Hattori Hanzo: The Medieval Demon Samurai

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 4 April 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Matt Lewis presents a special episode from his podcast Echoes of History on the medieval 'Demon' Samurai.

In the world of Assassin's Creed Shadows, the legendary Hattori Hanzo embodies both samurai and shinobi warriors, and earned himself the nickname "The Demon".

How did Hattori Hanzo reach such legendary status? How were his loyalties tested as both samurai and shinobi? And what does his story tell us about late Sengoku Japan?

Joining Matt Lewis to answer these questions and more are Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt, authors of Ninja Attack!: True Tales Of Assassins, Samurai And Outlaws.

You can keep up to date with Hiroko and Matt's work on their blogs blog.hirokoyoda.com and blog.pureinventionbook.com

Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit.

Hosted by: Matt Lewis

Edited by: Tim Arstall

Produced by: Matt Lewis, Robin McConnell, Peta Stamper

Senior Producer: Anne-Marie Luff

Production Manager: Beth Donaldson

Executive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen Bennett

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Matt Lewis.
0:02.6	And I'm Dr. Eleanor Yonaga.
0:04.2	And we're just popping up here to tell you some insider info.
0:08.0	If you would like to listen to Gone Medieval ad-free and get early access and bonus episodes,
0:13.3	sign up to History Hit.
0:14.5	With the History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries.
0:20.6	Such as my new series on everyone's favorite
0:22.8	conquerors, the Normans, or my recent exploration of the castles that made Britain. There's a new
0:29.9	release to enjoy every week. Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe, or find a link in the show notes for this episode. Nelly, we're the party and tour 2025 Coming to venues across the UK
1:00.0	through Amtune with special guests
1:02.5	Eve, Fabulous and the St. Lunatics
1:05.2	Tickets on sale now
1:08.8	at live nation.com.
1:17.6	Nelly, bringing the party live. Hey, hey, who.
1:21.6	Shh.
1:26.6	Hey, you can keep a secret, right?
1:28.9	You might know me as Matt Lewis, presenter of Gone Medieval, but you've been tricked.
1:34.7	I am in fact a ninja, a Shinobi, a secret agent from another podcast, echoes of history,
1:41.4	which dives into the history behind the world worlds depicted in the Assassin's Creed games.
1:46.1	Last week, Ubisoft launched their most recent game, Assassin's Creed Shadows,
1:50.4	which is set in feudal Japan, and it throws players into the fierce worlds of the samurai and the shinobi.
1:57.6	Yes, ninjas.
	...

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