Japanese historical people in popular culture

Many significant Japanese historical people 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.

Heian period

Abe no Seimei

His name appears in many works of fiction, often as a helpful, wise man, and rarely as an enemy.
*In 1994, Baku Yumemakura started a novel series named "Onmyoji" with Seimei portrayed as a handsome young adult male who lived in a Heian-period world populated with mysterious beings. This was turned into a manga by Reiko Okano and became popular with teenage girls. In 2002, an NHK television series was later made, based on the novels. Manga version of Abe has also been rendered by acclaimed Taiwanese mangaka Ethan, who has stated that he is a huge fan of the novel.
*The movie "Onmyoji", starring Mansai Nomura as Seimei, was released in 2001 (2004 in the U.S.) by Pioneer (now Geneon). In 2003, a sequel, "Onmyoji II", was produced. Though they share the same name as the above series, the two franchises are unrelated. To capitalize on the success of the "Onmyoji" films, Fuji Television produced a miniseiries in 2004, called "". This series has no ties to either of the above two productions.
*Seimei can also be seen in the anime "Magical☆Shopping Arcade Abenobashi", which was released in 2004 in the U.S. by ADV Films. The show's focus was on the Onmyoji practice of changing events to avoid an ill occurrence, and the misadventures of two youths in the resultant realities.
*One of Seimei's rare appearances as a villain is in the anime series "Otogizoshi".
*Another one of Seimei's appearances as a villain is in the 2005 anime Shin "Getter Robo". (Where Shin translates to "New" as opposed to "True" - A very different Getter Robo series was produced in 1998 under the Shin (True) Getter Robo title. (Please see: "")) Abe no Seimei appears as a powerful sorcerer inhabiting a castle and a surrounding township. He wields powerful magical abilities, has thousands of "oni" under his command, and can summon even larger oni with size on par with Getter Robo - evidently at will. After Ryoma and company defeat him in the time of ancient Heiankyo, he returns in the modern era, only to be effortlessly dispatched, courtesy of Getter Robo's upgraded Getter Reactor. His magical abilities falter in face of the activated Douji-Kirimaru. Near the end of the series, the four kami (Possibly the "Four Heavenly Kings") inform Ryoma, Hayato, and Benkei that Abe no Seimei was an oni they had dispatched to destroy the Getter itself.
*He appears as a woman simply named Seimei, a heroine of "Otogi 2", an "Xbox" video game.
*In the PS2 game "Kuon", Ashiya Doman and Abe no Seimei are featured as rivals, the latter as a female.
*In the anime "Harukanaru Toki no Naka de", Seimei appears as Abe no Yasuaki's creator and master. Again, he is portrayed as a powerful onmyoji.
*In the story "Teito Monogatari", the evil onmyoji, Kato Yasunori, claims to be a descendant of Seimei. Since it is believed that Abe no Seimei never passed on his characteristics to following generations, Kato is more credibly the descendant of the most powerful onmyoji in history. According to plot of "", Kato is supposed to really be the culmination of the dead, resentful souls of the onmyoji, striking out against the foreign invaders of Japan during the 1920s. Since Kato possesses so much power in the magic of onmyodo, it could even be inferred that he is actually an incarnation of Seimei's dark side.
*In the anime "", he appears as a ghost.
*Hao Asakura in "Shaman King" (a manga and anime series) seems to be inspired by Abe no Seimei.
*Abe no Masahiro of the novel, drama, and anime Shounen Onmyouji is Abe no Seimei's grandson. Abe no Seimei appears in the series as a combination of mentor and obstacles to the main character, whose goal is to surpass his grandfather. Here he appears as an elderly onmyoji who observes his grandson's progress as an onmyoji constantly. While he praises his grandson whenever he achieves a good result, he's also quick to point out mistakes made along the way, enraging his grandson, who is always in his grandfather's shadow.
*The card Sealmaster Meisei from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game is inspired by him.

