Sandayū Momochi

Sandayū Momochi (百地 三太夫, Momochi Sandayū) is a name commonly associated with one of the three Iga ninja leaders of the Warring States period. He is best known for defying Nobunaga during the riots in Iga. Edo period folklore tends to state that he taught Goemon and Kirigakure Saizō.

Before his playable appearance, he was a generic bodyguard in the name of Tamba Momochi in Samurai Warriors 2.

The Nobunaga no Yabou 201X poll for 4-star officers puts him in sixty-ninth place.

Samurai Warriors
100man-nin no Sengoku Musou establishes Sandayū as Hanzō and Goemon's mentor. He taught his pupils to kill their emotions for duty and objectifies them during their reunions. Out of his students, he favors Hanzō as his "finest creation". Sandayū cryptically warns his disciple to heed his principles in their conversations.

Goemon's character biography in the fourth title mentions that Sandayū tutored him. His allegedly strict teachings ostracized him from his disciple.

In Samurai Warriors 5, he is introduced as the current head of the Iga Clan, having been a friend of Hanzō prior to his departure and an acquaintance of Hideyoshi. Sandayū's family is mentioned to have been killed by warriors, and he has bore a grudge against them ever since. His earliest chronological appearance is at Suruga, where he assists Hanzō for the sake of old times. He appears to assist the Oda at Inabayama Castle constructing Sunomata Castle at Hideyoshi's request. Believing Nobunaga to be more than a mere fool, and impressed with the young lord's ambition, Sandayū pledges the Iga Clan's service to Nobunaga but hopes to sabotage the lord's plan down the line. When Nobunaga resorts to crueler methods, Sandayū is more actively used, most notably setting the fires in Mt. Hiei and sabotaging Odani Castle. Since Nobunaga has now dedicated himself to the land's unification, Sandayū blurts to Mitsuki of her true father's death and that Nobunaga was a cruel tyrant from the start.

During the time leading up to Nagashino, he grows increasingly bolder in his plans and spurns several rebellions within the Oda ranks. His first signs of betrayal appear at Shigisan Castle, where he intentionally feeds Nobutada Oda false information and secretly burns the allied supplies. In Hisahide's side, it is revealed that he convinced Hisahide to rebel and was about to defect before learning of Mitsuhide's task force.

During the campaign against the Mōri, the Tokugawa forces and Mitsuhide discover his treachery and move to stop him. During the Iga campaign, Sandayu fights with sadistic glee and summons illusions of Nagamasa Azai and Shikanosuke Yamanaka to rattle Mitsuhide, as both of their deaths weigh heavily on his mind. He is seemingly slain by the combined efforts of both Mitsuhide and Ieyasu Tokugawa's forces but is revealed to have only faked his death. At Honnōji, Sandayū reappears with ninjas to assassinate both Nobunaga and Mitsuhide but is defeated before he can succeed.

Seeing that the Tokugawa forces were escaping through Iga, Sandayū attempts to hunt down Ieyasu once more. In a final showdown against the Tokugawa forces, Sandayū is finally defeated and thrown off a cliff with the combined efforts of Ieyasu, Tadakatsu, and Hanzō. It is implied, however, that he has once again cheated death.

During the hypothetical scenarios, he plays a more active and antagonistic role. When Nobuyasu Tokugawa attempts to form an alliance with Katsuyori Takeda, Sandayū joins the Tokugawa forces in stopping Katsuyori, but moves to kill Sena as she still wishes to protect her son. Ultimately, Hanzō arrives and informs the Tokugawa forces that Sandayū was the true instigator of Nobuyasu and defeat him.

Following his defeat against the Tokugawa, Sandayū appears during the "True Battle of Honnōji", where he unleashes illusions of Shingen, Katsuyori, Kenshin and Yoshimoto against Nobunaga. Though he has his prey cornered, timely reinforcements from both Mitsuhide and Hisahide force Sandayū to flee. He eventually rejoins Yoshiaki Ashikaga's coup against Nobunaga at Yamazaki, and summons several ninjas to disguise themselves as Tokugawa reinforcements. Sandayū's plot is unraveled when the real Ieyasu and Sena arrive to assist the Oda army, and Sandayū is finally slain at Tennōzan.

He is also given a personal scenario detailing an alternate Iga with Nobunaga leading the invasion instead. Although he has Hisahide to help, the two turn on each other as soon as they defeat the Oda forces. He shares another scenario with Hideyoshi showing the construction of Sunomata Castle before Nobunaga's arrival.

Kessen
Kessen III has him enter the narrative when he is hired by merchants and the shogun to oppose Nobunaga. The elderly Momochi is touted as a master shinobi and arrogantly relishes in his people's strengths. He possesses the strongest ninja equipment and units in the game. The player has the option to subjugate him and the Iga ninja in chapter 9. He defends his location with several ambushes and attacks with powerful ninja spells. If the player defeats him, he will perish in battle. Momochi otherwise disappears from the narrative after the chapter.

Nobunaga's Ambition
Throughout the series, Sandayū is often one of the strongest ninja units. He often has high War stats and ninja-related officer abilities. In most titles, he is identified as the leader of all Iga ninja. His relationship with Goemon fluctuates with each title. Sphere of Influence states they are partners and Goemon is his second-in-command.

