is a Japanese novel series by

Tetsu Yano Tetsu Yano (Japanese 矢野徹 ''Yano Tetsu''; October 5, 1923 – October 13, 2004) was a Japanese science fiction translator and writer. He began to introduce to Japanese readers the works of US science fiction writers in the late 1940s. He ...

released by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

from 1984 to 1985. The series was adapted in 1985 into an

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 ...

film directed by Rintaro and animated by Madhouse. The screenplay was adapted by Mori Masaki, and character designs were created by Moribi Murano, who also illustrated the novel series. Takuo Noda directed the animation, and the music was composed by Ryūdō Uzaki and

Eitetsu Hayashi (born February 2, 1952) is an acclaimed Japanese musician best known for his solo performance work in taiko. Hayashi joined the group Ondekoza at an early age. Later, after parting from group, helped found the taiko group Kodo (taiko group), Kodo, ...

. The story begins during the

Bakumatsu was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji governm ...

period 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 n ...

in the last years of the

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

. It continues through the pre-Meiji period and refers to historical events such as the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a clique seeking to seize political power in the name of the Imperi ...

, including the involvement of foreign governments, the

Naval Battle of Hakodate The was fought from 4 to 10 May 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy. It was one of the last stages of Battle of ...

, and the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

. There are also references to historical figures such as

Captain Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

Saigō Takamori was a Japanese samurai and nobleman. He was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. Living during the late Edo and early Meiji periods, he later led the Sats ...

, Andō Shōzan, Oguri Kozukenosuke (Tadamasa),

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache b ...

, and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

Plot

Jiro, a young boy of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...

descent, is a foundling raised by a kindly

innkeeper Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

and her daughter in the village of Sai on the

Shimokita Peninsula is the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, stretching out towards Hokkaidō. Overview It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Tsugaru Strait to the north and Mutsu Bay to the west and south. Shaped like an ax ...

. One evening, a

shinobi A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 21� ...

kills Jiro's adoptive mother and sister while he is away. When he returns home, he finds their bodies and a strange dagger. The angry villagers accuse him of the murders, and rather than face a brutal

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

for the grave crime of

parricide Parricide refers to the deliberate killing of one’s own father and mother, spouse (husband or wife), children, and/or close relative. However, the term is sometimes used more generally to refer to the intentional killing of a near relative. It ...

, Jiro escapes with the dagger. He encounters a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

called Tenkai, who works for the

Shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators 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, though during part of the Kamakura ...

as an

Oniwaban The or was a group of government-employed undercover agents (''onmitsu''), established by the 8th Tokugawa ''shōgun'', Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684–1751). They were under the direct command of the shōgun and were in charge of undercover intellig ...

(Secret Police). Tenkai takes the boy to confront the man who supposedly killed his family and provokes him into delivering the killing blow. To cover his tracks, Tenkai has the village set ablaze, and the villagers are slaughtered. Tenkai takes Jiro to his temple on the island of

Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...

, and has his subordinates Shingo and Sanpei train him in the ways of the Ninja. Years later, Jiro leaves to find answers to the mystery of his family and his father, Tarouza. Meanwhile, Tenkai has him followed. Jiro comes across a group of Japanese men beating up an old Ainu man, and he quickly dispatches them. The old man dies of his injuries, but his son Uraka takes Jiro to his home village of Shinopirika-Kotan, unaware the old man's assailants are agents of Tenkai. At Kotan, the village elder recognizes Jiro's dagger as the Dagger of Kamui, which was originally owned by a former village chieftain. It was given to a Japanese ninja who married the chieftain's daughter, Oyaruru. Years later, Oyaruru returned to Kotan alone, but eventually left the village to live upriver by herself. Jiro finds Oyaruru and learns she is his biological mother. She reveals that Tenkai dispatched Tarouza to the mountain Kamui Nupuri to find a rumored treasure large enough to keep the Shogunate in power. However, Tarouza broke all contact with Tenkai and married Oyaruru. When Tenkai caught up with them, he slashed the face of the infant Jiro and sent him floating downriver in their canoe. Tarouza fought Tenkai's men on the cliff above, but lost an eye to a primitive grenade and his sword arm to Hanzou, then appeared to fall to his death. Jiro comes to the horrifying realization that Tenkai had tricked him, and that the man he stabbed was his father. During their evening meal, Jiro and Oyaruru collapse from a paralysis potion, and Oyaruru is killed with the Dagger of Kamui. Implicated in her murder, Jiro is imprisoned, but Uraka returns to help free him. Jiro finally realizes that Tenkai has been manipulating him for years into following his father's footsteps, searching for the treasure, and plans his revenge against Tenkai. Traveling north, Jiro is befriended by the elderly Andou Shouzan and a young Ainu girl. She helps find secret instructions to find a great treasure which is hidden with the hilt of the sword of Kamui. However, Jiro is tracked down by three of Tenkai's formidable assassins, whom he defeats, but not before they kill Shouzan. The Ainu girl helps Jiro escape, but she kills herself when confronted by the following Tenkai. With the aid of the sailor Sam, Jiro books passage on Captain Drasnic's ship to the United States. Onboard, he is attacked by Oyuki, one of Tenkai's shinobi, but he defeats her. He then saves her from drowning, and they develop a strong bond. After arriving in America, Jiro, Sam, and Oyuki become separated, and Jiro travels on alone. Jiro befriends Chico, a French-born Indian woman, and shelters with her tribe. He then encounters

