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The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls: Revenge of the Hori Clan (Japanese: Y十M ～柳生忍法帖～, Hepburn: Wai Jū Emu: Yagyū Ninpōchō) 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 before 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. Unfortunately, though the Seven Spears agreed to depart, only seven of the Hori women survived.

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 to locate one 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.

Publication

The Yagyū Ninja Scrolls was serialised in Kodansha’s Weekly Young Magazine from 2005 to 2008, and was licensed for English publication by Del Rey Manga, which released seven volumes from 2007 to 2009. It was re-licensed by Kodansha USA and they released the full manga digitally from August 9, 2016 to April 11, 2017.

Reception

In Jason Thompson‘s online appendix to Manga: The Complete Guide, he praised the layouts of the manga, and described the character designs as “reminiscent of Go Nagai“. Theron Martin, writing for Anime News Network about the first two volumes, enjoyed the attention to historical detail, but felt the character designs were “overly harsh”. A.E. Sparrow, writing for IGN, appreciated the distinct character designs for the women and their enemies.

Y十M ～柳生忍法帖～ *(Wai Jū Emu: Yagyū Ninpōchō)*
The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls: Revenge of the Hori Clan
*Cover art from volume 1 of The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls, as published by Kodansha*
Genre	Action, historical fantasy
Manga
Written by	Masaki Segawa
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	^NA Del Rey Manga (former) Kodansha USA (digital)
Magazine	*Weekly Young Magazine*
Demographic	*Seinen*
Original run	November 2005 – June 2007
Volumes	11 (List of volumes)