is a period-themed seinen manga by Masaki Segawa that was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine from 2005 through 2007 and compiled into 11 collected volumes.
Like the author's previous title Basilisk, The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls is an adaptation on a novel from Futaro Yamada's Ninpōchō series and can therefore be considered a sequel to Basilisk, especially as several of the same historical characters featured in Basilisk make a return appearance. Its story centers on seven female survivors of the Hori clan, aided by Yagyū Jūbei, and their quest of vengeance.
Plot
In the Nineteenth Year of Kannei (1642), a rebellion by the Hori clan against Katō Akinari, the daimyō of Aizu, has been suppressed through the intervention of the Tokugawa shogunate. Placed into the custody of the Seven Spears, Katō's brutal group of personal enforcers, the Hori men are dragged to the Tōkei-ji "Divorce Temple" at Kamakura where the Hori women had been hiding. Despite a law passed by the former shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu forbidding men to enter the temple, the Seven Spears force their way in and brutally slaughter the Hori women in front of their husbands and brothers, before proceeding to murder them too. The massacre is stopped only by the intervention of Princess Sen, the Tōkei-ji Temple's guardian and older sister to the reigning shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu. When the Seven Spears agree to depart, only seven of the Hori women are left alive.
In retribution for the violation of Tōkeiji Temple and those who she had taken under her care, Princess Sen sends a message to the famous monk Takuan Sōhō. She asks him to locate a person who can train the seven Hori women in the arts of ninjutsu to seek their revenge. The one chosen is Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi, son of Yagyū Munenori and former instructor to the shogun. With Jubei's instruction and guidance, the Hori women begin their war against the Seven Spears and ultimately Katō himself.
Characters
- Son of the famous Yagyū Munenori, Jūbei was formerly a sword instructor for Shogun Iemitsu but gave up the post to his younger brother in order to live as a wandering swordsman. Chosen by Takuan Sōhō at the request of Princess Sen to train the Hori women in the arts of war, Jūbei had strong doubts as to whether they would be able to win but agreed to teach them as it might prove interesting. As the Seven Spears greatly outclass the Hori women in terms of power and martial ability, Jūbei instead instructs them in the ways of military strategy, devising ambush tactics for the Hori women to eliminate the Seven Spears one by one in ways that neutralize their individual skills. Although a harsh and merciless teacher (Takuan relates to Princess Sen how during one of his lessons with Iemitsu Jūbei beat his student to the point that Iemitsu couldn't even stand), Jūbei has a mischievous streak to him and he enjoys needling and annoying the Hori women while his cavalier attitude belies both his strong sense of justice and his dedication to his students.