The Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu (幕末四大人斬り, Bakumatsu Yondai Hitokiri) was a term given to four samurai during the Bakumatsu era in Japanese history.[1] The four men were Kawakami Gensai, Kirino Toshiaki (also known as Nakamura Hanjirō), Tanaka Shinbei, and Okada Izō.[2] They opposed the Tokugawa shogunate (and later, supported the Meiji Emperor). These four samurai were considered elite warriors. The word hitokiri literally means "manslayer" or "man cutter,"[3] as the kanji 人 means person, while 斬 can alternatively mean slay or cut.

In fiction

  • Hitokiri is a 1969 film directed by Hideo Gosha and starring Shintaro Katsu as Okada Izo and Yukio Mishima as Tanaka Shinbei.
  • The manga and anime series Rurouni Kenshin is about a former hitokiri named Himura Kenshin, who is based loosely on Kawakami Gensai.[4] Kenshin is also known as Hitokiri Battousai (人斬り抜刀斎), or "Sword-drawing Manslayer".
  • Hideaki Sorachi's manga Gin Tama involves fictionalized versions of two of the four hitokiri (particularly Okada and Kawakami), set in an alternate version of Bakumatsu-era Japan.
  • The Hitokiri is a playable character in the video game For Honor, serving as a heavy hero of the Samurai faction and fighting with a two-handed axe.
  • The 2014 video game Ryū ga Gotoku Ishin! features Okada Izo as one of the main antagonists. The 2023 remake version, Like a Dragon: Ishin!, also features Kawakami Gensai, Tanaka Shinbei and Nakamura Hanjiro as minor antagonists appearing in side missions.

References

  1. ↑ 『歴史ポケット人物新聞 回天ふたたび 坂本龍馬』p95 及川拓哉著 大空出版 2008年8月1日
  2. ↑ 小日向えり (2010). イケメン幕末史 (in Japanese). PHP研究所.
  3. ↑ Romulus Hillsborough (2017). Samurai Assassins: "Dark Murder" and the Meiji Restoration, 1853-1868. McFarland. p. 60. ISBN 9781476628004.
  4. ↑ Watsuki, Nobuhiro (2003). "The Secret Life of Characters (1) Himura Kenshin". Rurouni Kenshin, Volume 1. Viz Media. p. 56. ISBN 1-59116-220-3.
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