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

*Yoshitsune appears in Warriors Orochi 2 where he ends up joining the Wu force and forming a rivalry with Lu Bu, he wields a "lightsaber".
*Yoshitsune appears in the manga Samurai Deeper Kyo as a zombie, he is called by his childhood name Ushiwakamaru.
*"Shike" by Robert Shea features a somewhat fictionalized account of the Genpei War in which Minamoto no Yoshitsune appears to be represented by the character Muratomo no Yukio. The names of the two rival clans have been changed, "Minamoto" to "Muratomo" and "Taira" to "Takashi".
*Akira Kurosawa's film "The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail" dramatises a legend about Yoshitsune, based on the kabuki play "Kanjincho".
*Yoshitsune's feat of cutting leaves as they fell from a tree has been referenced many times in Japanese pop culture. In some instances, characters attempt the feat to compare themselves to Yoshitsune, as in the beginning of Blade of the Immortal. Sometimes, variations upon this motif are seen, such as in the manga One Piece where Zoro the swordsman achieves the ability to cut steel because he can hold a falling leaf on his sword's edge without cutting it, or in Hajime no Ippo, where the main character is facetiously given the task of catching falling leaves with his bare hands before he will be allowed into a gym. Ippo's eventual ability to indirectly mimic Yoshitsune is seen as a sign of great potential by the other characters.
*NHK's 2005 taiga drama "Yoshitsune" is a fictionalized account of the samurai's life and the political intrigues that sealed his fate.
*Game Republic's 2005 PlayStation 2 video game, "" is another fictionalized account of the story of Yoshitsune and Saito Musashibo Benkei.
*Sogo Ishii's film Gojō Reisenki Gojoe retells, with considerable reinvention, Yoshitsune's encounter with Benkei at Gojō Bridge.
*Yoshitsune appears in the "Civil War" episode of Osamu Tezuka's manga cycle "Phoenix". The story is a retelling of the Gempei war with fictional and mystical elements interspersed in the narrative.
*In an unusual twist, Yoshitsune along with Benkei and two Minamoto clan members, Yoritomo and Yoshinaka, are the villains of an old Namco arcade game Genpei Toumaden. The hero of the game is Taira no Kagekiyo, who was portrayed as the villain of . All of them make an appearance in the crossover game Namco X Capcom.
*Kodansha is publishing a manga about Yoshitsune. The manga is titled "Shana Ō Yoshitsune". It is being written by Hirofumi Sawada.
*Yoshitsune appears as "Ushiwaka" (or "Waka") in the videogame "Ōkami" as a Taoist Prophet who often gives the main character (the incarnation of Amaterasu as a wolf) prophesies in the form of unusual riddles.
*Minamoto Yoshitsune is the protagonist during a campaign on the Nintendo DS game, "".
*Yoshitsune appears as the main character of the manga Kurozuka by Baku Yumemakura, serialized in Jump Comics Deluxe.
* Japanese doll and figure company Volks have released a SD10 sized Super Dollfie Ushiwakamaru based on Yoshitsune as a child.
* Though not a direct representation of Yoshitsune, the general of the Air Treck team Trident in the manga Air Gear by Oh! great is named Yoshitsune and served by a second-in-command named Benkei.
* The videogame Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 by Koei features Yoshitsune as one of the main characters, and one of his combat abilities is based on slicing leaves in midair. Other main characters are Benkei and Yoshitsune's 'oni' swordsmanship teacher.

aito Musashibō Benkei

* Benkei along with Yoshitsune has appeared in the manga Samurai Deeper Kyo as zombies.
* He appeared in Namco arcade game Genpei Toumaden as a villain while he is portrayed a hero in .
* Benkei's death once mentioned in Case Closed.
* The character Benkei in Air Gear is named after him.
* Benkei Kurama from the Getter Robo series is named after the historical Benkei. In New Getter Robo, the character Benkei Musashibō is not only named after the historical figure of the same name, but also the character's name is the combination of two of the series' major characters - Benkei Kurama and Musashi Tomoe (both of whom were Getter 3 pilots).

