List of characters in Tenjho Tenge

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This is a character guide to the manga and anime series Tenjho Tenge.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Juuken Club

The Juuken Club (柔剣部 Jūkenbu?) is a group created by Shin Natsume to unite the last members of the Katana group and allow them to enter the Election Tournament. The initial formation was Shin Natsume, Mitsuomi Takayanagi, Bunshichi Tawara, Maya Natsume and Kagesada Sugano. Two years after, lead by Maya, the club became the main opposition to the Enforcement Group.

Shin Natsume (棗 慎 Natsume Shin?)
Maya and Aya's older brother, who was the president of the Enforcement Group and founder of the Juuken Club. He had the power of the dragon eyes like Aya, but was driven insane by them. His possession of the Reiki is blamed for his insanity. A lot of events in the series are based around Shin's actions and death.


Maya Natsume (棗 真夜 Natsume Maya?)
The busty 17 year-old captain of the present Juuken Club. A third-year student, she can control her body by shrinking herself to the appearance of an 8 year-old. She had a previous relationship with Mitsuomi, but has now sworn revenge on him for the events surrounding the death of her older brother, Shin.


Shinichirō Kurei (暮井 新一郎 Kurei Shinichirō ?)
Vice-captain of the Juuken Club. When people first meet this third-year student, most are shocked and often confuse him with an extraterrestrial because of his size, shape of his eyes, and the fact that he makes misleading sounds when sucking on his juice box. He is very intelligent, respectful, and is knowledgeable concerning technology.


Kagesada Sugano (菅野 影定 Sugano Kagesada?)
An original member of the Juuken Club, but was forced to join by Maya. A third-year student, he is better known by his nickname Asshat that was given to him by one of the teachers. During the Election Tournament, he remained hidden with Bunshichi and let Maya, Mitsuomi, and Shin do the fighting. He remained a member, although an inactive one, until Souichiro and Bob asked him to rejoin them in their cause. Though not as strong as other students in the school, he will use any tactics in order to win. Even though he is extremely perverted, he has four bodyguard girlfriends named The Four Heavenly Divas.


Masataka Takayanagi (高柳 雅孝 Takayanagi Masataka?)
A second-year, polite boy who trains under Maya. He falls in love with Aya at first sight, but is crushed when she goes for Souichiro. He's an excellent, but often overlooked, martial artist, and can enter into a berserker rage when pushed too far. He is currently estranged from his older brother, Mitsuomi, because of his association with Maya.


Aya Natsume (棗 亜夜 Natsume Aya?)
A first-year student at the Todou Academy and Maya's equally busty younger sister. Like her brother Shin, she posseses dragon eyes, which gives her the ability to see anywhere in the past, present, and possible futures. In addition, it allows her to see and listen to dead, and learn from inanimate objects. So far, she has difficulty controling it. Since the first time they met, she has devoted herself to becoming Souichiro’s wife, because she believes its fate and it follows the tradition of the Natsume women.[1] A rift is formed between the sisters when Aya learns that Souichiro claimed Maya to be his first love and Maya off-handed comments caused a division in the sisters' relationship. Throughout the series, she has increased her skill and dedication so she can support Souichiro in any way.


Souichiro Nagi (凪 宗一郎 Nagi Sōichirō?)
A self proclaimed hoodlum, and the heir of the Demon Exorcist family. A first-year student, he has been fighting his whole life because of being picked on, due to his linage. Because of the way he looked and acted, he had little experience with women his own age, until high school. He has problems expressing his feelings toward people, often acting detached to the people he cares most about. His family has long been discriminated against from the lack of understanding by others, and the fact that their power can cause them to become extremely powerful and dangerous to society.


Bob Makihara (ボブ 牧原 Bobu Makihara?)
Souichiro's friend, who is of African descent. It is unknown how he and Souichiro met. Naturally athletic, he fights using the Brazilian fighting style capoeira. Because of his ancestry, when he first arrived at Todou, some addressed him as "The Foreigner". He is the conservative one of the pair, and unlike Souichiro, he does not let his rage overtake him.


[edit] Enforcement Group

The Enforcement Group (執行部, Shitōbu) is the main force among the students of Todou Academy, they keep the order on the school and punish the students that do not follow their rules. The Enforcement Group is chosen annually by the Election Tournament, where the winning group becomes the new Enforcement Group for the next school term. Two years ago, Mitsuomi became the leader of the group and his group won the next, keeping their post.

Mitsuomi Takayanagi (高柳 光臣 Takayanagi Mitsuomi?)
The president of the Enforcement Group and Todou Academy's top fighter. He is Masataka's brother and is seemingly displeased with his brother's choice of comrades, presumably because of the history between himself and Maya Natsume. He was at one time a friend of Maya's brother, Shin Natsume.


Emi Isuzu (五十鈴 絵美 Isuzu Emi?)
A second-year student, as well as the vice-president of the Enforcement Group. Not only is she Mitsuomi's second-in-command, but she also harbors a deep respect and love for him. Because of Mitsuomi's lingering feelings for Maya, Emi sees Maya as someone she must defeat (the duration of the manga offers the reader a glimpse of a strange friendship, or at least, mutual respect). At first sight, Emi appears to be a drop-dead gorgeous girl, but she is not called, "The Black Blade," for nothing. To the untrained eye, Emi seems to be able to pull out knives from nowhere. Her true secret is that she is overweight, but has ability to fold in her fat, as well as being able to hide knives between her fat folds, thus confusing the enemy. This secret is so well kept that only Maya, Shinobu, and a very shocked Shirō have seen her true form. Being a member of the rich Isuzu family, she works the family's traditional job as the Takayanagi family's inner guard. Two years ago, she served as Mana Kuzunoha's bodyguard and was often responsible for videotaping the various individuals that the Takayanagi family found interesting.


Bunshichi Tawara (俵 文七 Tawara Bunshichi?)
A Todou Academy graduate and close friend of Shin and Mitsuomi. He is the advisor, essentially their strategist, of the Enforcement Group. He never does anything however, and insists he is a member in name only. Different from all the other characters, Bunshichi does not see any sense in training to be stronger than someone else and avoids entering into fights. Despite this he is actually one of the strongest people in the school.


Shirō Tagami (田上 士郎 Tagami Shirō?)
Third-year student and leader of the 3rd division group of the Enforcement Group. He proclaims himself "the last samurai", following bushido. Being a gentleman, he despises cowardly ways of fighting. His style of fighting is using a hybrid bō that can turn into a sansetsukon. When fighting, he is very violent, but he does not take pleasure in hurting his enemies. As a samurai, he seeks for strong opponents and feels honored for fighting against them. He is currently ranked 9th of the Todou Academy's strongest fighters and is the reserve of the Enforcement Group on the Election Tournament.


Shinobu Kagurazaka (神楽坂 忍 Kagurazaka Shinobu?)
Third-year student and the leader of Mitsuomi's guard, he does not seem to care very much about Mitsuomi's safety, which normally causes Emi to get upset at him. Kagurazaka have a very effeminate look and, for this, is called transvestite by Isuzu. Little of his abilities were shown, and he only had an unfinished fight against Masataka, but the author states that he is exceptionally strong (his stats on Kurei's data apparently puts him on the same level as Isuzu). He likes big and muscular men.


Kōji Sagara (相良 浩治 Sagara Kōji?)
Second-year student and the founder of the Pro Wresting group, which became a subsidiary of the Enforcement Group. He joined the Enforcement Group only after Mitsuomi promised his startup group would not be destroyed, would get a place to practice, and have a budget.[2] He has an alternate personality named Saga Mask, which according to him, is the most brutal enforcer of the school. When playing the part of Saga Mask, he will not take off his mask even if it will prevent trouble with others, because it is part of his beliefs.[3] He was sent to punish Ryuuzaki for losing to Maya Natsume, and was used to prevent anyone escaping during the bowling ally attack. During this attack, he lost in a fight to Souichiro, but only going down after he was promised a rematch. After losing, he trains himself in the Japanese Alps for three months. Returning, he challenges Souichiro to a fight. Souichiro warns him that he might die, and then punches him so hard that entrails explode out of his back. It is revealed that it was just an illusion of Souichiro's murderous intent, but strong enough to show to Sagara the gap between their levels.


Tsutomu Ryuuzaki (竜崎 勤 Ryūzaki Tsutomu?)
A second-year student, fire-elemental user, and an enforcer of the Enforcement Group. He was assigned to punish Souichiro and Bob for their actions at school. He accomplished this by setting Bob's treasured motorcycle on fire, he also sexually assaulting Chiaki (in the anime, he assaulted her), and pummeled Souichiro and Bob when they came to save her. Once Souichiro and Bob joined the Juuken Club, Maya Natsume pays him a visit, seeking to overturn Soichiro and Bob's explusion. Ryuuzaki engages Maya in a fight, but loses. Afterwards he is attacked and seriously injured by Sagara, as punishment for failing his mission. While in the hospital recovering from his injures, Souichiro and Bob come to pay him a visit and deliver their own vengeance.


[edit] F

F is a group formed by the new leaders of the 12 founding families: Ishiyumi, Tsumuji, Kabuto, Mawari, Kagiroi and Wani. Although Mitsuomi is the leader of the Takayanagi family, the members of F answer solely to Sōhaku Kago.

Sōhaku Kago (寵 宗魄 Kago Sōhaku?)
The first and only ever, head of the Kago family, the true leader of F, and the father of Souichiro Nagi. His power can infuse ki back into a lifeless body, reviving it from the dead. Through this means, Sōhaku seemingly "defies" death and has been alive for centuries. He also has the ability to store his consciousness in his right eye, allowing his soul to migrate to another body, when the eye is inserted into someone else's body. He has a habit of using people for his own means and getting rid of them when they are no longer useful to him. He has always been in conflict with the other founding families and is often responsible for many of their deaths. For some reason, he wants to awaken powers in people across the world using the Red Wing Resonance Effect.


Noriko Shindayuu Inue (犬江 新太夫 典子 Inue Shindayū Noriko?)
A Shinto priestess and one of Sōhaku's most trusted subordinates. Her power, the Dragon Roar, allows her to control another’s body, but the owner of the body can still make subconscious movements. She has lived for centuries, due to Sōhaku’s power to defy death. She is often entrusted with Sōhaku’s experiments and seems to have a very possessive love (or adoration) towards him. She is also the one that is delegated to obtain a new body for him if/when his old one is destroyed.


Tetsuhito Kagiroi (炬 鉄人 Kagiroi Tetsuhito?)
The current head of the Kagiroi family and one of Sōhaku’s most trusted subordinates. His mother was destroyed by Sōhaku when he was still in her womb, but he somehow survived. The women in his family had a tradition of drinking iron sand, and did so without being poisoned. This eventually led to the characteristic of their skin and blood being impervious to iron, and the creation of the iron fist attack. Because of Sōhaku's power to defy death, he has been living for centuries. When Sōhaku’s experiment with Makiko Nagi was unsuccessful, Tetsuhito was transplanted with her eye. This allowed him to open multiple dragon gates and use multiple powers she had absorbed. It is revealed during his fight with Maya Natsume that his ki is visible when traveling throughout his body. This provided Maya with some indication what power he would use next. When he loses Makiko's eye that regulates his powers in his fight with Maya, his power goes out of control. He is eventually defeated and was killed by Maya when the Reiki's true form and power was activated.


Katsumi Kabuto (兜 克美 Kabuto Katsumi?)
The current head of the Kabuto family. He acted as Sōhaku’s assistant and supervised the operation to retrieve the computer chip at Enmi's shrine. When the operation failed, he agreed to fight with Souichiro to redeem himself, but since the fight was never shown, his power was never revealed. After his defeat he made a deal with Souichiro that if Souichiro freed him, he would help him escape Sōhaku’s compound. He was last seen meeting Tessen, who immediately killed him.
His name, according to Ultra Jump, is Katsumi but he was called Katsuyoshi once in the manga.


Jushi Mataza Tsumuji (颯 又左　需子 Tsumuji Mataza Jūshi?)
The illegitimate son of Yorihira Mataza Tsumuji, the former leader of the Tsumuji family, and a member of the Shukyou family (a branch of the Kabane family, one of the red feather families of the Flying Phoenix). Because of his mother's being poor to the point of working as a prostitute and his red feather blood, Jushi was despised by his half-brother, the legitimate heir of the Tsumuji family, Yorimasa Mataza Tsumuji, who constantly assaulted and humiliated him. One day, an enraged Jushi tried to kill his brother, only being stopped by his father, who broke his spear. A large fragment of the spear penetrated into Mataza's right eye and was stuck into his brain. Somehow, this activated the power of the Shukyou family, the Dragon Claw, that was instantly used to slice Yorimasa's right leg. Years later, Mataza grew to become the sadistic leader of the Tsumuji family, after a coup d'état on his father. He learned to hate his power and anything related to the red feathers, developing a style of combat based on eight mechanical arms and spears. He loved to torture his enemies, who he views as insects. One example of this is that he keeps an insane, undernourished, half-brother Yorimasa locked up and under guard somewhere. During his fight against Souichiro, his mechanical arms were disabled and destroyed, so he decided to use his Dragon Claw. After devouring Jushi's power, Souichiro was tainted by his immense hatred, going berserk. Saved by his father from death, the both have apparently restored their relationship.


Tessen Ishiyumi (穹 撤仙 Ishiyumi Tessen?)
The head of the Ishiyumi family, Tessen proved to be one of Mitsuomi's most loyal subordinates. Tessen normally keeps a level-head, and good humor about himself. However, his resolve to place Mitsuomi in power makes him a fearsome combatant. As he refers to Emi Izumi and Shirō Tagami to Mitsuomi's "Sword & Shield", Tessen analogizes himself to an arrow, who will stop at nothing until he "pierces his prey". The nature of his chakra is that of the 2nd Dragon Gate - the Looping Orange Water Dragon. With this chakra activated, he can manipulate water sources into various forms; most commonly he uses water droplets as bullets. After their initial confrontation, Soichiro sealed Tessen's Dragon Gate, disabling his chakra. The revelation left such a lasting traumatic impact that he became a borderline-sociopath, with the one goal of retrieving what once was his. The extent of his madness drove him to vengeance, and even murder, on just about anyone who mocked his loss. Former F comrade, Katsumi Kabuto, paid the ultimate price for his folly with a barrage of hundreds of darts. But a turning point for Tessen came in his eventual meeting with Souichiro, which escalated into full-blown mortal combat. The intervention of Maya and Mitsuomi spared both from potentially killing one another. It was here that Mitsuomi restored Tessen to his former state of mind after learning how Sōhaku could open his Dragon Gate once again. Tessen's current condition and whereabouts are unknown as of this point.


Madoka Mawari (圓 円 Mawari Madoka?)
She is the current head of the Mawari family and was a member of F; her specialty is fencing. She was under Sōhaku’s jutsu that was maintained through an amulet on her necklace. This jutsu reduced the pain she felt in battle and also made her believe that she was in love with Sōhaku, even though he was the one who killed her parents. She was sent to retrieve the computer chip from the Juuken club. She proved to be very determined until the jutsu was broken when Aya destroyed the amulet. Afterwards, she is proven to be a caring middle school student that is willing to help the Juuken club in any way. During the time with the Juuken club, she has taken a liking to Masataka, though he is painfully unaware of her affections.


[edit] Supporting characters

Reiki (零毀 Reiki?)
A ceremonial nodachi that was used to entrap all the power of the evil Buddhist ceremonies. Its powers are reliant on the person wielding it, thus, causing the user to go on a killing spree, or to a non-power user just be a long katana. While a power user holds it, it often activates their power and regulates it. When it is activated by a power user it uses large amounts of ki. Because of this, some power users lose control and are left fighting with their own powers. During this time they have been known to become increasingly cruel to the person they are fighting against. Later on it is revealed the sword has a spirit of its own that can manifest itself, with the help of Aya’s dragon eyes. It claimed that once Aya knew everything, they will "merge and together be the katana for the person who will break the chains of fate".


Dōgen Takayanagi (高柳 道現 Takayanagi Dōgen?)
  • Voiced by: Kinryuu Arimoto (Japanese), Steve Kramer (English)
Former head of the Takayanagi family and father of Mitsuomi and Masataka. During his time as the head of the Takayanagi family, he gathered power users from all over the world, so he could study the resonance effect. He also tried to make Mitsuomi into what he considered the "perfect warrior", even if it meant turning a blind eye to Shin's ever increasing insanity. Two months after Shin and Mana’s deaths, Mitsuomi overthrew him during the coup d'état as the leader of the family. He has since been living in an apartment with Masataka and working in the business sector. Although no longer powerful, he tries to correct his mistakes by indirect means such as supplying information and helping to coach Souichiro and Aya. Strangely enough his last appearance was in the back of a limo that contained Mitsuomi, Hirohiko, Mitsuiro, Emi, and Tagami; the reason for him being there is unknown. Afterwards, Masataka states that he has not returned to the apartment for the last few days.


Makiko Nagi (凪 真貴子 Nagi Makiko?)
  • Voiced by: Yuri Amano (Japanese), Mia Bradly (English)
A demon exorcist and Souichiro’s mother. In the past, she was a test subject for Sōhaku’s experiment, who she claimed was her husband. During the experiment, she absorbed all the founding families’ unique powers, except the Natsume’s dragon eyes. Her body was deemed to weak for Sōhaku's true goal and in order for the experiment to not be a total loss for him, he had all the information of all the powers she absorbed moved into her eye. He then proceeded to remove her left eye in which he had it transplanted into Tetsuhito, giving him the powers. Sōhaku is also the one that took her left arm. Afterwards, she tried to raise Souichiro to be normal, all the while, she kept on doing her duties as an exorcist. When Souichiro was accepted into Todou Academy, she weeps for what's to come,[4] because more than likely, the resonance effect would awaken his powers. When Souichiro and Aya’s powers started to awaken, she got some of the former family heads to train and coach them. She has also been watching over them with one of her powers, which is one of the reasons she knew Souichiro's dragon would go out of control during his fight with Mataza. Luckily, she was able arrive in time to absorb his dragon spirit before it ripped him apart. However this proved too much for her, causing her to lose her remaining arm. Currently, she is recovering from injures with Yorihira in a remote hut in the mountains.


Fu Chi'en (虎 瀉殷 Fū Chein?)
  • Voiced by: Kazunari Miyazaki (Japanese), Ethan Murray (English)
An earth-elemental user who was brought over from Taiwan by the Takayanagi family to oversee Mitsuomi's training. He was also secretly part of the Chinese mafia that was working for Sōhaku. Since he only came to Japan for money, he had a habit of not always following his orders. He did follow Dōgen’s order to trigger Shin's dragon eyes, by kidnapping, beating and physically humiliating Maya. He fought with the enraged Shin and lost both of his hands. While in the hospital, he received his prosthetics, which contained blades. He vowed to get revenge with Shin, starting by going after Maya. When leaving his hospital room, he was met by Shin, who quickly killed him. Through Sōhaku’s power, his life is returned to his mangled body, and is sent to retrieve computer chip from the Juuken club. Driven by his madness and desire for revenge, combined with Sōhaku’s jutsu, he proved to be a destructive force. He was defeated by Masataka, with the help of Bunshichi, before his power destroyed him. Before being killed by Tetsuhito, he thanks Masataka, claiming he never felt happier.


Mana Kuzunoha (葛葉 真魚 Kuzunoha Mana?)
She was Shin Natsume's girlfriend. During the storyline, it was revealed that she was assigned to be his girlfriend,[5] in order for her to be in a better position to observe and collect data about him for the Takayanagi family. She helped Shin create the Katana group, to get even more data and make it less boring for Shin. Over time she began to truly love him, even though he did not love her as much as he did Maya. Being part of the medical group, she has saved countless lives from Shin's insanity, some through her acupuncture technique.[6] She takes an interest in Mitsuomi Takayanagi because she believe he is the only one capable of stopping Shin. She also starts sleeping with Mitsuomi, in order to distance his interest in Maya,[7] who, to Shin, is more like a lover than a sibling. In the end, she is fatally wounded by Shin's forged needle attack while he was under the power of the dragon eyes. When Shin realize what he had done, she helps him commit suicide.


Chiaki Kounoike (鴻ノ池 千秋 Kōnoike Chiaki?)
Bob's girlfriend with a very open mind. Although she never stood against Souichiro and Bob' street-fighting, she opposes them after their joining with the Juuken Club. After hearing the story about Maya and Mitsuomi's relationship, she starts to think that Maya's ego is what drives everyone around her to be miserable. When Bunshichi explains the whole story, Chiaki decides to give support to the Juuken Club, still believing that Maya's stubbornness is what caused the past events to occur.


Mitsuiro Tokuan Shōjō (猩 徳庵 蜜色 Shōjō Tokuan Mitsuiro?)
The current head of the of the Shōjō family and Hirohiko’s teammate. She only recently arrived at Todou Academy and she has appeared to have aligned herself with the Enforcement Group. It was hinted her real reason for coming was to finish her ancestor’s work. Much like her ancestor before her, she seem to have the ability to copy people’s appearance and physical attributes without their drawbacks, such as Mitsuomi's drawback of only able to fight effectively for three minutes.


Hirohiko Myouun Kabane (屍 妙雲 比呂彦 Kabane Myōun Hirohiko?)
The current head of the of the Kabane family and Mitsuiro’s teammate. He only recently arrived at Todou Academy and he has appeared to have aligned himself with the Enforcement Group. It was hinted his real reason for coming was to finish his ancestor’s work. He seems to be very informed about the strengths and weaknesses of others' powers. So far, he has not been shown using his own powers, but is assumed that it will be similar to his ancestor’s.


Nokimi Mayutsubo (繭壺の君 Mayutsubo Nokimi ?)
She is a member of the Rikudou family, which is a branch of the Kago family. She also happens to be one of Sohaku confidants. She possesses the Koushin Dragon's Gate, which allows her to infuse parasite insects with her own ki [8]. She then has the insects inserted into the host body. Afterwards she can control the host and make them exert immense amount of power until the insects ki is exhausted. She is known by the Enforcement group and according to Jushi Mataza Tsumuji, her power is also important to Mitsuomi’s plan. [9].


[edit] Minor characters

Yorihira Mataza Tsumuji (颯 又左 頼平 Tsumuji Mataza Yorihira?)
The former head of the Tsumuji family and father of Jushi. He was first seen with the rest of the surviving former heads of families, when they were training Souichiro. Later, Souichiro and Aya run into him at the Enmi shrine, where he was looking for the computer chip. Once Aya helps him locate the chip, he took off because he did not want to get them involved. He maintains personal guilt for the way his son has turned out and believes that he alone should be the one to stop him. He blames himself so much that he even goes a far as trying to stabbing his own eyes (lost his left eye) as a way to atone for the sins his son has committed to the Enmi family. He is last seen taking care of Makiko in a remote hut in the mountains.


Shizuru Kamura (禿 羅志鶴 Kamura Shizuru?)
The second daughter of the Kumura family. She was caught on purpose, in order to get close enough to Sōhaku, to avenge her older brother. Her power from the green belt dragon gives her incredibly powerful leg attacks. She was defeated by Noriko, who was controlling Souichiro’s body. Afterwards, she was forced by Noriko to repeatedly hit herself in the head for causing very minor injury to Sōhaku, and was left by Noriko for Souichiro to use however he wanted. Together, they planned to escape the compound, but were rescued by Mitsuomi, Maya, and Madoka. She was last seen holding off Sōhaku’s advancing forces with Tessen while the others went ahead. Judging from her reactions to Maya, she seems to have developed feelings for Souichiro.


Mouki Enmi (厭魅 魍鬼 Enmi Mōki?)
A young boy who is the current heir of the Enmi family. When F attacked his family's shrine, he was forced to hide under the floorboards, while his family was slaughtered. Afterwards, he made his way into the Natsume residence for protection, because his family was once their branch family. Souichiro and Aya volunteered to help him save his guardian Enma, who was captured. With some guidance from Souichiro, he overcame his fears and became a warrior that his family always wanted. His powers are that of illusions created with help of his family’s moths.


Enma Enmi (厭魅 厭摩 Enmi Enma?)
The head priestess of the Enmi shrine and Mouki’s guardian. During F’s attack on the shrine, she was able hide and protect Mouki. However, she was captured and held prisoner, during which, she was repeatedly tortured by Mataza and later sexually violated by his troops, who were left to guard her during his absence. Her anguish was eventually ended when she was rescued by Mouki. Her powers are same as the rest of the family’s power of illusion, which is accomplished through their moths.


Unnamed Taxi Driver
An unlucky taxi driver, whose he claims his wife often cheats on him. He is often showed picking up or forced to pick up other characters in the series, which for the most part, have left him with bad experiences.