on the way the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, heading for the island of Santa Catalina, which is apparently the location of Captain Kidd's treasure. Jiro eventually finds a small treasure on the island, but Tenkai and his shinobi have followed him there with Oyuki. Tenkai suddenly reveals that Sanpei is a Satsuma and an associate of Tarouza, who was also Oyuki's father, making her Jiro's half sister. Oyuki angrily stabs Tenkai through the heart with the dagger, although he manages to fatally wound her before he dies. Jiro then finds the real treasure below in a hidden cavern. Later, Chico reappears and shows Jiro a similar copy of the treasure's location. She reveals her real name is Julie Rochelle, the daughter of French spies also seeking the treasure, and that her father and Tenkai killed each other. Jiro now realizes that Tenkai has been using body doubles. He returns to Japan, where he uses Captain Kidd's treasure to help fund the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate by the combined Satsuma- Choushuu forces. In 1869, at the Citadel of Hakodate, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army closed in on the last remaining Shogunate rebels. After a massive

naval bombardment Naval gunfire support (NGFS) (also known as shore bombardment) is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of a number of disciplines encompassed by the ...

, Jiro wanders through the rubble and bodies, eventually encountering Tenkai. They engage in battle, during which Jiro kills Tenkai by impaling him through his cranium with the dagger. Jiro leaves Hakodate as the Imperial forces capture the city, but not before paying a silent farewell to Sanpei and his master, the samurai

Characters

; : :The protagonist of the story and the son of Tarōza and Oyaruru. He was raised by Tarōza's wife, Tsuyu. After an unknown assailant murdered Tsuyu and her daughter Sayuri, the villagers no longer trusted Jiro and chased him from the village. He then began studying the ways of the

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 2 ...

under the tutelage of Tenkai. As he grew to adulthood, Jiro gathered pieces to the mystery of the disappearance of his father, and he began to devise a trap to snare Tenkai. In later volumes of the novels, he adopts the name , as well as , the name based on that of

, his adopted father. ; : :The top agent for the

Bakufu , officially , was the title of the military dictators 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, though during part of the Kamakura ...

(a member of the

oniwabanshū The or was a group of government-employed undercover agents (''onmitsu''), established by the 8th Tokugawa ''shōgun'', Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684–1751). They were under the direct command of the shōgun and were in charge of undercover intellig ...

), who was operating in the areas of northern Japan and

controlled by the

Matsumae clan The was a Japanese clan that was confirmed in the possession of the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" ...

. He claims to be an ordinary high priest who goes by the name of Tenkai- oshō. Through his Satsuma spy Tarōza, Tenkai learned of the mystery of

. After having Tarōza chased down and killed by Jiro, Tenkai began scheming to find and obtain the treasure of Captain Kidd. As he is the leader of a ninja clan, he uses many

body doubles The Body Doubles are fictional characters, DC Comics villains created by Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett, and Jackson Guice. They first appeared in ''Resurrection Man'' #1 (March 1996) before appearing in their own eponymous miniseries with Joe Phillips ...

in order to avoid being killed himself. The character in the anime looks very much like

; the reason for this is never explained. ; : :A runaway ninja who is chasing after Jiro at the behest of Tenkai. She has the ability to split into four images of herself in order to confuse opponents. ; : :An elderly man who shelters an injured Jiro. Because of his skill in understanding the English language, Shōzan deciphers Tarōza's notes and instructs Jiro to travel to America. ; : :Andō Shōzan's Ainu caretaker. After Jiro boards a ship to travel to America, Chiomapp takes her own life in front of Tenkai. ; : :The captain of a ship that Jiro boards to travel to America. When Jiro defends himself and a stowaway Oyuki from Drasnic's crew, Drasnic has the two ninjas kicked out of his ship upon arriving in Alaska. ; :Captain Drasnic's slave. Jiro buys Sam from Drasnic and makes him a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