Taira no Kagekiyo

*Taira no Kagekiyo, like most figures in the supremely famous and popular "Heike Monogatari", features in a number of traditional dramas, and in modern pop culture as well. In addition to the Noh play "Daibutsu-kuyō", he is featured in performances and plays called "Kagekiyo", which differ across a variety of disciplines, including kabuki, "kyōgen" and "kōwakamai".
*A number of "jōruri" puppet plays feature Kagekiyo, including "Shusse Kagekiyo" by Chikamatsu Monzaemon.
*Kagekiyo features as the main character in the Japan-only 1986 Namco beat 'em up arcade game "The Genji and Heiki Clans" and its sequel "Samurai Ghost", as well as appearing in "Namco x Capcom". This version is unique in that this version is undead and thus happens "after" his life.
*He is the main character in "".
*In the video game Soulcalibur II, Kagekiyo is an alternate weapon for the character Yoshimitsu.

Taira no Kiyomori

*Taira no Kiyomori is also the main character in the Kamakura period epic, the Tale of Heike.
*In video games, Kiyomori appears in Warriors Orochi 2 fighting for Orochi's army and using prayer beads as weapons.
*Kiyomori also features prominently as a sympathetic villain in Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix series in the first half of the ninth volume, Turbulent Times (retitled as Civil War in English), another Genpei War epic. Like most villains in the series he desires the titular bird for its immortality granting blood, due to his desire to continue to lead & protect the Taira clan & lack of confidence in his successors, but winds up being tricked into buying an imported Peacock instead.

Tomoe Gozen

*Her first appearance in literature is of course in the "Heike Monogatari". She has been written about by and fictional authors alike, and has been incarnated as characters in various anime. In the 2005 NHK taiga drama "Yoshitsune", Tomoe Gozen was one of the main characters. Her story is quite fictional. She was portrayed by actress and model Koike Eiko.
*Jessica Amanda Salmonson wrote "The Tomoe Gozen Saga", a trilogy of fantasy novels respectively titled "Tomoe Gozen", "The Golden Naginata", and "Thousand Shrine Warrior". The first was reissued in a corrected and revised edition as "The Disfavored Hero". [http://www.violetbooks.com/salmonson-bib.html]
*Saisei, a character in the manga "Samurai Deeper Kyo", turned out to be the resurrected Tomoe Gozen. She is accurately portrayed, wearing beautiful armor and being highly skilled with her naginata
*In the comic book "Usagi Yojimbo", a major supporting character is Tomoe Ame, a female samurai loosely based on Tomoe Gozen.
*Tomoe Gozen is the Persona of Chie Satonaka in Persona 4.

Edo period

Amakusa Shirō

Amakusa Shiro is often cast as a villain in Japanese movies and anime, most notably "Makai Tensho", a story about the fictional battles of Yagyu Jubei. In this story, Amakusa Shiro rejects the Christian God at the time of his death and becomes a demon, returning to Earth to destroy the Tokugawa who put him to death with some of Japan's greatest heroes and villains of the age, also resurrected as demons. The character Amakusa in the "Samurai Shodown" series of fighting games is based on the historical figure; he features as both a boss and a selectable character. In the manga "Amakusa 1637", the story is about a girl from the present world to the past world and replace the role of Shiro because he was killed.

Another place Amakusa Shiro is mentioned is in Rurouni Kenshin. His self-proclaimed successor Amakusa Shogo is cast as a character in an anime-only arc of the series.

Japanese doll and figure company Volks have released an SD13 sized Super Dollfie based of Amakusa named 'Amakusa Shirou Tokisada'

Harada Sanosuke

Harada Sanosuke appears in Shiba Ryoutarou's novels "Moeyo Ken" and "Shinsengumi Keppuroku".

