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Kagerō (陽炎) is a member of the Kōga Manjidani clan and one of the ten ninjas selected by Danjō Kōga to participate in the war against the Iga Tsubagakure clan.

Appearance[]

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Kagerou's full body and facial expressions

Much like her counterpart Akeginu of the Iga Ten, Kagerō is a highly attractive woman with black hair that is tied in a ponytail where she places traditional decorative combs and needles in, although she does leaves some hair to cover her face where it is often seen concealing her left eye with two shorter pieces that she leaves over her shoulders, violet-colored eyes and red lipstick.

She wears a light pink kimono tied by a purple sash along with a yellow cord and she wears a lavender-colored skirt underneath (as seen in Episode 11, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 17 and Episode 18).

Personality[]

Due to the upcoming wedding of Gennosuke Kōga and Oboro, Kagerō has become distraught; resulting in a jaded persona full of envy and bitterness; Kagerō's hatred for Oboro slowly beginning to consume her with some of the things she'd say often resulting in her swiftly getting reprimand by Hyōma Muroga.

When the Kōga Manjidani clan finally learned the Hattori truce had indeed been absolved, few were happier about the news than Kagerō who saw it as an opportunity to seek revenge on Oboro for taking what she felt should've been hers.

Biography[]

Before the War[]

Kagerō is seen very briefly in a flashback speaking with Jūbei Jimushi. When he refused to tell her the future of Gennosuke Kōga and Oboro's marriage, she left the room in anger and close to tears.

It is also known she was a very vocal opponent of the upcoming wedding. Gennosuke's grandfather Danjō Kōga must have seen how extreme Kagerō's conduct was becoming as he told Hyōma Muroga before setting out for Sunpu that perhaps it was time to find a man for the young woman. Despite Saemon Kisaragi's doubt of that ever happening, Hyōma revealed they were actually several men in Kōga willing to sacrifice all for one night of pleasure with her.

Attack on Manjidani[]

Kagerō sits in conversation with Hyōma Muroga and Gyōbu Kasumi on the subject of Gennosuke Kōga's pending marriage to Oboro where Hyōma is the most understanding with respect to Gennosuke's intentions that Gennosuke intends the best for the future of both Kōga and Iga alike. Gyōbu is hostile towards the whole idea, having his reasons for wanting the destruction of the Iga. But even Gyōbu's hostility gets dwarfed by Kagerō's openly stated resentments against the marriage and she suggests that Gennosuke is going through the marriage more out of political practicality than any genuine love for an Iga woman, and that the Kōga should kill 'that little tramp'. Hyōma is always quick to come to Gennosuke's defense and chastise her for her comments. She demures each time and she is seen bitterly biting her own lip at one point.

Hyōma, through his own superior sense of hearing, announces that enemies are on their way to Kōga Manjidani. His prediction proved correct as Tenzen Yakushiji, Nenki Mino, Hotarubi, Koshirō Chikuma and Rōsai Azuki arrive in the hopes of eliminating the remaining members of the Kōga Ten in one fell swoop. A ferocious battle erupts in which many Kōga Ninja are slaughtered. Hyōma arrives and demands to know what is going on. Tenzen replies that the Iga were attacked first and thus were forced to defend themselves. Tenzen then produces as evidence a Kōga shuriken that was stuck in the hilt of his sword. He then flings his sword in an arc motion in order to hurl the shuriken at Hyōma, but Kagerō places herself in front of Hyōma and effortlessly blocks the shuriken with one of her own hairpins, scowling furiously at the Iga.

Tenzen and the others leave through Hotarubi's butterflies.

Gennosuke's Return to Manjidani[]

After the Iga leave, Kagerō mutters "Gennosuke-sama..." to herself, showing that she is worried both by the Iga's renewed hostility as well as the fact that Gennosuke Kōga is in Iga Tsubagakure visiting Oboro. This worry continues as she is shown waiting tirelessly for his return once he does come to Kōga Manjidani after Gyōbu Kasumi and Saemon Kisaragi have informed him of the end of the Pact and of the Iga's intentions.

