Gennosuke Fujiki

Gennosuke Fujiki (藤木 源之助 Fujiki Gennosuke)

The stoic star pupil of the Kogan dojo. In the present time in his duel with Seigen he has only one arm but it is noted that his  back  muscles could theoretically make up for lost strength. Fujiki is very loyal to Kogan (his master), and is said to be most likely to succeed as the school's master. Fujiki trains himself relentlessly to achieve what many would consider an impossible goal of perfection in swordsmanship. He extends this discipline over to his words as he rarely speaks unless required to, his actions and movements reflect his clear focus to anything and everything he does - he does not waste word or actions; maintaining his composure at all times. Though a taciturn and seemingly ruthless man, he does retain a more compassionate and sympathetic side to him. There are few instances in which he will demonstrate this aspect of himself. The most obvious is his care and affection, possibly even love for the daughter of his master. Another is when he envisions his peers in their usual daily routine even after they have been slain, signifying his sorrow for the loss of their friendship. As the son of a farmer, he had no family name, was nearly always silent, and was not known to make overt displays of emotion. Fujiki Gennosuke considers he was born Samurai and is often referred to one of the three tigers, a dragon, and one of the three demons along with Mie and Iraku. For Fujiki a Samurai was like seashell, the only road for a man born to the house of Samurai was protecting that house and nothing more. Fujiki represents the epitome of a Samurai entrusting matters of good and evil to his Lord and renouncing self-interest. Fujiki demonstrated his commitment to his Lord by holding down Mie to allow Iraku to rape her. Fujiki does however display traits counter to a traditional Samurai way. The Samurai Hoshikawa noted when Fujiki realised his blade was of no use to him, he did not hesitate to discard his sword, which is the soul of a Samurai. The Samurai Sasahara also thought Fujiki was insane, for throwing away ones sword was like heresy to a Samurai. Even before Fujiki was reborn as a Samurai, he rejected hierarchical customs by displaying no hint of adulation towards a bully who was the son of a Samurai. In keeping with the story’s pattern of skilled swordsman having abnormalities, (Kogan’s extra finger, Iraku’s blindness, and Sasahara’s long arms) Fujiki is missing his left arm. Fujiki, like Iraku, also took the identity of another person but unlike Iraku, he possesses little ambition of his own. Sasahara noted it would be impossible to employ Fujiki, given his disregard for moving up in the world and his obsessive competitiveness with Iraku. Fujiki does however display respect towards Iraku, particularly at his resistance to being manipulated by anyone.

Abilities
[Spoilers] Fujiki Gennosuke is among the most highly skilled swordsmen in Kakegawa. In the anime as well as the manga Fujiki displays several abilities, which garner the respect of both allies and opponents. As the star pupil and assistant instructor of the Kogan dojo he shows no restraint when sparring, as can be seen when he uses his Tsuba-Zemari, a technique which employs a powerful downward push with the sword to immobilize and crush the enemy, against a sparring partner in ep. 1 ("Sword match at Sunpu Castle"), nearly crushing his throat, before being stopped by Ushimata Gonzaemon. About this technique it is noted that: "That one is tough, since you can't even say 'I give up'." Another move Fujiki shows to have learned in ep. 3 ("Kamaitachi") is the secret technique called "Nagare". Only taught to those who are Naka-Mokuroku and above in the Kogan Style, this technique involves swinging the sword one-handed, loosening the grip to let the hand slip from the guard to the pommel, thereby increasing the reach of the strike. The effectiveness of this technique is shown, when Funaki Hyouma (the elder of the Funaki brothers), sure in his assumption that Fujiki is out of measure and can't hit him, is slain by a cut to his forehead. The surprise this causes offers Irako the opening to kill the younger brother Kazuma. In ep. 4 ("A Children's Song") Fujiki kills Shigaraki Iemon, another member of the Funaki Style, who had been sent to kill him as revenge for the deaths of Hyouma and Kazuma. Caught out in the open, Fujiki is at a disadvantage, as the freezing cold has made it difficult for him to move his fingers and properly handle a sword. Iemon is shown to be prepared, as he kept his hands warm with a heated stone in his pocket. Fujiki manages to kill his attacker regardless by gripping his sword with his bent index and middle fingers (the same grip employed to perform the Kogan Style's top-secret technique, the Nagare-Boshi) and performing a drawing cut which slices Iemon's throat. In episode 7 ("Fangs") Fujiki effortlessly disposes of several Ronin Samurai with his bare fists. To the utterly astonished Suzunosuke he merely states: "I don't use a sword to fight stray dogs." The leader of the gang, a skilled swordsman who uses the Shinmusou Hayashizaki Style, acknowledges Fujiki’s skills by saying “I didn’t realize, a Dragon was hiding in Kakegawa…” Fujiki readies himself to face his last opponent and the show flashes back to him trying to figure out a hand-to-hand technique shown to him by a semi-conscious Kogan. This technique is revealed to be a punch, wherein the striking arm is first held back with the off-hand and then released in a manner reminiscent of a hockey slap-shot while turning the body, thus increasing the speed and power of the strike, which is executed with the back of the hand and the knuckles. This punch is so powerful that in the first strike Fujiki shatters the gang-leader’s wrist and with a second strike to the head completely severs his lower jaw. In addition to his technical skills, Fujiki displays a remarkable intuition in combat, being able to overcome seemingly insurmountable disadvantages with nothing but sheer instinct, as shown when he uses Nagare to kill Iemon despite being unable to move his fingers. Another instance of this keen instinct in battle is in ep. 11 ("Moonlight"), when he is cornered by Shizuhata Kengyou’s servant sent to kill him with a pistol. Turning sideways to reduce the number of available targets, Fujiki miraculously manages to catch the bullet fired at him with the Habaki (a thicker piece of steel near the guard which holds the stabilizes the blade) of his Katana. Fujiki then easily kills his fleeing would-be assassin by throwing his blade and nearly decapitating him. His tenacity is also near-inhuman, as can be seen in the manga, when he overcomes the loss of his left arm and is chosen against all odds as one of the fighters to the tournament at Sunpu Castle despite his maimed state.