Path of the Assassin (Japanese: 半蔵の門, Hepburn: Hanzō no Mon, lit. “Hanzō’s Teachings”) is a gekiga manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima and published in Weekly Gendai magazine (Kodansha). Unlike their previous collaborations on Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner, this story focuses on two historical figures from 16th-century Japan.

Path of the Assassin is the story of Hattori Hanzō, the master ninja whose duty it was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would grow up to become shōgun and unify Japan. The creators poetically describe the story as “Lifelong Friends, with the Same Dreams, Striving to Grow into a Rising River”. The 20-volume series has been reprinted by Dark Horse Comics in a thicker 15 volume edition, translated into English and oriented in the original right-to-left reading format.

Publication history

Dark Horse manga volumes:

• Volume 1. Serving in the Dark (July 2006).
• Volume 2. Sand and Flower (August 2006).
• Volume 3. Comparison of a Man (November 2006).
• Volume 4. The Man Who Altered the River’s Flow (December 2006).
• Volume 5. Battle of One Hundred and Eight Days (February 2007).
• Volume 6. Life’s Greatest Difficulty (April 2007).
• Volume 7. Center of the World (June 2007).
• Volume 8. Shinobi with Extending Fists (August 2007).
• Volume 9. Battle for Power – Part 1 (October 2007).
• Volume 10. Battle for Power – Part 2 (March 2008).
• Volume 11. Hikuma Castle (April 2008).
• Volume 12. Three Foot Battle (May 2008).
• Volume 13. Hateful Burden (September 2008)
• Volume 14. Bad Blood (January 2009)
• Volume 15. One Who Rules the Dark (May 2009)

Path of the Assassin
The cover of the first volume of Path of the Assassin
半蔵の門 (Hanzō no Mon)
Manga
Written by	Kazuo Koike
Illustrated by	Goseki Kojima
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA Dark Horse Comics
Magazine	Weekly Gendai
Demographic	Seinen
Original run	1978 – 1984
Volumes	20