Characters / Way of the Samurai 4

The nameless ronin

A nameless hero who managed to be at the right place at the right time, causing him to be involved in the story's conflict.

• The Ace: A rare protagonist example. The ronin is so good at what he does, that almost everyone depends on him for their problems. Even when they just know him for a few days.
• Axe-Crazy: Some dialogue options can make him seem a bit too eager to take someones life.
• Badass Bystander: Is more or less this during the initial skirmish at the start of the game. Most playthroughs have him pulled into the fight, actively bringing him into the larger conflict.
• Badass in Distress: Becomes this in the path towards the golden ending, as he is left to the whims of the torture happy Kinugawa sisters.
• Badass Teacher: Can become a dojo instructor after inheriting a dojo from its previous owner, who was too lazy to run it himself. Challenging his students is probably a bad idea, because he'll kill anyone with the guts to do so.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Can come off as this in certain conversations, as some of the replies you can give are very random and out of context with the conversation.
• Comedic Sociopathy: Some dialogue options can make him do this. One example is a sidequest, in which he needs to give a rice cake to a beggar. Only said beggar has two friends with him and won't accept the rice cake, as it is not fair for the other two beggars. The ronin can opt to eat the rice cake himself, as that way all three beggars would get an equal amount of food. This does fail the sidequest however.
• Ditto Fighter: The ronin can fully master the fighting styles of other characters. Using the fighting style of a character against themselves can feel like this trope.
• Featureless Protagonist: Whether you play this character as a badass rough samurai or a bikini clad woman, the game treats you the same either way. However, the game does expect the ronin to be male, as other characters always uses male pronouns when referring to him, no matter the gender of the player character.
• Heir to the Dojo: Parodied. The ronin can simply get his own dojo because the original owner is too lazy to run it himself.
• Heroic Mime: Subverted. He is the only character who doesn't use sounds during conversations, making it seem this trope. Instead, he converses through speech bubbles. He does make some standard grunts and badass statements during battles however.
• Idiot Hero: Some dialogue options seem to go in this direction. For example, when confronting a murderer who massacred the parents of a little girl, the ronin can angrily say the murder should apologize to the girl.
• Improvised Zipline: Uses a docking line as one in the Golden Ending to get onto the black ship that Kinugawa is using to escape.
• Magnetic Hero: Has a tendency of uniting factions at odds with each other against a common foe. During the Golden Ending, all factions join forces against the Big Bad due to his actions. And during the sidequests, he manages to unite the Yakuza and local vigilante team against an army of foreign invaders.
• Multi-Melee Master: Is fully able master radically different weapons and styles, including:
  • Bare-Fisted Monk
  • Dual Wielding
  • The Gunslinger
  • Katanas Are Just Better: Which is completely to be expected from a Samurai game. However, some western swords can be acquired, but fall under the same skillset as katanas. Dual Wielding is also available when using swords.
• Parental Substitute: Depending on how you play, some of the ronin's interactions with Laura have him act this way toward her.
• Torture Is Ineffective: To the frustration of the Kinugawa sisters, the ronin manages to easily survive all their preferred tortures.

The Foreigners

A group of representatives from the British Empire, trying to establish relations with Japan.

• Amazon Brigade: Their Elite Mooks are the Blondie Soldiers/Knights. They are silver armored attractive female swordfighters.
• Gratuitous English: Most Non Player Characters related to this group like to utter English phrases while speaking. Examples include "Come on!", "Goddamn!" and "Oh no!"
• Quintessential British Gentleman: A large amount of their Non Player Characters are this.

Laura Rita

The British ambassador. Laura is a very sweet girl who bears no ill will to anyone.

