Matsudaira Sadanobu
Originally it was planned to make only four distinct stories, with a different hero in each, however Shintarō was received so well that he remained for the rest of the series in which, acting on secret orders from the rōjū (high councillor) Lord Matsudaira Sadanobu, he gathers information mostly in the various fiefdoms of the central Honshū and battles rival warriors and spies, often aided by his faithful ninja assistant Tombei the Mist (霧の遁兵衛, Kiri no Tonbei) (played by Fuyukichi Maki).