Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi facts for kids

Yagyū Jūbē Mitsuyoshi (柳生 十兵衞 三厳, Yagyū Jūbē Mitsuyoshi, 1607 – April 21, 1650) was one of the most famous samurai warriors in Japan's old feudal times. He is often shown in stories and movies as a mysterious and powerful swordsman.

The Life of Yagyū Jūbē

Not much is known for sure about Yagyū Jūbē Mitsuyoshi's real life. Official records from his time are very few. Yagyū Jūbē Mitsuyoshi, whose first name was "Shichirō," grew up in his family's home area called Yagyū no Sato, which is now in Nara.

He was the son of Yagyū Tajima no Kami Munenori. His father was a master swordsman for the Tokugawa shōguns. A shōgun was like a military ruler of Japan. Munenori was especially important to Shōgun Ieyasu and Tokugawa Iemitsu, who saw him as a top advisor.

Munenori fought for the first Tokugawa shōgun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, in a big battle called the Battle of Sekigahara. This battle helped the shōgun gain more land. Because of his help, Munenori became the shōgun's sword teacher. He also became a minor daimyō, which was a local ruler. This meant his family's land grew to about 10,000 koku, a measure of land value. Even though Jūbē's father was not the main heir to lead the Yagyū sword style, he got this important job because he was good at politics. Munenori taught three shōguns: Ieyasu, Hidetada, and Iemitsu.

In 1616, Mitsuyoshi started working for the second Tokugawa Shōgun, Tokugawa Hidetada. He later became a sword teacher for the third Tokugawa Shōgun, Tokugawa Iemitsu. Sometimes, he even took over his father's teaching duties.

However, records about Yagyū Jūbē Mitsuyoshi then disappear until 1631. By this time, Jūbē was seen as the best swordsman in the Yagyū family. But then, the Shōgun suddenly fired him. No one knows exactly why. It might have been because Jūbē was too bold, or maybe he decided to go on a Warrior's Pilgrimage. This was a journey where a samurai traveled to improve his skills.

For the next twelve years, no one knew where Jūbē was. Even the Yagyū family's secret history books, which had many details about other family members, said little about Jūbē. Then, at age 36, Yagyū Jūbē suddenly showed up again. He gave a sword fighting show in front of the Shōgun. After this show, Jūbē got his job back. He worked for a short time as a government inspector. He also took control of his father's lands until his father, Yagyū Tajima no Kami Munenori, died in 1646.

Jūbē also wrote a book called Tsuki no Shō, which means The Art of Looking at the Moon. In this book, he wrote about his sword fighting style. He also shared ideas from a monk named Takuan Sōhō, who was a friend of his father. In this book, Jūbē briefly hinted about where he was during his missing years (1631 to 1643). He said he was traveling around the country to make his skills even better.

The Death of Yagyū Jūbē

After living in Edo (now Tokyo) for several years after his father passed away, Jūbē left his government jobs. He went back to his home village. He died there in early 1650. How he died is not clear. Some stories say he had a heart attack. Others say he died while hunting with a falcon or while fishing. Some even think he was killed by people working for his half-brother, Yagyū Tomonori.

Jūbē was buried in his home village of Yagyu. His grave is behind the family temple, Hotojukuji, next to his father and brother. Following tradition, Yagyū Jūbē was buried near his grandfather, Yagyū Munetoshi. He left behind two daughters and his brother and successor, Yagyū Munefuyu. Jūbē was given the Buddhist posthumous name of Sohgo. This is a special name given after someone dies.

The Eyepatch Legend

A famous story says that Yagyū Jūbē could only see with one eye. Most legends say he lost an eye during a sword practice session. They say his father, Yagyū Munenori, accidentally hit him. However, pictures of Jūbē from his own time show him with both eyes. Some modern writers now show Jūbē with both eyes. But the classic "eyepatch" look is still very common. Other stories say Jūbē lost an eye later in life to include the eyepatch legend.

Yagyū Jūbē in Stories and Movies

Because Yagyū Jūbē often disappeared and there are few records of his life, people have wondered a lot about him. His life has been made into many exciting stories in books, movies, and TV shows.

