The 27th and final volume of Yusei Matsui’s manga The Elusive Samurai was released on October 2. To mark the occasion, photographs of three historical documents acquired by Matsui have been posted on a special page of the series‘ official website, along with a newly drawn six-page manga adapting the contents of the Aeba Myozurumaru Letter.
he Elusive Samurai Volume 27 cover © Yusei Matsui / SHUEISHA
Quick Summary
– The 27th and final volume of The Elusive Samurai was released on October 2.
– Creator Yusei Matsui produced a new six-page manga based on the Aeba Myozurumaru Letter.
– Images of three historical documents connected to the series are now featured on a special page of the official website.
– Two special videos have also been released on the official Jump Channel YouTube channel to commemorate the manga’s conclusion.
The Elusive Samurai Ends With Volume 27
The 27th and final collected volume of The Elusive Samurai, written and illustrated by Yusei Matsui, was released on October 2.
The manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from Issue 8 of 2021, released on January 25 that year, through Issue 12 of 2026, released on February 16.
Set between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the story follows a fugitive hero largely left untold by history: Hojo Tokiyuki. After Ashikaga Takauji brings down the Kamakura shogunate, Tokiyuki loses both his family and his position. The series follows the young warrior as he flees to the ends of the earth and seeks revenge.
A second season of the television anime is also airing.
Volume 27 Brings Tokiyuki’s Story to Its Conclusion
The Elusive Samurai PRESENT DAY manga page © Yusei Matsui / SHUEISHA
In Volume 27, Tokiyuki faces Takauji in an exchange over their lives, with the future of Japan at stake.
As the long-standing conflict between them approaches its conclusion, Tokiyuki prepares one final major gamble.
The series asks what a boy who possesses none of the conventional strengths expected of a warrior ultimately leaves behind after continuing to flee, survive and challenge his fate through an age of warfare.
The volume brings to a close the short but striking life of Hojo Tokiyuki, a hero who had been buried in history.
Special One-Shot Imagines Tokiyuki and His Companions in the Present Day
The special one-shot The Elusive Samurai PRESENT DAY was published in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 32 of 2026, released on July 6, after the main series had concluded.
The story explores what might happen if Tokiyuki and the other characters had been born in the present day.
Three Historical Documents Connected to The Elusive Samurai
To commemorate the release of the final volume, two special videos have also been released on Jump Channel, the official Jump YouTube channel.
In spring 2026, Matsui acquired three historical documents connected to The Elusive Samurai after being approached by Ryoma Kinoshita of the Historiographical Institute, The University of Tokyo.
One of the videos features Matsui and Kinoshita discussing the documents, with Kinoshita providing historical commentary.
The other is a video commemorating the conclusion of The Elusive Samurai and looks back on the life of protagonist Tokiyuki as depicted throughout the series.
Hine Documents Rediscovered After Around 140 Years
The Hine Documents are a collection of historical records passed down through the family of the Hine, also known as Hineno, a warrior family from Hine-no-sho in Hine District, Izumi Province, corresponding largely to present-day Izumisano in Osaka Prefecture.
The collection consists of around 80 documents dating from the Kamakura period through the Edo period. It is especially rich in material from the Nanboku-cho period and is considered a valuable source for understanding the Nanboku-cho conflict in the Izumi region.
In 1888, the Bureau of Historiography, a predecessor of the Historiographical Institute, The University of Tokyo, examined the documents and produced traced reproductions. The location of the original materials later became unknown.
They have now been rediscovered for the first time in approximately 140 years.
Because the documents have remained together rather than being dispersed and retain the grouping in which they existed before the Meiji era, they are believed to have a level of value comparable to an Important Cultural Property.
The collection includes documents concerning military figures who also appear in The Elusive Samurai, including Ashikaga Tadayoshi, Ko no Moronao and Kusunoki Masashige.
Newly Discovered Ashikaga Takauji Order
The Ashikaga Takauji Kudashibumi is an order issued by Ashikaga Takauji granting a reward to a warrior.
It is a newly discovered historical document.
Aeba Myozurumaru Letter Becomes a Six-Page Original Manga
The third document is the Aeba Myozurumaru Letter, a lengthy letter dated May 12, 1353.
It was addressed to Sanbo-in Kenshun in Kyoto, a high-ranking Buddhist priest deeply trusted by Takauji. The letter reports that efforts were being made in connection with Takauji’s army advancing to Kyoto, but that those efforts were not proceeding successfully.
The document contains highly valuable information on the military situation in the Kanto region as seen from Myozurumaru’s perspective, as well as the internal circumstances of Takauji’s forces at the time.
Hojo Tokiyuki was executed in Kamakura just eight days after the letter was written, making the document a record that conveys the atmosphere in Kamakura shortly before his death.
The letter is also a newly discovered document, and Myozurumaru’s kao, or stylized signature, has been identified for the first time.
Matsui has adapted the contents of the letter into a newly drawn six-page manga, which has been published on the special page of The Elusive Samurai official website together with photographs of the three historical documents.
Q1. When was the final volume of The Elusive Samurai released?
A1. Volume 27, the final collected volume of The Elusive Samurai, was released on October 2.
Q2. What is the new six-page The Elusive Samurai manga about?
A2. Yusei Matsui created a six-page original manga adapting the contents of the newly discovered Aeba Myozurumaru Letter.
Q3. What historical documents were acquired by Yusei Matsui?
A3. Matsui acquired three documents connected to the series: the Hine Documents, an Ashikaga Takauji Kudashibumi, and the Aeba Myozurumaru Letter.
Q4. Why is the Aeba Myozurumaru Letter historically significant?
A4. The 1353 letter contains information about the Kanto military situation and the internal circumstances of Takauji’s forces shortly before Hojo Tokiyuki was executed in Kamakura.
Q5. Where can the historical documents and new manga be viewed?
A5. Photographs of the three documents and the newly drawn six-page manga have been published on a special page of The Elusive Samurai official website.
The Elusive Samurai PRESENT DAY color visual © Yusei Matsui / SHUEISHA
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