Momochi Sandayu

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"You will learn nothing in victory, Oda Nobunaga. In your defeat, you will know it all."

―Sandayu to Oda Nobunaga, 1581.

Momochi Sandayu
Biographical information
Died	30 September 1581 Mibuno Castle, Iga, Japan
Species	Human
Political information
Affiliations	Iga ikki Assassins Kakushiba ikki

Momochi Sandayu (百地 三太夫; died 1581) was a Japanese shinobi who served as a leader of the Iga ikki during the late Sengoku period. He was also a Master Assassin of the Kakushiba ikki, leading the organization alongside Tsuyu and helping her safeguard the Imperial Regalia of Japan.

Following Tsuyu's disappearance and the regalia's theft by the Shinbakufu, Sandayu, as one of the last surviving members of the Kakushiba ikki alongside Fujibayashi Nagato, forsook his Assassin duties to focus on protecting Iga from outside threats. During Iga's invasion by Oda Nobunaga, Sandayu learned that one of the regalia had been hidden by Nagato and that the Shinbakufu would attempt to steal it.

Despite his oath to protect the artifact, Sandayu chose to prioritize Iga's safety and rode to Mibuno Castle to meet Nobunga's army. There, he would ultimately be slain by Nobunaga's samurai Yasuke, though not before informing him of Nagato's daughter Fujibayashi Naoe and urging him to find and help her.

Biography

Shinobi mentor

By 1560, Sandayu had become one of Iga's most renowned shinobi and took on an apprentice, the talented but arrogant Hattori Hanzō. Around this time, he made the acquaintance of the Assassin Alvaro Catarribera and his apprentice, Tsuyu, who had come to Iga to seek his help. The Assassins informed Sandayu about their cause and proposed an alliance to fight against the growing Templar threat in Japan.

Sandayu accepted and later traveled to a village which had come under attack by two corrupt samurai demanding tribute. One of the samurai had been defeated by a young farmer named Fujibayashi Masayasu, while the second was killed by Hanzō. Sensing Masayasu's potential, Sandayu introduced himself to him and, against Hanzō's protests that Masayasu was just a farmer and thus unworthy of becoming a shinobi, proposed a sparring contest between Masayasu and Hanzō to test the former's skills.

Sandayu breaking up Masayasu and Hanzō's fight

Sandayu watched the fight from atop the treetops alongside Catarribera, during which the two discussed their respective apprentices' strengths and weaknesses. Sandayu pointed out that Hanzō's talent was overshadowed by his own arrogance, and expressed his belief that, if Hanzō were to work alongside someone like Tsuyu, he could learn from her and change for the better. To this, Catarribera revealed that Tsuyu's character was still a mystery to him, as she had lived her entire life thinking only about how to fight.

After Masayasu managed to defeat Hanzō using underhanded tactics, Sandayu broke up the fight. He briefly reprimanded Hanzō for his pride and insulting Masayasu's status before offering the latter the chance to become a shinobi under his guidance. Masayasu accepted and later departed the village to commence his training.

The Kakushiba ikki

During Masayasu and Hanzō's training, Sandayu informed his pupils that the true reason he was tutoring them was so that they would be ready for a secret mission to protect Japan. He then introduced them to Catarribera and Tsuyu, who proceeded to explain their conflict with the Templar Order and their task from the late Emperor Go-Nara to safeguard the Imperial Regalia of Japan.

Sandayu, Nagato, and Hanzō swearing to Tsuyu's creed

In time, Sandayu, Hanzō, and Masayasu – who became known as Fujibayashi Nagato – came to join the Kakushiba ikki, the brotherhood founded by Catarribera and Tsuyu, which the latter assumed control of following her mentor's departure. They all swore an oath to the Creed to protect the Imperial Regalia and hid the artifacts in a kofun in Izumi Settsu.

Sandayu helped Tsuyu lead the Kakushiba ikki and find new recruits, including a man named Tsubasa, whom he personally vouched for. In general, Sandayu was more lenient when it came to accepting new members into the Brotherhood compared to the stern and strict Tsuyu, but nonetheless the Kakushiba ikki was able to prosper, establishing a number of outposts across Japan while their enemies' influence faded.

However, this all came to an end once Hanzō, who had left the Brotherhood years prior, returned to Iga to inform his old allies that the Imperial Regalia's location had been compromised. Tsuyu summoned all Assassins in Japan to help protect the artifacts, and Sandayu joined them as they fought a mysterious group called the Shinbakufu at the kofun where the regalia were stored. However, the resulting battle was an onslaught, with Sandayu being one of the few survivors.

