is a

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic (fantasy), magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those c ...

novel by

Futaro Yamada was the pen name of , a Japanese author. He was born in Yabu, Hyogo. In 1947, he wrote a mystery short story and was awarded a prize by the magazine . He was discovered by Edogawa Rampo and became a novelist. He wrote many ninja (忍法帖 ''Nin ...

. It was serialized in Osaka Shimbun newspaper between December 1964 and February 1965 under the title ''Oboro Ninpōchō''. It is a tale in which

Mori Sōiken was one of the leaders of the 1637-1638 Shimabara Rebellion in Japan. By the time of the rebellion he was a ronin, but he had had formerly advised the Christian Daimyo Konishi Yukinaga. Popular culture In Futaro Yamada's '' Makai Tenshō'' Mori ...

resurrects other dead historical figures to overthrow the

Shogunate , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

, while

Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi was one of the most famous and romanticized of the samurai in Japan's feudal era. Life Very little is known about the actual life of Yagyū Mitsuyoshi as the official records of his life are very sparse. Yagyū Jūbē Mitsuyoshi (born "Shichirō ...

rises to fight him and his warriors of the dead.

Plot

The tale starts in the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

when

Yui Shōsetsu Yui Shōsetsu was a Japanese military scholar and ''rōnin'' in the Edo period. He was one of the ringleaders of the 1651 Keian Uprising, an attempt to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate, but informal communication uncovered the plot and he was ...

meets the old

, who, in the story, had survived to the

Shimabara rebellion The , also known as the or , was an rebellion, uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638. Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpo ...

and learned the dark arts of ninpou in order to get his revenge. Knowing they both wish for the dethroning of the shōgun, Soiken forms an alliance with Shosetsu and reveals a spell devised by him, the Makai Tensho, which can rise dead people as his puppets. They soon gather an undead army of legendary warriors and sorcerers, among them

Amakusa Shirō Tokisada , which means "Heaven's Grass," is a series of islands off the west coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan. Geography The largest island of the Amakusa group is Shimoshima Island, Amakusa, Shimoshima, which is 2 ...

Miyamoto Musashi , was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Miyamoto is considered a ''Kensei (honorary title), kensei'' (swo ...

, and Araki Mataemon, and plan to use their supernatural skills to destroy the shogunate. However, the crown of their army,

, breaks free from their control and becomes determined by his own reasons to stop their rebellion before it starts.

Characters

The roster of the dead varies depending on adaptation, but usually contains Amakusa, Musashi, Yagyu Munenori, and Hōzōin Inshun. Soiken himself is often left out in adaptations, which tend to have instead Amakusa as the villain mastermind of the story. *

* Araki Mataemon *

Tamiya Bōtarō Tamiya may refer to: *Tamiya Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of plastic model kits, radio-controlled cars and related products * Tamiya-ryū (disambiguation), several iaijutsu ryūgi *Tamiya connector, a type of DC power connector Places *Tam ...

Hōzōin Inshun Hōzōin Zeneibō Inshun (宝蔵院禅栄房胤舜, 1589 to February 5, 1648) was a monk and a martial artist who lived in the early Edo period. He was an Inju (the chief of a temple) of Hozoin Temple, which was a branch temple of Kōfuku-ji templ ...

Hosokawa Gracia , usually referred to as , (1563 – 25 August 1600) was a member of the aristocratic Akechi family from the Sengoku period. Gracia is best known for her role in the Battle of Sekigahara; Ishida Mitsunari attempted to take her hostage to s ...

* Yagyū Jounsai Toshiyoshi * Yagyu Munenori *

Tokugawa Yorinobu was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the early Edo period. Born under the name Nagatomimaru (長福丸), he was the 10th son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, by his concubine Kageyama-dono. On December 8, 1603, Yorinobu received the fief of Mito, then rated at 2 ...

Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the ...

Adaptations

Film

* starring

Sonny Chiba , known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later to an international audience. Born in Fukuo ...

, directed by

Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking", Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty Yakuza film, yakuza films, typified by the Battles With ...

. * directed by Kazumasa Shirai. ** directed by Kazumasa Shirai. * directed by

Hideyuki Hirayama is a Japanese film director. His theatrical debut was the film '' Maria's Stomach'' in 1990. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for '' The Games Teachers Play'' in 1992. In 1995, '' School Ghost Stories'' was a big hit and m ...

Manga

* by

Ken Ishikawa was a Japanese manga artist. He is renowned as the co-creator (with Go Nagai) of the ''Getter Robo'' anime series, as well as four of their subsequent manga continuations. According to Nagai, he considered Ishikawa his greatest friend and ally. ...

. * by Shinzō Tomi. * by Shōko Toba. * by Naoko Kugo. * by Masaki Segawa.

Anime

* directed by Yasunori Urata.

Others

*, a

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

directed by Kinji Fukasaku. *, a

PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 November, in Australia on 30 November, ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Tamsoft is a Japanese video game developer founded in 1992, best known for their work on the ''Battle Arena Toshinden'', '' Onechanbara'' and '' Senran Kagura'' series. Its former president, Toshiaki Ōta, previously worked at Toaplan as one of the si ...

and published by

D3 Publisher is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher founded on February 5, 1992. The company is known for the ''Simple (video game series), Simple'' series of budget-priced video games. Their games have been released for the G ...

. *, a stage play directed by G2. *, a stage play by the Herohero Q theatrical company. *, a stage play produced to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Nippon Television. * featured an adaptation of the story, crossed with Dante's ''Inferno'', as part of a storyline set in Shimōsa.

References

External links

* * * *{{IMDb title, qid=Q128600953, title=Reborn from Hell II: Jubei's Revenge Japanese historical novels Ken Ishikawa Japanese war novels