Japanese historical people in popular culture

Many significant Japanese historical people appear in works of popular culture such as anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

, and video games. This article presents information on references to historical people in such works.

Himiko

She appears in Warriors Orochi

Warriors Orochi

, is a PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of two of Koei's popular video game series, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors...

series, the crossover series of Samurai Warriors

Samurai Warriors

is the first title in the series of video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based loosely around the Sengoku period of Japanese history and it is a spinoff of the Dynasty Warriors series...

and Dynasty Warriors

Dynasty Warriors

is a series of tactical action video games created by Omega Force and Koei. The award-winning series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, based loosely around the Chinese classical novel of the same name. The first game titled 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.

She appears in the eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...

Sengoku Rance as a non-generic-faced captain.

One of the boss music featuring her name in the music game: Beatmania IIDX
Beatmania IIDX
is a series of rhythm video games and the sequel to Beatmania that was first introduced by Konami in Japan on February 26, 1999. IIDX has since spawned over 19 arcade releases and over 13 console releases on the Sony PlayStation 2...

Empress
Beatmania IIDX 16: Empress
Beatmania IIDX 16: Empress is the 16th game in the Beatmania IIDX series of music video games. It was released in arcades by Konami on November 19, 2008 . The game features over 50 new songs, some of which are unlocked over Konami's e-Amusement platform...

.

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
Baku Yumemakura
is a Japanese science fiction and adventure writer. He is best known for writing Jōgen no Tsuki wo Taberu Shishi , which won both the Seiun Award and the Nihon SF Taisho Award...

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
Reiko Okano
is a Japanese manga artist. In 1989, she won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo for Fancy Dance. She is married to director Makoto Tezuka.- References :...

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 manga artist Ethan, who has stated that he is a huge fan of the novel.
The movie Onmyoji
Onmyoji (film)
is a Japanese movie that was released in 2001 and sent to the US in 2004. Directed by Yōjirō Takita, it tells of the exploits of Abe no Seimei, the Onmyoji from the court of the Emperor. He befriended bungling court noble, Minamoto no Hiromasa, who enlists his aid to defend the Heian emperor...

, starring Mansai Nomura
Mansai Nomura
Mansai Nomura , born April 5, 1966 under the name Takeshi Nomura , is a well known Kyogen stage actor, and minor film actor. Nomura recently gained notoriety for his role as the eccentric Abe no Seimei in the film Onmyoji and its sequel.His debut was at the age of three in the drama, Quiver of The...

as Seimei, was released in 2001
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...

(2004 in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) by Pioneer (now Geneon
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...

). In 2003, a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...

, Onmyoji II, was produced; both movies are based on the above-mentioned novel and manga series. To capitalize on the success of the Onmyoji films, Fuji Television
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....

produced a miniseries in 2004, called Onmyoji: Abe no Seimei. This series has no ties to either of the above two productions.
Seimei can also be seen in the anime Magical☆Shopping Arcade Abenobashi. 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
Getter Robo
is a Super Robot manga series created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa, as well as an anime series produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974 to May 8, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes.- Plot :...

. Abe no Seimei appears as a powerful sorcerer inhabiting a castle and a surrounding township, with powerful magical abilities and thousands of oni under his command. After being defeated in the time of ancient Heiankyo, he returns in the modern era, only to be effortlessly dispatched again. Near the end of the series, the four kami (possibly the Four Heavenly Kings
Four Heavenly Kings
In the Buddhist faith, the Four Heavenly Kings are four gods, each of whom watches over one cardinal direction of the world.The Kings are collectively named as follows:...

) inform the heroes 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
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

video game.
In the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

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
Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
is an otome adventure game developed by Ruby Party and published by Koei. It is a part of Ruby Party's Neoromance label.Because of Harukanaru Toki no Naka des success, the game has give rise to a franchise including several sequels, numerous drama and music CDs, a manga series, two OAVs, a movie,...

, Seimei appears as Abe no Yasuaki's creator and master. Again, he is portrayed as a powerful onmyoji.
In the epic Teito Monogatari
Teito Monogatari
is a massive Japanese historical fantasy epic written by Hiroshi Aramata.-Overview:The story is a retelling of the history of Edo from an occultist perspective. The premise is based on the idea that the curse of Taira no Masakado greatly influenced the city's history from its inception to the...

, the evil onmyoji, Kato Yasunori, claims to be a descendant of Seimei. According to plot of Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis
Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis
is a tokusatsu historical fantasy film produced in 1987 by Exe and distributed in 1988 by Toho Studios. It is the first live-action adaptation of the Teito Monogatari series by Hiroshi Aramata.-Plot:...

