Ishikawa Goemon (石川五右衛門) is the Japanese version of Robin Hood. Like Robin Hood, Goemon (pictured to the right) stole from the rich and gave the riches to the poor. Goemon may or may not have been a real person. There is a historical mention of a thief named Goemon, but as to whether he actually stole goods to give to the poor is unknown. The legend of Goemon was perhaps inspired by this thief named Goemon, but not actually based on the real life of this thief.

There are several stories about Goemon, and not all are consistent with each other. One is about Goemon’s futile attempt to assassinate a powerful daimyō (大名,) by the name of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉). As punishment, Hideyoshi boiled Goemon alive to make an example out of him to any future aspiring assassins. Supposedly, this is where the term goemonburo (五右衛門風呂) comes from. A goemonburo is a traditional Japanese tub with a wooden lid that is heated from the bottom of the tub.  As the picture to the right shows, goemonburo died from the boiling water.

In other accounts of Goemon’s life, he is depicted as a ninja that failed to assassinate the famous daimyō Oda Nobunaga (織田信長). Whichever story you read, Goemon dies, and he often dies because of some failure to assassinate an important figure. Like other stories about Japanese heroes, Goemon dies a warrior. In some cultures, heroes are supposed to outlive their opponents, but in Japanese culture, heroes often die prematurely. This is because death is considered the ultimate act of sacrifice that a hero can display for his family, his lord or for his honor.

Even today, the story of Goemon continues to live on in Japanese popular culture. For instance, there was a movie titled Goemon in 2009 that starred Yosuke Eguchi as Goemon. The movie deviates from the original legends of Goemon, but I really liked the special effects! Here is a trailer of the movie: