Kouga Gennosuke
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Kōga Gennosuke (japanese: 甲賀 弦之介, hiragana: こうが げんのすけ, rōmaji: Kouga Gennosuke) the primary male character in the Japanese anime Basilisk Kouga Ninpou Chou (known in English as the Kouga Ninja Scrolls). As the grandson of Lord Kouga Danjo, Gennosuke was chosen to be one of ten warriors to represent their clan of Koga Manjidani against the chosen ten of the rival Iga Tsubagakure clan. Upon his grandfather's death, Gennosuke ascends to take leadership of the clan.
In many ways, Gennosuke is as much an oddity among his clan as Oboro is among hers. An idealist and scholar who believes in looking to the future instead of being dominated by the past, Gennosuke views the pursuit of any grudge to be an ultimately pointless and self-destructive practice. His sense of principles remain even after learning of the renewed conflict between Koga and Iga, prompting him to lead the Koga on an expedition to Sunpu to plead with former Shogun Ieyasu and Hattori Hanzo the 4th to reinstigate the treaty before any more senseless bloodshed is caused.
Yet despite being a man of peace, if pushed into a corner Gennosuke is more than capable of killing anyone who threatens him or his clansmen. In addition to his skill with the sword, Gennosuke wields a power called Dojutsu which he learned from his teacher and uncle Muroga Hyouma. A hypnosis technique, Dojutsu reverses the homicidal intent of anyone who meets the stare of its user directly. In other words; if someone expresses hostility toward him, Gennosuke is able to will his enemies into killing themselves instead of him. Even Yakushiji Tenzen thinks twice before challenging Gennosuke directly.
Before the cancellation of the treaty, Gennosuke sought to build a lasting peace between Koga and Iga by marrying Oboro, the Iga Princess whom he loved to a great extent. His feelings for her remain even as the body count among both clans rises, filling him with torment as he struggles to reconcile his personal feelings with the duty demanded of him as his clan's leader.
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[edit] Battles
Gennosuke VS Iga Shinobi (episode 9): After successfully inflitrating Tsubagakure, Kasumi Gyoubu and Kisaragi Saemon informed Gennosuke of all that had occurred behind his back: the lifting of the Hattori Truce, the sneak attack on Manjidani, and the killing of several of the Koga ten's members. As he grimly realized he had to leave Tsubagakure and Oboro behind, the three Koga found themselves surrounded by a squad of Iga Shinobi led by Tenzen, Nenki and the other Iga ten. Gennosuke remained silent while a tirade of accusations and curses were hurled between his men and the Iga; not wanting to escalate the bloodshed anymore than what had already occurred. But when the ninjas under Nenki's command were ordered to attack despite Tenzen's warnings, Gennosuke was left with no choice but to use the Dojutsu; his power washing over the Iga shinobi and compelling them into turning their blades on themselves to the horror of all present; especially Oboro (who had been ignorant of what her clansmen had been doing the whole time). When Tenzen called the attack off, Gennosuke did the same and the Iga parted as he silently led his comrades out of the village without a word to even Oboro, who wept in sorrow as her hopes for peace and happiness appeared to crash down around her.
Gennosuke VS Koshirou (episode 9): Gennosuke had hardly made it to the village gate when he heard Chikuma Koshirou ordering him to turn and fight. Gennosuke warned his opponent to withdraw his challenge, but Koshirou refused to back down and hurled his scythes; only to miss as Gyoubu and Saemon knocked them aside. Koshirou then attempted to use his tornado power but had his technique neutralized when Oboro came between them in an attempt to stop the fight. Though Gennosuke was willing to walk away from their duel for the sake of sparing Oboro any further suffering, Koshirou attempted to create another vortex and Gennosuke retaliated with his Dojutsu to make his opponent's whirlwind backfire on himself; destroying Koushiro's eyes and rendering him blind. With his enemy immobilized, Gennosuke left Tsubagakure with Oboro's voice echoing in his ears as she pleaded for him not to leave her.
Gennosuke VS Kagerou (episode 11): Following his return to Manjidani, Gennosuke decided to set out for Sunpu with the remaining Koga ten to discuss the meaning of the renewed conflict with retired Shogun Ieyasu and Hattori Hanzo the 4th. Stopping at a roadside inn, Gennosuke began to fear that Oboro had been a willing accomplice in the death of his comrades when Kagerou entered his quarters. After a brief conversation, Kagero hurled herself into Gennosuke's arms in an attempt to seduce him, her breath poisoning his body. Faced with imminent death, Gennosuke was forced to use his Dojutsu on Kagerou who began to suffer the effects of her own technique. As Gennosuke scolded her for acting so impulsively, Hotarubi's snake slithered through the window and struck for Kagerou. Gennosuke pushed her aside and decapitated the serpent with a flash of his knife. But with his body still suffering the effects of Kagerou's poison, Gennosuke was unable to dodge when the snake's severed head released a capsule that spilled the same Seven Days of Darkness potion Oboro had used on herself onto Gennosuke's face, sealing his eyes and effectively neutralizing his Dojutsu.
