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Danjō Kōga (甲賀 弾正, Kōga Danjō) was the leader of Kōga Manjidani and the grandfather of Gennosuke Kōga. Before the war between the Iga and the Kōga began, he tried to broker a truce with his clan's old enemy by marrying his grandson to Oboro, the granddaughter of the current Iga Tsubagakure clan leader, Ogen.

Appearance[]

Danjō is an old man with shoulder-length white hair that he keeps tied up in a ponytail and he has large, white eyebrows as well as a long, white goatee. He wears a dark green kosode with a dark blue jinbaori over it. He also wears dark hakama, black socks and traditional sandals.

In his youth, Danjō's hair was slightly longer and, along with his eyebrows, was black. He wore a similar outfit, although with different colors, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves. He also didn't have any facial hair.

Personality[]

In his youth, Danjō was much like Gennosuke Kōga; intelligent and determined to break the hatred between the two clans.

Even after the incident with Ogen, he seemed appeared to wish for the hatred between the Kōga Manjidani and Iga Tsubagakure ninja clan to end by having Gennosuke marry Oboro.

However, despite all this, he showed gleefully jumping at the chance to destroy the Iga the second the treaty was abolished and had no problem fatally injuring Ogen the minute the war between their clans began, showing all traces of love he might of had for her before were well and truly gone.

Biography[]

History[]

Young Danjou 2

Danjou in his Youth

When he was younger, Danjō was engaged to Ogen, the heir of the Iga Tsubagakure clan. Despite hostility from their respective clans, the pair were deeply in love and had every intention of going through with the marriage. One night, the pair met in the mountains surrounding Tsubagakure. The meeting was interrupted by explosions coming from the village below. Danjō grabbed Ogen and they ran to find Iga on fire with soldiers killing all the villagers. Ogen stops by the body of a dead woman and mourns her before pulling out a dagger to fight the invaders, but is shot by one from a distance. Danjō flies into action, killing the soldier with his needles before checking on Ogen. After confirming she was alright, he follows her to meet up with the Iga clan's leader but reach his residence too late and find him dead. While there, they learn from Masanari that Nobunaga Oda was behind the attack. Saddened over the death of her grandfather, Ogen tries to leave to go and kill him, but is stopped by Danjō. Masanari suggests they escape, so the pair and other Iga ninjas leave through a secret passage; eventually they exit into a wooded area.

Young Danjou blocking Ogen attack

Danjō blocks Ogen's attack

Danjō attempts to console Ogen, but they're interrupted by the Iga guards being killed by throwing stars. Ogen runs to their aid and is almost hit, but Danjō deflects the weapons. Realizing the weapons are from the Kōga, he calls out to the attacker. Renbu Kasumi appears and tells Danjō and Ogen the Kōga had conspired with Nobunaga to eliminate the Iga and that he was in charge of killing any escapees. Ogen looks horrified and confused while Danjō tries to convince her that he'd no clue this would happen. She doesn't seem to believe him, but falls to the ground before she can do anything, injured from her previous wound. Danjō tries to help her, but she shrugs him off and he decides that he should leave. As he turns to leave, Ogen begs him to die before attacking him with a sword. He blocks her blow, but their relationship was over and the hatred began.

Many years later, Danjō is seen at a meeting with the second Hattori Hanzo, Masanari II to introduce his heir, Gennosuke Kōga and Ogen is also present to introduce Oboro. This meeting was the first time Gennosuke and Oboro have met since the attack on Iga decades ago. Danjō is seen again visiting Iga with Jousuke Udono and Gennosuke as an adult in an attempt to have Gennosuke marry Oboro. He shares a short conversation with Ogen before Oboro bursts in, spilling the tea in the process. Danjō leaped to the ceiling to avoid it, but Gennosuke ended up covered. On the way back to Kōga Manjidani, he explains Oboro and her abilities to his grandson while Gennosuke says he hopes for Iga and Kōga to co-exist.

Visit to Sunpu[]

Danjō is called to Sunpu by Ieyasu Tokugawa and brings along Shōgen Kazamachi as his representative. He sits with Ieyasu, Ogen, Masahiro and Munenori Yagyu to watch the battle between Shōgen and Yashamaru, Ogen's representative. Danjō and Ogen teased each other throughout the battle and were both able to stop the fight immediately when Ieyasu ordered it. Ieyasu then asks the pair if they'd abandon the peace treaty and battle to the death. Both Danjō and Ogen agree immediately and write the ten names of the ninja they want to participate. Danjō hands his scroll to Shōgen and orders him to take it to Kōga Manjidani. As Yashamaru runs past him, Danjō takes his scroll, unbeknownst to Yashamaru, who continues on to Iga Tsubagakure.

