Who is Yotanwa from “Kingdom”? Explanation including historical facts | Isekai2nd

“Kingdom” is a historical manga by Yasuhisa Hara that is currently being serialized in Weekly Young Jump. The setting is the end of the Warring States period in China (starting around 245 BC). The main characters are the young King of Qin, Yingzheng (later known as Qin Shihuang), who aims to unify China, and Shin, later known as Li Xin, a servant who aspires to become a great general.

Here, we will summarize the personal information of Yotanwa, the leader of the beautiful mountain people. I would also like to look into the historical facts about Yang Duanhe.

*Includes the story that has already aired (5th season) in the anime as of June 2025. If you don't like spoilers, please back up your browser.

table of contents

• Why is Yang Duanhe lending his power to politics?
• Who are the mountain people?
• Yang Duanhe's activities and his rise in Qin
• Historical facts of Yang Duanhe
• Mie Sonozaki plays Yang Duanhe in the anime.
• Masami Nagasawa plays Yang Duanhe in the movie.
• summary
• Related articles
• Related products

Why is Yang Duanhe lending his power to politics?

Yang Duanhe is the leader of the mountain people. Not a Qin national. So why did you decide to lend your power to politics?

Encounter between Yang Duanhe and politics

The encounter between Yang Duanhe and Sei is depicted early in the story.

Masa has been usurped from the throne by his half-brother, Seikyo, and is exiled from the royal capital, Kanyo, to a village. The government must return to Hamyang and regain the throne.

Masa, along with Shin and Karyoten, travel through the forest, avoiding people's attention. Masa's goal is to meet up with a group led by his loyal retainer Shobun-kun. The place is an octagonal hall built by Duke Mu (the 9th king of the Qin dynasty, who historically reigned from 659 BC to 621 BC), which has been protected by the mountain people for 400 years.

Duke Mu was a valuable king who treated the mountain people, who were discriminated against as wildlings at the time, as equals and made an alliance with them. The octagonal hall, hidden deep in the mountains, was built by Duke Mu to communicate with the mountain people.

Masa met up with Shofumi and others at this hall and decided to ask the mountain people for cooperation. However, since Duke Mu's death, the relationship between Qin and the mountain people has become estranged. Even so, Masa goes alone to the King of the Mountain to negotiate, even though he is aware of the danger to his own safety.

Masa meets Yang Duanhe, the king of the mountain. We would like to express our gratitude for cleaning and repairing the hall for 400 years. The main topic, the request for cooperation, is as follows. It is sincere and powerful, without hiding its true feelings.

Masaru explains his thoughts by saying, “Because we separate the Qin people from the mountain people, there will be friction.'' They whisper to themselves that this problem is the same in China, and declare that their goal is to “eliminate all borders!”

When Yang Duanhe heard this, perhaps because it coincided with his long-held dream of “expanding the world,'' he declared, “Everyone, listen carefully, Yang Duanhe, the king of the mountain world, has formed an unprecedented alliance with the king of Qin, Yuzheng!!'' He promised to fully cooperate with the government.

“Death King of the Mountain World”

A mountain people who became an ally of the Qin state. The charismatic leadership of Yang Duanhe, who leads them, is admirable.
And above all, its beauty is captivating.

Yang Duanhe's sword is a “hyperbolic sword”. Due to his strength as a warrior and his calmness, which sometimes makes ruthless judgments, he is nicknamed the “Death King of the Mountain World.'' Additionally, the strength of the mountain people she leads is unique and cannot be imitated by the people of the plains.

Who are the mountain people?

　

So, what kind of people are the mountain people?

collection of many tribes

Although they are often referred to as mountain people, they are actually a collection of various tribes (for example, the Figo tribe, the Sarute tribe, the Mera tribe, etc.). Each tribe has different customs and characteristics. The language is unique to the mountain people, which is different from that of the Qin Dynasty and other Chinese countries.

There are many mountain people, but I will introduce only two here.
Bajiou: Survivor of the extinct Baji tribe. When he was found, he could not speak and looked like a beast. He regained his humanity under Yang Duanhe, and is now able to speak both the mountain people's language and the Qin (Chinese) language.
Danto: Chief of the Figo tribe. Keep a hawk as a pet and handle it freely. As the head of the tribe, he is highly placed. Maybe it's a shame that there are so many dirty jokes (?) Actually, I'm in love with Yang Duanhe (!?)

Yang Duanhe's activities and his rise in Qin

　

As the story progresses, the mountain people become active as a unit of the Qin army rather than cooperating with the Qin, and I think the event that triggered this was the Battle of Wu. The situation is roughly as follows.

It was during the “Battle of Hataya Seki (Joint Forces Edition, Qin vs. 6 countries, Hatagaya Seki is also the gate of Qin's eastern border)”.
Li Boku of Zhao left the main battle and invaded Fan, the city capital at the southern gate of Qin. The Hishin-tai rushed out of the main battle, and the government also came from Xianyang and fought for the defense themselves. However, the prospects of the militia-based government seem to be under pressure. A tough siege battle continues.