He is depicted in NHK's Taiga drama series "Shinsengumi!" (played by Yamamoto Taro.)

In addition, Harada appears in the anime series "Peacemaker Kurogane", as well as in the manga it was originally based on, "Shinsengumi Imon PEACE MAKER" and "Peacemaker Kurogane". He is also featured in "Kaze Hikaru" (manga), "Getsumei Seiki" (manga) and "Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi" (video game series.)

Harada is shown in flashback sequences in "Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X". (The character designs for him and the character based on him, Sagara Sanosuke, are similar.)

Hattori Masanari

Hattori Masanari is portrayed in the anime series "Shinshaku Sanada Juyushi" as a ninja warrior serving beneath Ieyasu initially during the Sekigahara Campaign. Within this campaign, Masanari attempts to kill the main character Sarutobi Sasuke, not only for the sake of protecting the Tokugawa contingent upon which the former had been spying, but also to avenge his father who had been slain by ninja of Sasuke's Kōga clan, though this wasn't the case in actual history.

He was portrayed by Sonny Chiba in "Shadow Warriors I" [http://www.geocities.jp/haiyaku_houten/honbun/ha2.html 配役宝典　第六版　は　その２] ]

Hijikata Toshizō

Hijikata is depicted in the 1999 film "Gohatto" (played by Takeshi Kitano), the 2004 NHK Taiga drama series "Shinsengumi!" (including the single-episode sequel "Shinsengumi!: Hijikata Toshizo Saigo no Ichinichi"), as well as being one of the main characters in "Peace Maker Kurogane" (anime/manga) and "Kaze Hikaru" (manga).

Hijikata is the protagonist in Morita Kenji's manga "Getsumei Seiki", and in Mibu Robin's "Baragaki" ("Red Demon").

Hijikata (as well as other members of the Shinsengumi) also appears in the yaoi manga "Soshite Haru no Tsuki".

Hijikata appears in the TV series "Shinsengumi Keppuroku", and is played by Hiroaki Murakami.

Hijikata is also featured in the anime/manga "Shura no Toki" and in the short OVA" Hijikata Toshizou - Shiro no Kiseki".

He also has a part in the anime Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto.

He is a minor character in anime Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi as well.

Hijikata was also featured prominently in the 2-part anime: Unkai no Meikyuu (Mask of Zeguy)

In the anime and manga Gintama, a character by the name of Toushiro Hijikata is loosely based on the historical Hijikata

Inoue Genzaburō

Inoue is featured in "Kaze Hikaru" (manga) and "Getsumei Seiki" (manga). He is also depicted in the 1999 film "Gohatto" and NHK's drama series Shinsengumi!.

Kondō Isami

Kondō was portrayed in the NHK drama series "Shinsengumi!" by SMAP singer Shingo Katori.

Kondō is also featured in the anime/manga "Peacemaker Kurogane", the manga "Kaze Hikaru" and the "Rurouni Kenshin" OVA "Samurai X". On film, this character has appeared in the 1999 film "Gohatto" and in the 2003 film "Mibu Gishi Den" (also known as "When The Last Sword is Drawn").

Kondo Isao from Gintama is loosely based on Kondo Isami

Nagakura Shinpachi

Accounts of Nagukura's time before and during his Shinsengumi period appear in novels, period dramas and anime/manga series.

For example, Nagakura is featured in "Peacemaker Kurogane" (anime/manga), "Kaze Hikaru" (manga), "Getsumei Seiki" (manga), 2004 NHK Taiga drama series "Shinsengumi!", "Shinsengumi Gunrou-den" (video game series), and "Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi" (video game series.)

Nezumi Kozō

Nezumi Kozō is an inspiration for the video game character Ebisumaru, who commonly stars in a series from Konami entitled "Ganbare Goemon." A descendant also appears in the second Lupin III anime.

