Hattori Hanzō

My definition of a hero is a person who is courageous, hard working, and strong-willed; they should also be willing to help others and willing to teach others what they have learned so that they can better other people. All of these qualities can make a hero, but all of these qualities are not necessary. I think that if a person has two or three of these things that would classify them as a hero. If you think about it, anyone can be a hero, and I am sure that at least once in everyone's life s/he has the opportunity to be a hero.

Hattori Hanzō

Hattori Hanzo was born in 1541. He is also known as Oni no Hanzo (Devil Hanzo). He was given that name because of the fury he displayed in battle. His father was the leader of the Iga. The Iga was a clan in Japan famous for its Ninja. Even thought Hanzo grew up in Mikawa, he still went back to Iga which was the home of the Hattori ninja. He mastered the skills necessary to be a ninja which included swordsman, tactician, and spearman skills.

Hanzo fought his first battle when he was sixteen. His most memorable moment in his life was right after the fall of Oda Nobunaga. Akechi Mitsuhide's troops were in pursuit of everyone who was helping Oda Nobunaga. Hanzo suggested that they take a path though Iga where he knew some samurai. The leader of the group told Hanzo to go ahead and talk to the samurai. The Iga samurai agreed to guide them and give them an escort. They returned safely home. Hanzo died in 1596.

Grave of Hattori Hanzō

According to my definition of what a hero is, Hattori Hanzo meets the criteria. He had great courage; he worked really hard to master all of the skills needed to be a ninja warrior; and he helped other people. He could have run away and saved himself but instead he stayed and saved his entire group. He was a strong willed and determined individual. He became famous for all of the above qualities and he is known to almost everyone in his country as a great warrior hero. For all these reasons, I believe he is a hero.

Hanzo is my hero because to become a master ninja he would have had to work so hard. Plus to stay alive, it takes a great deal of hard work. His strong will is inspiring to me. He is also my hero because of how honorable he is. I am part Japanese and his life shows me how to keep a respectable level of honor. His life makes me want to work harder in every thing I do so that maybe one day a child will be writing one of these essays about how I made their life so much better by the choices I made in my life.