. ; : :A Native American whom Jiro saves from being raped by outlaws. She learns from her adoptive father Geronimo that her real name is Julie Rochelle, and her father was François Rochelle, a French diplomat who had learned of the treasure of Captain Kidd before he was murdered by Tenkai. ; : :An

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño a ...

chief and the adoptive father of Chico. ; : :The famous American writer who befriends Jiro. Upon learning that Jiro is Japanese, he references

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in '' The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

's discovery of

Zipangu The word ''Japan'' is an exonym, and is used (in one form or another) by many languages. The Japanese names for Japan are Nippon () and Nihon (). They are both written in Japanese using the kanji . During the third-century CE Three Kingdoms peri ...

. ; : :A ninja spy hired by Tenkai to find the treasure of Captain Kidd. During his mission, he fell in love with the

woman Oyaruru, who gave birth to Jiro. Tarōza was hunted down by Tenkai's ninjas, who cornered him before the high priest had Jiro stab him in the heart. With his dying breath, Tarōza revealed himself to be Jiro's father. ; : :Jiro's Ainu mother. Upon learning of Jiro's birth, Tenkai scars the infant across the nose before driving him away on a river.

Media

Novels

The Kadokawa bunkoban releases are as follows: *Volume 1, February 1984, *Volume 2, February 1984, *Volume 3, , December 1984, *Volume 4, , January 1985, *Volume 5, , February 1985, The Haruki bunkoban release is as follows: *Volume 1, February 1999,

Video game

A video game was released for the NEC PC-88 in 1985.

American release

On October 2, 1987, an American home video company known as

Celebrity Home Entertainment Celebrity Home Entertainment (also known as simply Celebrity Video), founded by Noel C. Bloom in 1987, was a home video distributor specializing in mostly obscure material from around the world, as well as B-grade action films and softcore adult ...

released ''The Dagger of Kamui'' on their ''Just for Kids'' VHS label in an English-dubbed version called ''Revenge of the Ninja Warrior''. This release of the film was heavily

edited Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, org ...

, removing 22 of the 132 minutes of footage; the resulting cut ran 110 minutes. The uncut dub was later re-released by Best Film and Video Co. in 1995 under the title ''The Blade of Kamui''. The unedited version, in Japanese with English subtitles and bearing the title ''The Dagger of Kamui'', was later released on VHS and DVD by

AnimEigo AnimEigo is an American entertainment company that licenses and distributes anime, samurai films and Japanese cinema. Founded in 1988 by Robert Woodhead and Roe R. Adams III, the company was one of the first in North America dedicated to lic ...

Musical score

Ryudo Uzaki is a Japanese musician, composer, and actor. His group, the Down Town Boogie-Woogie Band, was one of the most prominent 1970s Japanese rock music bands. He also composed many of Momoe Yamaguchi's songs with Yoko Aki. He is married to lyricist ...

's score for the film is notable for combining rock music instrumentation with Balinese

kecak ''Kecak'' (pronounced ("kechak"), alternate spellings: ''kechak'' and ''ketjak''), known in Indonesian as ''tari kecakilolahhe'', is a form of Balinese Hindu dance and music drama that was developed in the 1930s in Bali, Indonesia. Since i ...

vocals.

Reception

Helen McCarthy Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and '' Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author o ...

in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' states that "with Madhouse and a stellar team of animators on board, the art and design are first class". She praises the "clever script", fluid animation and battle scenes, calling the film "a good old-fashioned epic". McCarthy, Helen. ''500 Essential Anime Movies: The Ultimate Guide''. — Harper Design, 2009. — P. 343. — 528 p. —

References

External links

* (Madhouse) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dagger Of Kamui, The 1984 Japanese novels 1985 anime films Action anime and manga Adventure anime and manga Ainu in fiction Animated films about orphans Anime and manga set in Hokkaido Coming-of-age anime and manga Cultural depictions of Mark Twain Cultural depictions of William Kidd Japanese films about revenge Films directed by Rintaro Films set in feudal Japan Films set in Alaska Films set in California Films set on islands 1980s Japanese-language films Kadokawa Dwango franchises Madhouse (company) Ninja in anime and manga Ninja films Novel series Novels set in Japan Treasure hunt films fr:L'Épée de Kamui it:La spada dei Kamui ja:カムイの剣 zh:卡姆伊之劍