All things on earth originate from the same roots. All human beings without regard to rank.
1638- Shimabara
It was a brutal war lasting over 3 months.
The peasants, many of them Christians,
suffering from continuing famine, cruel tax collection, severe religious
oppression finally pushed beyond the limits. They rose up against this tyranny
They fought in the abandoned Hara castle for 100 days.
Tokugawa Bakufu dispatched 120,000 soldiers to quash the uprising.
I am serving Hosokawa Etsuchu-No-Kami.
My name is Jinno Sukezaemon.
You are Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, the rebel leader, I presume?
At last, the end has come.
Kill me.
Before that,
Show me you’re God's Miracle.
I heard you walk on the surface of water.
You summon magical clouds and travel on them?
Show us you’re God's Miracle.
What's the matter?
All lies?
I don't...
...seek God.
Stop it!
The castle was taken by storm.
Indigenous Japanese Christians.
Measures were taken
In fear of Ba-Te-Ren's magic,
Tokugawa Bakufu slaughtered 37,000 rebellions including women and children.
MAKAI TENSHOU
Reincarnation From Hell
Rojyu Matsudaira Izuno-Kami Nobutsuna
Shogun Swordsmanship Instructor Yagyu Tajimano-Kami Munenori
This war was a difficult one.
But we wiped out all rebels against Tokugawa.
Finally we can see a peaceful life.
No longer the large scale battles in "Feudal times."
It is the strict social order in all Japan
that can lay the foundations for the stable reign of Tokugawa Bakufu.
Tajima,
Oometsuke the Chief Inspector of the domain Bakufu,
You shall have a heavy burden!
I heard about Musashi in Shimabara.
Musashi?
You mean Miyamoto Musashi?
The infamous deadly techniques of Nitou Ryu...
He must have helped quell the Shimabara Rebellion.
Who is the real swordsman, Musashi or Tajima?
That was a long time ago.
Now one is a starving Ronin,
And the other is a sword master to Shogun.
What a big difference now...
Budo is just an accessory.
In my opinion, it is strategy and politics
that can move people more effectively.
As you have been a swordsman all your life,
Your ear might become sore.
No. I understand you very well.
It's no longer the time to master skilful swordsmanship.
About 10 years later...
Kishu Dainagon, Tokugawa Yorinobu, also known as the Dragon of the South Sea
He is the 8th son of the late Tokugawa leyasu.
He is an uncle of Tokugawa lemitsu, the 3rd Tokugawa shogun.
He enjoys a powerful position in Bakufu.
Is that Sagi bird?
No, it is Kiji bird.
White Kiji?
Very rare, indeed.
It's a good omen, My Lord.
My Lord, Stop!
My Lord!
It's dangerous over there!
Nicely done.
If you don't capture it, someone else will.
If someone else already captured it, you can not even touch it.
The same goes for your wish, Dai Nagon-sama.
My wish?
What do you think I wish for?
Your wish to rule the country!
Who are you?
I am Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.
I was a leader of Shimabara Uprising, fought against Tokugawa Bakufu.
It's a lie!
I know that man was killed in Shimabara.
Yes...
but here I am standing in front of you.
From here, Dainagon-sama, you must go alone.
All residing in the deepest Darkness...
Come Out Of The Ashes.
Abandon Your Current Form.
Appear Before Me With New Bodies.
Show Yourself And Fulfill My Wish.
All Residing In Deepest Darkness...
Come Out Of The Ashes.
Abandon Your Current Form.
Appear Before Me With New Bodies.
Show Yourself And Fulfill My Wish.
You... tricked me!
I can not see anything.
I can not move.
I sold my soul to you.
And yet this is what I got?
Look closely within yourself.
You haven't forgotten your wish to be reborn.
You've already received eternal life within yourself.
Whether you take a sword or not is all up to you.
Sword?
Give me a sword!
I will kill him!
In Adauchi of Kagiya-No-Tsuji,
He killed 36 of his foes.
He is Araki Mataemon.
Black magic?