He was parodied on Tomica Hero Rescue Force as a present day thief named "Nurenezumi Kozō".

Okita Sōji

Like the other members of the Shinsengumi, fictionalized accounts of Okita's life and actions appear in novels, period dramas and anime/manga series. Although his given name is sometimes pronounced as "Soushi" in the fictional world, it's actually "Souji."

On the 2004 NHK Taiga drama "Shinsengumi!", actor Tatsuya Fujiwara played Okita.

Okita is a main character in the anime/manga "Peacemaker Kurogane", which takes more liberties with history.

Okita is mentioned in the anime/manga series "Rurouni Kenshin", which takes place during and after the Meiji Revolution in Japan. He makes a major appearance in the OVA and is briefly shown during the Kyoto Arc (before the character based on the Okita Sōji from novel "Shinsengumi Keppuroku", Seta Sōjirō, makes his appearance); in the manga, Okita is also shown during the Jinchū Arc.

In the anime series, "Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto", Okita is depicted as an old acquaintace of the protagonist, Akizuki Yōjirō.

Okita is also one of the main playable characters in the Xbox video game .

In an episode of the anime "Ghost Sweeper Mikami", ghost-hunter Mikami Reiko gets inside of a haunted movie about the Bakumatsu and meets Okita, who is depicted as a crazy guy who thinks only of killing people (obvious pun on his usual portrayal, which also is a foil to the show's rendition of Hijikata.) In the anime/manga series "Shura no Toki", Okita's (fictional) last battle before succumbing to his sickness is with a warrior from the "Mutsu Enmei Ryuu", an unarmed martial art. Their duel was a request from Okita himself from years before. Okita appears during a flashback in "" (which features Okita's fictional daughter Kaoru as one of the three main characters of the series.)

Okita is the male protagonist in the manga "Kaze Hikaru", a fictional story about the Shinsengumi during the late Tokugawa shogunate, in which Okita trains a young girl to be one of the Shinsengumi in order to avenge her father and older brother. He is also featured in the manga "Getsumei Seiki".

He also appears in the H-manga Femme Kabuki after his fault name Soji.

In addition, he is depicted in the 1999 live-action film "Gohatto" (sometimes known as "Taboo"), the 2003 Japanese film "When the Last Sword Is Drawn", video game series "Shinsengumi Gunrou-den" (as the protagonist), video game series "Fu-un Shinsengumi," and video game series "Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi."

The popular Japanese conception of Okita is that his character and his swordsmanship were of the highest purity. In Shiba Ryotaro's novels, he joined the Shinsengumi not because of his political beliefs but rather out of his loyalty for Kondo Isami and his (fictional) friendship with Hijikata Toshizo.

His anime, manga, and TV depictions tend to be as a handsome young man, sometimes a bishōnen. The Latin American dub of "Rurouni Kenshin", even mistook Okita for a woman. In fact, in a 1991 movie, "Bakumatsu Jūnjōden" (幕末純情伝), he is portrayed as a boyish woman. In a 2003 theatrical production of the same name, (s)he's portrayed by actress Ryoko Hirosue.

Okita Sougo, from the anime/manga Gintama, is loosely based on Okita Souji.

