Kobayakawa Hideaki - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

In the video game Kessen he is portrayed as a pathetic general dressed in splendid ochre armor, while in the manga Kagemusha Tokugawa Ieyasu he is seen with a childish mind. In the anime Sanada Juyushi Special he is portrayed sympathetically due to the many disappointments in his childhood, and also because of the broken promise that prevented him from becoming Hideyoshi's heir when Hideyori was born.

In Samurai Warriors 2 (Sengoku Musou 2), he is portrayed as young, inexperienced, and very indecisive. Shima Sakon refers to him as "Bitty Baby Kobayakawa". As mentioned previously in this article, he panics and joins the Tokugawa ranks when he is fired upon by Magobei Fuse, an officer of the Eastern Army. He is also present in Nene's Dream Stage, acting as her 'son', when in fact he feared Nene more than the rifles that supposedly drove him to defect to the Eastern Army.

In the game Sengoku Basara 3, he is portrayed as a coward and a glutton, and refers to himself as "The Gourmet General". During his boss battle, the player will face him in a fortress that surrounds a gigantic stir fry pot. He also wears armor that makes him look like a rhinoceros beetle, his helmet represents the horn, and the stir fry pot he wears on his back represents the shell. Also in one of the Sekigahara scenario's Tadakatsu Honda fires at Hideaki with his cannons to make him go over Ieyasu's side, which is a reference to the decision made by Ieyasu at the actual battle.

Hideaki was played by Louis Ozawa Changchien in the 2008 BBC Docudrama series Heroes and Villains, centering around the Battle of Sekigahara