History
Today, much of the history of Iga province can be viewed at various sightseeing locations scattered throughout Mie. The castle town of Ueno was the location of Iga-Ueno Castle.
The Iga Province is particularly famous for its clan of ninja, its most notable member being a samurai, Hattori Hanzō. Both the Iga and Kōka provinces are considered the birthplace of ninjutsu. It was also the birthplace of haiku poet Matsuo Bashō.
During the early Muromachi Period the Iga Province became effectively independent from their feudal rulers and established a form of republic. The Iga Republic was called Iga Sokoku Ikki (伊賀惣国一揆) in Japanese.
In 1581, two years after a failed invasion led by his son, the warlord Oda Nobunaga launched a massive invasion of Iga, attacking from six directions with a force of 40,000 to 60,000 men. After ruthlessly slaughtering great numbers of the inhabitants of the Iga region, Oda Nobunaga then declared a cease-fire which allowed some of the Iga ninja to escape. It was, however, the end of the independent Iga Republic.
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“The history of the genesis or the old mythology repeats itself in the experience of every child. He too is a demon or god thrown into a particular chaos, where he strives ever to lead things from disorder into order.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“These anyway might think it was important
That human history should not be shortened.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)