Gennosuke holds a conference with the surviving members of the Kōga Ten upon his return and Kagerō wastes no time in trying to use this as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Gennosuke and Oboro. She repeatedly accuses Oboro of trying to lure Gennosuke into a trap, but is just as often rebuked by Hyōma Muroga who is alive to the possibility that Tenzen Yakushiji and other members of the Iga may have been working behind Oboro's back. Unable to make apparent progress, she goes as far as to accused Gennosuke of being naive and susceptible to Oboro's manipulations. Hyōma is swift to chide her again, reminding her that it isn't her place to criticize Gennosuke as the new leader of the Kōga clan.

Meanwhile, Gennosuke is in inner turmoil where he is unable to reconcile the feelings he still has for Oboro and his loyalty to the Kōga, some of whom have just recently been brutally slain by the Iga. He then chooses to journey to Sunpu in order to learn from Ieyasu Tokugawa the reason why the No Hostilities Pact has been broken. His decision to try and end the conflict just as it has started, plus his inscrutable silence leading up to that decision, becomes a source of agony for Kagerō as she has no way of knowing if he is resolved on breaking with Oboro.

Journey to Sunpu[]

Gennosuke Kōga takes Gyōbu Kasumi, Hyōma Muroga, Saemon Kisaragi and Kagerō with him on the journey to Sunpu before they stop briefly at a pool where Kagerō is seen preening herself and also gazing longingly at Gennosuke who appears not to be giving her any attention. A hornet rests briefly on her kimono and then starts to fly away, but it soon falls dead in an instant, having been killed by Kagerō's poisonous breath as she was becoming desirous towards Gennosuke. It becomes thoroughly obvious by now that her professed hatred towards the Iga is really an extension of her personal resentments towards Oboro.

Saemon is also at the edge of the pond. Although he normally keeps his eyes closed, he is able to observed what happened to the hornet. He also understands what this means and that Kagerō's feelings are resurfacing stronger than ever.

The Kōga then stay overnight at an inn where Saemon explains to Hyōma that he is afraid of what Kagerō may do now that her old feelings are coming back. Hyōma then explains the nature of Kagerō's predicament where her breath turns into a deadly poison that can kill in seconds when she is sexually aroused. This, coupled with her beauty, makes her the perfect ninja to assassinate a man through seduction. Hyōma also relates how Danjō Kōga told him that it was time to find Kagerō a man who could give her a child. Saemon expresses surprise at this as for any man to be caught in a sexual situation with Kagerō would mean certain suicide. Hyōma then reveals that several men in Kōga Manjidani are willing to 'put in all on the line for her' in exchange for one night of pleasure with her. Saemon then replies that she is indeed beautiful, but that is what makes her even more frightening.

Meanwhile, Kagerō is taking her time bathing herself and apparently dreaming of intimacy with Gennosuke. Once she is done and dressed up, she goes to Gennosuke's room to make conversation about events for the next day. Gennosuke is lukewarm in his responses and he is quick to tell her that it is time to retire for the night. This pushes Kagerō's bottled-up feelings to the forefront as she then embraces Gennosuke on the sudden. Becoming aroused, her breath starts to poison Gennosuke who barely manages to save himself by using his Dōjutsu to deflect her technique away from himself and back onto her.

Gennosuke wonders what has gotten into Kagerō, causing her to declare that she wants to die together with Gennosuke in her arms. Gennosuke tells her to wait until the rest of the Iga have been slain. Kagerō jumps on this and presses Gennosuke on whether he is willing to kill Oboro. Gennosuke says he is, but he's less than emphatic in saying it and may simply have been telling Kagerō what she wanted to hear while he himself remained in inner turmoil. Meanwhile, Kagerō expresses with glee a desire to seduce and kill the Iga men with her technique while Gennosuke kills Oboro.

