Shigurui Volume 11

Volume 11 is the eleventh volume of Shigurui that includes chapters 54-59.

This volume picks up after the aftermath of the duel. Despite the House of Iwamoto Kogan confiscated and its reputation in tatters, the authorities of Kakegawa announced Iraku willed a ceremonial rematch.

"Decree"
A crying and prostrating Kengyou looks up at Tokugawa Tadanaga, staring down on him. It appears Kengyou was being punished. Later that day, at the Haramiishi estate in the Kakegawa district, the male family of Haramiishi sit in front of ancestral armour. Outside, Haramiishi commits seppuku while Yukichiyo acts as kaishakunin. A kaishakunin is appointed as a second and it is whose duty to behead the one who has performed seppuku. Elsewhere, Lord Asakura Nobumasa, ruler of Kakegawa, is in tears as he reads a written petition from Haramiishi which accounts the selfish interests which led to the misconduct at the vengeance proceedings. It read:

''“On this occasion, what would be proper for the failings of one to whom the unforeseen gathered. My family name is sullied by the misjudgement of the vengeance match. In exchange for this humble person’s carelessness, I prostrate, and state my apologies, sincerely.” ''

A duel related to a low ranking Samurai’s vengeance, ended up in a Karou’s suicide, an unprecedented event. Meanwhile, the House of Iwamoto Kogan is confiscated, their reputation in tatters, and their stipend reduced to limit any pleasure by barely feeding any man and woman. The remaining servants, tearful, are given an exorbitant retirement allowance by Mie. On their final night at the dojo, though Fujiki and Mie share the same bedroom, with a seashell between them, they do not touch one another with so much as a finger. The next day, Fujiki and Mie are visited by Mitsuyougata Mabuchigyou-Bunosuke, of the Suruga Clan, a man who delegated the law upon the region of Kakegawa. He has come to the conclusion that though one who was victorious and one was not, both were survivors, and will continue to bear enmity. Mie counters there was no dissatisfaction with closure of the dojo. Mitsuyougata dismisses the statement, querying whether the once unrivalled Kogan-ryuu was timid. To Mitsuyougata, the outcome was clear, and announced Iraku willed a ceremonial rematch. This was an imperial decree not permitted to be rejected by any Samurai. The Lord of the House of Iwamoto, Kakegawa’s ruler Asakura Nobumasa, had put forth the decree, and the supreme control over a society of warriors houses ultimately lay with the House of Tokugawa.

"Helmet"
When the Funaki twins were killed, there remained one successor, Chika. She was as skilled as her brothers and possessed monstrous strength. After beating a student in training, she attempts to seduce him later at night. Though still a virgin, she was not unused to the sight of sex, having borne witness to her brothers’ incestuous relationship. During this moment, a penis grows from her vagina. In horror, she slashes the face of her lover. Katsuke Gannosuke, a deformed looking man bearing an appearance similar to that of a toad, witnesses these events from the floor boards. This man was the son of a Ronin who collapsed on the street and who her father, Funaki Ichidensai, took in. Katsuke could not fight and was shunned by those around him. Chika displays kindness towards him and because she considered Katsuke an animal, she did not show modesty around him. Katsuke mistakenly took this as a sign. Seeing Chika having an abnormality was another sign that they were fated to be together.

"Battle"
In 1583 at the battle of Shizuhatake, a young Funaki Ichidensai kills a warrior by cutting through his helmet using a technique which became known as Kabuto Wari. The only ones who knew this technique were the Funaki twins and Chika. It was a requirement that her future husband should also know of the technique in order to inherit all that she possessed. A test of Kabuto Wari is held and Katsuke was granted admission by Ichidensai to the disgust of his students and potential suitors. Chika protests to her father, for she loved a student called Saida Sonusuke. Fortunately for Chika, Saida successfully completed the test while Katsuke failed.

"Scab"
Saida and Chika married. On the wedding night, Chika again grows an erect penis as they attempt to consummate their marriage. To hide it, Chika throws Saida to the ceiling using her monstrous strength. Later, Saida forgives the incident and submits to waiting until the time was right. In January the following year, Saida is discovered murdered. His face was severed, as well as both his legs below the knee. Hiding at the foot of Mt Fuji, Katsuke lived in front of a shrine he had made using Saida’s face and legs. That year, an unprecedented 6 men gave their names to the test of Kabuto Wari, as well donating their helmets, given those in storage were cut in half in an act of sabotage by Katsuke. A man named Kurakawa Kizaimon completes the test. Later that night, Kurakawa, who could not wait to consummate his marriage to Chika, left his home to visit her but is murdered along the way by Katsuke.

"Great Serpent"
One day, when Tokugawa Tadanaga went on a pilgrimage to Mt. Kuna, the resting place of Shogun Ieyasu, they happen upon an incredibly large serpent blocking their path. Tadanaga’s servants stand transfixed and unable to move, for it was unthinkable they could kill a living thing on sacred ground. From the back of the line, a young man called Sasahara Shuuza-Burou steps forward and uses his spear to impale the snake's tongue. To Tadanaga’s amazement, the snake is defeated without a single drop of blood split at his father’s grave, and with his orders the snake is carried outside to be bludgeoned to death. His cousin, Sasahara Gonpa Chirou, a highly skilled swordsman, was old friends with the Funaki twins. He correctly deduces the murderer was Katsuke Gannosuke based on the victims being slain by low strikes typical of Katsuke’s toad like statute. Gonpa becomes engaged to Chika and the news is spread quickly as a ruse to draw out Katsuke. While Sasahara prepares himself to be attacked, he once again falls to Katsuke outside Sunpu Castle.

"Phantom limb"
In the Kakegawa district in Awamoto village, by order of the Suruga clan, the Iwamoto house is prohibited from committing suicide, ordered to move into unknown territory and pay excessive rent to live in a farmer's shed. Two men observe the shed from afar, and comment on Fujiki’s shame. As Mie bathes Fujiki, she pleads him to "kill him". Later, Fujiki enters the abandoned shrine where he had learned the secret art. Yukichiyo appears before him and Fujiki bows. Yukichiyo raises his sword, blaming Fujiki for his father's death. Fujiki kills Yukichiyo in defence and despite the truth, protects the Haramiishi family name by reporting his natural death to the government, for if Yukichiyo were to have been found shamed and defeated, it would bring shame to the military family. The two men who were watches Fujiki’s hut earlier were Yukichiyo’s men, and are also killed to eliminate any witnesses.