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Ogen (お幻) is the leader of Iga Tsubagakure and the grandmother of Oboro who allows Oboro to become engaged to Danjō Kōga's grandson Gennosuke Kōga in order to bring a truce between the clans.

Appearance[]

Ogen is an old lady with a pointy nose and a very wrinkled face. She has long, white hair which she keeps held up in a bun. She wears a dark purple kimono with a green sash wrapped around her waist.

When she was younger, she wore the same outfit, but her hair was black and she wore red lipstick. She had purple eyes, whereas now, she has black, beady eyes, which she tends to keep closed. As a young woman, Ogen was very pretty who looked a lot like the smoking hot Akeginu.

Personality[]

Ogen was once cheery and positive, happy to be engaged to Danjō Kōga. However, she later changed and became consumed with revenge and hatred, unable to forgive Danjō or the Kōga for what they had done. She was happy upon being given the chance to break the peace treaty, although seemed slightly sad about what it would do to Oboro. Ogen seemed to have still wanted peace between the clans when she allowed Oboro to marry Gennosuke Kōga, although it is suggested in the manga, it was due to Oboro being unable to fight. She cried over Danjō's death, hinting she may have forgiven him for his betrayal.

Biography[]

History[]

Young Ogen 2

Ogen in her Youth

When she was younger, Ogen was engaged to a Kōga ninja named Danjō Kōga. Both clans were against their union, but the pair didn't care and were determined to bring the clans together. They met one night in the mountains surrounding Iga Tsubagakure and talked about their marriage. They were interrupted by explosions coming from Iga. Horrified, Ogen ran with Danjō to the burning ruins of the village. Danjō killed many of the soldiers while Ogen tended to a dying woman. Angered, she pulled out her dagger in preparation for battle, but she was shot by a soldier from a distance. Danjō killed the soldier and checked if she was alright. She told him, it was only a shoulder wound, but he decided they should get to safety anyway, so headed to the Ogen's Grandfather, the Village Leader's, residence. Once there they found him dead, which caused Ogen to become distraught. She found out Nobunaga Oda was behind the attack and attempted to leave in order to kill him, but was stopped by Danjō. Masanari, the first Hattori Hanzo, convinced Ogen and Danjō to escape through the secret passage.

Young Ogen attacking Danjou

Ogen runs to attack Danjō

They followed the passage and arrived in the woods outside the village. The group was relieved, but this mood was broken by Ogen's bodyguards being killed by throwing stars. Ogen ran to their aid and the cloth in her was slashed in the process, causing her long hair to fall out. Danjō defended her by deflecting them with his sword, but realised they were Kōga weapons. He called out to the attacker and Renbu Kasumi appeared. Renbu told Danjō of how the Kōga conspired with Nobunaga to kill the Iga. Danjō tried to convince Ogen he had no part on it, but she was too angry to listen. She collapsed from her previous wound, but shrugged off Danjō's attempts to help her. He turned to leave and as he walked away, Ogen picked up a sword that was embedded in the ground. She begged him to die before running towards him and striking him with her sword.

Years later, Ogen is seen introducing Oboro to Masanari II, the second Hattori Hanzo, as her heir. Danjou was also present to introduce his heir, Gennosuke Kōga. Earlier, Tenzen Yakushiji had tried to get Ogen to change her mind on the heir, but Ogen was certain she wanted it to be Oboro. Ogen was seen again when she and Danjō were trying to get Oboro and Gennosuke to marry. After the meeting, Ogen referred to Gennosuke as 'strange'.

Just before Ogen left for Sunpu, she brought Oboro to her room and told her about how her eye powers may be the downfall of the clan. She gave Oboro the "Seven Days of Darkness" medicine, telling her it would seal her eyes for seven days. She warned Oboro to use it if she felt her eyes would become a hindeance to her clan.

Visit to Sunpu[]

Ogen is called to Sunpu by Ieyasu Tokugawa and brings Yashamaru along with her as her representative. She, Ieyasu, Munenori Yagyu, Masahiro and Danjō Kōga watch the match between Yashamaru and Shōgen Kazamachi with Ogen fully believing Yashamaru will be victorious. Ogen orders Yashamaru to stop the fight when Ieyasu orders it. Ogen agrees to the plan to abolish the peace treaty and battle, as does Danjō. They both write down the names of ten ninja who they want to represent their clan. She hands the scroll to Yashamaru and he leaves to inform the other ninjas.

