Blogpost 2: Hanzo the Ghost

Are you wondering who's Hanzo the Ghost? Why people call him "The Ghost"? Well, he's the famous and greatest ninja, Hattori Hanzo. He's famous because they declared him a full-on ninja at age twelve. He practiced insane ninja skills like jumping, flying, and stabbing. They called him Hanzo the Ghost because he would sneak around undetected and then nail them in the face with a flying side kick when they least expected it. Then he’d drop a smoke bomb and vanish into the night, only to re-appear moments later, chopping off some jerk’s head and doing backflips for no reason at all.

Hattori Hanzo

Let's talk about Hanzo's best contribution. Based on someone's post entitled "Hattori Hanzo" from samurai-archives, Hanzo who would earn the nickname "Devil Hanzo", served Tokugawa Ieyasu loyally and usefully. According to that post, "His most valuable contribution came in 1582, following Oda Nobunaga's death. At that time Tokugawa and his retainers had been staying near Ôsaka and learned of the assassination only just in time to avoid being detained by Akechi Mitsuhide's troop. But they were by no means out of the woods. Mikawa was still a long way away, and Akechi men would be combing the roads for them. At this point, Hanzo suggested that they take a route through Iga province, as he had ties with the samurai there. In addition, Ieyasu had sheltered survivors from Nobunaga's bloody invasion of that province in 1580 and those who knew of this would certainly be well disposed to offer assistance. Honda Tadakatsu sent Hanzo on ahead, and, as hoped, the Iga men agreed not only to guide them along back roads, but also to provide them with an escort. At length, Tokugawa and his band returned to Mikawa safely. The same could not be said for Anayama Beisetsu, a recent Tokugawa addition who had insisted on taking a different route."

If i were in the position of Hanzo, I will do the same in order to protect my troop. Very wise thinking there that they must avoid Akechi's troop maybe because they're lack of men or they don't have strength to fight the opponent.

It also stated in the article entitled "Hanzo Hattori - Ninja of Iga" by Stephen K. Hayes from skhquest that Hanzo Hattori was identified as one of the three bravest retainers of the Tokugawa Shogun. Stephen also said that Mikawa people made a folk song for Hanzo.

"Lord Tokugawa has brave retainers.

Hattori Hanzo is Hanzo the Daredevil,
Watanabe Hanzo is Hanzo with a spear,
Atsumi Gengo is Gengo the executioner."

This song really proved that Hanzo made a big contribution to his troop and the people of Mikawa admire Hanzo for his braveness. Being brave doesn't mean that you're going to engage without any plan but to plan or think about the scenario that will possibly occur. You can't be brave if you're not ready, you're brave when you are confident enough to face your opponent, that's what Hattori Hanzo did.