, Kato is supposed to really be the culmination of the dead, resentful souls of the onmyoji, striking out against the foreign invaders of Japan; or possibly an incarnation of Seimei's dark side.
In the anime Spirit Warrior: Festival of the Ogres Revival, he appears as a ghost.
Hao Asakura in Shaman King
Shaman King
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takei. Shaman King follows the adventures of Yoh Asakura as he attempts to hone his shaman skills to become the Shaman King in the Shaman tournament....

(a manga and anime series) seems to be inspired by Abe no Seimei.
Abe no Masahiro of the novel, drama, and anime Shōnen Onmyouji is Abe no Seimei's grandson. Abe no Seimei appears in the series as an elderly, powerful onmyoji acting as a combination of mentor and obstacle to the main character, whose goal is to surpass his grandfather's great reputation.
The card Sealmaster Meisei from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
The is a Japanese collectible card game developed and published by Konami. It is based on the fictional game of Duel Monsters created by manga artist Kazuki Takahashi, which is the main plot device during the majority of his popular manga franchise, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and its various anime adaptations...

is inspired by Abe no Seimei.
Abe no Seimei is also featured in Nurarihyon no Mago
Nurarihyon no Mago
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, known in Japan as is a manga series written and illustrated by Hiroshi Shiibashi. The series was first published in Shueisha as a oneshot in 2007. The manga has been continuously serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since March 2008 and has...

(anime/manga series) as the evil, twisted mastermind/antagonist of every evil deeds hindering the unification of the human and yokai society desired by Rikuo Nura (main protagonist).

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

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
Blade of the Immortal
is a Japanese manga series by Hiroaki Samura. The series won an Excellence Prize at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival and the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award in 2000 for Best U.S. Edition of Foreign Material...

. Sometimes, variations upon this motif are seen, such as in the manga One Piece
One Piece
is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 64th volume released as...

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.
In an episode of Lupin III
Lupin III
, also known as Lupin the 3rd, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Kato under the pen name of Monkey Punch. The story follows the adventures of a gang of thieves led by Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of...

, it is revealed that Yoshitsune did not commit seppuku, but instead fled to Mongolia and became Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

. This is based on actual story believed by some Japanese. (義経=ジンギスカン説)

Yoshitsune appears in Warriors Orochi 2
Warriors Orochi 2
is a video game developed by Koei and Omega Force for the Sony PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Warriors Orochi, a crossover video game of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. The game was released on September 23 in North America and September 19 in Europe...

where he ends up joining the Wu
Eastern Wu
Eastern Wu, also known as Sun Wu, was one the three states competing for control of China during the Three Kingdoms period after the fall of the Han Dynasty. It was based in the Jiangnan region of China...

force and forming a rivalry with Lu Bu
Lü Bu
Lü Bu was a military general and later a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. According to the Records of Three Kingdoms, Lü Bu was highly-skilled in horse-riding and archery, and was thus nicknamed "Flying General"...

, he wields a gauntlet that houses a blade of light. His main enemy is Kiyomori Taira.
Yoshitsune appears in the manga Samurai Deeper Kyo
Samurai Deeper Kyo
is a manga series written and illustrated by Akimine Kamijyo. The manga was serialized from October 15, 1999 to May 10, 2006 in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, and collected over 38 volumes....

as a zombie, he is called by his childhood name Ushiwakamaru.
"Shike
Shike
Shike is a two-volume novel published in 1981 by Robert Shea. It fictionalises and compresses Japanese history in order to incorporate the Genpei War and attempted invasion of Japan by the Mongols within the lifespans of two characters: Jebu — a warrior monk of the Order of Zinja who is a highly...

" by Robert Shea
Robert Shea
Robert Joseph Shea was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy Illuminatus!. It became a cult success and was later turned into a marathon-length stage show put on at the British National Theatre and elsewhere. In...

features a somewhat fictionalized account of the Genpei War
Genpei War
The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late-Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....

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
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

's film The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail
is a 1945 film, written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is based on the kabuki play Kanjinchō, which is in turn based on the Noh play Ataka.The film stars Hanshiro Iwai, Susumu Fujita, Kenichi Enomoto, and Denjirō Ōkōchi....

dramatises a legend about Yoshitsune, based on the kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

play Kanjincho
Kanjincho
Kanjinchō is a Japanese kabuki play by Namiki Gohei III, based on the Noh play Ataka. It is one of the most popular plays in the modern kabuki repertory....

.
NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

's 2005 taiga drama
Taiga drama
is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...

Yoshitsune is a fictionalized account of the samurai's life and the political intrigues that sealed his fate.
Game Republic's 2005 PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

video game, Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is a PlayStation 2 game released on September 20, 2005. It is loosely based on The Tale of the Heike.A sequel, Genji: Days of the Blade was released for PlayStation 3.-Storyline:...

is another fictionalized account of the story of Yoshitsune and Saito Musashibo Benkei.
Sogo Ishii
Sogo Ishii
', formerly is a Japanese filmmaker known for his striking visuals and sometimes outlandish subject matter.Ishii was born in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and is a graduate of Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School and Nihon University College of Art....

