Okada Izō

In this Japanese name, the family name is Okada.

Okada Izō (岡田以蔵, 1832–June 3, 1865) was a Japanese samurai of the late Edo period, feared as one of the four most notable assassins of the Bakumatsu period. He was born in Tosa to the gōshi Okada Gihei, who had been a peasant but had bought the gōshi rank. Izō and Tanaka Shinbei were active in Kyoto as assassins under the leadership of Takechi Hanpeita.

Izō in Fiction

Several films feature him as protagonist, most notably Hideo Gosha's Hitokiri (1969) and Takashi Miike's Izo (2004).

Nobuhiro Watsuki based the character Kurogasa Udō Jin-e of the anime and manga series Rurouni Kenshin on Izō; the author admits that the character bears little resemblance to Izō. [1]

Hideaki Sorachi based Okada Nizo from Gintama on Izo and came out somewhat similar.

Kengo a video game based on 9 legendary swordsmen