Ogen

Ogen
Ninja Stats
Gender:	Female
Special Ability:	Spiritual Connection with Hawk
Status:	Killed by Danjou Kouga
Affiliation:	Iga Clan
Family:	Oboro (Granddaughter); Unnamed Grandfather
Appearances
First Appearance (Manga):	Chapter 1
First Appearance (Anime):	Episode 1
Voice Actors
Japanese:	Hisako Kyoda Miyuki Sawashiro (Young)
English:	Juli Erickson Jamie Marchi (Young)

Ogen (お幻, Ogen) is the leader of Iga Tsubagakure and the grandmother of Oboro. She allows Oboro to become engaged to Danjou's grandson, Gennosuke, 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, however 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.

Biography

History

Ogen in her Youth

When Ogen was younger, she was engaged to a Kouga ninja, Danjou. 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 and talked about their marriage. They were interrupted by explosions coming from Iga. Horrified, Ogen ran with Danjou to the burning ruins of the village. Danjou 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. Danjou 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 Danjou. Masanari, the first Hattori Hanzo, convinced Ogen and Danjou to escape through the secret passage.

Ogen Runs to Attack Danjou

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. Danjou defended her by deflecting them with his sword, but realised they were Kouga weapons. He called out to the attacker and Renbu Kasumi appeared. Renbu told Danjou of how the Kouga conspired with Nobunaga to kill the Iga. Danjou 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 Danjou'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. Earlier Tenzen 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 Danjou 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 Danjou watch the match between Yashamaru and Shougen 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 Danjou. 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 Danjou then leave to talk with each other, walking along a riverbank. Ogen says she regrets breaking Oboro and Gennosuke apart, but feels that her clan needs its revenge. They talk of the past for a short while before Danjou asks if she knows all the ninja he picked. She replies by asking him if he knows all ten Iga ninja, which is when Danjou 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, Danjou closes her eyes, but is distacted by Ogen's hawk. Ogen uses this opportunity to remove the needle from her throat and stab Danjou through the chest. Danjou falls over, his blood streaming off into the river. Ogen dips her hand into his blood and laughs as she scores off his name from the scroll. 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 Danjou'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 Danjou 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.

Personality

Ogen was once cheery and positive, happy to be engaged to Danjou. However, she later changed and became consumed with revenge and hatred, unable to forgive Danjou or the Kouga for what they had done. She was happy upon being given the chance to break the peace treaty, though 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, though it is suggested in the manga, it was due to Oboro being unable to fight. She cried over Danjou's death, hinting, she may have forgiven him for his betrayal.

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 Danjou. 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 Danjou 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

Danjou Kouga

Ogen was once in love with Danjou, 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 Kouga'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

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 Danjou is also not shown thus the hostility between them was most likely caused by loyalty to their respective clans. Although Ogen and Danjou 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.

Trivia

• In the manga, Ogen's backstory regarding her relationship with Danjou 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.

Quotes

• (Young Ogen, to Danjou) "It was all a lie. I was blind. The Kouga never wanted peace; you lied to me."
• (Young Ogen, to Tenzen) Tenzen, please wait...Forgive my weakness.
• (About Oboro and Gennosuke) "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."

Other Languages

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