Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi: Encyclopedia II - Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi - Yagyū Jūbei in Japanese Pop Culture

Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi - 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, Gosho Aoyama's shōnen manga series Yaiba and 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, 5 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. A secret trailer at the end of the first game, however, saw a lead character with an eyepatch, suggesting that Yagyū Jūbei was originally intended as the game's protagonist. Samurai Legend features a fictionalized account based on the little known history of Jubei Yagyu.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Yagyū Jūbei in Japanese Pop Culture", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki