Sanshobo

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Sanshobo is a supporting character in the Usagi Yojimbo comic book. He is a former samurai monk who has lost none of his courage or fighting skill.

He was originally a samurai for a lord until a tragic incident occurred when he was escorting the son of his lord. On a mountain path, the boy slipped and fell to his death despite Sanshobo's best efforts to save him. At this loss, there was only one way to repay his lord for his failure, and his own son noted that he understood what was involved. At that, that boy deliberately lept to his own death.

At that incident, Sanshobo resigned his post to become a monk and has helped Miyamoto Usagi in his adventures numerous times. That help was most significant in the "Grasscutter" and "Grasscutter II" where he played an important role in helping the rabbit ronin deal with the recovery of the legendary sword, Kusanagi and how to dispose of it.

Another significant development in those stories is when he sheltered the female fugitive, Inazuma when he found her unconscious. However, when Sanshobo and some subordinates returned from investigating a strange occurrence that involved Usagi and the villain, Jei, they found their brethren massacred and Inazuma missing. Sanshobo has vowed to find the murderer, unaware that she is not responsible for the crime with her being possessed by the black soul that was driven out of Jei's body when Usagi slew him. However, with Gen discovering Inazuma's plight and deciding to get help to collect her bounty, Sanshobo, a friend of Gen, will likely learn the truth from him.