aitō Hajime

Saitō has become a better-known figure among young anime fans in the West since several anime and manga series used him as a character. The popular "Rurouni Kenshin" series portrays him as somewhat of a rival character, Saitō Hajime, once a mortal enemy of protagonist Himura Kenshin, and eventually an uneasy ally. As portrayed in "Rurouni Kenshin", Saitō is very tall and plain-looking compared to the other characters and has a cold and quiet disposition, following some of the very few descriptions of his personality in real life. In "Rurouni Kenshin", Saito is granted special permission to carry a katana. The "Gatotsu" sword technique that he uses in the series is similar to the description of his original sword technique, but is purely fictional, and not entirely accurate to real swordfighting. The real left-handed thrust is used, in most sword styles, as a surprise maneuver. It is executed as a "tsuki" or thrust while stepping through, releasing the right hand at the last moment, leaving the left holding the end of the hilt. The grip-change and the step grant an extra foot or more of reach, completely changing the spacing of the fight, but it must be done suddenly to be most effective.The "Aku Soku Zan" motto he lives by (悪即斬, most literally, "Kill those who are evil immediately," but more poetically translated as "Swift death to evil," or "Slay Evil Immediately.") is similarly unverified beyond its use in "Rurouni Kenshin", but fits with Saitō's reputation for killing corrupt Shinsengumi members. In "Peacemaker Kurogane", another historical manga and anime that tells the story of Ichimura Tetsunosuke who joins the Shinsengumi to avenge the deaths of his parents, he appears as the captain of the third troop and is rather laidback and mystical (like a shaman), with a perpetually sleepy expression.

He also appears in "Kaze Hikaru", in which he is portrayed as a quiet and serious character, who was friends with (and bears a striking resemblance to) the main character's older brother.

Saito is the protagonist in the manga "Burai", a fictional story about the Shinsengumi during the late Tokugawa shogunate.

In the 2003 Japanese film "When the Last Sword Is Drawn" ("Mibu gishi den"), Saitō is played by Koichi Sato. At first, Sato portrays Saitō as a cold, dark, uncaring captain of the Shinsengumi. However, Saitō changes as a man through his interactions with Kanichiro Yoshimura (played by Kiichi Nakai) during the last years of the Shinsengumi.

In the 2004 jdorama "Shinsengumi!", actor Joe Odagiri played the role of Saitou.

A Kenshin series look-alike named Keiichiro Washizuka was featured in "The Last Blade" series of games. Again, he was characterized by a cold and quiet persona, along with a fierce loyalty to the Shinsengumi. His appearance was consistent with the Saito featured in the "Rurouni Kenshin"'s "Trust and Betrayal" OVA, and fights with a series of "sliding charge" attacks resembling the Gatotsu.

Saito is also featured in "Getsumei Seiki" (manga), "Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi" (video game series} and in "Code of the Samurai" (Video game series)

Saitou Hajime is also shown in later episodes of the anime "Shura no Toki: Age of Chaos."

erizawa Kamo

Serizawa is featured in Shiba Ryotaro's "Moeyo Ken" ("Burn O Sword") and "Shinsengumi Keppuroku" ("Shinsengumi Bloody Record").

He is also featured in the manga "Kaze Hikaru" as Commander Serizawa and is pictured as a jolly man, often red nosed from drunkedness but below his comic and often perverted nature is also a fierce opponent that should not be judged upon. He is often seen on drinking fests with the rest of the Mibu or always trying to get a kiss from Kamiya Seizaburo (Tominaga Sei). He falls in love in with a woman named Oume. His fight with the Sumos and meeting Oume are historical facts based from the real life story of Serizawa.

Serizawa's assassination was portrayed in the anime version of "Peacemaker Kurogane"

Yamanami Keisuke

Yamanami is featured in "Peacemaker Kurogane" (anime/manga), "Shinsengumi Imon Peacemaker" (manga), "Kaze Hikaru" (manga), "Getsumei Seiki" (manga), "Hijikata Toshizou - Shiro no Kiseki" (OVA), and "Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi" (video game series.)

In addition, he is portrayed in "Shinsengumi!" (2004 NHK Taiga drama series, played by Sakai Masato), "Shinsengumi!: Hijikata Toshizo Saigo no Ichinichi" (2006 NHK New Year special, again played by Sakai Masato), and "Shinsengumi Keppuroku."

Yagyū Jūbei

Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi might likely have been relegated to obscurity in Japanese history were it not for the mythos his name developed from the authors, artists and filmmakers who attempted to fill in the gaps of Yagyū Jūbei's many missing years.

