Also known as Masashige. The son of a certain Hattori Yasunaga, Hanzo, who would earn the nickname 'Devil Hanzo', served Tokugawa Ieyasu loyally and usefully. His nickname - Devil Hanzo - was not only to pay homage to his skills but also to distinguish him from another Tokugawa 'ninja', Watanabe Hanzo. Hattori, who fought his first battle at the age of 16, went on to serve at Anegawa (1570) and Mikatagahara (1572), but his most valuable contribution came in 1582, following Oda Nobunaga's death. At that time Tokugawa and his retainers had been staying near Ôsaka and learned of the assassination only just in time to avoid being detained by Akechi Mitsuhide's troops. But they were by no means out of the woods. Mikawa was still a long way away, and Akechi men would be combing the roads for them. At this point, Hanzo suggested that they take a route through Iga province, as he had ties with the samurai there. In addition, Ieyasu had sheltered survivors from Nobunaga's bloody invasion of that province in 1580 and those who knew of this would certainly be well disposed to offer assistance. Honda Tadakatsu sent Hanzo on ahead, and, as hoped, the Iga men agreed not only to guide them along back roads, but also to provide them with an escort. At length, Tokugawa and his band returned to Mikawa safely. The same could not be said for Anayama Beisetsu, a recent Tokugawa addition who had insisted on taking a different route.

A Japanese Swordsmith. Said to be the best swordsmith on earth. No one knows for sure whether he existed or was he just a myth. Hattori Hanzo was also a character in the movie Kill Bill directed by Quentin
Tarantino and starring Uma Thurman.
According to the movie, Hattori Hanzo is still alive and lives in the city of okinawa, Japan but resigned from his original job 20 years ago as he made a primise to stop creating weapons that kill people.