Ishikawa Goemon

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Ishikawa Goemon played by kabuki actor Arashi Hinasuke II, by Toyokuni III (1863)

In this Japanese name, the family name is Ishikawa.

Ishikawa Goemon (石川五右衛門, Ishikawa Goemon^? 1558-1594) was a legendary ninja warrior and bandit hero who stole gold and valuables and gave them to the poor. There is little historical information on Goemon's life, and thus he has become a folk hero, whose background and origins have been widely speculated upon. He is notable for being boiled alive after a failed assassination attempt on Toyotomi Hideyoshi. A large iron kettle-shaped bathtub is now called a Goemon-buro (Goemon-bath).

In one version of the story, Goemon tried to assassinate Hideyoshi to avenge the death of his wife and capture of his son, Gobei. He entered Hideyoshi's room but knocked a bell off a table. The noise awoke the samurai guards and he was captured. He was sentenced to death by being boiled alive in an iron cauldron along with his young son, but was able to save his son by holding him above the oil.

In another version, Goemon wanted to kill Hideyoshi because he was a despot. When he entered Hideyoshi's room, he was detected by a mystical incense burner. He was executed on August 24 along with his whole family by being boiled in oil.^[1]