Makai Tenshou, "Reincarnation From Hell"
I, Amakusa Shirou, can only perform this magic.
He was a skilled Yagyu-Ryu Sword Master,
but yet he died before he reached his prime.
Munen... Munen... that is the base of this reincarnation.
He appears exactly the same as before.
But his soul is nothing but Mamono.
Anyone who rebels Dainagon-sama,
100 or 1000, regardless of numbers
He shall kill them all at your command.
Didn't you reincarnate to restore essence of Christianity?
I've already given it up.
I won't ask for God's mercy any more.
This world doesn't belong to God nor the Shogunate.
The world must be ruled by the strongest.
But the war age is over.
We are no longer in the battle field.
That isn't so.
To rule the country, you must have a qualification validated by all people.
Dainagon-sama, you are well qualified.
You are more qualified than the current Shogun.
Originally, Dainagon-sama, you're supposed to receive Tsuruga
1,000,000-Goku, by the order of your father, leyasu-sama's will.
But it was changed to Kishu 550,000-Goku.
Don't you know why?
The Shogunate is afraid of Dainagon-sama.
Can I rule the country?
But how?
Yagyu-No-Sato The Ancestral Home Of The Yagyu family
I have a stiff neck.
Because you sleep too much.
Grandfather?
How about this?
If you are rotting like that...
Your famous sword skill will vanish.
Even without coming to Dojyo, what are you doing?
You must realize that you are
the elder son of Yagyu Tajimano-Kami-sama.
Because of your attitude,
You'd been kicked out of the Edo Mansion.
You are right.
Don't say so when you know you don't really think so.
Jii, apart from that...
What has brought you here?
I came here to take back Ohiro and Ohina.
Makino Hyogo-dono summoned me.
They must meet Kishu Dainagon Yorinobu-sama.
Dainagon-sama?
Why, Ohino-dono and Ohina-dono must meet him?
Possibly he makes them concubines, I guess.
I haven't the foggiest idea, either.
Ensho-ji Temple Kishu-Han
Kimura-dono
Yes!
I'll take good care of these two.
Ohina!
Go to Yagyu-No-Sato. Go!
But...
Never mind me. Just Go.
Kimura Sukekuro of Kishu-Han will fight you.
You should tell me your name!
In the name of Yagyu Sekishusai, my master...
I won't allow even one step forward.
Ohina-dono!
Get her down!
Ohina-dono!
Careful!
She came all the way from Kishu?
Sukekuro-sama!
Jii!
Who are you?!
You know we are the Yagyus.
Mataemon!?
You are dead, aren't you?
I am not a living soul.
So to speak...
I live in Makai (hell)
You fight against us?
You are one of Yagyus.
You should feel obligation, not bear a grudge.
Obligation? Grudge?
What do I care?
Jyubei
I got reincarnated just to kill you.
Hiding in the name of Yagyu,
You've been rotting every day.
With a real sword, how much can you fight?
The power of Makai...
I was not expecting this much.
Wherever I want to move, this body moves.
Sensei!
Seizaburo!
Next time, I'll challenge you to a fair fight, man-to-man.
What happened in Wakayama?
Not only me and elder sister,
but also several women were gathered at Makino-sama.
And the matter was concealed...
Grandfather felt it strange...
I hope it is just my imagination...
There might be a plot against something.
The man from Makai is reincarnating dead people.
Women will be used for sacrifices sooner or later.
And they can never come back alive.
What is a man from Makai?
I am not sure about it.
Grandfather told me
there was more than one, reincarnated.
How is Ohiro-dono?
How are the other women?
I lost my elder sister...
I don't know what happened to her.
I should check it out.
Huh?
Where to?
To Wakayama
I will inquire with Dainagon-sama in person.
How dare you show yourself like this?
I don't think it's an embarrassment.
If you claim that I could get eternal life,
then, one more time,
Give me an arm.
I have no time for your mumblings.
Either you follow my order...
Or you kill yourself and be dead...
I won't die for you.
Yagyu Jubei...
Is he that strong?
Your face has no fear...
