Yashamaru (Basilisk)
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Yashamaru (japanese: 夜叉丸, hiragana: やしゃまる, rōmaji: Yashamaru) a character featured in the Japanese anime Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls. Yashamaru was chosen to be one of the ten ninja to represent his clan of Iga Tsubagakure against the chosen ten of the rival Kouga Manjidani clan.
A brash and cocky young man, Yashamaru's favored weapon are dozens of strands of garotte wires called Kokujou (black rope, or black binding) which are woven from the hair of young women and alchemically treated with natural oils havested from wild animals, turning them as hard as steel. Yashamaru controls the Kokujou as though they are an extension of his own body, and can use them to tie an opponent up, slice them to pieces, flay them, or even stiffen the wires so they can pierce like needles. The wires are usually kept wrapped around Yashamaru's forearms, but extra wires are tied around his calves in the event his hands and/or upper body becomes immobilized. He also carries a cleaver in a sheathe on his back although his opponents rarely get close enough that he's required to draw it.
Unlike most of the Iga clan, Yashamaru had begun to consider the Hattori truce beneficial as it allowed him a chance to live a peaceful and quiet life with his lover and comrade Hotarubi, whom he planned to marry before the treaty's cancellation resulted in alll out war between the clans.
In the Japanese anime series, he was voiced by Naoki Yanagi, and by Justin Cook in the English dub.
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[edit] Battles
Yashamaru VS Shogen (episode 1): The very first battle of the series. Accompanying Ogen to Sunpu, Yashamaru was ordered to demonstrate his skills for retired Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu against Kazamachi Shogen, who had accompanied Kouga Danjo. Yashamaru took an early lead, tying Shogen to a rock, but failed to finish him off as the spider-like ninja slipped free and used his mucus-like glue to bind Yashamaru's hands to his head. Temporarily immobilized, Yashamaru found himself at the mercy of Shogen until he used the spare wires around his calves to slice off the glue (along with most of his hair) before chasing Shogen onto the top of Sunpu Castle, where their techniques destroyed a good section of the roof before Ieyasu ordered their respective leaders to call the fight off. After Ieyasu orders the Kouga and Iga's ten elite to duel to the death, Yashamaru was instructed by Ogen to deliver the Iga battle scroll to their clan, only to lose it as Danjou picks Yashamaru's pocket as he runs by.
Yashamaru VS Saemon & Gyoubu (episode 6): After realizing Danjou had stolen the Iga's copy of the battle scroll, Yashamaru ran at full speed to return to Tsubagakure, the thought of Hotarubi's safety foremost on his mind. Yashamaru had almost arrived home when he heard the voice of Yakushiji Tenzen call out to him on the Tokaido road. When Tenzen said he couldn't reveal himself, Yashamaru asked if it was because he was now dead and Tenzen replied that he was. "Tenzen" was in actuality Kisaragi Saemon who was impersonating Tenzen's voice from behind a nearby wall.
Shamed and dismayed at how he had failed his comrades, Yashamaru revealed that the Hattori truce had been dissolved under the orders of retired Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa and that each clan was given a battle scroll listing ten ninja to fight against each other. The shock of the revelation was big enough for Saemon to blow his cover, and Yashamaru quickly realized he had been tricked by one of the Kouga.
Promply locating his hiding space, Yashamaru used his wires to destroy sections of the nearby area to isolate where Saemon was hiding and then tied the ends of two wires together within the wall to hold his enemy tightly in place. Excited that he had the chance to cross off one of the Kouga as a way to save face for losing the battle scroll, Yashamaru was just moments away from severing Saemon's head when Kasumi Gyoubu materialized out of the wall in front of him and seized him around the neck and hands.
Gyoubu, not intending to kill him, quickly snapped Yashamaru's thumbs so he couldn't control his wires and Yashamaru desperately struggled to free himself from his enemy's iron grip. When he couldn't break lose, Yashamaru remembered the spare wires around his calves and activated them, but was unable to control them before Gyoubu resorted to crushing his neck. Yashamaru died shortly afterward, his spirit appearing before Hotarubi in a vision to silenty bid her farewell before drifting into the afterlife.
[edit] Manga
As with most of Basilisk's characters, despite retaining his major character traits Yashamaru's character is more expanded upon in the anime than he is in the manga. As the flashbacks featuring him only occur in the anime, his role in the original manga is much smaller with significantly less insight into his personality.
[edit] Alternate Information
Yashamaru was in the live-action movie Shinobi: Heart Under Blade. There are some differences in that he is not romanticly involved with Hotarubi, only speaks a few words during the entire movie, is very aloof, keeps his long hair, and is somewhat androgynous. He also wears an outfit with extremely long sleeves, but his use of garrote wires remain the same.
In the novel, after realizing Danjou had grabbed his scroll, Yashamaru runs all the way back to Sunpu only to find Ogen and Danjou's dead bodies floating in the river. His affections for Hotarubi and abilities remain the same. However, instead of using multiple wires, Yashamaru wields a single thin piece of rope that he keeps hung from his belt when not in use. He's also described as having shining black eyes and cheeks the color of cherry blossoms.
[edit] References
Fumitoro Kizaki (Director). Basilisk-Koga Ninpocho [TV-Series] GONZO/Kodansha/Japan Digital Concepts: Japan. 2005
Masaki Segawa (Manga-Ka). Basilisk-Koga Ninpocho [Manga] Kodansha: Japan. 2003-2004
Futaro Yamada (Author). Koga Ninpocho [novel] Japan. 1958
Ten Shimoyama (Director) Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (DVD) Japan. 2005