'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
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...

'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
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...

arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

Genpei Toumaden
Genpei ToumaDen
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Namco that was released as a coin-operated video game in in Japan, and in Europe with Genpei name only. It runs on Namco System 86 hardware. Over a decade later, the game was released in America and Europe in the video game compilation Namco Museum Vol...

. The hero of the game is Taira no Kagekiyo
Taira no Kagekiyo
Taira no Kagekiyo , also known as Kazusa no Shichirō , was a samurai of the Taira clan who took part in the Genpei War of Japan, against the Minamoto clan....

, who was portrayed as the villain of Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is a PlayStation 2 game released on September 20, 2005. It is loosely based on The Tale of the Heike.A sequel, Genji: Days of the Blade was released for PlayStation 3.-Storyline:...

. All of them make an appearance in the crossover game Namco X Capcom
Namco x Capcom
is an action RPG/tactical RPG hybrid game for the PlayStation 2 console, developed by Monolith Soft and featuring characters from games produced by companies Namco and Capcom.- Storyline :...

.
In Hirofumi Sawada's manga Shana Ō Yoshitsune and its sequel, Shana Ō Yoshitsune: Genpei Gassen, the weak and sickly Ushiwakamaru is replaced by a body double, the acrobat Hyouta. After Ushiwaka dies, Hyouta takes on the name of Yoshitsune and lives on as the original to fulfil his dream of vengeance against the Taira.
Yoshitsune appears as "Ushiwaka" (or "Waka") in the videogame Ōkami
Okami
is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for Sony's PlayStation 2 video game console in 2006 in Japan and North America, and 2007 in Europe and Australia...

as a Taoist Prophet who often gives the main character (the incarnation of Amaterasu
Amaterasu
, or is apart of the Japanese myth cycle and also a major deity of the Shinto religion. She is the goddess of the sun, but also of the universe. the name Amaterasu derived from Amateru meaning "shining in heaven." The meaning of her whole name, Amaterasu-ōmikami, is "the great August kami who...

as a wolf) prophesies in the form of unusual riddles.
Minamoto Yoshitsune is the protagonist during a campaign on the Nintendo DS game, Age of Empires: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Majesco for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console....

.
Yoshitsune appears as the main character of the manga Kurozuka
Kurozuka
is a novel and Japanese manga series written by Baku Yumemakura and illustrated by Takashi Noguchi. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Super Jump starting in 2003 by Shueisha and ended in December 2006...

by Baku Yumemakura
Baku Yumemakura
is a Japanese science fiction and adventure writer. He is best known for writing Jōgen no Tsuki wo Taberu Shishi , which won both the Seiun Award and the Nihon SF Taisho Award...

, serialized in Jump Comics Deluxe.
Japanese doll and figure company Volks have released a SD10 sized Super Dollfie
Super Dollfie
, often abbreviated SD, is a brand of ball-jointed doll, or BJD, made by the Japanese company Volks. They are made to be easy to customize and are primarily marketed to adult doll collectors and customizers. They are cast in polyurethane resin, a porcelain-like, hard, dense plastic...

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
Air Gear
is a shōnen manga written and illustrated by Ito "Oh Great" Ōgure. Air Gear revolves around the life of Itsuki Minami "Ikki", also known as "Baby Face", "Lil Crow", and his friends. The story follows their use of Air Treks, an in-universe invention derived from inline skates...

by Oh! great
Oh! great
Oh! great, whose real name is , is a Japanese manga artist most recognized for the manga series Tenjho Tenge and Air Gear. In 2006, he received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen for Air Gear. Oh! great also created the adult series Silky Whip...

is named Yoshitsune and served by a second-in-command named Benkei.
The videogame Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
is an otome adventure game developed by Ruby Party and published by Koei. It is a part of Ruby Party's Neoromance label.Because of Harukanaru Toki no Naka des success, the game has give rise to a franchise including several sequels, numerous drama and music CDs, a manga series, two OAVs, a movie,...

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.
He appears in the eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...

Sengoku Rance as a generic-faced captain. His brother Yorimoto is, too.
Is known as Yoshitsune is the game Persona 4, he is one of the protagonists higher level persona and is known for having one of the strongest physical attacks in the game called Hassou Tobi.
In the online card game, Urban Rivals
Urban Rivals
- General information :Urban Rivals is an online multi-player card game. Each card represents a character . Each character has specific Power and Damage values, and belongs to a clan...

