was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, feared as one of the four most notable assassins

Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu

was a term given to four samurai during the Bakumatsu era in Japanese history. The four men were Kawakami Gensai, Kirino Toshiaki , Tanaka Shinbei, and Okada Izō. They opposed the Tokugawa shogunate . These four samurai were warrior elite and widely considered undefeatable by normal people...

 of the Bakumatsu period. He was born in Tosa to the gōshi Okada Gihei, who had been a peasant but had bought the gōshi rank. Izō and Tanaka Shinbei were active in Kyoto as assassins under the leadership of Takechi Hanpeita

Takechi Hanpeita

, also known as , was a samurai of the Tosa han during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. As leader of the Tosa Kin no To, which supported the Sonnō Jōi movement, he tried to take control of the Tosa Han and receive the support of Sakamoto Ryōma, but was arrested for the assassination of Yoshida Tōyō...

.

Izō in Fiction

Several films feature him as protagonist, most notably Hideo Gosha

Hideo Gosha

was a Japanese film director.Among his most famous films are Goyokin and Hitokiri, released in 1969, and The Wolves, released in 1971. His most famous film in the West is Sword of the Beast, released by Criterion....

's Hitokiri (1969) (portrayed by Shintaro Katsu

Shintaro Katsu

, born Toshio Okumura was a Japanese actor, singer, producer, and director...

) and Takashi Miike

Takashi Miike

is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...

's Izo

Izo

IZO is a 2004 Japanese film, directed by Takashi Miike. The main character of the film is Izo Okada , the historical samurai and assassin in 19th century Japan who was tortured and executed by beheading in Tosa....

(2004). Most recently, the 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...

 Ryōmaden

Ryōmaden

is the 49th NHK Taiga drama. It was shown on NHK from January 3 to November 28, 2010 spanning 48 episodes. The story centers on the life of 19th century Japanese historical figures Iwasaki Yatarō and Sakamoto Ryōma...

(2009) features Izo several times as one of Sakamoto Ryōma

Sakamoto Ryoma

was a leader of the movement to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate during the Bakumatsu period in Japan. Ryōma used the alias .- Early life :Ryōma was born in Kōchi, of Tosa han . By the Japanese calendar, this was the sixth year of Tenpō...

's friends and Takechi Hanpeita's assassins. He was portrayed by Japanese idol Takeru Sato.

In 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 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....

, Nobuhiro Watsuki

Nobuhiro Watsuki

is a Japanese manga artist, best known for his samurai-themed series Rurouni Kenshin. He once worked as an assistant for his favorite author Takeshi Obata.-Biography:...

 based the character Kurogasa Udō Jin-e of his manga series 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...

on Izō; the author admits that the character bears little resemblance to Izō. Hideaki Sorachi

Hideaki Sorachi

is a Japanese manga artist best known for his work Gin Tama.- Works :* Bankara One shot, 2010* Gintama Serialization, 2003* 13 One shot* Shirokuro One shot* Samuraider Discontinued at sketch phase...

 also based Nizo Okada, a character in his work 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...

, on Izō. It is also possible that a character from 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...

, Izô, commander of the 16th division of the Whitebeard Pirates, is based on Okada Izô. This however remains uncorfirmed by the series' creator, Eiichiro Oda.

Masami Kurumada

Masami Kurumada

is a Japanese manga artist and writer, known for specializing in fighting manga featuring bishōnen and/or mahō shōnen. He is famous as the creator/author of popular manga, such as Ring ni Kakero, Fūma no Kojirō, Saint Seiya and B't X. His male protagonists are a reflection of the classical and...

, author of the popular Saint Seiya

Saint Seiya

, also known as Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac or simply Knights of the Zodiac, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada and serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1986 to 1991, and adapted into an anime TV series by Toei Animation from 1986 to 1989.The story follows...

 manga series, recently added a character to his work, called Capricorn Izō, who is inspired by Okada.

Okada supposedly appeared as well in Kengo

Kengo

Kengo is the name of a series of video games developed by Genki. Kengo is considered a spiritual successor to the Bushido Blade game series for the PlayStation.-Kengo: Master of Bushido:...

, a video game based on 9 legendary swordsmen.

External links

• Short bio (in Japanese)