Hattori Hanzō (服部 半蔵?, ~1542[1] – 1596), also known as Hattori Masanari (服部 正成?), was a famous samurai and ninja of the Sengoku era.



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Hanzō was born as the son of Hattori Yasunaga, a minor samurai in the service of the Matsudaira (later Tokugawa) clan.[3][4] He would later earn the nickname Oni no Hanzō (鬼半蔵, Devil Hanzō?)[4] because of the fearless tactics he displayed in his operations; this is to distinguish him from Watanabe Hanzo, who is nicknamed Yari no Hanzō (槍半蔵, Spear Hanzō?).[5]

Though Hanzō was born and raised in Mikawa Province, he often returned to Iga Province, home of the Hattori family. He fought his first battle at the age of 16 (a night-time attack on Udo castle[3])[4] and went on to serve with distinction at the battles of Anegawa (1570) and Mikatagahara (1572).[3] His most valuable contribution came in 1582 following Oda Nobunaga's death, when he led the future shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to safety in Mikawa Province across Iga territory with the help of remnants of the local Iga ninja clans[4] as well as their one-time rivals in Koga.[6]

Hanzō was known as an expert tactician and a master of spear fighting. Various magical tricks such as disappearing and appearing elsewhere, psychokinesis and precognition were also attributed to him.[4] Historical sources say he died in 1596 at the age of 55.[3] According to a popular legend, the ninja of Fūma Kotarō killed Hanzō in sea combat during their raid against the Tokugawa forces in the Inland Sea
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