, there is a card of the Nightmare clan who is called Oshitsune, whose name is obviously a play on Yoshitsune's real name. His bio has him being resurrected from the dead by Ielena, and forced to wear a cursed pendant that turned him into a zombie.
Yoshitsune is shown in the twelfth book of Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...

in the fourth prologue, where the Battle of Dan-no-Ura
Battle of Dan-no-ura
The ' was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On March 24, 1185, the Genji clan fleet, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the Heike clan fleet, during a half-day engagement.The Taira were outnumbered, but...

is being fought.
He appears in Kouta Hirano
Kouta Hirano
is a Japanese manga artist born in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan, most famous for his manga Hellsing.- History :Starting his career first as a manga artist's assistant , and later an H manga artist, he went on to enjoy somewhat limited success with other relatively unknown manga titles such as Angel Dust,...

's new work Drifters
Drifters (manga)
is a fantasy, alternate history Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. The manga started serialization in Shōnen Gahosha's magazine, Young King Ours on April 30, 2009...

as an Antagonist character, helping the black king end all humans as an Offscouring.

Saitō no Musashibō Benkei

Benkei appears in Okami
Okami
is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for Sony's PlayStation 2 video game console in 2006 in Japan and North America, and 2007 in Europe and Australia...

, where the main character has to help him fish for a cutlass fish as his 1000th "sword".
Benkei along with Yoshitsune has appeared in the manga Samurai Deeper Kyo
Samurai Deeper Kyo
is a manga series written and illustrated by Akimine Kamijyo. The manga was serialized from October 15, 1999 to May 10, 2006 in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, and collected over 38 volumes....

as zombies.
He appeared in Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...

arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

Genpei Toumaden
Genpei ToumaDen
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Namco that was released as a coin-operated video game in in Japan, and in Europe with Genpei name only. It runs on Namco System 86 hardware. Over a decade later, the game was released in America and Europe in the video game compilation Namco Museum Vol...

as a villain while he is portrayed a hero in Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is a PlayStation 2 game released on September 20, 2005. It is loosely based on The Tale of the Heike.A sequel, Genji: Days of the Blade was released for PlayStation 3.-Storyline:...

.
The character Benkei in Air Gear
Air Gear
is a shōnen manga written and illustrated by Ito "Oh Great" Ōgure. Air Gear revolves around the life of Itsuki Minami "Ikki", also known as "Baby Face", "Lil Crow", and his friends. The story follows their use of Air Treks, an in-universe invention derived from inline skates...

is named after him.
Benkei Kurama from the Getter Robo
Getter Robo
is a Super Robot manga series created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa, as well as an anime series produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974 to May 8, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes.- Plot :...

series is named after the historical Benkei. In New Getter Robo
New Getter Robo
is an anime original video animation co-produced by Dynamic Planning and Bandai Visual. The series is a re-imagining of the 1970s manga Getter Robo, created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa, that incorporates aspects of Japanese mythology like the Oni and Abe no Seimei.- Plot :An alternate retelling of...

, 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.
Benkei has been announced as a playable character in Koei's upcoming Warriors Orochi Z
Warriors Orochi Z
, is a hack and slash video game developed by Koei and Omega Force for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows. Z' is the third installment of the Warriors Orochi series, a crossover video game of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series...

for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

.
Benkei appears in the twelfth book of Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...

shown serving Yoshitsune at the Battle of Dan-no-Ura
Battle of Dan-no-ura
The ' was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. On March 24, 1185, the Genji clan fleet, led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune, defeated the Heike clan fleet, during a half-day engagement.The Taira were outnumbered, but...

in the fourth prologue.

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
Noh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...

play Daibutsu-kuyō, he is featured in performances and plays called Kagekiyo, which differ across a variety of disciplines, including kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

, kyōgen
Kyogen
is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside Noh, was performed along with Noh as an intermission of sorts between Noh acts, on the same Noh stage, and retains close links to Noh in the modern day; therefore, it is sometimes designated Noh-kyōgen...

and kōwakamai.
A number of jōruri
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...

puppet plays feature Kagekiyo, including Shusse Kagekiyo by Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
Chikamatsu Monzaemon was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki...

.
Kagekiyo features as the main character in the Japan-only 1986 Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...

beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...

arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...

Genpei Toumaden and its sequel Samurai Ghost
Samurai Ghost
Samurai Ghost, released in Japan as , is a 1992 action game released by Namco for the TurboGrafx-16. The game is the sequel to Genpei Tōma Den, and is the first game in the series to be released outside Japan...

, as well as appearing in Namco x Capcom
Namco x Capcom
is an action RPG/tactical RPG hybrid game for the PlayStation 2 console, developed by Monolith Soft and featuring characters from games produced by companies Namco and Capcom.- Storyline :...

