★ about

[tosa]

BASIC INFO NAME: Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki 陸奥守吉行 CANON: Touken Ranbu HOMEWORLD: Japan (2205) AGE: 517 GENDER: Male SPECIES: Tsukumogami FIRST GLANCE APPEARANCE: ★, ★, ★, ★, ★ ★, ★, ★, ★ (kiwame) ★ (summer) ★, ★, ★(artbook) HEIGHT: 5'7" (174 cm) BUILD: muscular HAIR: dark brown EYES: amber DRESS: traditional, comfortable, chest SCENT: steel, smoke, the sea VOICE: Hama Kento (va) ( youtube ) Tosa-ben ( accent ) DEMEANOR: loud, energetic, confident, loyal, rebel, wild, sword puppy PERMISSIONS BACKTAGGING: ✔ / ✘ 4TH-WALLING: ✔ / ✘ THREADJACKING: ✔ / ✘ MIND-READING: ✔ / ✘ FIGHTING: ✔ / ✘ ROMANCE: ✔ / ✘ INJURY: ✔ / ✘ KILLING: ✔ / ✘

おんしゃは、目標はあるがか？ Hey, do ya have a goal? PERSONALITY ❝I gained a reputation in Tosa as a famous sword, but in Ryōma’s period, swords had already become old-fashioned. But hey, that’s the world for you.❞ Even though he's a sword, Mutsunokami, to this day, continues to praise the superiority of guns over swords. Swords are old-fashioned, guns are of this period, when you go into battle, be ready to aim and fire! Heck, he even uses a gun himself in battle and he would probably use one when training too if they were doing target practice instead of sword practice.Even when backed with extra troops from the armory, he insists that he’ll fine with just a gun or that, if he must have some equipment, can he have some cannons? The answer is no because as an uchigatana he can’t equip musketeer troops (boo!). Given his enthusiasm, it’s probably for the best that he doesn’t get to play with too many guns either (because what is a safety?). Mutsu has confessed that he knows it's strange for a sword like him to praise guns so much. A lot of Mutsu's personality is heavily inspired by his former master, Sakamoto Ryouma who had a wild reputation as a bold progressive in a changing era which would ultimately lead him to becoming one of the most famous historical figures in all of Japan and one of it's national heroes. Mutsu claims that his spirit is largely in part formed by Ryoma's legacy and he thinks he wouldn't be who he was today if not for Ryoma. ❝Come, let's seize the world!❞ In his last adventure, Mutsunokami had traveled across Japan with Ryoma. And when I say traveled across the country, I mean they were also running for their lives because Ryoma not only was a wanted man but he was wanted dead. He was by Ryoma’s side when he funded his private navy, when he negotiated the seemingly impossible Satcho-Alliance, and convinced the Tokugawa shogunate to step down. All of this happened over the course of five fast and short years so it’s really no surprise that when the saniwa summons him, he’s ready to go again. In the event he isn’t chosen as a starter sword and is simply obtained, he introduces himself and declares he’s ready to seize the world. Though he’s more than willing to follow orders as evident when it comes to performing tasks around the citadel from the saniwa, Mutsunokami is definitely a bit of a leader in spirit. When chosen to be leader in a formation, he gets excited and claims, “Ya totally get me!” When put under the leadership of others, he doesn't follow others blindly and demands to be convinced or else he'll never accept them. Should he be impressed, Mutsunokami will be a loyal (but not silent) comrade. He was also a very well traveled sword in life so unlike some swords, who seem to express dislike for being sent on expeditions, Mutsunokami, again, becomes not only excited but starts to get ready right away. You see, just as much as he loves new things, he also loves to go to new places. The fact that he’s been in a museum for the last couple centuries probably hasn't helped contain his energy either and he's particularly prone to getting into shenanigans when left to his own devices and encouraging others to do the same. ❝If it's a business talk, leave it to me.❞ Going back, again, to the Sakamato family, they were very successful merchants. It was through business that they were able to purchase their samurai title and commission Mutsunokami in the first place. Ryoma was no exception and created his own trading fleet which doubled as a private navy. It only makes sense that Mutsunokami inherited some of their business sense. If the player decides to purchase something with Mutsunokami as the leader, he tells them to let him talk business. If he finds resources on the map, he becomes excited over “special income!” He definitely seems to be pretty confident when it comes to economics. He's also very aware of the citadel's funds but that doesn't stop him from being frivolous with their money if it makes people happy. He unashamedly asks for all of the swords at the citadel to go on a beach trip even if it's expensive and casually spends money on cameras to record all of their moments. ❝Battles, huh... If it's really necessary, I guess it can't be helped...