Hattori Hanzo: a real life figure

In Kill Bill movie, Hattori Hanzo is a well-known figure who appears as a swordsmith, who made Bride's sword. However, Hattori Hanzo happened to be not only a fiction figure in the well-known movie. A real man, who did existed, had nothing to do with swords making.

Besides the Kill Bill, Hattori Hanzo figure features in the numerous films, video games and novels, where he actually pull stunts in the most intricate manner: flying in the air, slinking away, moving under the ground and other.

In fact, Hattori Hanzo was a ninja starting as a samurai vassal of the Matsudaira clan. Often called "Devil Hanzo" due to the refinement of cruelty he displayed in the battle, he had his own story to tell about. Though you won't meet much of his real face (if not at all) as he was a ninja and thus his life had something enigmatic about it.

Hattori Hanzo started to master ninja skills from the very childhood and reaching the age of eighteen he became a proficient ninja. His family resided in the Iga province of Japan, which is a well-known home of ninjutsu martial art, where a great number of secret schools on various practices including swords techniques took place. As the Iga province was a region mainly surrounded by mountains, it was considered to be quite a secluded place during wars, though the inhabitants inside the region were always on their guard with the combat-ready swords.

The legend says that Hattori Hanzo possessed supernatural abilities to vanish in a split second simply bowing at someone. He was also believed to catch the foe from behind with the rope just sitting on his knees during meditation. It was much told about his clairvoyant abilities, when he could predict and reveal dangerous plans of the foes, having an excellent gut feeling.

There was a popular legend about Hattori Hanzo and shogun-to-be Ievasu Tokugawa. A famous general was a very skilled in swords handling, swimming and practical arts. Once there happened a skirmish where Ievasy Tokugawa took Hanzo by the neck and pulled him underwater. The general was not able to stay underwater for a long time and went to surface being overly exhausted, while Hanzo didn't show any sign of tiredness. He managed to stay underwater for several hours and just after he was called many times he appeared with the smile on his face. General stared in a mute amazement as Hattori Hanzo gave Ievasu a short sword and told him the whole story. He admitted that all the time others thought of him being underwater, he actually was hiding near the rock sleeping all the time. When he heard someone calling him he just dived back and appeared on the surface. He made an apology on taking the sword but as he explained that this what he called ninjutsu.

This story impressed Ievasu Tokugava so much that his further shogunate was successful mainly due to his involvement with great ninjas. In the 1581 he was a common daimyo, but since that time all the Iga and Koga ninja activity was predetermined on behalf of Tokugava clan. Ievasu Tokugava was a prudent politician, and nothing proves it more than his shrewdness in selecting the best Japan ninjas.

Hattori Hanzo went through the battles of Anegawa and Mikatagahara and died at the age of fifty-five, leaving a successor Hattori Masanari, though his son didn't succeed as ninja. Hattori Hanzo ashes are now in Sainen-ji cemetery in Tokyo along with his famous weapons.