. This version is unique in that this version is undead and thus happens after his life.
He is the main character in Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is a PlayStation 2 game released on September 20, 2005. It is loosely based on The Tale of the Heike.A sequel, Genji: Days of the Blade was released for PlayStation 3.-Storyline:...

.
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
Warriors Orochi 2
is a video game developed by Koei and Omega Force for the Sony PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Warriors Orochi, a crossover video game of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series. The game was released on September 23 in North America and September 19 in Europe...

fighting for Orochi's army and using prayer beads as weapons.
Kiyomori also features prominently as a sympathetic villain in Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...

's Phoenix series
Phoenix (manga)
is a manga series by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka considered Phoenix his "life's work"; it consists of 12 books, each of which tells a separate, self-contained story and takes place in a different era. The plots go back and forth from the remote future to prehistoric times. The cycle remains unfinished...

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.
He appears in the eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...

Sengoku Rance as a generic-faced captain.

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
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

. In the 2005 NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

taiga drama
Taiga drama
is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...

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
Jessica Amanda Salmonson
Jessica Amanda Salmonson, born January 6, 1950, is an author, editor and writer of fantasy and horror fiction.-Author:Salmonson is the author of the Tomoe Gozen trilogy, a fantasy version of the tale of the historical female samurai Tomoe Gozen...

wrote "The Tomoe Gozen Saga", a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...

of fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s respectively titled Tomoe Gozen
Tomoe Gozen (novel)
Tomoe Gozen is a novel by Jessica Amanda Salmonson, published in 1981. Set in an alternate universe resembling feudal Japan, the book combines the tale of historical female samurai Tomoe Gozen with the legends and creatures of Japanese mythology to create an action-adventure fantasy...

, The Golden Naginata, and Thousand Shrine Warrior. The first was reissued in a corrected and revised edition as The Disfavored Hero.
Saisei, a character in the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

Samurai Deeper Kyo
Samurai Deeper Kyo
is a manga series written and illustrated by Akimine Kamijyo. The manga was serialized from October 15, 1999 to May 10, 2006 in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, and collected over 38 volumes....

, 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
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...

, a major supporting character
Supporting character
A supporting character is a character of a book, play, video game, movie, television or radio show or other form of storytelling usually used to give added dimension to a main character, by adding a relationship with this character...

is Tomoe Ame, a female samurai loosely based on Tomoe Gozen.
Tomoe Gozen is the Persona of Chie Satonaka in Persona 4.

Harada Sanosuke

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

Peacemaker Kurogane

is a historical fiction manga series written and illustrated created by . It is unrelated to the Peace Maker manga by Ryōji Minagawa. The story begins in 19th century Japan before the Meiji Restoration, a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure while...

. He is also featured in Kaze Hikaru

Kaze Hikaru

is a Japanese manga series by Taeko Watanabe.Kaze Hikaru is set in the bakumatsu. After her father and older brother are murdered, Tominaga Sei decides to pose as a boy named so that she can join the Mibu-Roshigumi and avenge their deaths...

(manga), Getsumei Seiki (manga) and Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi (video game series) and is shown in flashback sequences in Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin

, also known as Rurouni Kenshin and Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to...

(the character designs for him and the character based on him, Sagara Sanosuke

Sagara Sanosuke

is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin manga and anime series created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is known as Sanosuke Sagara in the English adaptation of the anime and is nicknamed Sano...

, 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

Sarutobi Sasuke

was a famous ninja in Japanese folklore. He is generally believed to be a Meiji period fictional creation based on the historical ninja ', although some argue for his actual existence.- In folklore :...

, 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

Sonny Chiba

, also known as Sonny Chiba, is a Japanese actor, singer, film producer, film director and martial artist.Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.- Early life :Born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka,...

in Shadow Warriors I.

Hijikata Toshizō

Hijikata is depicted in the 1999 film Gohatto

Taboo (1999 film)

is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima. It shows life in a samurai training school during the bakumatsu period, the end of the samurai era in the mid-19th century, specifically concentrating on the issue of homosexuality in the shudō tradition in the partially-closed environment.-Plot...

(played by Takeshi Kitano

Takeshi Kitano

is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...

), the 2004 NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

Taiga drama series Shinsengumi!

Shinsengumi!

is a Taiga drama television series produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was a popular drama about shinsengumi, the Japanese special police from the Shogun period....

(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

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

Hiroaki Murakami

is a Japanese actor. He specializes in jidaigeki roles, and has also taken parts in tokusatsu and modern productions.Born in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, he enrolled in Hosei University but withdrew when he successfully auditioned for a part in Kamen Rider. He made his debut as Tsukuba Hiroshi...

.