❞ Interestingly enough, he’s also inherited Ryoma’s desire for negotiating. As a sword, it seems pretty natural that he would want to fight in one way or another but Mutsunokami is a little strange in this sense. Only a little. Again, he’s not a sword famous for any wars or battles— he’s famous because he’s the sword of a great negotiator. He's even called "the sword that never cut" because he was never used to hurt anyone. It appears as though Mutsunokami isn’t the sort to want to fight if there are alternatives. Even more, when the player encounters a boss on the map with him as the leader, you can see his distaste. You see, all of the swords react a little differently depending on their personalities. Some become excited, some are afraid, others become confident or indifferent. For Mutsunokami, his usual spirit becomes much more subdued and he immediately expresses a disdain for the air that feels like, “nothing but the smell of blood and death.” You catch glimpses of this in the anime, Hanamaru, as well when he refuses to fight in what appears to be a dangerous situation (against a wild bear) but he opts to negotiate first, keeping both his opponent and ally (Yamatonokami) from engaging in battle. ❝Do ya have a goal?❞ Don’t let this desire to talk things out fool you though! He might prefer for things to be different but at the end of the day, not only is he a sword but he’s a sword with a mission right now! And just like in his last life, he’ll dedicate himself to the saniwa and charge at the enemy with gun and sword without holding back. At the citadel, one of the things he inquires directly about the saniwa is if they have a goal. The answer is obviously yes, given the whole reason he's even around is to help the saniwa achieve their mission but I like to think that this shows he's a goal oriented person or at least, deeply admires those with solid goals and dreams. Sure, he might like to doze off and take things easy once in awhile, but if he's doing nothing, he feels like he's wasting time and if he feels like he's doing something, he'll charge into it with his all. He seems to have enough fun shooting and slashing at his opponents. He also loves being able to show off his strength, particularly when he becomes stronger, but surprisingly enough, if he’s complimented, he actually gets a little shy about it. ❝Stop, stop. Even if ya' do such things, it won't change anything.❞ One of the main points in the game is that these swords are summoned to go back in time to fight evil spirits that are trying to change time. Their job, as summoned by the saniwa, is to make sure that history remains as it has already been. However, since many of these swords were naturally very close to their previous masters, it makes sense that certain missions bring back memories and some of the swords might feel a little tempted to change history. Mutsunokami has a special conversation with Nagasone Kotetsu, the sword of Isami Kondou the man who was both commander of the Shisnengumi. Though Mutsunokami has a rather cheerful and friendly personality, he admits that he has a difficult time getting along with the Shinsengumi and is most likely to quarrel with them. Even more, Kondou was the man executed for killing Sakamoto at the immediate time. You would think that Mutsunokami would have some hostile feelings there but when he overhears Nagasone’s desire to change the past, he’s quick to stop him. It would appear that, despite their pasts and present difficulties, he doesn’t have any actively hostile feelings towards them. Right now, they might fight, but they’re on the same side and they’re fighting for the same reasons. He’s going to look out for his allies and if he has to drop some real talk on them, he’ll do it, whether they like it or not. In Katsugeki, this comes up in a few ways. He accepts their missions, even when one of them brings him face to face with Ryoma again. When presented with a chance to save Ryoma for good, he considers it but stops, knowing that he needs to let Ryoma die. In the Musubi musical, he witnesses Ryoma being killed and reacts to it by still being spirited after the fact for the sake of the rest of the squad. He's actually called out on it in later on for being able to handle the death of his master so easily and he explains he's focused on their mission and current situation. He also vaguely implies he might have forgotten some things in past which maaaaay or may not be a reference to a fire he was involved in that damaged him severely. ❝I'll most likely end up quarreling with those Shinsengumi swords. Those guys, I wonder if they can keep up with the times.❞ Also of note, Mutsu has deep and complicated history with the swords of the Shinsengumi. Historically, they were on opposing sides as each other's enemies. Despite never facing each other directly back then, Sakamoto Ryouma was one of the most wanted men in Japan at the time and caused the Shinsengumi endless problems, even after his death. Of note, Kondou Isami was executed for the death of Sakamoto and as a result, Mutsu and Kondou's sword, Nagasone, don't get along very well in particular. Nowadays, Mutsu and the Shinsengumi are more like friendly and aggravating rivals. He's constantly teasing and starting fights with them and while his arguments with Nagasone tend to be particularly personal, they ultimately get along as allies. HISTORY While Mutsunokami achieved fame, it wasn't through battle but, rather, through the