Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi

Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi (柳生十兵衛三厳 Yagyū Jūbei 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 Yagyū Jūbei as the official records of his life are very sparse. Yagyū Jūbei (born "Shichirō") grew up in his family's ancestral lands, Yagyū no Sato, now in Nara. He was the son of Yagyū 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, Yagyū Jūbei 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 Yagyū Jūbei, however, do not appear again until 1631, when Jūbei, by now regarded as the best swordsman from the Yagyū clan, is summarily and inexplicably dismissed by the shogun. His whereabouts are then unknown over the next twelve years until Yagyū Jūbei reappears, at the age of 36, at a demonstration of swordsmanship in front of the shōgun. Following this exhibition, Yagyū Jūbei is reinstated to his prior position, just as inexplicably as he had departed.

Very little else is known of Yagyū Jūbei except that he died in early 1650 under uncertain circumstances. Some accounts say he died of a heart attack, others say he died while falcon hunting, while still others presume he was assassinated.

Yagyū Jūbei in Japanese Pop Culture

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 Fuutarou 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 in 1981, directed by Kinji Fukasaku, who later went on to direct the cult hit, Battle Royale. Director/writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri in his animated film Ninja Scroll, created the lead character Jubei Kibagami as a homage to Yagyū Jūbei. 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. For the Samurai Shodown video game, his voiced is provided by either Takayuki Sakai, or Kiyoshi Kobayashi, depending on the installment he appears in.

Yagyū Jūbei is also featured in other manga, anime and video games, 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 Yagyū clan). Several other movies were also created about him, including Darkside Reborn and Shoguns Samurai, which both featured Sonny Chiba as the part of Jubei. In the fighting game series Samurai Shodown (1, 2, 4 and RPG) Jubei Yagyu (in western order) is a playable character, and the only actual samurai in the series. The second installment of the Onimusha video game series as well features a swordsman by the name of Yagyū Jūbei, but this is in fact his grandfather, Yagyū Mūneyoshi. Samurai Legend features a fictionalized account based off of the little known history of Jubei Yagyu.

The Eyepatch Legend

Legend has it that Yagyū Jūbei had the use of only one eye; most legends state that he lost it in a sword sparring session where his father, Yagyū Munenori struck him accidentally. However, the truth is unknown and several authors of recent have chosen to portray Jūbei as having both eyes, though the classical "eyepatch" look remains standard.

In pop culture, Jūbei's eye patch is usually just a sword guard with leather wrapped through it. An exception to this is found in the manga Samurai Legend, in which a swordsman under the name of Yagyū Jūbei is seen walking around matching the popular culture image. This Jūbei is literally disarmed five pages in, only for a two-eyed Yagyū Jūbei to reveal himself a second later. Near the end of this manga Jūbei loses his right eye in a swordfight and for the final chapters, he wears an eye-patch, but not of the sword guard fashion.ja:柳生十兵衛