is a Japanese novel series by Tetsu Yano released by Kadokawa Shoten from 1984 to 1985.

The series was adapted in 1985 into an anime film directed by Rintaro and animated by Madhouse. The screenplay was adapted by Mori Masaki, and character designs were created by Moribi Murano, who also illustrated the novel series. Takuo Noda directed the animation, and the music was composed by Ryūdō Uzaki and Eitetsu Hayashi.

The story begins during the Bakumatsu period of Japan in the last years of the Tokugawa Shogunate. It continues through the pre-Meiji period and refers to historical events such as the Boshin War, including the involvement of foreign governments, the Naval Battle of Hakodate, and the Meiji Restoration. There are also references to historical figures such as Captain Kidd, Saigō Takamori, Andō Shōzan, Oguri Kozukenosuke (Tadamasa), Geronimo, and Mark Twain.

Plot

Jirō, a young boy of Japanese and Ainu descent, is a foundling raised by a kindly innkeeper and her daughter in the village of Sai on the Shimokita Peninsula.

One evening, a shinobi kills Jirō's adoptive mother and sister while he is away. When he returns home, he finds their bodies and a strange dagger. The angry villagers accuse him of the murders, and rather than face a brutal crucifixion for the grave crime of parricide, Jirō escapes with the dagger. He encounters a Buddhist monk called Tenkai, who works for the Shogunate as an Oniwaban (Secret Police). Tenkai takes the boy to confront the man who supposedly killed his family and provokes him into delivering the killing blow. To cover his tracks, Tenkai has the village set ablaze, and the villagers are slaughtered. Tenkai takes Jirō to his temple on the island of Ezo, and has his subordinates Shingo and Sanpei train him in the ways of the Ninja. Years later, Jirō leaves to find answers to the mystery of his family and his father, Tarōza. Meanwhile, Tenkai has him followed.

Jirō comes across a group of Japanese men beating up an old Ainu man, and he quickly dispatches them. The old man dies of his injuries, but his son Uraka takes Jirō to his home village of Shinopirika-Kotan, unaware the old man's assailants are agents of Tenkai. At Kotan, the village elder recognizes Jirō's dagger as the Dagger of Kamui, which was originally owned by a former village chieftain. It was given to a Japanese ninja who married the chieftain's daughter, Oyaruru. Years later, Oyaruru returned to Kotan alone, but eventually left the village to live upriver by herself.

Jirō finds Oyaruru and learns she is his biological mother. She reveals that Tenkai dispatched Tarōza to the mountain Kamui Nupuri to find a rumored treasure large enough to keep the Shogunate in power. However, Tarōza broke all contact with Tenkai and married Oyaruru. When Tenkai caught up with them, he slashed the face of the infant Jirō and sent him floating downriver in their canoe. Tarōza fought Tenkai's men on the cliff above, but lost an eye to a primitive grenade and his sword arm to Hanzou, then appeared to fall to his death. Jirō comes to the horrifying realization that Tenkai had tricked him, and that the man he stabbed was his father. During their evening meal, Jirō and Oyaruru collapse from a paralysis potion supplied by Shingo, and Oyaruru is killed by Shingo with the Dagger of Kamui. Implicated in her murder, Jirō is imprisoned, but Uraka returns to help free him. Jirō finally realizes that Tenkai has been manipulating him for years into following his father's footsteps, searching for the treasure, and plans his revenge against Tenkai.

Traveling north, Jirō is befriended by the elderly Andō Shōzan and a young Ainu girl. She helps find secret instructions to find a great treasure which is hidden with the hilt of the sword of Kamui. However, Jirō is tracked down by three of Tenkai's formidable assassins, whom he defeats, but not before they kill Shouzan. The Ainu girl helps Jirō escape, but she kills herself when confronted by the following Tenkai. With the aid of the sailor Sam, Jirō books passage on Captain Drasnic's ship to the United States. Onboard, he is attacked by Oyuki, one of Tenkai's shinobi, but he defeats her. He then saves her from drowning, and they develop a strong bond. After arriving in America, Jirō, Sam, and Oyuki become separated, and Jirō travels on alone. Jirō befriends Chico, a French-born Indian woman, and shelters with her tribe. He then encounters Mark Twain on the way the Los Angeles, heading for the island of Santa Catalina, which is apparently the location of Captain Kidd's treasure.