You suit a body with endurance, for reincarnation.
What do you want with me?
Into your body,
We'll insert dead people's bones.
Those bones will eat your guts,
and grow inside of you.
Soon those bones will eat you up...
And come out by breaking your stomach.
On the verge of Ecstasy that you can not even describe...
Your life shall be terminated.
Do you wish to die now?
Or you surrender your body to us.
I'll go back to Yagyu alive.
I like your Stubbornness.
Edo Yagyu Mansion
Jubei is not here.
I won't move from here
until I can meet Jubei-dono.
It's useless.
I sent Jubei to Yagyu-No-Sato.
...but for what reason?
He was mischievous.
When he was practicing lemitsu-sama,
He hit him so hard that he lost consciousness.
He hit the Shogunate...
Kendo Practice should be that way.
Yagyu Jubei, he is a great match.
I wish to fight him.
In place of my son,
I, Tajima will fight you
Tajima-dono, who is in a position to prohibit matches with other Sword Style's...
You are sick, aren't you?
No need to show Hotoke-Gokoro pity!
A sword is for fighting to the death.
Why must you show sympathy to your foe?
Sympathy... no way...
My son's sword is for killing.
If you lose, it means death.
Who are you?
Hear me out.
Inshun...
If you break the Buddhist Precepts,
And if you can master the ultimate form of Spear Fighting,
What if the more people you kill,
The sharper the spear becomes?
Mononoke...
You come to trick me?
For spear, I'll do anything.
I won't be afraid of going to hell.
But your story doesn’t seem
to make much sense.
Which do you prefer, Spear or Buddhist Precepts?
Spear...
Or Buddhist Precepts?
Challenge me.
Skew my body by breaking Buddhist Precepts!
Your spear can not kill people.
You still have faith in Buddha.
You can't kill anyone. Kill your faith.
That's it!
Kill your faith!
That was nothing...
Nothing at all!
Now you understand...
To serve Buddha...
To color your spear with blood,
Which is really Inshun's wish?
We came here to welcome your suited soul to Makai.
Inshun...
That Hozoin Inshun?
In return to master spear technique,
He took his own life.
To guard Dainagon-sama,
I have prepared all well known master swordsmen.
Even if the Shogunate know,
There is nothing for you to worry about.
If you found yourself in a tight spot,
Dainagon-sama himself should reincarnate to Makai.
I reincarnate to Makai...
What a wild and bold tactic...
No one else can do this.
Only possible for a man who has complaints and grievances in this world,
and who has enormous will...
If in trouble, use my body to reincarnate to Makai.
What is it that you want?
Stop right there!
Stop!
Reporting.
Jubei...
Yagyu Jubei has come to see you.
What?
I had the pleasure of meeting you in Edo Castle.
Do you remember me?
I am the son of Yagyu Tajima.
My name is Jubei Mitsuyoshi.
I know you.
So what has brought you here, Yagyu Jubei?
A urgent matter's come up...
Go ahead.
What is it?
The Man from Makai possessed a big Han.
And he plots intrigue of some kind.
From whom did you hear this?
Kimura might ring a bell?
So you are in charge of arresting the man from Makai?
I was kicked out from Edo.
There's no way I can do it.
That Mamono and our Kishu-Han,
What's the relationship?
Elder sister!
In this Kishu,
Even there is movement,
I wish Dainagon-sama not to be involved.
Dainagon-sama should not be sucked into a plot.
I came here to tell this to Dainagon-sama.
Stop monkeying around.
We shouldn't hide anything from each other.
I spot a Suspicious Fellow!
What's the matter?
Wait! Hold right there!
It seems you are tied up with something.
I shall be leaving now.
Who are you?
I am Amakusa Shiro Tokisada.
Shimabara's Ghost appeared in Wakayama?
Why are you possessed with Kishu-Han?
Revenge for rebellions, perhaps?
Have you ever seen the Jigoku-hell?
Just to show examples of death...
Look at the people who tried
to cut ties with Tokugawa Bakufu...
It's hell, indeed.