In the online adaption, Sandayū is the elderly leader of the Iga forces. He is a level 75 ninja commander who wields twin blades in battle and several NPC only spells.

Nobunyaga no Yabou has Sandayū act as Hanzō and Goemon's mentor in the Ninja no Gunzo scenario. He is the decisive and wise leader of all Iga ninja. When the Iga ninja incur Nobunyaga's wrath, Sandayū leads those in his village to revolt. He perishes in the heart of the conflict. Hanzō later investigates the ruins of his home to find a letter his mentor had left for him. It encourages his pupil to stay true to his lord in spite of whatever fate may befall their home.

Nobunaga no Yabou 201X has him appear in the Tensho Iga War event. Sandayū is recognized as a reigning chief of the Iga ninja; Yogiri and Yuugiri address him as "Chief" and Fujibayashi Nagatonokami is his lieutenant. He is a master of advanced ninja spells, which he uses to subdue UMA within his home territory. At Hanzō's recommendation, Sandayū calls for allies near and far to join forces with Nobunaga in Iga's defense. He personally fights in the front lines at Fujiyama Castle and Heiraku Temple.

Personality
At first glance, Sandayu seems to be a friendly and professional fellow, merely doing what he is paid to do in the war and helping Hideyoshi and Hanzo fit in well with their clans respectively. However, during certain incidents like Mt.Hiei, he takes a certain almost disturbing amount of pride in watching the burning of the temple and also subtly manipulates Mitsuki all under the guise of pretending to be a friend to her. His true colours get gradually revealed throughout the story, and he becomes increasingly unhinged as his plans against Nobunaga are continually foiled. He resents the warrior class and samurai and wishes to burn them all down and start anew. He finds it amusing being one step ahead of Nobunaga and almost everyone else, but does genuinely fear Hanzo when Hanzo arouses his suspicions and confronts Sandayu, fleeing the scene after coming close to losing a fight with his former colleague.

Voice Actors

 * Bob Papenbrook - Kessen III (English-uncredited)
 * Yasuhiko Kawazu - Kessen III (Japanese)
 * Kenjiro Tsuda - Samurai Warriors 5
 * Takahiro Shimada - Shin Nobunaga no Yabou

Quotes

 * "Nobunaga, I will defeat you with the ways of old!"
 * Kessen III

Historical Information
Momochi Sandayū was Momochi Seiemon's son and the presiding lord to a small clan. Historically, his true name has not been verified. Sandayū is a fictional invention of the Edo period and is a distortion of a term for "clan elder" (三太, daifu). The name may have also been given to his grandson rather than the Momochi leader in question. Tanba or Tamba is either argued to be his government rank or a division of the Iga ninja to distinguish himself from the other elite ninja families, the Fujibayashi and the Hattori. Iranki dubs him Tango (丹後) over Tanba/Tamba. His given name may have been Yasumitsu or Masanishi.

Ninja history in general tends to be recorded oral legends, so it's difficult to verify the authenticity of his early history. According to the tales, Sandayū was known as a shinobi amongst shinobi. He was silent and emotionless: a true shadow without form. He reputedly never showed his face to others. Tales are divided on whether Sandayū was an impossibly skilled elite or a cowardly lower classed ninja. One legend states that Sandayū was never one person but rather three elite ninja who would flawlessly impersonate one another when deemed necessary. Most legends tend to favor his remarkable intelligence and state that he was a spy famed and valued for his reliability.

Whatever the case, Oda Nobukatsu invaded Iga in 1578 to expand his influence. He was initially successful until he was intercepted by the Iga rebels or ninja a year later. The defenders held the geographical advantage against Nobukatsu and gradually reclaimed their lost territory. According to the Iranki, Sandayū was among the defenders. He led two or three hundred defenders to arms, setting up various artillery barricades along a high mountain path. Oda retainer Tsuke Saburōzaemon accompanied Nobukatsu into their barricade with an army of 1,500. He and his men lost their lives, and Nobukatsu barely fled with his life. Nobunaga was outraged by his son's humiliation and wrote in a letter, "...[I am] tempted to break family ties with him".

In 1581 Nobunaga personally led an army of 40,000 with six generals to eradicate Iga residents. Historians argue that Nobunaga may have led the assault primarily to avenge his stained family honor rather than the personal grudge often stated in legends. Sandayū was noted to be present around the end of the conflict and led 1,600 or so tired Iga residents (either common men and women or rebel ninja) within Kashiwara Castle. He reputedly held a strong defense against the castle siege. From here on, he disappears from historical accounts of the conflict.

Historically, the rebels were overwhelmed by the massive Oda army. No man, woman, or child was spared from the massacre that followed their defeat. Edo period folklore tends to favor the romantic image of Sandayū's defiant death at an earlier date at Iga Ueno Castle rather than depict him as a victim to the slaughter. Alternatively he was fabled to have survived the conflict and died at an old age due to natural causes.

Trivia

 * He is the historical base for Naomitsu Momoji.

Gallery
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