Jirō eventually finds a small treasure on the island, but Tenkai and his shinobi have followed him there with Oyuki. Tenkai suddenly reveals that Sanpei is a Satsuma and an associate of Tarōza, who was also Oyuki's father, making her Jirō's half sister. Oyuki angrily stabs Tenkai through the heart with the dagger, although he manages to fatally wound her before he dies. Jirō then finds the real treasure below in a hidden cavern. Later, Chico reappears and shows Jirō a similar copy of the treasure's location. She reveals her real name is Julie Rochelle, the daughter of French spies also seeking the treasure, and that her father and Tenkai killed each other. Jirō now realizes that Tenkai has been using body doubles. He returns to Japan, where he uses Captain Kidd's treasure to help fund the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate by the combined Satsuma-Choushuu forces.

In 1869, at the Citadel of Hakodate, the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army closed in on the last remaining Shogunate rebels. After a massive naval bombardment, Jirō wanders through the rubble and bodies, eventually encountering Tenkai. They engage in battle, during which Jirō kills Tenkai by impaling him through his cranium with the dagger. Jirō leaves Hakodate as the Imperial forces capture the city, but not before paying a silent farewell to Sanpei and his master, the samurai Saigō Takamori.

Characters

;

:

:The half-Japanese, half-Ainu protagonist of the story and the son of Tarōza and Oyaruru. He was raised by Tarōza's wife, Tsuyu. After an unknown assailant murdered Tsuyu and her daughter Sayuri, the villagers no longer trusted Jirō and chased him from the village. He then began studying the ways of the ninja under the tutelage of Tenkai. As he grew to adulthood, Jirō gathered pieces to the mystery of the disappearance of his father, and he began to devise a trap to snare Tenkai. In later volumes of the novels, he adopts the name , as well as , the name based on that of Geronimo, his adopted father.

;

:

:A Buddhist monk and the top agent for the Bakufu (a member of the oniwabanshū), who was operating in the areas of northern Japan and Ezo controlled by the Matsumae clan. He claims to be an ordinary high priest who goes by the name of Tenkai-oshō. Through his Satsuma spy Tarōza, Tenkai learned of the mystery of Captain Kidd. After having Tarōza chased down and killed by Jirō, Tenkai began scheming to find and obtain the treasure of Captain Kidd. As he is the leader of a ninja clan, he uses many body doubles in order to avoid being killed himself. The character in the anime looks very much like Saigō Takamori; the reason for this is never explained.

;

:

:A runaway ninja who is chasing after Jirō at the behest of Tenkai. She has the ability to split into four images of herself in order to confuse opponents. She is later revealed to be Jirō's half-sister.

;

:

:An elderly philosopher who shelters an injured Jirō. Because of his skill in understanding the English language, Shōzan deciphers Tarōza's notes and instructs Jirō to travel to America.

;

:

:Andō Shōzan's Ainu caretaker. After Jirō boards a ship to travel to America, Chiomapp takes her own life in front of Tenkai.

;

:

:The captain of a ship that Jirō boards to travel to America. When Jirō defends himself and a stowaway Oyuki from Drasnic's crew, Drasnic has the two ninjas kicked out of his ship upon arriving in Alaska.

;

:

:Captain Drasnic's slave. Jirō buys Sam from Drasnic and makes him a freeman.

;

:

:A Native American whom Jirō saves from being raped by outlaws. She learns from her adoptive father Geronimo that her real name is Julie Rochelle, and her father was François Rochelle, a French diplomat who had learned of the treasure of Captain Kidd before he was murdered by Tenkai.

;

:

:An Apache chief and the adoptive father of Chico.

;

:

:The famous American writer who befriends Jirō. Upon learning that Jirō is Japanese, he references Marco Polo's discovery of Zipangu.

;

:

:A ninja spy hired by Tenkai to find the treasure of Captain Kidd. During his mission, he fell in love with the Ainu woman Oyaruru, who gave birth to Jirō. Tarōza was hunted down by Tenkai's ninjas, who cornered him before the high priest had Jirō stab him in the heart. With his dying breath, Tarōza revealed himself to be Jirō's father.

;

:

:Jirō's Ainu birth mother. Upon learning of Jirō's birth, Tenkai scars the infant across the nose before driving him away on a river.

