to the Kansei Chōshū Shokafu, a genealogy of major samurai completed in 1812 by the Tokugawa shogunate, Hattori Hanzō rendered meritorious service during the Battle of Mikatagahara and became commander of an Iga unit consisting ofone hundred fifty men. He captured a Takeda spy named Chikuan, and when Takeda's troops invaded Totomi, Hanzō counterattacked with only thirty men at the Tenryū River. His most valuable contribution came in 1582 following Oda Nobunaga's death, when he led the future shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu to safety in Mikawa Province across Iga territory with the help of remnants of the localIga ji-samurai clans as well as Kōga-ryū the neighboring local samurai families in the nearby Koka region. According to some sources, Hanzō also helped in rescuing the captured family of Ieyasu. Hattori Hanzo served during the Odawara campaign and was awarded 8,000 koku. By the time Ieyasu entered Kantō, he was awarded an additional 8,000 koku and had 30 yoriki and 200 public officials for his services. Ieyasu was said to have also begun to employ more Iga ninja with Hanzō as their leader. Hanzō was known as an expert tactician and a master of sword fighting. Historical sources say he lived the last several years of his life as a monk under the name "Sainen" and built the temple Sainenji, which was named after him and mainly built to commemorate Tokugawa Ieyasu's elder son, Tokugawa Nobuyasu. Nobuyasu was accused of treason and conspiracy by Oda Nobunaga and was then ordered to commit seppuku by his father, Ieyasu. Hanzo was called in to act as the official second to end Nobuyasu's suffering, but he refused to take the sword on the blood of his own lord. Ieyasu valued his loyalty after hearing of Hanzo's ordeal and said, "Even a demon can shed tears." Hanzo's reputation as a ninja leader who commanded a 200-men strong unit of Iga warriors has grown to legendary proportions. He died at the age of 54 in 1596.
Legacy
Tales of Hattori's exploits often attributed various supernatural abilities, such as teleportation, psychokinesis, and precognition, and these attributions contribute to his continued prominence in popular culture. After his death on 4 November 1596, Hattori Hanzō was succeeded by his son, whose name was also Masanari, though written with different kanji. He was given the title of Iwami no Kami and his Iga men would act as guards of Edo Castle, the headquarters of the government of united Japan. Hanzō is actually a name passed down through the leaders of the Hattori family meaning his father was also called Hanzō and so was his successor. Indeed, there are five people known as Hattori Hanzō throughout history To this day, artifacts of Hanzō's legacy remain. Tokyo Imperial Palace still has a gate called Hanzō's Gate, and the Hanzōmon subway line which runs from Hanzōmon Station in central Tokyo to the southwestern suburbs is named after the gate, where his house was once located. The neighborhood outside Hanzō's Gate is known as Wakaba, but before 1943 was named Iga-chō. Hanzō's remains now rest in the Sainen-ji temple cemetery in Yotsuya, Tokyo. The temple also holds his favorite spear and his ceremonial battle helmet. The spear, originally long and given to him by Ieyasu, was donated to the temple by Hanzō as a votive offering, but was damaged during the bombing of Tokyo in 1945. Hattori Hanzō makes frequent appearance in popular culture, both within Japan and abroad. In modern popular culture he is most often portrayed as involved with the Iga ninja clansmen.