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

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

is a Japanese anime series, created by Ryōsuke Takahashi and Sunrise. It was broadcast between October 6, 2006 and April 6, 2007 on the Japanese internet streaming channel, GyaO.-Story:...

.

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

Gintama

, also known as Gintama, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized, beginning on December 8, 2003, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump...

, a character by the name of Toushiro Hijikata is loosely based on the historical Hijikata.

He appears in the eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...

Sengoku Rance as a hanny captain of Imagawa family named Hijikata H. Toshizou (with H = hanny).

Inoue Genzaburō

Inoue is featured in Kaze Hikaru

Kaze Hikaru

(manga) and Getsumei Seiki (manga). He is also depicted in the 1999 film Gohatto

Taboo (1999 film)

and NHK

NHK

's drama series Shinsengumi!

Shinsengumi!

is a Taiga drama television series produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was a popular drama about shinsengumi, the Japanese special police from the Shogun period....

Kondō Isami

Kondō was portrayed in the drama series Shinsengumi! by SMAP

SMAP

SMAP is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. While originally consisting of six members, the current group members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori...

singer Shingo Katori

Shingo Katori

is the youngest member of SMAP, a popular Japanese idol group from the agency Johnny & Associates, and he is from Yokohama, Japan. Shingo Katori has acted in several dramas such as Three Peace, and has appeared as a voice actor in such anime series as Akazukin Chacha, in which he voiced the part of...

. Kondō is also featured in the anime

Anime

/manga

Manga

Peacemaker Kurogane

, the manga Kaze Hikaru

Kaze Hikaru

and the Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin

OVA Samurai X. On film, this character has appeared in the 1999 film Gohatto

Taboo (1999 film)

and in the 2003 film Mibu Gishi Den (also known as When The Last Sword is Drawn

When the Last Sword Is Drawn

is a 2003 Japanese movie directed by Yōjirō Takita loosely based on real historical events. When the Last Sword Is Drawn won the Best Film award at the 2004 Japanese Academy Awards, as well as the prizes for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor . It received a further eight...

); Kondo Isao from Gintama

Gintama

, also known as Gintama, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized, beginning on December 8, 2003, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump...

is loosely based on Isami.

He appears in the eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...

Sengoku Rance as a hanny captain named Kondou H. Yuu (with H = hanny).

Kondō appears in the popular otome game/anime Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan

Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan

is a video game series by Idea Factory, first designed for the Playstation 2 and then later ported to Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, and Nintendo DS. A Nintendo 3DS version is soon to be released as well. It has been adapted into two 12/10-episode anime series animated by Studio DEEN; the...

along with other Shinsengumi members.

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

Peacemaker Kurogane

(anime/manga), Kaze Hikaru

Kaze Hikaru

(manga), Getsumei Seiki (manga), the drama series Shinsengumi!

Shinsengumi!

is a Taiga drama television series produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was a popular drama about shinsengumi, the Japanese special police from the Shogun period....

, Shinsengumi Gunrou-den (video game series), and Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi (video game series).

Nezumi Kozō

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

Ryunosuke Akutagawa

was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story". He committed suicide at age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.-Early life:...

wrote a short story, Nezumi Kozō Jirokichi (translated into English as "Nezumi Kozo, the Japanese Robin Hood

Robin Hood

Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....

"); 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

Ganbare Goemon

, known as Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Mystical Ninja, and Goemon in North America and the PAL region, is a long-running video game series produced by Konami....

. A descendant of his appears in the second anime Lupin III

Lupin III

, also known as Lupin the 3rd, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Kato under the pen name of Monkey Punch. The story follows the adventures of a gang of thieves led by Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of...

. Nezumi Kozō was also 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." 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

Bishonen

is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...

. 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

Ryoko Hirosue

is a Japanese actress and pop star, best known in the West for her roles in the Luc Besson-produced Wasabi and the Academy Award-winning Japanese film Departures. She also starred in a comedy series Yasuko to Kenji in 2008.- Early life :...

.

On the 2004 NHK

NHK

Taiga drama

is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...

Shinsengumi!, actor Tatsuya Fujiwara

Tatsuya Fujiwara

is a Japanese television and film actor.-Biography:Born in Saitama, Fujiwara has had an interest in acting from a young age.He is famous for acting the part of Shuya Nanahara in the controversial 2000 film Battle Royale and continues the character as a leader of the Wild Seven in the sequel, Battle...

played Okita.

Okita is a main character in the anime/manga Peacemaker Kurogane

Peacemaker Kurogane

, which takes more liberties with history.

Okita is mentioned in the anime/manga series Rurouni Kenshin

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

Shinsengumi Keppuroku

is a novel by Ryōtarō Shiba and a television series which aired in 1998.-Details:Television series:* Title: Shinsengumi keppuroku* Genre: Chanbara* Episodes: 11* Broadcast network: TV Asahi* Broadcast period: 1998* Theme Song: "Sayonara" by Chiharu Matsuyama...

