Database: Hattori Hanzo

Hattori Hanzō was an officer who served the Matsudaira clan and their leader, possibly the true founder of the lineage. He was born around the 1545s. He was an excellent horseman and was especially skilled in the use of the spear, known as yari. Moreover, he also made a name for himself on the battlefield where he earned the nickname of Oni Hanzō, which is translated to "Hanzō the demon". He is described as a leader of foot soldier regiments (ashigaru) and was involved in capturing several castles as one of Ieyasu's corps. Hattori Hanzō is the name most often associated with the ninja's activities of that time, although historical sources are not very prolific and those that affirm the ninja activities of this family line are all fictional.

According to Hattori Hanzō, he distinguished himself in 1573 at the Battle of Mikatagahara and gained notoriety in 1582 when Tokugawa Ieyasu found himself without an army in Sakai the day following Nobunaga's death. Ieyasu wanted to return to his homeland of Mikawa, but the roads were guarded by Akechi Mitsuhide's troops. That's where, Hattori Hanzō suggested that he take an alternate route through the province of Iga; although it was a difficult route, it was without surveillance, and he could control it with the support of the region. Ieyasu is said to have been escorted by 200 people from Iga (Iga no mono), which allowed him to arrive safely to his province. As a reward, Ieyasu offered Hattori Hanzō 8,000 koku in income and appointed him the head of a troop of 200 soldiers of a modest status (dōshin)—some of whom had participated in Ieyasu’s escape and had military training as shinobi no mono—responsible for policing, guarding, escorting, and serving as soldiers in the lord's army. The episode of Ieyasu's escape across the Iga under the leadership of Hattori Hanzō is reported by later sources linked to the Hanzō family, whose reliability is not its best quality. The very fact that this incredible episode celebrating the glory of Hattori Hanzō is never mentioned in the historical sources of the time casts considerable doubt on its veracity. The legend made him the leader of the ninjas, which was probably not accurate given that he was an officer and not a gang leader.