[edit] Feudal Japan

During the Tenshō period (sec. XVI), on the middle of a civil war, the Rising Phoenix was created, assuring the Takayanagi family would have the support of the 12 founding families. Below the leader of the Takayanagi, the head of the Kago family, Sōhaku, emerged as the leader of the 12 families only answering to the Takayanagi orders.

[edit] Major Characters

Ichiyō Nagi (凪 一葉 Nagi Ichiyō?)
Was the head of the Nagi family and leader of the assassination group assigned to kill Sōhaku. Even though he was very young, he was well-liked and respected by the other heads of the founding families. As a leader, he was wise beyond his years and never made any rash decisions. Most of the time, he remained composed, but he did show tears for Aya and Midori’s deaths. He miscalculated how difficult killing Sōhaku was and was forced with the other founding families to agree to a truce. The remainder of his days were spent defying Sōhaku by hunting down those with special powers, in order to stop the Resonance Effect.


Aya Natsume (棗 愛文 Natsume Aya?)
Maya and Aya’s ancestor from 14 generations ago and one of the Reiki’s previous owners. She was part of the assassination group assigned to kill Sōhaku. Even though she looked like an adult with her powers, her actual age was only nine years old. She had the power to create illusions and make a realistic, fully controllable copy of herself as an adult, with the help her beetles. She is depicted as having quite the mean streak, especially when it concerned her teammate Ichiyō. Some of her unkind behavior was misleading, as it was later exposed that she actually was treating the frostbitten feet of a peasant girl with Samurai hat and not just hurting her. She managed to kill Sōhaku's body while his powers were nullified by Senhime, like Ichiyō planned, but was also killed by him with her own dagger. Before dying, she mistook Aya’s presence with Ichiyō and said she was happy for helping him at least once in her life and that she would be going ahead of him.[10]
Even her name and the present Aya’s name having an equal pronunciation, they are written with different kanji.


Tokuan Shōjō (猩 徳案 Shōjō Tokuan?)
Was the head of the Shōjō family and part of the assassination group assigned to kill Sōhaku. His power gives him the ability to copy someone else's appearance and change others as well. His power also allows him to read their ki, so he could copy their physical techniques. After the death of his friend and teammate, he begins to wear Myouun’s skull necklace as a remembrance. After the raid, he takes the appearance of an older Sōhaku, who is believed to be dead. The presumption is proved to be false, because two years later, Noriko took out one of his eyes and replaced it with Sōhaku’s. Since Sōhaku’s consciousness was stored in that eye, Tokuan’s body was taken over.


Myouun Kabane (屍 妙雲 Kabane Myōun?)
Was the head of the Kabane family and part of the assassination group assigned to kill Sōhaku. He was a Buddhist priest who alluded that he died 10 years ago, when he was the cause of a great atrocity. He had the power to materialize multiple blades and launch them at his opponents, as well as a kin sense of smell. An avid drinker of fine sake, he ignored Ichiyō’s order to stay inside. While on the streets, he was ambushed and killed, because his powers were neutralized by the Magatama Shrine Maiden.


Senhime (千姫 Senhime?)
Ieyasu's granddaughter and the Magatama Shrine Maiden that is only born once every one thousand years. As the Magatama Shrine Maiden, she is marked with a special birthmark over her breast and controls the amaterasu’s dragon gate. Unlike all other dragon gates that rotate clockwise, the amaterasu’s dragon gate rotates counterclockwise, thus neutralizing others’ powers. She has been a virtual prisoner inside Osaka Castle and had never gone outside. Sōhaku built a barrier that allowed him to reverse her power from neutralization into amplification, to increase the resonance effect, when the red feathers attacked him. She was very fond of Sōhaku, partly because he would often revive her dead dog Yumemaru. After Sōhaku’s supposed death, she stayed in the castle until she was rescued by some of Tokuan’s elite soldiers. Even then she did not want to leave and was willing to burn with the castle, the only thing she knew. Her wishes were not respected and she was taken away. She was sent to live under the supervision of one of her grandfather's closest confidants, as Ichiyō had suggested.
Character loosely based off the real historical figure Senhime