Kagerō's poison leaves Gennosuke weakened and he is unable to prevent himself from getting blinded by the Seven Nights Potion that Hotarubi's snake had been carrying.

Kagerō and Saemon soon notice Hotarubi's butterflies and then give chase to the Iga ninja. Saemon manages to wound Hotarubi in her thigh with a Kunai dagger, but she manages to escape using her butterflies as a diversion, although Saemon intends to chase Hotarubi down and Kagerō wants to help him, but he insists on doing it alone and tells her to go back to Gennosuke.

As events progress, Hyōma kills Nenki Mino with his Dōjutsu and Saemon has for the time being unable to track down Hotarubi. One scene shows Kagerō staring discreetly yet intensely at Gennosuke while he himself is facing the door leading out of the inn room, completely oblivious to her. Kagerō finds herself in an unenviable situation, atlhoguh the resumption of hostilities with the Iga gives her hope (no matter how misplaced) that she can finally have her desire fulfilled, Gennosuke showing no resolve to renounce Oboro or any eagerness to start a relationship with her, at times even being cold and distant with Kagerō. This situation causes Kagerō's bitterness and resentment to escalate, which soon plays a vital role in what progresses.

These themes continue as while the party waits for Saemon to return from his task of killing Hotarubi, Kagerō washes Gennosuke's face, but he tells her somewhat impolitely to stop. Furthermore, Hyōma questions the wisdom of Gennosuke continuing the journey to Sunpu after he has been blinded with Gennosuke remaining resolute, leaving Kagerō in the dark on where Gennosuke's feelings lie.

Border Bridge between Oswari and Misaka[]

The group continues their journey while Gyōbu Kasumi has pursued the Iga aboard their ship, eventually dying in battle with Tenzen Yakushiji as a combination of Gyōbu's technique, getting sprayed with Akeginu's blood and being run through by Tenzen's sword leading him to die a painful death. Tenzen leaves his body inside the wooden boards of the ship near the border bridge between Oswari and Misaka as a way to taunt the remaining Kōga. Kagerō, like the other Kōga, is shocked by what she witnesses; the Kōga have the board lie flat on the riverbank. Kagerō then picks up a few flowers and leaves them on the board as an impromptu funeral. The Kōga then set the board floating down the river. The petals of the flowers that Kagerō grabbed are picked up and carried off by the wind, suggesting the passage of Gyōbu's spirit into the afterlife.

Tokaido Road[]

The four remaining Kōga continue their journey towards Sunpu along the Tokaido road where Kagerō notices that Ogen's hawk is flying nearby carrying the scroll and immediately resolves to kill it. Hyōma Muroga warns her not to pursue it too far and Saemon Kisaragi joins her in the pursuit. Although Kagerō verbally acknowledges the warning, she immediately reaches the conclusion that in the wake of Ogen's death it is now Oboro who controls the hawk. Kagerō's motives thus become apparent, killing the hawk will be the next best thing to killing Oboro herself.

At some point, Kagerō notices that somebody is guiding the hawk by twirling a stick and she hits the stick with one of her kunai daggers, forcing the hawker to flee. Kagerō wants to continue the pursuit assuming that it is Oboro, but Saemon reminds her that Oboro has no abilities beyond "Mystic Eyes" and thus she could not possibly conceal herself from the Kōga. Saemon also expresses concern that both Kagerō and himself have played into a trap set by the Iga to split the Kōga apart. It is becoming obvious that Kagerō's hatred of Oboro has become so intense that is overpowering her own sense of care or danger. This slight turn in Kagerō's character is what will ultimately doom her as the story nears its end.

It turns out that Saemon's assessment was correct as Hyōma was forced to use his Dōjutsu to kill Tenzen Yakushiji. Kagerō relates the news that the hawk got away. Gennosuke Kōga issues a command to kill both and its hawker next time. Kagerō asks the expected question of whether that command extends to Oboro as well and she gets the answer that she wants to hear. Meanwhile, Saemon grabs the opportunity to use Tenzen's seemingly dead body to take on the apperance of Tenzen as a disguise before Gennosuke, Hyōma and Kagerō press on ahead.