• Jūshirō Konoe played Yagyū Jūbē in many films and TV shows:
  • Yagyu Tabi Nikki (柳生旅日記) Shochiku film series
    • Yagyu Travel Journal 1: Heaven and Earth Dream Sword (1959)
    • Yagyu Travel Journal 2: Dragon Tiger Killing Sword (1960)
  • Yagyu Bugeicho (柳生武芸帳) Toei film series
    • Yagyu Chronicles 1: The Secret Scrolls (1961)
    • Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword (1961)
    • Yagyu Chronicles 3: The Valley of Outlaws (1961)
    • Yagyu Chronicles 4: One-Eyed Swordsman (1962)
    • Yagyu Chronicles 5: Jubē's Redemption (1963)
    • Yagyu Chronicles 6: The Yagyu Scroll (1963)
    • Yagyu Chronicles 7: The Cloud of Disorder (1963)
    • Yagyu Chronicles 8: The One-Eyed Ninja (1963)
    • Yagyu Chronicles 9: Assassin's Sword (1964)
  • Yagyu Bugeicho (1965) NET TV series - 26 episodes
  • Shadow Assassins (忍法かげろう斬り) (1972) Kansai TV TV series - 1 episode (#22)
• Gō Wakabayashi played Yagyū Jūbē in TV shows and a TV movie:
  • Edo is Cut: Azusa Ukon's Secret Spy Chronicles (1973-1974) TBS TV series - 7 episodes
  • Hikozaemon Okubo (1974) Kansai TV TV series - 1 episode (#31)
  • Tokugawa Sangokushi (1975) NET TV series - 15 episodes
  • Kanei Chronicles: Clash! Wise Izu vs Yui Shosetsu (1991) Nippon TV TV movie
• Shinichi Chiba played Yagyū Jūbē in films and many TV episodes. In some of these, Jūbē loses his left eye:
  • Toei films directed by Kinji Fukasaku
    • Shogun's Samurai (also known as The Yagyu Conspiracy) (1978)
    • Samurai Reincarnation (1981)
  • The Yagyu Conspiracy (1978–79) Kansai TV TV series - 39 episodes
  • Yagyu Abaretabi (柳生あばれ旅) TV Asahi TV series
    • Yagyu Abaretabi (1980-81) First Series - 26 episodes
    • Yagyu Jubei Abaretabi (1982–83) Second Series - 26 episodes
  • Iemitsu, Hikoza, and Isshin Tasuke (1989) - TV movie
  • Sarutobi Sasuke and the Army of Darkness Cinema Paradise film series
    • Sarutobi Sasuke and the Army of Darkness 3: Wind Chapter (2005)
    • Sarutobi Sasuke and the Army of Darkness 4: Fire Chapter (2005)
• Yūki Meguro, son of Jushiro Konoe, played Yagyū Jūbē in TV episodes:
  • Yagyu Shinkage Ryu (1982) TV Tokyo TV series - 8 episodes
• Kinya Kitaōji played Yagyū Jūbē in two large TV mini-series:
  • Fuun Yagyu Bugeicho (1985) TV Tokyo
  • Tokugawa Chronicles: Ambition of the Three Branches (1987) TV Tokyo
• Hiroki Matsukata, son of Jushiro Konoe, played Yagyū Jūbē in TV movies and a film:
  • Yagyu Bugeicho Nippon TV TV movie series
    • Yagyu Bugeicho (1990)
    • Yagyu Bugeicho: Jubei's 50 Kills (1990)
    • Yagyu Bugeicho: Great Conspiracy in the Capital! Jubei and the Puzzling Princess (1991)
    • Yagyu Bugeicho: Jubei's Violent Travels (1991)
    • Yagyu Bugeicho: Jubei's Violent Travels, Date's 620,000 Koku Conspiracy (1992)
  • Yagyu Jubei: The Fate of the World (2015) All in Entertainment film
• Hiroshi Katsuno played Yagyū Jūbē in TV episodes:
  • Shogun Iemitsu's Secret Journey TV Asahi TV series
    • Shogun Iemitsu's Secret Journey (1990-1991) Series 1 - 22 episodes
    • Shogun Iemitsu's Secret Journey II (1992-1993) Series 2 - 22 episodes
• Hiroaki Murakami played Yagyū Jūbē in a TV mini-series and TV episodes:
  • Three Generations of the Yagyu Sword (1993) TV Tokyo
  • Legendary Swordfights of Yagyu Jubei TV series
    • Legendary Swordfights of Yagyu Jubei (2005) First Series - 6 episodes
    • Legendary Swordfights of Yagyu Jubei: The Shimabara Rebellion (2006) Second Series - 7 episodes
    • Legendary Swordfights of Yagyu Jubei: The Final Duels (2007) Third Series - 8 episodes
• Hideki Saijo played Yagyū Jūbē in the 1992 TV series Tokugawa Buraichō (24 episodes).
• Goro Ibuki played Yagyū Jūbē in the 1974 TV series Unmeitōge (Fateful Mountain Pass) (Toei TV, 21 episodes).
• The director Yoshiaki Kawajiri made the main character Jubei Kibagami in his popular animated film Ninja Scroll as a tribute to Yagyū Jūbē. The movie also has a sequel, Ninja Scroll: The Series, which features a one-eyed master swordsman from the Yagyū Clan named Yagyu Renya.
• In the anime Shura no Toki, Jubei at first seemed to have only one eye. But he actually covered it to make fighting harder for himself. However, he truly lost his eye when he fought the fictional Mutsu Takato.
• Yagyū Kyūbei from the manga Gin Tama is named after him and also wears an eyepatch.
• Jubei also appeared in the manga-anime Yaiba as one of the hero's friends who came back to life.
• Another story is Jubei-chan: The Ninja Girl. In this, a modern high school girl unwillingly becomes the next person to learn the Yagyu Jubei sword style.
• In Yagyuu Hijouken Samon by Ryu Keiichiro and Tabata Yoshiaki, Jubei is said to have lost his eye fighting his younger brother, Yagyuu Samon. Jubei kills Samon in the end.
• Arc System Works' BlazBlue video game series has a cat character named Jubei. He is known as one of the world's greatest warriors and has a sword guard over his eye like an eyepatch.
• The SNK video game Samurai Shodown features a master swordsman named Yagyu Jubei who wears an eyepatch.
• Jubei is the hero in Futaro Yamada's novel Makai Tensho. This novel has been made into several movies, manga, anime, a PS2 game, and even stage plays.
• Yagyu Jubei appears in the table top game Ninja All Stars by Sodapop Miniatures.
• Yagyu Jubei had a guest role in the drama BoBoiBoy Galaxy.
• In the video game series Senran Kagura, one character is a girl named Yagyū who wears an eyepatch over her right eye.
• The main character of the video game Onimusha 2 is called "Jubei Yagyu." But this character is actually Yagyū Mitsuyoshi's grandfather, Yagyū Muneyoshi.