Hattori Hanzō

Hattori Hanzō served the Tokugawa clan during the Sengoku era, when Japan was a patchwork of warring states. He made his name as a tactician and swordsman, credited with saving Tokugawa Ieyasu's life in a moment that bent the arc of history. That rescue helped clear Ieyasu's path to becoming the ruler who would finally unite the country. Hanzō became known as the Second Hanzō, then earned a sharper nickname — Oni no Hanzō, Demon Hanzō — to set him apart from another Tokugawa general, Watanabe Hanzō, called Spear Hanzō. He was later counted among Tokugawa's sixteen divine generals. He died on J…