[edit] Supporting characters

Ieyasu Tokugawa (徳川 家康 Tokugawa Ieyasu?)
A nobleman and also Senhime’s grandfather. He was famous for being modest, reserved, honest and conscientious, but he fell under Sōhaku’s jutsu, where he became mad, locking himself in his room, doing horrendous acts to young women. This jutsu was finally lifted when Sōhaku was stabbed by Aya. Later on, he was shown as one of military leaders laying siege on Osaka Castle. When the war ended, he was shown living happily with Tokuan, as his company, until he was attacked and killed by Tetsuhito.
Character loosely based off the real historical figure Tokugawa Ieyasu


Yoshikatsu Shinjirō Yagyuu (柳生 新次郎 厳勝 Yagyū Shinjirō Yoshikatsu?)
He was the castellan of the Osaka Castle. Working under the name Shume Sano, he was a master swordsman. He was responsible for killing Myouun and the defeat of Aya’s bug clone. He also proved to be a match for Tokuan, and was only defeated after Tokuan had imprinted Yoshitaku’s techniques on himself. After he plead for his life, Toukan decided to change his appearence and tells him to live his life as Tadaaki Jiroemon Ono.


Masanobu Sadonokami Honda (本多 佐渡守正 信 Honda Sadonokami Masanobu?)
He was Ieyasu’s confidant. He betrayed Sōhaku when he help Aya sneak amongst Senhime’s female attendants. The reason behind his betrayal is that he read Ichiyō’s letter and learned that Ieyasu would become the next Emperor if Sōhaku was killed. A few years later, his testicles are crushed by Noriko, as revenge for his treachery and he was most likely killed.


[edit] Minor Characters

Yukimura Sanada (真田 幸村 Sanada Yukimura?)
The military commander responsible for defending Osaka Castle against Ieyasu’s attacking forces. According to his own men, he was the sole reason the castle held for so long. During the last days of the battle, he broke through an army of 140,000 with 300 Cavalry and was going to take Ieyasu’s head, but was prevented by Ichiyō. He has a similar appearance to Bunshichi, but it is currently unknown if he is Bunshichi’s ancestor.
Character loosely based off the real historical figure Sanada Yukimura


Tadaaki Jiroemon Ono (小野 次郎右衛門 忠明 Ono Jiroemon Tadaaki?)
He was singing swordsman who was on his way to Osaka castle to be recommended by his master to Ieyasu. He was ambushed by Myouun and Tokuan in a brothel, during which, he was killed and his identity was taken by Tokuan.
Loosely based of the historical figure, Ono Tadaaki


Crab girl
A peasant girl that was catching crabs with her mother at the same time as Sōhaku’s assassination group. She wore a samurai hat that she found after her father was killed by the solders from Osaka Castle. While catching crabs, Aya rubbed a powder on her feet which everybody thought was a cruel practical joke, but later learned that Aya actually cured the frostbite on her feet. A few years later, she was show being chased by bandits who had already killed her mother. She was saved by Ichiyō, but since she lost her parents, she thought she would be better off dead. When she regained her composure, she accepted Ichiyō offer for her to travel with him.


Midori (翠 Midori?)
A friendly prostitute that worked in the same brothel as Aya. She often looked out for Youko, Ichiyō’s undercover name, who she thought was Aya’s little sister. She witnessed Tadaaki’s murder and Tokuan taking his appearance. When discovered, she was tortured by Aya’s illusions and killed by a distressed Ichiyō. Although she is a very minor character, she seems to have had profound impact on Ichiyō to the point that he thinks about her years after her death.


[edit] References

  1. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 1 tankōbon (Chapter 2, Page 45).
  2. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 3 tankōbon (Chapter 15, Page 69).
  3. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 2 tankōbon (Chapter 9, Page 86).
  4. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 4 tankōbon (Chapter 23, Page 106).
  5. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 5 tankōbon (Chapter 31, Page 141).
  6. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 5 tankōbon (Chapter 27, Page 29).
  7. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 6 tankōbon (Chapter 36, Page 97).
  8. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 17 tankōbon (Chapter 103, Page 110).
  9. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 17 tankōbon (Chapter 103, Page 111).
  10. ^ "Tenjho Tenge" Manga; volume 16 tankōbon (Chapter 94, Page 23).
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