The story is based on the manga Goyōkiba (御用牙) by Kazuo Koike, whose Lone Wolf and Cub manga was also adapted as a film series by Katsu, this time starring his brother, Tomisaburo Wakayama.
Lady Snowblood, a manga written by Kazuo Koike (chapter 5 of the first volume: "Rokumeikan Murder Panorama")
Yuriko Koike | Kazuo Koike | Kazuo Yamazaki | Kazuo Sakurada | Kazuo Imai | Kazuo Hirai | Teppei Koike | Kazuo Takahashi | Kazuo Ohno | Kazuo Ishiguro | Kazuo Hashimoto | Kazuo Dan | Kazuo Aoyama | Kazuo Aoki | Kazuo Aichi | Kazuko Koike |
The titular story of Volume 2 of Kazuo Koike & Goseki Kojima's manga comic Lone Wolf and Cub revolves around Linji's saying "if you meet a buddha, kill the buddha," in which the protagonist must overcome his self to assassinate a living buddha.