Danjō then walks away with Ogen to talk as they speak 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 by spitting a poisonous needle directly into Ogen's neck and into her throat. He takes this chance to gloat, teasing how the Iga now only has nine ninja before striking her name from the scroll. He then proceeds to closing Ogen's eyes, asking if her skills have really gotten this dull with age, but his attention is immediately taken off her body when Ogen's hawk suddenly appears and swoops down at him. Whilst he's distracted, a still alive Ogen gets up and stabs him through the back with one of his own needles, killing him instantly. As Ogen finally dies, collapsing onto Danjō's chest with tears in her eyes, their bodies are seen floating out onto the river and drifting away into the sunset together, a brief image of them in their youth can be seen.

Abilities[]

  • Senbonjutsu: Danjō specializes in the use of throwing needles, which he's capable of launching at his opponents at high speed and with perfect accuracy as well as shoot them out with enough force to pierce through armor. Danjō can spit them out from his mouth with the same degree of speed and precision as he does when throwing them; making his skill perfect for sneak attacks as demonstrated when he injured Ogen.
  • Kenjutsu: Danjō is also well-known to be skilled in the use of a sword, shown when he uses a sword to deflect the throwing stars used in the assassination attempt by Renbu Kasumi.

Relationships[]

Ogen[]

At one time in his life, Danjō was deeply in love with Ogen and did not hesitate to come to the defense of Iga for her sake. He tried desperately to prove his innocence and tried to convince Ogen to stay with him. Over the years, this love vanished and it lead to him eliminating Ogen in the end the minute she let her guard down. However, after doing so, he showed himself to be sadden over doing so.

Gennosuke Kōga[]

Danjō truly believed in Gennosuke's skills as a ninja, which led to him selecting Gennosuke as his heir. Despite this, Danjō never seemed particularly close to his grandson, although they both appear to have similar ideals.

Hyōma Muroga and Kagerō[]

Hyōma and Kagerō are both familiarly related to Danjō's grandson Gennosuke Kōga, but it's unknown if Hyōma is Danjō's son or if Kagerō is Danjō's granddaughter. It is never implied, but it is too not impossible as Gennosuke's family tree was never fully shown or explained. Depending on whether if Danjō is Gennosuke's grandfather or Kagerō his cousin, if maternal, they're related to Hyōma.

Appearance in Other Media[]

Danjou Movie

Minoru Tereda as Danjō

Danjō is a featured character in the 2005 Japanese live-action film Shinobi: Heart Under Blade and is played by Minoru Tereda. He does not appear to have had a past affair with Ogen of the 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 Kōga Manjidani to interact with the people of Iga Tsubagakure, despite the no-hostilities pact set by Hattori Hanzo, frowning upon Gennosuke Kōga's relationship with Oboro. Despite not placing their names on the scroll, Danjō and Ogen decide to have a duel and meet each other within the woods in secret; there, they do battle, with the end result being both of their deaths.

Quotes[]

  • (To Ogen) "This isn't about love; it's survival."
  • (To Ogen, after killing her) "Farewell, my love. This is the fate of those born into war...Ogen.
  • (To Gennosuke Kōga) "You are still so young."

Etymology[]

  • The name Danjō means "Amendment" (弾正).
    • Amendment means "a minor change or addition designed to improve a text, piece of legislation, etc."
  • Danjō's surname Kōga means "armor, high (voice), instep, shell, A grade/grade A, first in rank/first class, former, instep, carapace" (甲) () and "congratulations, joy" (賀) (ga).

Trivia[]

  • In the original manga, Danjō's backstory regarding his relationship with Ogen isn't fully explained and it's suggested the reason their love ceased was due to pressure from both their respective clans to end the affair.
    • Also in the manga, Danjō's depicted as being far more ruthless as he coldly grins after swiping the Iga's battle scroll from Yashamaru, whilst in the anime his face remains grimly expressionless.
  • It is implied that Danjō married another women and had one or more offspring, which can include Hyōma Muroga, Gennosuke Kōga and Kagerō's mother/father.
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