Muroga Hyouma

Muroga Hyōma (japanese: 室賀 豹馬, hiragana: むろが ひょうま, rōmaji: "Muroga Hyouma") a major character featured in the Japanese anime "Basilisk Kouga Ninpou Chou" (known in English as the "Kouga Ninja Scrolls"). Hyouma was chosen as one of ten ninja to represent the Koga Manjidani clan in their duel against the chosen ten of the rival Iga Tsubagakure clan.

Character Overview

As the second in command to Lord Kouga Danjo, Hyouma was assigned to be the sensei of Danjou's grandson Gennosuke, who was also his nephew since Gennosuke's deceased mother was Hyoma's older sister. Over the years, Hyouma successfully taught his pupil to call upon the Dojutsu technique in their bloodline as well as how to rely on other senses besides sight. Unlike Gennosuke, Hyouma's Dojutsu is always in effect so he must keep his eyes shut or else risk accidentally killing the wrong person at the wrong time. To compensate, Hyouma develops an almost radar-like sense of hearing that makes it impossible for him to be snuck up on. Hyouma's most important lesson however was when he revealed to Gennosuke the truth of the world; that despite whatever differences may exist between people, they are still humans who live, feel, and die the same way. It was due to Hyouma's teachings that Gennosuke was able to see past his clan's hatred for the Iga and seek a harmonious coexistence until the blood shed following the dissolval of the Hattori truce called for a decisive end to the conflict by one way or another.

Hyouma is cautious and intuitive, and following a surprise attack on Manjidani is the first member of the Koga ten to realize that the Hattori truce may have been absolved. Although he distrusts the Iga, Hyouma admires Gennosuke's efforts to establish peace between the two clans and supports him whole heartedly regardless of what personal cost he may endure.

Manga

In the manga, Hyouma lacks the humanist beliefs of his anime version and was just as pleased as the other Koga upon learning that the truce had been dissolved; expecting Gennosuke to willingly fulfill his obligations as clan leader. In contrast, following Gennosuke's return from Tsubagakure in the anime, Hyouma was the only one who realized that in all likelihood, Oboro was just as unaware of the situation as Gennosuke was, much to Kagerou's outrage. Additionally, when asked by Gyoubu in the manga if Gennosuke would be able to kill Oboro, Hyouma answered he would whereas in the anime he remains silent, knowing full well the inner turmoil his student was experiencing.

Alternate information

Muroga Hyouma appeared in the live action movie "" where he was slightly altered. In the movie, he didn't possess the Dojutsu but was instead a seer (in a way combining the attributes of Jimushi Jubei with him) who could locate the position of people independent of great distances, as well as feeling changes in nature and decipher their means. He was also an adept sword user, favoring the shikomizue in close combat which caused him to bear a strong resemblance to Zatoichi.

Unlike the anime, Hyouma in the original novel is capable of deactivating his Dojutsu. But because he was born with light-sensitive eyes, Hyouma is only able to open them at night or other low-light conditions. (This holds true in the manga as after killing Mino Nenki, Hyouma admits that during the day he is blind but at night he can open his eyelids and can gain limited vision.) Also, instead of having his hair simply loose, in the novel Hyouma wears his hair in a topknot to mark his status as one of the Koga's higher ranking members.

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