, Seta Sōjirō

Seta Sojiro

, addressed as Sojiro Seta in the English-language dubs, is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki for the series and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, OVAs, movies, soundtracks, video games, and other...

, makes his appearance); in the manga, Okita is also shown during the Jinchū Arc.

In the anime series, Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

is a Japanese anime series, created by Ryōsuke Takahashi and Sunrise. It was broadcast between October 6, 2006 and April 6, 2007 on the Japanese internet streaming channel, GyaO.-Story:...

, Okita is depicted as an old acquaintace of the protagonist, Akizuki Yōjirō.

Okita is one of the main playable characters in the Xbox

Xbox

The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

video game Kengo: The Legend of the 9 Samurai.

In an episode of the anime Ghost Sweeper Mikami

Ghost Sweeper Mikami

is a Japanese comedic horror manga series written and illustrated by Takashi Shiina. It was published by the weekly manga magazine Shōnen Sunday from 1991 to 1999. In 1993, it won the Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen manga...

, 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

Flashback (narrative)

Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

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

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

When the Last Sword Is Drawn

, video game series Shinsengumi Gunrou-den (as the protagonist), video game series Fu-un Shinsengumi

Fu-un Shinsengumi

is a PlayStation 2 action game published by Genki featuring artwork by Yoji Shinkawa. The game revolves around the historical military group Shinsengumi during the Edo Period of Japan's history. A PlayStation Portable version was released by From Software in December 2009....

, and video game series Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi.

In the eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...

Sengoku Rance, the female captaine Okita Nozomi is based on him. The others in this period appearing as Sengoku Rance versions are Yagyu Munenori
Yagyu Munenori
was a Japanese swordsman, founder of the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, which he learned from his father Yagyū "Sekishusai" Muneyoshi. This was one of two official sword styles patronized by the Tokugawa Shogunate...

, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna
Kamiizumi Nobutsuna
Kamiizumi Ise-no-kami Fujiwara-no-Nobutsuna was a samurai in Japan’s Sengoku Period famous for creating the Shinkage-ryū school of combat.-Early life:...

.

Okita Sougo, from the anime/manga Gintama

Gintama

, also known as Gintama, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized, beginning on December 8, 2003, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump...

, is loosely based on Okita Souji.

Saitō Hajime

Saitō has become a better-known figure among young anime fans in the West since several anime

Anime

and manga

Manga

series used him as a character. The popular Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin

series portrays him as somewhat of a rival character, Saitō Hajime, once a mortal enemy of protagonist Himura Kenshin

Himura Kenshin

, known as Kenshin Himura in the English-language anime dubs, is a fictional character from the Rurouni Kenshin universe created by Nobuhiro Watsuki. He is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series, as well as the related media in the franchise...

, 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

Katana

A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...

. 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

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

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

When the Last Sword Is Drawn

(Mibu gishi den), Saitō is played by Kōichi Satō

Koichi Sato

is a Japanese actor.He is the son of veteran Japanese actor Rentarō Mikuni.-Films:*The Last Chushingura *Nobody to watch over me * Shonen Merikensack * The Magic Hour * Smile Seiya no Kiseki...

. 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

Joe Odagiri

, born is a Japanese actor.-Career:Commonly known just as Odajō, and also known for his unusual hairstyle and eclectic style of dressing, he is the epitome of Cool Japan...

played the role of Saitou.

A Kenshin series look-alike named Keiichiro Washizuka was featured in The Last Blade

The Last Blade

, is a fighting game series created by SNK for the Neo Geo system. The Korean version of the game is known as "The Last Soldier". The Last Blade and its sequel are widely considered to be two of the most accomplished games available for the Neo Geo system, with fan opinion divided as to which is...

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 Kenshins 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 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

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

Peacemaker Kurogane

Yamanami Keisuke

Yamanami is featured in Peacemaker Kurogane

Peacemaker Kurogane

(anime/manga), Kaze Hikaru

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!

Shinsengumi!

is a Taiga drama television series produced by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was a popular drama about shinsengumi, the Japanese special police from the Shogun period....

(drama series) and Shinsengumi Keppuroku

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

Futaro Yamada

was the pen name of , a Japanese author.He was born in Yabu, Hyogo.In 1947, he wrote a mystery novel and was awarded a prize by a novel magazine .He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist....