Ogen and Danjō then leave to talk with each other, walking along a riverbank. Ogen says she regrets breaking Oboro and Gennosuke Kōga apart, but feels that her clan needs its revenge. They talk of the past for a short while before Danjō asks if she knows all the ninja he picked. She replies by asking him if he knows all ten Iga ninja, which is when Danjō takes his chance to attack, spitting a poisonous needle directly into Ogen's neck. He pulls out the scroll he stole from Yashamaru and bites his finger, scoring off her name with his blood before firing a second needle through Ogen's throat. Believing her to be dead, Danjō closes her eyes, but he is distacted by Ogen's hawk and she uses this opportunity to remove the needle from her throat and stab Danjō through the chest. Danjō falls over and his blood streams off into the river. Ogen dips her hand into his blood and laughs as she scores off his name from the scroll, but she stops laughing when she looks into his face and her malice melted away and she wept in misery as she finally realized it was her and Danjō's lack of trust in each other that was what ultimately brought them to this point as well as the suffering Oboro and Gennosuke were now bound to experience. Not fate as they had originally surmissed. Their dead bodies float out into the river, still clutching to each other. Ogen's last action before entering into the afterlife alongside Danjō was to summon her hawk to carry the Iga's scroll to them so her clan would have a fighting chance for survival in the coming war.

Abilities[]

  • Spiritual Connection with Hawk: Ogen's ninja ability seemed to be being able to control her pet hawk, seen when she uses it to distract Danjō Kōga. However, it is unknown how she would use the hawk to her advantage in battle. Despite Ogen's early death the hawk appears throughout the rest of the manga and anime, normally carrying the scroll. It is seen after the battle between the clans was over, carrying the scroll back to Sunpu.
  • Kenjutsu: Ogen appeared to be able to use a sword fairly well, using it effectively when attacking Danjō in the past. She was also seen using a dagger, which she concealed in her sleeve, meaning it was likely that it was her main weapon of choice.

Relationships[]

Danjō Kōga[]

Ogen was once in love with Danjō, but it turned to sheer hatred after she believed him to have betrayed her. For years, she was unable to forgive him for what he and his clan had done. However, she seemed to have some love left for him, as she cried upon his death.

Oboro[]

Ogen didn't seem to be very close with her granddaughter, most likely due to her lack of skills as a ninja. She seems to view her as a huge disappointment in the manga. However, she did seem to be happy for Oboro having found love. She feared Oboro's ability and that it may lead to the downfall of the clan, leading her to give Oboro the eye seal.

Ogen in the anime was more forgiving of Oboro's faults and even attempted to boost her self-esteem, when she failed in her training by saying, she preferred her as sweet and loving. She also took pains to hide the Kōga's actions following Nobunaga's surprise attack, so Oboro wouldn't become infected with the Iga's hatred.

Tenzen[]

Ogen had a lot of trust in Tenzen and had enough faith in his abilities to make him her second-in-command. She had considered having Oboro marry Tenzen at first, but later decided that Gennosuke would be a better choice.

Appearance in Other Media[]

Ogen Movie

Riri as Ogen

Ogen was a featured character in the live action film, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade, portrayed by Riri. Ogen remains relatively unchanged, though she doesn't seem to have control over her hawk, even though the hawk does appear in the film. Her past history with Danjō Kōga is also not shown thus the hostility between them was most likely caused by loyalty to their respective clans. Although Ogen and Danjō don't put their own names on the scroll they decide to have a duel anyway, meeting in secret in the woods. The pair end up killing each other, their deaths being the first to occur in the film.

Quotes[]

  • (Young Ogen to Danjō Kōga) "It was all a lie. I was blind. The Kouga never wanted peace; you lied to me."
  • (Young Ogen to Tenzen Yakushiji) Tenzen, please wait...Forgive my weakness.
  • (About Oboro and Gennosuke Kōga) "It's a tragedy; I guess they were born under the wrong star, Danjou."
  • (To Oboro) "You are only starting your life in this world. There is no benefit in you knowing so much so early."

Trivia[]

  • In the manga, Ogen's backstory regarding her relationship with Danjō Kōga is hardly touched upon and it is suggested the reason their love ceased was due to pressure from their respective clans to end the affair.

Other Languages[]

Português

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