Koshirou[]

The trio get approached from behind Koshirō Chikuma where Kagerō is nearly slain by Koshirō's "Death Song" ability, but Gennosuke Kōga saves her at the last second by diving into her and pulling her down. She mutters his name with an eagerness to interpret the saving of her life as a romantic gesture. Although Koshirō is blind and thus cannot aim his Death Song as accurately and powerfully as he used to, he is still dangerous and the three Kōga are forced to keep a quiet distance. Hyōma Muroga speaks to Kagerō through a secret code and tells her to take Gennosuke away to safety, offering himself to hold up Koshirō, a command Kagerō is only too eager to accept. She leaves behind her shikomizue sword-cane for Hyōma to use against Koshirō and leads Gennosuke away with Saemon.

Koshirō kills Hyōma in the ensuing battle with his Death Song ability, but Hyōma remains standing and Koshirō is thrown off when he can't hear Hyōma fall to the ground. Koshirō's confused state provides an opportunity for both Kagerō and Saemon Kisaragi to get close enough to kill him. Saemon uses his voice to mimic Akeginu's and tells Koshirō the Kōga have murdered Oboro. The lie throws Koshirō into turmoil, thus lowering his guard even further. The dialogue allows Kagerō to get close enough to Koshirō and embrace him. She and Koshirō (thinking that Kagerō is actually Akeginu) kiss, which proves fatal to Koshirō in mere seconds.

Gennosuke returns and notes that Koshirō has fallen dead, which causes a moment of visible embarrassment to Kagerō as it cannot help but remind him what would happen were he and Kagerō ever to physically embrace.

Imure Bridge[]

Saemon Kisaragi and Kagerō conspire to set a trap for one of the remaining Iga, Akeginu as Kagerō remains waiting at the bridge. Saemon, in disguise as Tenzen Yakushiji, travels to the taverns where Lady Ofuku, Oboro and Akeginu are staying. Saemon is refused entry by Lady Ofuku's retainers, so he uses his hand-to-hand combat skills to injure some of the retainers in order to get Akeginu's attention. Akeginu comes out where she is fooled by Saemon's disguise.

Saemon then convinces Akeginu that it was Kagerō who murdered Koshirō Chikuma. He makes the ruse more convincing by pointing out that Koshirō died despite having no open wounds on his body and describing Kagerō's ability to poison men (and only men) with her breath. The ruse works perfectly, helped in part due to Akeginu having romantic feelings towards Koshirō and she immediately resolves to seek revenge on Kagerō.

Saemon and Akeginu reach the bridge where they find Kagerō waiting expectantly. Akeginu pulls out one of Koshirō's kamas and begins attacking Kagerō. Kagerō is able to defend herself at first, but Akeginu soon overpowers her and knocks her into the bridge railing. Akeginu then uses her command over her own blood to blind Kagerō and then rushes in for the kill. However, Saemon soon restrains Akeginu from behind, allowing Kagerō to seize the opportunity and fatally stabs Akeginu in the chest with a dagger. The Kōga then dumps Akeginu's body into the river below and her body floats away.

Saemon is partially conflicted over his role in Akeginu's death, although Kagerō gleefully congratulates him for being able to lead the Iga into the trap. She also insists that she be the one to kill Oboro personally.

Saemon and Kagerō both hear Lady Ofuku's retainers approaching and they nod in agreement with each other as Saemon will remain behind to continue his infiltration of Lady Ofuku's party while Kagerō departs. Unfortunately for her, she cannot see or know that Tenzen has returned to life and killed Saemon.

