The are a legendary group of

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

that assisted the warlord

Sanada Yukimura , also known as , was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years", "Crimson D ...

during the Warring States era of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

; that is, the late

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

and its immediate aftermath, also known as the Azuchi–Momoyama and the early

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

s. The Sanada story first became well known through Sanada Sandaiki, a novel published in the late Edo period. Later Tatsukawa Bunko published two novels in the Taishō period ''Sarutobi Sasuke'' and ''The Sanada Ten Braves''.

Ten Braves

* (possibly modelled after ) * (possibly modelled after ) * (possibly modelled after ) * (possibly modelled after ) * * (possibly modelled after ) * (possibly modelled after ) * (possibly modelled after and/or ) * (possibly modelled after ///) *

In popular culture

Of the Ten,

Sarutobi Sasuke is a ninja who appears in kōdan narrative art and fictional writings. The nickname is generally believed to have been concocted from Meiji to the Taishō period. Some argue he is based on real live personages, such as and . His family name, ...

and

Kirigakure Saizō was a legendary ninja of the final phase of the Sengoku period of Japan. In the folklore he is one of the Sanada Ten Braves, and next to Sarutobi Sasuke, he is the most recognized of the Ten. As in the case of Sasuke, Saizō might be a fictional ...

are the only two that appear frequently in popular depiction. Outside of works that specifically deal with the Ten Braves, appearance of all ten members is relatively rare, and even then some members are frequently more-or-less generic filler characters. Sometimes modern day depictions have their genders change as well. In

Tai Kato was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He was best known for making yakuza films at the Toei Company in 1960s. Biography Born in Hyōgo Prefecture, Kato was the nephew of the film director Sadao Yamanaka. He entered the Toho studio in ...

's 1963

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—''Portrait of Hel ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

, ''

Brave Records of the Sanada Clan is a Japanese film directed by Tai Kato in 1963. It is a jidaigeki musical film, musical about Sasuke Sarutobi and the Sanada Ten Braves who, under the leadership of Yukimura Sanada, try to defend Toyotomi Hideyori during the Siege of Osaka, si ...

'', Kirigakure is a woman. There are hints that say Anayama Kosuke could be a female, and Miyoshi brothers were nyuudou (入道) monks.

Video game

''Sanada Ten Braves'' (真田十勇士) is a

Japanese role-playing game While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia come Video games in Japan, from Japan, many have also been Video games in South Korea, developed in South Korea and Video games in China, in China. ...

released for the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

in 1988.忍者ゲーム【ファミコン】
/ref>

''BRAVE10''

In the ''BRAVE10'' (ブレイヴ・テン)

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

by Kairi Shimotsuki, some members are replaced. Sanada Yukimura plans to create a unit with a number matching the number of fingers he has. *Sarutobi Sasuke (猿飛佐助): The leader of the group. *Kirigakure Saizou (霧隠才蔵): The main character who is new of the Juyushi. He is masterless and wanders without the desire to find a lord to serve. Originally an Iga ninja. *Isanami: She takes place of Miyoshi Isa of the Nyuudou brothers. She is the adoptive sister of Miyoshi Seikai. *Anastasia of the Glacier: She takes place of Anayama Kosuke. A childhood friend of Saizou. *Unno Rokurou (海野六郎): Yukimura's page, he stays by Sanada Yukimura's side almost all the time to personally protect him. *Kakei Juzou (筧十蔵): Portrayed as a hot-blooded middle-aged man. *Yuri Kamanosuke (由利鎌之助): Portrayed as a perverted assassin with bloodlust for Saizou. *Miyoshi Seikai (三好清海): Isanami's step-brother. *Mochizuki Benmaru: Originally Mochizuki Rokurou (望月六郎), he was renamed with Yukimura's middle name, to avoid confusion between himself and Unno Rokurou. *Nezu Jinpachi (根津甚八): Portrayed as a pirate.

In the ''Musou'' series

In ''

Samurai Warriors 2 is a sequel to the original ''Samurai Warriors'', created by Koei and Omega Force. The game was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360, and ported to Microsoft Windows in 2008. Like the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, an ''Empires'' e ...

'', some of the ten are portrayed as

bodyguards A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, ...

