Home › Japan › Ninja Legends: Fact vs Myth › Sarutobi Sasuke
Sarutobi Sasuke's Real Name: None (fictional character)
fiction
Sarutobi Sasuke (猿飛佐助) 本名: None (fictional character) (架空の人物)
Answer: Sarutobi Sasuke is a fictional ninja with no real name. He was popularized by the Tachikawa Bunko storybooks of the Taishō era (1910s).
Fiction: Sarutobi Sasuke became famous through the Tachikawa Bunko (立川文庫) series of cheap storybooks published in Osaka in the 1910s. He is one of the "Sanada Ten Braves" (真田十勇士), fictional retainers of the real general Sanada Yukimura (Nobushige), who fought for the Toyotomi side at the Siege of Osaka (1614–15).
In the stories, Sasuke is raised in the mountains, trained by monkeys and the ninja master Tozawa Hakuunsai, and becomes a Kōga ninja. Historians treat him as invented, though some suggest he may be loosely based on earlier tales.
His name lives on in pop culture: in Naruto, the Third Hokage is Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his father is named Sasuke Sarutobi, a nod to the legend.
FAQ
Was Sarutobi Sasuke a real ninja? No. He is a fictional character from early-1900s storybooks.
Is Naruto's Sarutobi named after him? Yes, the Sarutobi clan in Naruto nods to this legend.