• Alliterative Name: In Japanese, the L and R are basically the same letter, making her name this in the original Japanese version.
• Damsel in Distress: Gets hit with this trope more times than any other character. One of the first decisions you make in this game even is whether you want to save her from Akagi or not.
• Improbable Age: She looks barely fourteen and is also much smaller than the rest of the cast, but given her position of power and responsibility, she should be much older.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Laura is the nicest character in the whole game, who really wants the best for anyone. In a world where all conflicts are resolved with drawing a sword, she always tries to take the peaceful route. Even when her friend Count J.J. is murdered by Prajnas, she decides against vengeance and instead initiates peace talks with them.
• Meaningful Name: Her name sounds like Lolita, referencing her young looks and choice of clothing.
• Nice Girl: She never utters one ill word to other people, even when they fully intent to harm her.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Likes to believe in the inherent goodness of people, which bites her in the ass in more than a few endings.

Count Jet Jenkins/J.J.

A British count who is chronically bored and therefore tries to find ways to amuse himself.

• Allergic to Routine: Many story related missions given by him will probably start in him telling he is bored and wanting some distraction.
• Alliterative Name: Jet Jenkins.
• Artificial Limbs: One of his hands is replaced with a metal one. He somehow lost his original hand on gambling. Despite the game taking place in the late 1800's the metal arm functions and moves exactly like a real arm does.
• Challenge Seeker: Kind of. He likes to find situations that excite him, which include fighting, looking at fights, gambling or making sushi in the hidden path
• Goofy Print Underwear: Pink boxers with hearts.
• Funny Foreigner: Shows signs of this throughout the game. This comes full circle in the hidden path when all the requirements for the Golden Ending are met, as he becomes so impressed by sushi that he decides to become an apprentice to the local sushi chef.
• The Gunslinger: His preferred style of fighting is shooting with a gun.
• Meaningful Name: The Jenkins part is probably a reference to Leeroy Jenkins, as he tends to rush into battle without thinking things through.
• Mystical White Hair: Has grayish white hair, despite being 24 years old. Subverted due to not being or having any mystical qualities.
• Noodle Incident: The loss of his hand through gambling never gets any explanation.
• Royal Rapier: Uses a rather classy looking rapier during swordfights.

Melinda de Cameron/Melinda Megamelons

The golden armored commander of the British navy stationed in Amihama.

• 24-Hour Armor: Is never seen without her trademark golden suit of armor.
• Action Girl: Possibly the only female fighter on the side of good.
• All Amazons Want Hercules: The only way to romance her, is by defeating her with the blunt side of your sword every time you encounter her in story-related missions and finally sparing her during the tournament.
• Alliterative Name: Only in the English translation, where her name is Melinda Megamelons. Her Japanese name is Melinda de Cameron.
• BFS: Sports a rather large claymore named Centurion.
• Bling of War: Wears a golden suit of armor, which according to her was a family heirloom of hundreds of years old.
• Boyish Short Hair: Her haircut is among the shortest in the game, even when counting male characters. The only characters with shorter hair are some of the random bald Non Player Characters. This is probably done to prevent her hair from clipping through her helmet.
• Cool Helmet: Wears a golden knight helmet with a bird on top.
• Hypocrite: Probably unintentional. When in battle, Melinda frequently says "Let's have a fair fight!". Strangely enough, one of the moves in her skillset has her signal an invisible squad of gunmen to fire at her opponent. This is obviously far from having a fair fight.
• Meaningful Name: Her original Japanese name, de Cameron, can be interpreted as dekamelon, which can be translated as huge melons. Her name in the English version is rather crudely translated to Megamelons. The rest can be figured out yourself...
• Plot Armour: Subverted, she’s the only major character to not have it, and can be killed during story missions after the prologue, in comparison to every other important character, who will retreat outside of their designated deaths. If Melinda dies, a Suspiciously Similar Substitute simply called the New Commander will replace her in future cutscenes and missions.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: When three British Marines were harassing a local restaurant owner, she intervenes and properly apologizes, while forbidding any excursions for the transgressing marines.
• Red Baron: Is called the Demon Commander among her own men.
• Straw Feminist: Has shades of this. One of her comments during battle is her warning you to not underestimate her because of her gender.
• Tomboy: She does not display any stereotypical feminine traits whatsoever. You can even ask her if she was once a man when first introduced to her.

