The eyepatch legend
Legend has it that Yagyu Jubei had the use of only one eye; most legends state that he lost it in a sword sparring session where his father, Yagyu Munenori struck him accidentally. However, the truth is unknown and several authors of recent have chosen to portray Jubei as having both eyes, though the classical "eyepatch" look remains standard.
In pop culture, Jubei's eye patch is usually just a sword guard with leather wrapped through it. An exception to this is found in the manga Samurai Legend, in which a swordsman under the name of Yagyu Jubei is seen walking around matching the popular culture image. This Jubei is literally disarmed five pages in, only for a two-eyed Yagyu Jubei to reveal himself a second later. Near the end of this manga Jubei loses his right eye in a swordfight and for the final chapters, he wears an eye-patch, but not of the sword guard fashion. Another exception lies in Jubei-chan, in which the eyepatch is heart-shaped and pink.
Jubei as a ninja
Although a samurai, Yagyu Jubei in popular culture is occasionally depicted with ninja traits; during the missing twelve years of his life, he could have been doing secret missions for the emperor. Note, however, that Ninja Scroll, Ninja Resurrection, and Jubei-chan the Ninja Girl do not show him as a ninja. Ninja Scroll is about a different character; the other two have had their titles changed for American release and did not originally mention ninja.
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