Gennosuke VS The Wolf (episode 18): This conflict occurs only during the flashback of episode 18 of the anime. As a boy, Gennosuke was entrusted to the instruction of his uncle Hyouma by Lord Danjo in the hopes his grandson would learn Hyouma's Dojutsu technique. Much to Gennosuke's chagrin, Hyouma's teaching seemed to encompass nothing more than walking blindfolded through the forests surrounding Manjidani. After cutting his foot on a mountain pass, Gennosuke grew frustrated with Hyouma's seemingly incomprehensible methods and went for a walk; only to find himself confronted by a wolf with an injured paw. As the beast moved in a for the kill, Gennosuke suddenly activated his Dojutsu and the wolf retreated in terror. At that point, Gennosuke realized that Hyouma's instruction was designed to enhance his senses to allow him to tap into the Dojutsu and from then on, a mutual sense of respect and trust was born between them.
Gennosuke & Oboro VS Tenzen (episode 22-23): The climactic battle of the series. After learning Kagerou had been captured by the Iga, Gennosuke came to rescue her and arrived just as Tenzen switched his attentions away from his torture of Kagerou to a second attempt at raping Oboro. Tenzen threw himself into battle against Gennosuke who, due to his eyes still being sealed from the Seven Days of Darkness, suffered several wounds before allowing Tenzen to stab him through the shoulder. With his blade stuck, Tenzen was unable to either dodge or defend and Gennosuke decapitated him with his sword. Moments later, members of the Takechiyo faction found Tenzen's remains and placed his head back onto his body. Fortunetely, the Seven Days of Darkness potion Oboro had used on herself finally wore off and she used her Mystic Eyes to neutrilize Tenzen's regenerative technique in retribution for everything he had done to her and Gennosuke.
Gennosuke VS Takechiyo Faction (episode 24): The final battle of the series. After Oboro stabbed herself and died, Gennosuke's eyes were unsealed from the Seven Days of Darkness and Oboro's dead body laying before him was the first thing he saw. Because Oboro killed herself and the Iga lost the war, Lady Ofuku whose faction was represented by the Iga lost her wits and ordered her servants to kill him. As the grief of seeing Oboro dead filled him, Gennosuke unleashed his Dojutsu on the Takechiyo sect and caused Ofuku's samurai to kill themselves. The battle resulted in the Koga winning the war, but as he held Oboro's lifeless body in his arms, Gennosuke used his own blood to write in his scroll that the true winner was Oboro. And after sending the hawk to the shogun's castle, he used Oboro's dagger to fatally stab himself in the hopes of being reunited with her in the afterlife.
[edit] Manga
Gennosuke in the manga tends to be less sentimental than his anime incarnation. After learning of the truce's cancellation, despite his affection for Oboro and his desire for peace, he's more willing to accept her as his enemy and even showed signs of beginning to accept the grudge his clan carried for the Iga as his own. He still only fights if the Iga attack first, but unlike in the anime he coldly smirks when his clan attains a victory over their opponents.
Additionally, while Gennosuke and Oboro's marriage in the anime was arranged between their two families by Hattori Hanzo the 2nd; in the manga Gennosuke is the one who proposes the union with the intention of building a definitive peace between Koga and Iga. Upon meeting Oboro however, Gennosuke was captivated by her innocent beauty and his diplomatic ideals became subjacent to his desire of spending his life with her.
[edit] Alternate Information
Gennosuke is in the live-action movie Shinobi: Heart Under Blade. He looks drastically different and even his technique is changed. It still depends on his eyes, but it appears to manipulate time instead of reflecting a person's malice upon them, even if he mainly used the technique in a counter wise manner. In the end of the movie, he leaves himself open and allows Oboro to kill him, being unable to bring himself to kill her, and entrusts upon her his final wish; that Ieyasu will spare the two villages.
In the original novel, Gennosuke's personality is a mixture of the manner he's depicted in both the manga and anime. He still views the pursuit of vengeance as pointless. But after learning of the Hattori Truce's disolution, his anger over the death of his comrades gradually gnaws at his spirit and sanity as he sinks into confusion and despair over the possibility that Oboro (whom he was unable to harbor malice towards even in the bloodiest of fighting) decieved him regarding the renewed conflict. It's only until after his fight with Tenzen that he learns Oboro had intentionally sealed her eyes and he realizes that she was innocent of any injuries the Koga had suffered. As a sign of his regret for distrusting her, after meeting with Hattori Hanzo Gennosuke had resigned himself without bitterness to letting Oboro kill him and intentionally left himself open to attack. As in the anime and manga, Oboro instead kills herself just before Gennosuke recovers from the Seven Days of Darkness whereopon he writes that Oboro is the winner and then follows her in death.
[edit] References
Fumitoro Kizaki (Director). Basilisk-Koga Ninpocho [TV-Series] GONZO/Kodansha/Japan Digital Concepts: Japan. 2005
Masaki Segawa (Manga-Ka). Basilisk-Koga Ninpocho [Manga] Kodansha: Japan. 2003-2004
Futaro Yamada (Author). Koga Ninpocho [novel] Japan. 1958
Ten Shimoyama (Director) Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (DVD) Japan. 2005
