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.
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She appears in Warriors Orochi series, the crossover series of Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors. In WO2, she becomes friends with Da Ji, and she is the key to resurrecting the Japanese demon Orochi.
She also appears in Kessen II, a fictional story with characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In this story, she is in love with Cao Cao, but she is jealous of Diao Chan. She goes off in a rage, and she has to be stopped by Wei and Shu.
His name appears in many works of fiction, often as a helpful, wise man, and rarely as an enemy.
Harada Sanosuke appears in Shiba Ryoutarou's novels Moeyo Ken and Shinsengumi Keppuroku. He is depicted in the drama series Shinsengumi! (played by Yamamoto Taro). In addition, Harada appears in the manga and anime series Peacemaker Kurogane. He is also featured in Kaze Hikaru (manga), Getsumei Seiki (manga) and Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi (video game series) and is shown in flashback sequences in Rurouni Kenshin (the character designs for him and the character based on him, Sagara Sanosuke, are similar).
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 also portrayed by Sonny Chiba in Shadow Warriors I.[3]
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), Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan (video game/anime) 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 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 was portrayed in the 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 Isami.
Kondō appears in the popular otome game/anime Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan along with other Shinsengumi members.
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), the drama series Shinsengumi!, Shinsengumi Gunrou-den (video game series), and Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi (video game series).
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa wrote a short story, Nezumi Kozō Jirokichi (translated into English as "Nezumi Kozo, the Japanese Robin Hood"); at least two films have had the same Japanese title. Nezumi Kozō is an inspiration for the video game character Ebisumaru, who commonly stars in a video game series Ganbare Goemon. A descendant of his appears in the second anime Lupin III. Nezumi Kozō was also parodied on Tomica Hero: Rescue Force as a present day thief named "Nurenezumi Kozō".
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." 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 appearances tend to depict him 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, and in a 2003 theatrical production of the same name, the character was portrayed by actress Ryōko Hirosue.
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 one of the main playable characters in the Xbox video game Kengo: The Legend of the 9 Samurai.
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) final duel before succumbing to his sickness is with a warrior from the Mutsu Emmei Ryuu, an unarmed martial art. Okita appears during a flashback in Kido Shinsengumi: Moeyo Ken (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.
Okita Sougo, from the anime/manga Gintama, is loosely based on Okita Souji.
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, Saitō 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 of 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 Kōichi Satō. 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."
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 (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). Serizawa's assassination was portrayed in the anime version of Peacemaker Kurogane.
Yamanami is featured in Peacemaker Kurogane (anime/manga), Kaze Hikaru (manga), Getsumei Seiki (manga), Hijikata Toshizou - Shiro no Kiseki (OVA), and Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumii' (video game series). In addition, he is portrayed in Shinsengumi! (drama series) and Shinsengumi Keppuroku.
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 80s. 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 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 is voiced by Japanese voice actor Kōichi Yamadera. The movie also had a sequel - Ninja Scroll: The Series - 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. 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.
Yagyū Jūbei is referenced in the anime "Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls" as a girl named Yagyū Jūbei who is the first master Samurai discovered by Yagyū Muneakira [4]