Kouga Danjo

Kōga Danjō (japanese: 甲賀 弾正, hiragana: こうが だんじょう, rōmaji: "Kouga Danjou") a character featured in the Japanese anime "Basilisk Kouga Ninpou Chou" (known in English as the "Kouga Ninja Scrolls").

Character Overview

Lord of the Koga Manjidani ninja clan, Danjo was ordered by retired shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to lead nine other warriors besides himself against the chosen ten of the rival Iga Tsubagakure clan to determine a successor to the shogunate. Danjo greatly specializes in the use of poisoned throwing needles, which he can spit from his mouth with lethal precision.

As a young man, Danjou fell in love with the Iga chieftess Ogen whom he planned to marry so that peace could be established between their clans. Unfotunately, fate conspired against them in the form of a surprise attack on Tsubagakure by the forces of Oda Nobunaga with the assistance of the Koga. Despite the fact the attack had occurred without his knowledge or consent, the crushed Ogen was unable to forgive Danjo for his clan's actions and their hopes for peace and happiness with each other were lost forever.

Although denied his chance with Ogen, Danjo never gave up his desire of one day bringing peace between Koga and Iga and years later, permitted his grandson Gennosuke to become engaged to Ogen's granddaughter Oboro until Ieyasu's decree forced him to bring a decisive end to the longstanding feud by any means necessary.

Manga

In the original manga, Danjou's backstory regarding his relationship with Ogen isn't fully explained and is suggested that the reason their love ceased was due to pressure from both their respective clans to end the affair. Danjou in the manga is also depicted as being more ruthless as he coldly grins after swiping the Iga's battle scroll from Yashamaru while in the anime, his face remains grimly expressionless.

Altenate information

Danjo is also a featured character in the Japanese live-action film SHINOBI Heart Under Blade. He does not appear to have had a past affair with Ogen of Iga; thus, the most plausible reason for their hostility towards each other was their loyalty to their respective clans. He enforces a ban among the Kouga to interact with the people of Iga despite the no-hostilities pact set by Hattori Hanzo, frowning upon Gennosuke's relationship with Oboro.

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