Returning to Gennosuke Kōga, Kagerō crossed Akeginu's name off the battle scroll, but claimed the one she had killed was actually Oboro. But although Gennosuke congratulated her for her victory, Kagerō knew he wasn't sincere in his praise. After asking Gennosuke to permit her to remain by his side after the war with the Iga was over, Kagerō departed to make Oboro's death a reality.

Arriving at the Inn where Oboro was staying under the protection of Ofuku, Kagerō was approached by Tenzen (here acting as the disguised Saemon) who abruptly pulled her close to him. Surprised by his actions, Kagerō listened as Saemon told her that Ofuku didn't believe that Kagerō had betrayed the Kōga simply because Tenzen had made her his woman and that they were going to have to prove it to the samurai watching them from behind a nearby wooden panel. Suddenly, "Saemon" threw her to the floor and began to forcibly strip her out of her kimono. Terrified by his actions and what would happen if she became aroused, Kagerō begged him to stop, but "Saemon" ignored her as he continued to grope and caress her. Finally realizing that the man assaulting her was the real Tenzen and that Saemon was most likely dead, Kagerō reluctantly submitted to Tenzen, but was unable to reach arousal from the revulsion and shame his touch invoked in her until she began to imagine him as Gennosuke. As she filled Tenzen's lungs with her poisoned breath, Kagerō subsequently snapped his neck to ensure that this time he would stay dead moments before Ofuku's samurai broke into the room and captured her.

Upon the sight of Oboro, Kagerō exploded into blind fury, which was only increased by Oboro's refusal to respond with anything less than resigned detachment as she convinced Ofuku that instead of killing Kagerō they should use her as bait to lure out Gennosuke. Kagerō was then tied like a captive animal and taken along with Ofuku's party as they continued on the road to Sunpu. When the entourage stopped at another Inn, Kagerō is raped by one of the guards, which results in his death while she kills another guard who discovers what happened before she makes her way to where Oboro is sleeping. As she raised her sword to stab Oboro through the heart, Kagerō claimed victory for both herself and the Kōga when she was recaptured by none other than the freshly revived Tenzen who dragged her to a nearby temple and savagely tortured Kagerō by latching her to a wooden pillar and shooting small needles into her abdomen to spell out the character for IGA.

Dying and half-insane from Tenzen's abuse, Kagerō was cut from the pillar by Gennosuke who had arrived in answer to Oboro's challenge. But after Tenzen was killed and Gennosuke hesitated in striking Oboro down, Kagerō angrily accused Gennosuke of betraying the Kōga for the sake of someone who neither deserved him nor truly loved him. Even when Kagerō pointed out that Oboro was the one who had led him into Tenzen's trap, Gennosuke revealed that he no longer had any intention to kill her and announced that they should leave. As he lifted her up to carry her to safety, Kagerō realized that there was only one way left to her and pressed against Gennosuke to trigger her breath. As the two of them fell to the ground, Kagerō threw the battle scroll to Oboro's feet and cursed her to live the rest of her life alone and unloved as she crawled forward to give Gennosuke her kiss of death, wanting to die together with him. Kagerō was a mere breath away from Gennosuke's mouth when Oboro's eyes suddenly came unsealed and dispelled her technique. With her last hope to have Gennosuke to herself gone, Kagerō found some small measure of peace before she died by finally accepting that Oboro had defeated her in every conceivable way.

Abilities[]

  • Poison Breath: Kagerō's sensuality is her deadliest weapon as her breath becomes poisonous when she's sexually aroused. According to the Kōga, it's an ability shared by all the women in her family. The poison is extremely potent and can kill an opponent in seconds with just one kiss. As it was suggested by Saemon Kisaragi's statements, her breath will not become poisonous once she has children.
  • Combat Specialist: Kagerō is considered to be an expert combatant where she usually carries a shikomizue in her walking cane and she is highly adept at shurikenjutsu as shown when she is able to hit the stick that Koshirō Chikuma was twirling to guide Ogen's hawk as it is flying swiftly through the sky (Episode 17). She was also briefly seen using a dagger during her fight with Akeginu where Kagerō was able to hold herself off, despite Akeginu's enraged state (Episode 20).