's 1967 book, Makai Tenshou (Resurrection from Hell), which featured Yagyū Jūbei involved in the Shimabara Rebellion

Shimabara Rebellion

The was an uprising largely involving Japanese peasants, most of them Catholic Christians, in 1637–1638 during the Edo period.It was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule...

of 1637 and 1638. This story was eventually adapted into a live-action picture called Samurai Reincarnation

Samurai Reincarnation

Samurai Reincarnation is a 1981 film directed by Kinji Fukasaku and starring Sonny Chiba. The film was based on the novel Makai Tensho....

in 1981, directed by Kinji Fukasaku

Kinji Fukasaku

was a Japanese film actor, screenwriter, and best known as a celebrated and innovative filmmaker. He was born in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan, and died in Tokyo, from prostate cancer...

.

Jubei was the main character of a Japanese television series entitled the Yagyu conspiracy starring Sonny Chiba

Sonny Chiba

in the 80s. Jubei was a defender of the Shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

and leader of a covert ninja

Ninja

A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...

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

Manga

by Shouko Toba as Makai Tenshou: Yume no Ato (Resurrection from Hell: Sign of Dreams). This was then adapted into two anime

Anime

OVAs (although originally planned for four) as Makai Tenshou Jigokuhen, later released in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

under the name Ninja Resurrection

Ninja Resurrection

Ninja Resurrection, known in Japan as is a two-part original video animation directed by Yasunori Urata.The OVA series is based on Futaro Yamada's novel Makai Tenshō...

.

Director/writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Yoshiaki Kawajiri

is a critically acclaimed writer and director of Japanese animation. He is the creator of titles such as Wicked City, Ninja Scroll, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.-Career:...

in his enormously popular animated film Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll

is a 1993 Japanese animated action thriller film set in feudal Japan, written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri who was best known for his previous thriller Wicked City . The character designs were done by Yutaka Minowa. The movie is in homage to the Ninpōchō series, ninja novels by Futaro Yamada...

, created the lead character Jubei Kibagami as a homage to Yagyū Jūbei. He is voiced by Japanese voice actor Kōichi Yamadera

Koichi Yamadera

is a Japanese voice actor, actor, tarento, narrator, master of ceremonies and impressionist from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school, and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Actor's...

. The movie also had a sequel - Ninja Scroll: The Series

Ninja Scroll: The Series

is a 2003 Japanese animated television series based on Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Ninja Scroll. The series is directed by Tatsuo Sato and animated by Madhouse Studios.- Plot :...

- 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

Lone Wolf and Cub

is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...

, Gosho Aoyama

Gosho Aoyama

, born on June 21, 1963 in Hokuei, Tottori Prefecture, Japan is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known as the creator of the manga series Detective Conan .-Educational background:Aoyama was talented in drawing even at an early age...

's shōnen

Shonen

The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...

manga

Manga

series Yaiba

Yaiba

Yaiba, also known as , is a shōnen manga series by Gosho Aoyama. It ran in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from issue 39 of 1988 to issue 50 of 1993, collected in 24 tankōbon volumes. It also came in 12 double volumes...

and the modern parody Jubei-chan

Jubei-chan

is a Japanese anime action comedy television series created by Akitaro Daichi . Jubei-chan follows Jiyu Nanohana, a modern highschool girl and unwilling heir to the Yagyu Jubei school of swordsmanship...

(where a young girl from modern times becomes the successor to the 300-year-old Yagyū clan) and Gintama

Gintama

, also known as Gintama, is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized, beginning on December 8, 2003, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump...

as Yagyū Kūbei.

Several other movies were also created about him, including Darkside Reborn and Shogun's Samurai

Shogun's Samurai

also "Intrigue of the Yagyu clan" and "Yagyu Clan Conspiracy," is a 1978 Japanese historical martial arts period film, directed by Kinji Fukasaku. The film is one of a series of period films by Fukasaku starring Sonny Chiba as Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi....

, which both featured Sonny Chiba

Sonny Chiba

as the part of Jūbei.

In the fighting game

Fighting game

Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...

series Samurai Shodown

Samurai Shodown

Samurai Shodown, known as in Japan, is a competitive fighting game produced by SNK for their Neo Geo arcade and home platform. In contrast to other fighting games at the time which were set in modern times and focused primarily on hand-to-hand combat, Samurai Shodown is set in feudal-era Japan ...

(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

Kiyoshi Kobayashi

is a Japanese actor, seiyū and narrator from Tokyo. He is currently attached to the Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society...

, 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

Samurai Legend

is a one shot Japanese manga is written by Kan Furuyama and illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi. The manga is licensed for an English-language release in North America by Central Park Media, licensed for a French-language release in France, Italian-language release in Italy and Portuguese-language...

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

Yagyu Muneyoshi

Yagyū Sekishūsai Taira-no-Munetoshi was a samurai in Japan’s Sengoku period famous for mastering the Shinkage-ryū school of combat, and introducing it to the Tokugawa clan.-Early life :...

.
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

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