On the seventh day, when I thought it was all over, the mountain people led by Yang Duanhe appeared on a hill overlooking the battlefield!

At the words of Yang Duanhe's “All troops, it's a blood festival'', the mountain people all descend down a vertical cliff and rush into the battlefield. The state of Qin, including Xiao, was saved, and Yang Duanhe became the Great General of the Qin dynasty due to his meritorious deeds.

I feel that this Distinguished Service Award was a turning point in changing the perceptions of those who still remained in the Qin Dynasty who looked down on the mountain people, and increasing the affinity of the mountain people to the Qin dynasty.

Afterwards, he played an active role, informing the government of the incident when he went to subjugate the Xiongnu, and achieving success in the battle against the Kenju. Yang Duanhe was appointed as one of the “Six Great Generals'' of the Qin state.

Historical facts of Yang Duanhe

　

So far, we have looked at Yang Duanhe from Kingdom, but now let's take a look at the historical Yang Duanhe.

Yang Duanhe in “Shiji”

If you want to learn about China's Warring States period, the place to turn to is Shiji.

“Shiji” is a historical record of approximately 530,000 characters (a format that summarizes events by person or country rather than in chronological order) compiled by Sima Qian during the era of Emperor Wu of the former Han Dynasty. Since it was written during the era of Emperor Wu, this history book was written about 100 years after the fall of the Qin dynasty.

There are three places where Yang Duanhe appears in Shiji:
“In the ninth year (omitted), Yang Duanhe attacked the Yen clan (affiliated to Weiyi, Henan and Zhengzhou).”
“In the eleventh year, Wang Jian became the main commander, Huan Kuan the vice-general, and Yang Duanhe the last general, and they combined their forces to attack Ye (Pengcheng, Hebei), but they could not be defeated easily, so they first captured nine cities.''
“In the 18th year, he raised a large army and attacked Zhao. Duanhe led the soldiers from Kawachi and surrounded Handan.”
(Quoted from Sima Qian, Shiki 1 Honki, Chikuma Shobo, 1995)

All of the above is written in the “Qin Shihuang Genki''. Considering the historical background, I think it was a man rather than a woman, but it is certain that she contributed to the unification of China during the Qin dynasty. In the way the Shiji is written, there is no mention that they were a different ethnic group living in a mountainous area, so I feel that they were probably military commanders of the Qin dynasty.
Details such as his family, personality, private life, and how he ended his life are unknown.

In any case, Hara-sensei is amazing at making Yang Duanhe a woman and creating the image of a mountain people from a different culture. Yang Duanhe stands as a character who colors the work and brings about a powerful scene change.

Mie Sonozaki plays Yang Duanhe in the anime.

　
Now, let's take a look at the anime version of Kingdom.

In the anime version, the person who plays Yang Duanhe is Mie Sonozaki.

　

Mie Sonozaki’s profile

Mie Sonozaki was born on February 7th in Tokyo.

Representative works in anime include the role of Gertrud Barkhorn in “Strike Witches,” the role of Sora Shiunin in “Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V,” and the role of Paula Dickins (Cynthia Moore) in “GREAT PRETENDER.”

In “Kingdom,'' he shows us a cool Yang Duanhe, with his charismatic calm and ruthlessness, and his famous line, “It's a blood festival!'' When it comes to unwavering core strength, this is the king of the mountain! I think everyone who watched it agreed.

Masami Nagasawa plays Yang Duanhe in the movie.

　

Now, let's take a look at the live-action movie version of “Kingdom.”

Masami Nagasawa plays Yang Duanhe in the movie version.

Masami Nagasawa’s profile

Masami Nagasawa was born on June 3rd in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Representative works include the role of Korin in the historical drama “Kumei ga Tsuji'', the role of Hatsune in “Tenchijin'', the role of Aki Hirose in the movie “Cry for Love in the Center of the World'', and the role of Kaoru Aragaki in the movie “Namida Sousou''.

There are four live-action “Kingdom'' movies, and Mr. Nagasawa has appeared in three of them: “Kingdom,'' “Kingdom: Flames of Fate,'' and “Kingdom: The Return of the General.''

Nagasawa's Yang Duanhe is, first of all, beautiful! I like the style! I was drawn to its appearance, but I was also surprised at how cool the action scenes were. Also, personally, I felt that there was a hidden kindness in the dialogue, as if there was more humanity hidden than words.

summary

　

I have compiled information about Yang Duanhe, and I think he is an attractive character. I think her beauty and charisma have the power to capture anyone's heart.

In the manga version, the mountain people's lines are written in mysterious characters, with words that we can understand added as ruby. Yang Duanhe freely speaks the language of the mountain people and the language of the Qin Dynasty (Chinese language), and I think that her intelligence and education, not just military aspects, are a big part of her charm.

I think Yang Duanhe has its own highlights, such as his interactions with his subordinates that can only be seen in the manga version, his strong core in the anime version, and the beauty in the movie version. If you only know one version, please check out the other versions as well!