playing the role of Ishikawa Goemon in the
kabuki drama
Sanmon Gosan no Kiri, which was staged in 1820 at the
Nakamura-za theater (print made by
Utagawa Toyokuni I) There is little historical information on Goemon's life, and as he has become a
folk hero, his background and origins have been widely speculated upon. In his first appearance in the historical annals, in the 1642 biography of
Hideyoshi, Goemon was referred to simply as a thief. As his legend became popular, various anti-
authoritarian exploits were attributed to him, including a supposed assassination attempt against the
Oda clan warlord
Oda Nobunaga. There are many versions of Goemon's background and accounts of his life. According to one of them, he was born as
Sanada Kuranoshin in 1558 to a
samurai family in service of the powerful
Miyoshi clan in
Iga Province. In 1573, when his father (possibly Ishikawa Akashi) was killed by the men of
Ashikaga shogunate (in some versions his mother was also killed), the 15-year-old Sanada swore revenge and began training the arts of
Iga ninjutsu under Momochi Sandayu (Momochi Tamba). He was, however, forced to flee when his master discovered Sanada's romance with one of his mistresses (but not before stealing a prized sword from his teacher). Some other sources state his name as and say he came from
Kawachi Province and was not a
nukenin (runaway ninja) at all. He then moved to the neighbouring
Kansai region, where he formed and led a band of thieves and bandits as Ishikawa Goemon, robbing the rich feudal lords, merchants and clerics, and sharing the loot with the oppressed peasants. According to another version, which also attributed a failed poisoning attempt on Nobunaga's life to Goemon, he was forced to become a robber when the ninja networks were broken up. There are also several conflicting accounts of Goemon's public execution by boiling on the banks of the
Kamo River in
Kyoto, including but not limited to the following ones: • Goemon tried to assassinate Hideyoshi to avenge the death of his wife Otaki and the capture of his son, Gobei. He snuck into
Fushimi Castle and entered Hideyoshi's room but knocked a bell off a table. The noise awoke the guards and Goemon was captured. He was sentenced to death by being boiled alive in an iron cauldron along with his very young son, but was able to save his son by holding him above his head. His son was then forgiven. • Goemon wanted to kill Hideyoshi because he was a
despot. When he entered Hideyoshi's room, he was detected by a mystical incense burner. He was executed on October 8 along with his whole family by being boiled alive. Goemon at first tried to save his son from the heat by holding him high above, but then suddenly plunged him deep into the bottom of the cauldron to kill him as quickly as possible. Then he stood with the body of the boy held high in the air in defiance of his enemies, until he eventually succumbed to pain and injuries and sank into the pot. Even the date of his death is uncertain, as some records say this took place in summer, while another dates it at October 8 (that is after middle of Japanese autumn). Before he died, Goemon wrote a famous farewell poem, saying that no matter what, thieves would always exist. A
tombstone dedicated to him is located in Daiunin temple in Kyoto. A large iron kettle-shaped
bathtub is now called a
goemonburo ("Goemon bath"). == In drama ==