renown of his owner. Sakamoto Ryoma is such a famous figure in history, many stories have been highly romanticized so there are several versions of how certain events went down. Also, the most cited biographer on Sakamoto in English is considered to be very biased so I tried to go for a more middle (and open) historical interpretation to work with so as to not force certain interpretations on anyone. Researching history with conflicting views is rough, heh. For simplicity's sake, this is the version I'm going with, consisting of facts that could be validated or the most popular version of events. I only mention this because Sakamoto had an impact on Mutsunokami that greatly shapes his personality and motivactions so being familiar with the background helps to understand his character better. The swordsmith, Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki was forged by a blacksmith in Tosa in the mid to late 17th century. He was commissioned by the Sakamoto clan and the sword he created became a family heirloom. The Sakamoto family was a merchant family that accumulated great wealth from brewing sake to the point they were able to buy their title as goshi (merchant samurai). While this certainly afforded them a level of privilege, the goshi were considered very low class and Tosa had strict rules dividing high and low class samurai. For the most part, Mutsunokami didn’t see a lot of action until he was given to Ryouma after he left Tosa in 1862. Declared a deserter, Ryoma was branded an outlaw and sentenced to death. However, Ryoma outran everyone that came after him. In his youth, Ryoma had been against westernization and he decided to assassinate Katsu Kaishu, a high ranking military official of the Tokugawa in charge of modernization. The assassination attempt not only failed but ended with the two becoming close friends. Ryoma even became his protege. Katsu obtained a pardon for Ryoma on the condition that he return to Tosa but he refused, remaining an outlaw. Ryoma traveled across Japan trying to share his vision for a modern Japan, free from feudalist tradition. Despite his push to modernize, he was also a bit of a traditionalist! He favored western ways but still enjoyed Japanese customs and traditions, such as samurai dress, and still carried his sword. He made wealthy friends among the Choshu and convinced them to help fund the Kameyama Company— a trading company and private navy. He conducted extensive trades with the Satsuma and befriended important figures among them. As a “neutral third party” he was able to broker an alliance between the Choshu and Satsuma, a feat that Ryoma is most famous for today. With the new Satcho Alliance, Ryoma was then able to convince the Tokugawa shogunate into stepping down voluntarily, ending the Bakumatsu Era and starting the Meiji. Though he had recieved a full pardon, Ryoma maintained many of his old enemies and was eventually assassinated in Kyoto one month later. The attack was so quick, Ryoma allegedly wasn't even able to draw his own sword. He died holding onto his sword's sheath. Popular belief at the time was that the Shinsengumi had ordered the assassination and their commander, Isami Kondou, was even executed for it. However, another police force in Kyoto, the Mimawarigumi, confessed to the crime but it was never validated. To this day, the assassins are still unknown. At some point, the sword ended up in Hokkaido where it was damaged by fire in 1913. Notably, the sword lost most of it's hamon (temper line) and had to be repaired. A relative of the Sakamoto family donated the sword to the Kyoto National Museum in 1931. Due to the altercations made after the fire, experts were unable to confirm if the sword was original or not. However, after some investigation, traces of the original hamon were found and the sword was confirmed as genuine. As the sword of a national hero, it is often featured in traveling exhibitions around the country. In the year 2025, a saniwa sage summons the spirits of famous swords to fight an evil force is trying to change history. To combat these evil spirits, swords travel back in time to fight and go on missions. The missions are often related to events that have occurred across history. Unfortunately for some swords, this means coming across familiar events they might not want to repeat but are still forbidden to change. When they aren't fighting evil spirits and the like, they're probably helping out around the citadel doing chores for the saniwa. Alternatively, they could be stuck in repairs or going on expeditions of sorts. Mutsunokami is one of the first swords you can summon since he's one of the starter swords you can choose from. He's shown as a support character in the Hanamaru anime and one of the main protagonists in Katsugeki. In Hanamaru, he is the 7th sword to appear at the citadel and has leadership experience. He has a knack for photography. In Katsugeki, he is shown as being less experienced than the first squad but experienced enough to be on the second squad. In both instances, he's portrayed as caring deeply for those around him and being a reliable ally.

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