People...
People were not born to be servants under tyranny.
Soon judgment day will come.
The reign of Tokugawa will be burned down.
Releasing Christian farmers from tyranny.
There will be another time of war.
Are you Shini-Gami? Gate Keeper of death
The man who gives eternal life to Tajima-dono.
You want me to live more?
You have regrets.
If I die, I have no more regrets?
I don’t come here for small regrets
Tajima-dono...
When was the last time you could
use your sword as it's supposed to be used?
After throwing away your Bugeisha's pride,
While you've been working as an administrator at Bakufu,
Have you met anyone worthy of you?
I could not meet Musashi.
There is one more...
After death of Musashi-dono,
There is one more person worthy of you, Tajima-dono.
I don't need to mention his name.
You said you would give me eternal life.
Do you allow me to act as I wish?
That's what we want, too.
For nobody else,
it's your life to seek for what you want to be.
I don't care if you are God or Evil Snake.
Give me power.
I promise a perfect life.
On that day, Yorinobu received a letter from Edo
that lemitsu, the Shogunate was in critical condition.
Letsuna, a heir, only 6 years old, just after his Genpuku Ceremony.
The 3rd Shogunate Tokugawa lemitsu
If something happens to lemitsu, there will be chaos.
Wakayama Jyo Castle Kishu
When is lemitsu-dono going to die?
10 days or so.
Father!
The war had two major confrontations for Osaka-Jyo, called "Fuyu-No-Jin" and "Natsu-No-Jin", and divided Japan into two groups.
Yorinobu has seen the war.
But I have not experienced the war yet.
I'll go to Edo.
There are 1300 Samurais.
There will be more than 3000 men including servants.
With that much troops,
There is no way to call it a courtesy visit?
With this pace, it'll be 7 or 8 days to Edo.
We must start the extermination of Mamono.
Jubei
I missed your name.
When I was alive, I could not fight you.
Thus, it mounted my desire to fight you.
Sensei!
Chouza?
To master spear, you must go through death.
You are from Makai!
I am not the only one from Makai.
That woman, too.
She bit her tongue off and she was reincarnated.
I was waiting for her to cut your throat Jubei.
Grudge, Regrets, thirst for blood...
I could not feel any of these.
What was your purpose of your reincarnation?
Look at me.
I'm not tied to anything.
I have a clear vision, as of clearing fog...
I can see very well where your life force is.
I wish for one-to-one combat.
So do I.
What a light weight!
Is this the weight of your life?
I put everything into my spear technique.
When you broke my spear,
Hozouin Inshun must vanish.
Come to Makai, Jubei.
It doesn't feel bad at all.
How did you hear Inshun's last words?
The soul of being a Bugeisha can not be suppressed.
Will you lend me your hands?
Your reward is...
Eternal Life.
It'll be troublesome even if I got one.
Who do you guard?
Tokugawa?
Or Kishu?
I won't side with anyone.
However,
I'll kill every single one of Makai.
You don't back down?
No.
There are more than two who got reincarnated.
There is even one from Yagyu.
Soon you will see who it is.
When you die, I will come to pick you up.
Let me die, please.
Don't believe whatever the man from Makai said.
It's true I bit my tongue off.
When I woke up, there were no wounds.
It's strange, isn't it?
Have you tried to kill Sensei?
Have you tried to help Makai people?
Never!
Nothing has changed.
Ohiro is always Ohiro.
I have a favor to ask.
When I start to have evil thoughts like Mataemon or Inshun,
Please kill me instantly.
Yes, provided that you'd become one.
Kishu-Han Honjin Kakegawa Jyuku
Are you still having problems with Jyubei?
That Shiro...
He talks a lot, but he is useless.
I can't just play with Kendo any longer.
There are about 500,000 Ronins.
All of them are coming to Kishu.
They are waiting for our overthrow of the Shogunate.
So everything is in order, then.
Without our help,
You think you can rule the country?
You just wait and see.
If we take the advantage of the Shogunate's death,
It'll be an easy task to burn down Edo.
