Yasuke: 10 Mind-Blowing Historical Facts From The Netflix Anime
7. Hattori Hanzō And The Iga Province (Historical Ninjas)
Hattori Hanzō is a well-known figure in history, a ninja who commanded a 200-men strong unit of Iga warriors that were said to have supernatural abilities. He was even known as Oni no Hanzō, or Demon Hanzō, for his fearlessness in battle.
In the series, Hanzō is named directly as the reason Nobunaga's son, Oda Nobukatsu, failed in his attempts to overtake Iga Province, though his role in this conflict is not fully indicated in history.
Despite not showing up in the first season, Hanzō is a fairly well-known figure for military achievements in his earlier years, later serving under Tokugawa Ieyasu, who took power long after Nobunaga's death. It's possible he'll make an appearance in a planned season 2.
Iga was historically known as the centre of ninjutsu, with its warriors using the mountainous territory to their advantage. Iga-ryū, or the Iga School, is also one of the most well-known schools of ninjutsu in history. It took a great force of 42,000 soldiers under Oda Nobunaga attacking from all sides to finally conquer the province.
The character of Natsumaru also hailed from Iga Province, its harsh conquest motivating her to act against Nobunaga in the series.