Sarutobi Sasuke
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Sarutobi Sasuke (猿飛佐助 Sarutobi Sasuke) was a famous ninja featured in many Japanese children's stories from 1911 to 1925. The character was immortalized in contemporary Japanese culture by the 1962 Sampei Shirato comic of the same name. Thereafter the name Sasuke become something of a default ninja moniker. Most recently seen in the manga Naruto, where two characters are called Sarutobi Asuma and Uchiha Sasuke (the Third Hokage is also called Sarutobi).
It is a matter of dispute whether he was real, or a fictional creation of the Meiji era. He is commonly listed as one of the ten retainers of Sanada Yukimura.
Sarutobi, meaning 'monkey jump', is written with two Kanji (adapted Chinese characters); saru (猿) is the character for 'monkey', and tobi (飛) is the character for 'jump'. He was known for his monkey-like agility and quickness, especially in trees. Many depictions of him in Japanese pop culture portray him as having been orphaned and raised by a band of monkeys, therefore giving rise to the monkey-like abilities.
Popular Culture
Sarutobi Sasuke is also featured as the main character in the quite unpopular anime "Shin Shaku Sanada Juyushi".
In the popular anime, Naruto, there is a protagonist dubbed Sasuke as well as two characters said to be from the Sarutobi clan.
Sarutobi Sasuke is also a playable character in Capcom's Sengoku Basara. In Devil Kings, he is renamed as Talon. In the Japanese version, he's voiced by Koyasu Takehito.
Sasuke is also a playable character in Nintendo 64's Mystical Ninja 2: Starring Goemon, where he is a small robotic ninja that whields a kunai and transforms into a torpedo underwater.
One of the ultimate weapons in Final Fantasy V is named "Sasuke's Katana." It is also the original name of Shadow's "Hardened" in Final Fantasy VI. This Katana has also made an appearance in Final Fantasy IV Advance and Final Fantasy I with the name of "Sasuke's Blade."
The anime and manga Samurai Deeper Kyo feature both the character Sanada Yukimura and his retainer, Sarutobi Sasuke. In the anime version, Sanada was voiced by Ogata Megumi, while Sasuke was voiced by Ishida Akira, Megumi's co-star in Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game has a card named "Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke" (LIGHT-TYPE/WARRIOR/4-STARS/EFFECT: If this card attacks a face-up Defense Position monster, destroy the monster with this card's effect without applying damage calculation.).
External links
- [Ninja Stories] - story excerpts from the book Ninjutsu - History & Tradition by Masaaki Hatsumi
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