Dainagon-sama, himself, should terminate lemitsu-sama's life.
What are you saying?
Why should our lord...
If you don't agree, that's fine, too.
We won't ask anything.
What a shameful fool...
He thinks he's already overthrown the Shogunate.
Admirable, wise ruler means nothing.
His greed grows.
It's the ritual that counts.
The opening of the brutal-battle ages.
Then, who else is going to kill lemitsu?
Yorinobu is not the only Tokugawa left.
Toushougu KunoYama
Kishu-sama's troops were ordered to stay at Sunpu.
Ordered to stay?
Does it mean that the Shogunate have taken some measures?
Sunpu Jyo Castle
Izu
I won't take orders from you.
Buke Shohatto Law
In 1615, Tokugawa Hidetada created it which contains a ban to
expand buildings, maneuver armies and must be followed without exception.
Without the approval by the Shogunate
You can not advance even one step.
The Shogunate's crisis...
Yorinobu must advance to Edo.
Izu, even as Rojyu, you can not argue about it.
Taboo is still taboo.
I won't back down.
Recently in the name of Dainagon-sama,
There were many samurais recruiting Ronins.
They must be crazy.
Dainagon-sama should close your eyes, too.
What did you do with those men?
We captured and killed them all.
Under these situations,
If you must insist,
I'd recommend you take an anonymous trip to Edo.
All troops must stay at Sunpu, however.
At Sunpu, we shall keep your swords, spears, muskets and soldiers.
This izu will accompany you to Edo.
You are an admirable wise ruler, Dainagon-sama.
I gather that you accept these conditions.
Hakume-dono!
I am Sakushu Ronin, Miyamoto Musashi.
Back down.
To live life in a flash of a swords-battle is
a real legacy as is being a Bugeisha.
As long as I have swords in my hands,
Musashi's soul is immortal.
Musashi-dono...
Come!
Jubei!
Here I come.
Elder Sister...
The life of Makai-No-Mono...
by the blood of Makai-No-Mono,
must be terminated!
Ohiro!
Sensei...
Elder sister...
My elder sister just...
wanted to see you, sensei.
Don't say a word.
I'll go to Edo.
Sensei...
There is someone I must see.
Your life...
I'll hold within me.
Where is Shiro?
Summon him here.
Give me powers!
Without our help,
You said you are more than powerful.
Stop fooling around!
If I held back due to the Shogunate's order, I'll be a laughing stock.
What's more embarrassment than this?
In that case,
Kill yourself.
Do you think we done all those things for you?
We done what we want.
You cast a spell on yourself?
Within me, the dead resides already.
What?
You should die, too.
So should lemitsu!
All Tokugawas should die, killing each other, shedding their own blood.
I'll chop off lemitsu's head.
I'll burn down this world afterwards.
To kill the Shogunate,
There is nothing better than this.
Toshou Shinkun, leyasu...
Yorinobu...
Father...
You are going to kill lemitsu-dono?
If you are my real father,
God won't allow it.
No regrets.
In exchange for eternal life,
I sold my soul.
Eternal life?
Then, you kill this Yorinobu, too?
No Need for you.
The battle age is...
...calling me...
I'll go to Edo.
Amakusa Shiro Tokisada...
I appear before you.
I've been waiting for you, Jubei.
You finally came here. I applaud you for that.
You are worthy of being my son.
It was you, my father...
I wanted to have a battle with you.
At one time, I disliked you for being a free spirit.
Now I feel I love you.
My father's wish is the same as Jubei's.
Whether it is God or Evil Snake,
I give thanks for this opportunity.
You'd feel satisfied, being killed by your own father.
Who do you think is left as your foe?
No matter who it may be, I'll kill him.
What do I care?
I am what I am.
Once again, I could see my grandfather...
Am I still alive?
Or am I already dead?
Tonight is the decisive night.
This entire Tokugawa reign...
I will terminate it with your blood.
Jubei...
Your last breath...
I will make sure to hear it.
Where there is light,
There is darkness.
That is what this...
life is all about.