When he later returned to Iga, Sandayu informed Nagato of the Assassins' fate and told him that Tsuyu was among the victims. Unbeknownst to him, however, Tsuyu had in fact survived and managed to protect one of the regalia – the jewel Yasakani no Magatama – which she entrusted to Nagato before leaving to search for the others. Nagato went on to hide the Jewel in the Mihata Kofun, without ever informing Sandayu of its location or Tsuyu's survival.

Training Fujibayashi Naoe

Sandayu: "Can you fight like your father?"

Naoe: "Yes, sir, I can. He has taught me."

Sandayu: "Then today will be your greatest test. When you are ready, get to the edge of Nagano Pass. Stay low. Do not attack until I give the order."

—Sandayu giving orders to Naoe during the defense of Iga, 1579.

On 6 October 1579, Sandayu led the successful defense of Iga from the invading army of Oda Nobunaga, commanded by his son Oda Nobukatsu. During the battle, he allowed Fujibayashi Naoe, Nagato and Tsuyu's daughter, to help the other shinobi, despite her father having forbidden her from taking part in the conflict out of fear for her safety. However, Naoe managed to impress both Nagato and Sandayu by single-handedly killing an enemy samurai.

Consequently, Sandayu began training Naoe in the shinobi arts, giving her a grappling hook and assigning her the task of investigating a suspicious lack of response from their base at Kunimiyama Fort. After Naoe discovered that the fort had been taken over by Oda Nobunaga's forces in preparation for a second invasion of Iga, she reported back to Sandayu, who was impressed by the young Igan's talent for espionage and continued to train her.

Death

Sandayu: "You have not killed me yet. I have one more trick... but not the strength to use it."

Yasuke: "Where did you get that? Sandayu! Tell me!"

Sandayu: "A girl from Iga with the same blade. Trust her. Help her."

—Sandayu's dying words to Yasuke, 1581.

On 30 October 1581, Sandayu and the other members of the Iga ikki initiated Naoe into the league after she had completed her training. Shortly after, Hattori Hanzō unexpectedly arrived and informed his old allies that Oda Nobunaga's forces were marching towards Iga. He then offered them the protection of his lord Tokugawa Ieyasu if they swore loyalty to him, but the shinobi refused and resolved to defend their homeland by their own means.

Sandayu and other shinobi traveled to the Aekuni Shrine, where they battled some of the invading Oda clan soldiers and eventually managed to defeat them with help from Nagato and Naoe. Nagato then handed Sandayu a letter he had received from Hanzō, which revealed that the Shinbakufu were after the Jewel hidden in the Mihata Kofun. Deducing Tsuyu had given him the artifact for safekeeping, Sandayu was furious that Nagato had concealed this information from him and claimed that their oath to protect the Imperial Regalia had died with Tsuyu.

After taking a look at Naoe, however, he relented and told Nagato that he understood if he chose to prioritize the Jewel and his daughter's safety over that of Iga. Nagato insisted that he would not abandon his homeland in its time of need, and offered to accompany Sandayu to Mibuno Castle, where they would make their final stand against Nobunaga's army. Nagato then gave Naoe his Hidden Blade and tasked her to retrive and protect the Jewel while he left with Sandayu.

Although the shinobi put up a brave resistance, they were ultimately overwhelmed by Nobunaga's forces, in part thanks to his samurai Yasuke, who easily destroyed their defenses. After Nagato left to help Naoe, who had been ambushed by the Shinbakufu, Sandayu was left to confront Nobunaga and his men alone. Defying the warlord, the shinobi challenged him to a duel, but Nobunaga refused, claiming that duels had no place in the "new world" he was trying to build.

As Nobunaga's men were about to execute Sandayu with their teppō, Yasuke intervened and asked that he duel the shinobi so he could give him a warrior's death. Nobunaga accepted and, after telling Yasuke to bring him Sandayu's head so he could gift it to his "idiot son", took his leave. Sandayu subsequently fought Yasuke, using his kusarigama and smoke bombs against the samurai, but despite these tricks, he was ultimately defeated. In his final moments, the shinobi showed Yasuke his Hidden Blade, which the latter immediately recognized. He then asked where Sandayu had got it from, but was only told to find and help a girl with a similar blade before Sandayu succumbed to his wounds.

Gallery

Momochi Sandayu in Iga no Monogatari

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Shadows
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows – Iga no Monogatari