Relationships[]

Gennosuke Kōga[]

Despite being Gennosuke's cousin, Kagerō is deeply and madly in love with him. However, due to his relationship with Oboro and her special poison ability, Kagerō is unable to be with him either emotionally or physically.

Oboro[]

Kagerō's favorite target for her frustrations is Oboro where she is quick to belittle and criticize her at every chance she gets. She believes that Gennosuke Kōga is hers and that he only wants to marry Oboro for peace, causing her hatred for Oboro to reach an almost fanatical scale.

Saemon Kisaragi[]

Saemon and Kagerō are great friends who work very well together, having a siblingesque relationship with each other.

Gyōbu Kasumi[]

Kagerō is a good friend of Gyōbu.

Difference between Manga, Anime and Novel Versions[]

Kagerō's hatred and jealousy of Oboro is far more accentuated in the anime than in the manga. While she still greatly resents her as a rival for Gennosuke Kōga's love, except for the scene where she wants to die with Gennosuke. Kagerō's manga self is very reserved about the matter and mostly keeps her feelings about the marriage deal to herself.

In the novel, Kagerō possesses the same quiet bitterness as her manga counterpart rather than openly protesting Oboro and Gennosuke's relationship as in the anime. During a chapter about her, it states if any Kōga member was asked who was the deadliest ninja in Manjidani, all of them would answer Kagerō. Ever since she was a child, she loved Gennosuke and as a woman of Lord Danjō Kōga's bloodline, she was qualified to marry him. However, her poisonous breath developed during puberty and Kagerō realized she could never be his wife which makes her seethe when Gennosuke's wedding with Oboro is announced. Kagerō's described as having a face like a tree peony while her breath smells like apricot blossoms.

Appearance in Other Media[]

Kagerou Movie

Tomoka Kurotani as Kagerō

Kagerō was played by actress Tomoka Kurotani in the live action movie, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade. While still sporting her signature poison breath and kiss of death, she didn't need to be sexually aroused to perform either of them. Her ability was also changed from an inherited skill to one that was trained by ingesting increasingly potent doses of various poisons. She is also able to release it in poisonous mist form, but prefers to leap away whenever she expels them in the said manner to avoid the risk of saturating her clothes with the poison. She engages in a duel with Tenzen Yakushiji but is defeated and impaled through the stomach. Before her death, Tenzen (wishing to die) kisses her on the lips, her poison managing to kill him and the pair die together. 

Quotes[]

  • (To Oboro) "Oboro, you foul stinking wench, I will kill you! I will strip your soul from your body if I have to use my last breath to do it. I will send you to hell like I did Akeginu. These men can't hold me forever."
  • (About Gennosuke Kōga) "There is no safe place. Nowhere for you and I to go. Nowhere we can be...together."
  • (Upon her death) "My breath...I have no more."

Etymology[]

  • The name Kagerō means "heat haze, mayfly" (陽炎).
    • A mayfly is an insect that is notorious for it's brief adult lifespan; often only living for 30 minutes or, depending upon the species, a day. The only function of an adult mayfly is to reproduce.

Trivia[]

Kagerou - Ninja Scrolls

Kagerō in Ninja Scroll

  • Kagerō is based on a slightly altered version of Kagerō, a central character in the anime movie Ninja Scroll released in 1993. She has a different appearance and dies differently, but she is also a Kōga kunoichi (female ninja) who can poison enemies through sexual contact.
  • By being a cousin of Gennosuke Kōga, it is not known if Kagerō is Danjō Kōga's granddaughter or Hyōma Muroga's niece.
  • Like Akeginu, Kagerō is a representative of the traditional concept of the Kunoichi in her ability to use her sex appeal to attract and manipulate the opposite sex.

Gallery[]

Other[]

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