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Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi (1607?-1650?)
is one of the most famous and romanticized of the
samurai in
Japan's feudal era.
Very little is known about the actual life of Yagyu Jubei as the
official records of his life are very sparse. Yagyu Jubei (born "Shichiro")
grew up in his family's ancestral lands, Yagyu no Sato, now in
Nara Prefecture. He was the son of
Yagyu Tajima no Kami Munenori, swordmaster of the
Tokugawa
shoguns. Munenori fought for the first Tokugawa shogun,
Tokugawa Ieyasu, at the
Battle of Sekigahara, expanding the shogun's territory. For his
efforts, Munemori was made the shogun's sword instructor and a minor
daimyo.
In
1616, Yagyu Jubei's became an attendant in the court of the second
Tokugawa shogun,
Tokugawa Hidetada and became a sword instructor for the third Tokugawa
shogun,
Tokugawa Iemitsu, occasionally filling his father's role. Records of
Yagyu Jubei, however, do not appear again until
1631, when Jubei, by now regarded as the best swordsman from the Yagyu
clan, is summarily and inexplicably dismissed by the shogun. His
whereabouts are then unknown over the next twelve years until Yagyu Jubei
reappears, at the age of 36, at a demonstration of swordsmanship in front
of the shogun. Following this exhibition, Yagyu Jubei is reinstated to his
prior position, just as inexplicably as he had departed.
Very little else is known of Yagyu Jubei except that he died in early
1650 under uncertain circumstances. Some accounts say he died of a
heart attack, others say he died of while falcon hunting, while still
others presume he was assassinated.
Yagyu Jubei in Japanese
Pop Culture
Yagyu Jubei 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 Yagyu
Jubei's many missing years.
One of the earliest examples of developing the story around Yagyu Jubei
was from Japanese author
Fuutarou Yamada's
1967 book, Makai Tenshou (Resurrection from Hell), which
featured Yagyu Jubei involved in the
Shimabara Rebellion of
1637 and
1638. This story was eventually adapted into a live-action picture in
1981, directed by
Kinji Fukasaku, who later went on to direct the cult hit,
Battle Royale. The story of Makai Tenshou was also
turned into a
manga by
manga-ka
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.
Yagyu Jubei is also featured in other manga and anime, ranging from the
epic work,
Lone Wolf and Cub to the modern parody
Jubei-chan (where a young girl from modern times becomes the
successor to the 300-year-old Yagyu clan). Several other movies were also
created about him, including
Darkside Reborn, which featured
Sonny Chiba as the part of Jubei.
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