. They are Sarutobi Sasuke (as Ninja), Kirigakure Saizō, Mochizuki Rokurō (as Fire Ninja), Anayama Kosuke (as

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

), Kakei Jūzō (as

Musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

), Miyoshi Seikai and Miyoshi Isa (as

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

s). In the series as a whole, Yukimura is constantly in the companionship of the character "Kunoichi," who is exactly as her name implies (a female ninja). For all intents and purposes she's something of a representative for the legendary group overall. The 3rd and 4th entries into the series did away with special bodyguards, and the Braves henceforth appear as generic officer NPC's who are always present in any campaign where Yukimura takes part. In Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada, Sarutobi Sasuke appears as a playable character under the name of "Sasuke".

In the ''Sengoku BASARA'' series

In ''Sengoku BASARA'' (戦国BASARA), Sarutobi Sasuke (猿飛佐助) is portrayed as a loyal ninja serving the Takeda Clan (mainly Sanada Yukimura). In the ''Sengoku BASARA'' anime second season, ''Sengoku BASARA Two'' (戦国BASARA 弐, ''Sengoku BASARA Ni''), three unnamed ninja who wear outfits with the Takeda crest similar to Sasuke's were seen in some episodes, possibly referring to the other members of the Brave Ten.

In ''Samurai Deeper Kyo''

In the manga and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series ''

Samurai Deeper Kyo is a manga series written and illustrated by Akimine Kamijyo. Set during the Edo period of Japan's history, ''Samurai Deeper Kyo'' follows , a feared samurai seeking to regain his body after his soul is sealed inside the body of his rival, ...

'', they're introduced as the loyal servants who serve Sanada Yukimura. *Sarutobi Sasuke (猿飛佐助) is portrayed as the title of Sanada Juuyuushi's leader: the current Sasuke is a young boy who later joins the group long after the previous Sarutobi Sasuke left it. *Kirigakure Saizou (霧隠才蔵) is portrayed as the loyalist of Yukimura. *Anayama Kosuke (穴山小助) is portrayed as the female double of Yukimura to protect his safety. *Miyoshi Isa (三好伊, formerly Miyoshi Masakatsu 三好政勝) and Miyoshi Seikai (三好清海, formerly Miyoshi Masayasu 三好政康）are portrayed as Nyuudou (入道) twin, bald and wear sunglasses. *Nezu Jinpachi (根津甚八) is portrayed as a close hate-love friend of Yuri. *Unno Rokurou (海野六郎) is portrayed as a double of Yukimura when he is away from home. *Yuri Kamanosuke (由利鎌之助) is portrayed as a female and the cook of the group. *Kakei Juuzou (筧十蔵) and Mochizuki Rokurou (望月六郎) are portrayed to be Yukimura's loyal servants and fighting with him.

Nioh

The Sanada Ten Brave appear as enemies in the Defiant Honor downloadable content for the 2017 action role-playing game,

Nioh is an action role-playing video game developed by Team Ninja. It was released for PlayStation 4 in February 2017, and was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment internationally, and by Koei Tecmo in Japan. An edition for PlayStation 4 and ...

. In missions set during the

Siege of Osaka The was a series of battles undertaken by the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate against the Toyotomi clan, and ending in that clan's destruction. Divided into two stages (winter campaign and summer campaign), and lasting from 1614 to 1615, the siege ...

, William ‘Anjin’ Adams confronts and defeats the braves before facing Sanada Yukimura himself.

Ninja Sentai Kakuranger

In the 18th Super Sentai Series, ''

Ninja Sentai Kakuranger is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' television series. It was Toei Company Limited's eighteenth production of the Super Sentai metaseries. The name given to this series by Toei for international distribution is ''Ninja Rangers''. Action footage from ...

'', the Kakurangers are named after some Legendary Ninjas. 3 of them are named after 3 of the Sanada Ten Braves. *NinjaRed: (Sarutobi) Sasuke *NinjaYellow: (Miyoshi) Seikai *NinjaBlue: (Kirigakure) Saizou *NinjaWhite and NinjaBlack are named after 2 other Legendary Ninjas: Tsuruhime and

Jiraiya Jiraiya (自来也 or 児雷也, literally "Young Thunder"), originally known as Ogata Shuma Hiroyuki (尾形周馬寛行), is the toad-riding protagonist of the Japanese folk tale Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (報仇奇談自来也説話, " ...

, and Ninjaman is just a made-up name.

References

{{Reflist 1988 video games Japan-exclusive video games Ninja fiction Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Role-playing video games Video games developed in Japan Fictional dectets