Seigen Irako

Seigen Irako   (伊良子 清玄 Irako Seigen)

Iraku was born to the lowest station in society. A bastard son of a prostitute who continued to work even while she carried him in her womb. He was born a half a year late, crawling the day he was born and like Fujiki, was prone to violence and killed for the first time at a young age. Iraku also considered himself born Samurai in the same way as Fujiki does. Unlike his peers at the Iwamoto dojo, most of whom were Ashigaru and Goushi (low class Samurai) Iraku always set his sights on attaining the highest of Samurai and climb above social hierarchy. The contradiction was that Samurai were also those he the hated the most in the depths of his heart. Iraku had not risen in the world merely in order to satisfy his ambition, but in order to repudiate hierarchical society and the fixed class system. This contrasts with Fujiki, who is content with Kogan’s mercy in adopting the third son of a poor farmer and made him Samurai regardless of rank. Fujiki informed Iraku that like a seashell, the sole purpose of a man born to the house of Samurai was in protecting that house and nothing more. To Iraku, a man who was born of the lowest class and not yet aware of Fujiki’s past, such words were not inspiring. Like Fujiki, Iraku is more often symbolised as a dragon. Iraku is an androgynous looking man which bothered Fujiki when they first met, and although there is no instance to suggest Iraku is bi-sexual, he is self-aware his looks appeal to both sexes and will he use this to his advantage. Iraku murdered the real Iraku Seigen by seducing him, and fulfilled his own base desires by seducing countless women, including his master’s mistress, Iku. Although Iraku despises Samurai, recalling a drunk man he had witnessed in childhood who was butchered for merely brushing the shoulder of a Samurai; he will hypocritically murder out of rage, revenge, or to further his own ambition. Iraku murdered the real Iraku Seigen as well as murder a female servant out of rage. Iraku also killed the 15 year old Suzunosuke purely to ensure any remnants of the Kogan-ryuu school were destroyed. Though Iraku is unfaithful and often places Iku in harm’s way, Iraku cares deeply for Iku. He was reliant on her when he was blinded and was unsettled when Fujiki placed her in danger. Like Iku, Iraku is one of the only characters who will display notable acts of altruism, from helping a beggar child for no reason other than to genuinely help her, to preventing Mie from being raped, despite significantly risking his opportunity to seal his place as successor to the House of Kogan-ryuu. Iraku also displays a preference for common women. Unlike Fujiki, Iraku is disgusted at being ordered by others to commit murder.

Abilities
[Spoilers]

From the outset, Irako Seigen is portrayed as a formidable swordsman. In the opening episode (“Tournament at Sunpu Castle”), Irako challenges the head of the Kogan-Style dojo (Iwamoto Kogan) to a duel, but the rules of the dojo state that he must beat two of the students before he can do that. He goes up against the star pupil and Assistant Instructor Fujiki Gennosuke, whom he beats rather easily. Irako manages to counteract the Tsuba Zemari and immobilizes Fujiki with Kosshi Jutsu (only explicit in the manga), more specifically, by pressing down on the nerve-points of Fujiki’s palm. Following that move, he uses Yubi Garami, a technique which involves torsion of the fingers, to break Fujiki’s index and middle fingers, ending the fight. In the following fight with Senior Instructor Ushimata Gonzaemon, Irako further displays impressive mobility and evasive capabilities, but loses the fight quite handily. During his time as a pupil of the dojo, a few of his feats include killing the younger of the Funaki twins, cutting a grain of rice at the tip of Iku’s nipple without injuring her, and most importantly, he completes the year’s training regimen by catching Fujiki’s sword-swing with his bare hands. Irako Seigen is thereafter chosen by Iwamoto Kogan to be his successor, which shows that at least in his eyes, Irako is stronger than Fujiki at that point in time.

While in exile, Irako manages to overcome his blindness at the hands of Kogan, and develops his own fencing style, the Mumyo Sakanagare. His new ultimate technique’s first appearance is against three bandits who harass him and Iku: when attempts to strike at them horizontally, but his sword gets stuck in a tree. Trying desperately to free his blade, the potential energy transferred upon it is suddenly released in a horizontal slash powerful enough to disembowel all three men. Irako Seigen would later hone this technique and change it. Now in preparation for an attack, he will stick the blade into the ground (with a hard surface) and releasing the potential energy in an upward slash, powerful enough to inflict a lethal cut from the groin all the way to the top of the head. With this attack he kills all almost all students of the Kogan-Style. The Mumyo Sakanagare is further developed when during his fight with Ushimata Gonzaemon the ground is too soft due to heavy rainfall: as a desperate measure, he thrusts the blade into his foot, which becomes his new way of building up potential energy for his strike. This is the stance he assumes against Fujiki in their duel at the tournament in Sunpu Castle.

Presumably under the guidance of Todoza, Irako manages to hone his other senses to compensate for his blindness and shows a remarkable ability to perceive his surroundings as well as his opponent’s movements.

Furthermore, in the manga, during his first battle against Fujiki, Irako is shown to have mastered Iwamoto Kogan’s ultimate technique, the Nagare Boshi, to the utter astonishment and anger of Gonzaemon.

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