<!--

;

:

:天海の配下の忍びの一人だが、実は薩摩藩の命を受け探索を行っていた間者。抜け忍となり、財宝の謎を追う次郎を密かに助ける。太郎佐とは親友の間柄であった。

映画では生き延び、後に西郷の側近となっているが、原作では次郎の危機を救い死ぬ。次郎は、西郷と会見し、三平の真意を告げられる。

;

:お雪がアラスカの旅で拾った白い狼の子。映画での名前は「白狼（びゃくろう）」

;

:

:天海の実子。次郎を追い詰め、財宝の謎を探らせる計画の指揮をとるが、逆襲に遭う。天海の指示により、次郎を一流の忍びとして鍛え上げる。その後、オヤルルを薬を使って殺害、その容疑を次郎に向かうように仕向ける。

映画では、次郎にオヤルルの時と同じ毒を飲まされた後、次郎の策略により孫六の手にかかって死ぬ。

原作では米国より帰国した次郎を長崎で襲撃する。次郎は、真吾が毒より回復した事実より、幕府とフランスとの繋がりを知る。

;

:

:天海配下の忍びを統括する指揮官。次郎の養母つゆと姉さゆりを手に掛け、太郎佐を追い詰める。

; (, , and )

:, Ryūdō Uzaki, and Eitetsu Hayashi (respectively)

:天海配下の手練れの忍び、渡島の勘助・大沼の喜平次・積丹のお春の三人を言う。また、お春の妹であるお雪を加え、松前四人衆とも呼ばれ、恐れられていた。刺客として次郎を狙う。映画では幻術のような技を使うが、原作ではそれぞれの技や体術で罠を張る。本編には登場しなかったが、普段は全員、普通の町民として活動しており、お春はかなりの美人。

;

:

:幕末の勘定奉行。松前にて活動する天海ら公儀隠密の上司にあたる幕府閣僚。

;

:

:太郎佐の妻であった佐伊の村の女性。赤子の次郎に添えられた書置きから、次郎が太郎佐の子であることを確信し養育するが、天海配下の忍びに殺される。

;

:

:太郎佐とつゆの娘。次郎にとっては異母姉であるが、天海配下の忍びに殺される。

;

:

:シノピリカコタンの少年。父親と共に和人の迫害を受けていたところを次郎によって助けられる。オヤルルのもとに次郎を案内する。

;

:

:映画では、伊賀の頭領配下の上忍。伊賀より次郎の配下となった忍びたちを統括する。原作では、幕末の伊賀組同心としては珍しく忍びとしての高い技量を秘めた人物。次郎と接触し、協力者となる。自らを「拗ね者」と呼ぶ偏屈だが、次郎に肩入れする。

;

:

:米国より帰国した次郎より懇請を受け、配下の忍びの手配を多額の報酬と引き換えに請け負う。太郎佐の父であり、次郎にとっては実の祖父である。映画では、十勝半蔵と刺し違え、死の際に次郎に祖父であることを告げるが、原作ではそれを伝えられず死ぬ。

;

:

:天海にうり二つの容貌を持つ薩摩の要人。三平、太郎佐ら薩摩間者の元締めとされる。

-->

Media

Novels

<!--

角川文庫版（角川書店刊）は当初全1巻で刊行されたが、のちに上下巻に2分冊され、さらに第1巻、第2巻に改められた。映画化されたのはこの巻までのエピソードである。第3巻以降は明治維新以降の時代を舞台にした続編で、映画化記念として書かれたが、未完のままで終わっている。映画でもキャラクターデザインを担当した村野守美がカバーイラストと挿絵を手掛けている。

後にハルキ文庫（角川春樹事務所刊）から全1巻で再刊されたが、これは角川文庫版の第2巻までに当たる（当初の1巻本と同じ）。

-->

The Kadokawa bunkoban releases are as follows:

  • Volume 1, February 1984,
  • Volume 2, February 1984,
  • Volume 3, , December 1984,
  • Volume 4, , January 1985,
  • Volume 5, , February 1985,

The Haruki bunkoban release is as follows:

  • Volume 1, February 1999,

Video game

A video game was released for the NEC PC-88 in 1985.

American release

On October 2, 1987, an American home video company known as Celebrity Home Entertainment released The Dagger of Kamui on their Just for Kids VHS label in an English-dubbed version called Revenge of the Ninja Warrior. This release of the film was heavily edited, removing 22 of the 132 minutes of footage; the resulting cut ran 110 minutes. The uncut dub was later re-released by Best Film and Video Co. in 1995 under the title The Blade of Kamui.

The unedited version, in Japanese with English subtitles and bearing the title The Dagger of Kamui, was later released on VHS and DVD by AnimEigo.

Musical score

Ryudo Uzaki's score for the film is notable for combining rock music instrumentation with Balinese kecak vocals.

Reception

Helen McCarthy in 500 Essential Anime Movies states that "with Madhouse and a stellar team of animators on board, the art and design are first class". She praises the "clever script", fluid animation and battle scenes, calling the film "a good old-fashioned epic".

References

  • (Madhouse)

fr:L'Épée de Kamui

it:La spada dei Kamui