Kengyou Shizuhata

Kengyou Shizuhata
Kengyou Shizuhata is the supreme leader of, Toudouza, a guild of blind men. He is a man of tremendous status who has even had the honor of playing the Biwa lute in front of the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Furthermore, he is the acupuncturist of Tadanaga Tokugawa, the current Lord of Suruga and younger brother of the third Shogun, Iemitsu Tokugawa. The mere suggestion of requesting an audience with Kengyou, enrages Mariko Hikobee and Okitsu Sanjurou because they know, that men of their lowly standing as martial arts apprentices could never hope to be granted such a request. He owns a large estate below Kakegawa Castle and has many servants. Shizuhata was left unattended as a child and his eyes were pecked out by crows.

During the course of the anime and the manga, he becomes an ally and patron of Seigen Irako and aids him in his quest to take vengeance on Kogan Iwamoto and the students of the Kogan School, perhaps due to a sympathy towards Irako's blinding at the hands of Kogan. Kengyou also hopes that through Irako, he might overcome the final frontier standing before him as a blind man: martial arts. After the assassination of several students of the Kogan School, Kengyou invites Kogan and his remaning disciples Gennosuke Fujiki and Gonzaemon Ushimata to his estate, planning to dispose of Fujiki in a match between him and Sekiun. During his visit, Kogan is taunted by the presence of Irako in fine Samurai's robes and Iku, his former mistress, who is now a cup-bearer and possible mistress to Kengyou.