One of the earliest examples of developing the story around Yagyū Jūbei was from Japanese author Fūtarō Yamada's 1967 book, "Makai Tenshou" (Resurrection from Hell), which featured Yagyū Jūbei involved in the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637 and 1638. This story was eventually adapted into a live-action picture called "Samurai Reincarnation" in 1981, directed by Kinji Fukasaku.

Jubei was the main character of a Japanese television series entitled the Yagyu conspiracy starring Sonny Chiba in the 80's. Jubei was a defender of the Shogun and leader of a covert ninja group. Sonny Chiba later reprised this role in the tv series sequel to Yagyu Conspiracy called Yagyu Jubei Abaretabi.

The story of "Makai Tenshou" was also turned into a manga by mangaka Shouko Toba as "Makai Tenshou: Yume no Ato" (Resurrection from Hell: Sign of Dreams). This was then adapted into two anime OVAs (although originally planned for four) as "Makai Tenshou Jigokuhen", later released in the U.S. under the name "Ninja Resurrection".

Director/writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri in his enormously popular animated film "Ninja Scroll", created the lead character Jubei Kibagami as a homage to Yagyū Jūbei. He's voiced by the famous seiyū Kōichi Yamadera. The movie also had a sequel - "" - that features a recurring character named Yagyu Renya, a one-eyed master swordsman from the Yagyū Clan.

Yagyū Jūbei is also featured in other manga, anime and video games, ranging from the epic work, "Lone Wolf and Cub", Gosho Aoyama's shōnen manga series "Yaiba" and the modern parody "Jubei-chan" (where a young girl from modern times becomes the successor to the 300-year-old Yagyū clan) and Gintama as Yagyū Kūbei.

Several other movies were also created about him, including "Darkside Reborn" and "Shogun's Samurai", which both featured Sonny Chiba as the part of Jūbei.

In the fighting game series "Samurai Shodown" (1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and RPG), Jūbei Yagyū (in western order) is a playable character, and the only actual samurai in the series. His voice is provided by either Takayuki Sakai, or Kiyoshi Kobayashi, depending on the installment he appears in.

An interesting facet of Jūbei's perception among people is that Jūbei is almost always depicted as being a hero of the common people, so much so that nearly every work about him contains at least one scene where he saves innocent peasants from the wrath of overly proud samurai. In Jūbei's time, samurai had the right to cut down peasants for any reason with little or no consequence, especially if the peasant disrespected them in some way. While certainly heroic, considering the strict caste system of the time, this would be considered inappropriate for someone of the samurai caste like Jūbei, which in turn provokes speculation about how this perception began, and if there was something about the real Jūbei that inspired it, or if it is a case of film makers and writers making Jūbei yet more heroic.A secret trailer at the end of the first game, however, saw a lead character with an eyepatch, suggesting that Yagyū Jūbei was originally intended as the sequel's protagonist. "Samurai Legend" features a fictionalized account based on the little known history of Jūbei Yagyū, and the main character in "Onimusha 2" is named "Jūbei" but is in fact heavily based upon Jūbei's grandfather Yagyū Muneyoshi.A secret trailer at the end of the first game, however, saw a lead character with an eyepatch, suggesting that Yagyū Jūbei was originally intended as the sequel's protagonist. "Samurai Legend" features a fictionalized account based on the little known history of Jūbei Yagyū, and the main character in "Onimusha 2" is named "Jūbei" but is in fact heavily based upon Jūbei's grandfather Yagyū Muneyoshi.

Yagyū Muneyoshi

The second installment of the "Onimusha" video game series as well features a swordsman by the name of Yagyū Jūbei, but this is in fact Jūbei's grandfather, Yagyū Muneyoshi. In the fourth game a female Yagyu by the name of Akane took the name of Jūbei as the strongest of her clan and is on a mission to go after Munenori. In this installment, he is represented by the name Sekishūsai Yagyū, one of his famous names.

References