The Prajna movement

A group of xenophobic nationalists who want nothing more than to prevent western culture flowing into Japan, as they are afraid the British plan to take over their country.

Tropes related to this faction in general:

• Decapitated Army: Turns into one early on in the hidden story path. Depending if you met the requirements of the Golden Ending, it will either stay this way or return as The Cavalry to join in the fight against the Big Bad.
• Honor Before Reason: Despite knowing guns are superior to swords, they refuse to use them, as these are not weapons a true samurai would use in their eyes.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: They fear that the British try to take over Japan with their foreign ways. In their eyes, they are defending Japan from a foreign threat, while other people see them as nothing more than xenophobic terrorists.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: They consider themselves to be La Résistance fighting for a Japan without the 'corrupt' foreign influences the British bring with them. But the Japanese government and the British treat them as terrorists.

Reddo Akagi

The leader of the Prajna movement.

• BFS: Most swords in the game are held at the waist. Akagi's sword is so big, he holds it at his back.
• The Cavalry: In the Light of Hope ending, provided that he survives he and a couple of his men arrive to help you and the foreigners out against Kinugawa.
• Frontline General: Joins about every operation his faction goes on and is certainly not afraid to fight himself. This comes into play during the hidden story path, where he gets hit by a bullet. Whether or not he survives depends on the hospital being open. But the Prajna Movement does turn into a Decapitated Army in his absence no less.
• Hot-Blooded: Yells almost all of his lines, makes rash decisions and his main solution to his problems is to draw his sword.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is the Red Oni to Kogure. Akagi is the one moving things forward for his movement, by thinking up plans and spurring the group to action. Kogure, on the other hand, is silent, distant towards other people and only acts when Akagi tells him to.
• Stripperiffic: A rare male example. The chest area of his outfit is fairly revealing.
• Ungrateful Bastard : In the Light of Hope path, he is initially resentful toward Kogure and the Player for taking him to a British hospital in an effort to save his life, due to a would-be fatal gunshot wound that a traditional Japanese doctor lacked the means to treat. However, he grows out of it somewhat when J.J. is seated next to him for treatment of his own injuries. (And in the process learning of J.J.'s willingness to embrace Japanese culture.) The ending shows he has entirely grown out of it, and by extension his xenophobic ways.

Jinrai Kogure

Akagi's closest friend and second in command to the Prajna's

• The Dragon: To Akagi.
• Heel–Face Turn: Is the first character doing so in the hidden path when the right choices are made. And quite humorously too.
• Iaijutsu Practitioner: Is the most notable user of this style in the game.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Wears one when visiting the language school during his Heel–Face Turn, consisting of nothing more than a pair of glasses and a Japanese conical hat. The player character can call him out on this for some funny reactions.
• The Quiet One: Does not speak much and rather lets his sword do the speaking for him.
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: Is actually the most competent swordsman in this faction; both in gameplay and story.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is the Blue Oni to Akagi. Akagi is the one moving things forward for his movement, by thinking up plans and spurring the group to action. Kogure on the other hand is silent, distant towards other people and only acts when Akagi tells him to.

Akemi Madara

The owner of the bar the Toasty Truth, however she is in reality The leader of the Black masks, with Toguro as her second in command

• The Mole: Reveals herself as working for Kinugawa in the Prajna route sent to kill Akagi. Wherever she succeeds or not depends on you.
• Supreme Chef: Some of her items in the toasty truth have the best healing in the game, however they are only available for a limited time.

The Shogunate

The Japanese government, who want nothing more than to maintain order in these changing times.

• Combat Pragmatist: Especially so after Chief Minister Kinugawa takes over command. His plans mostly involve dirty tactics and overwhelming weaponry.

Hikaru Kotobuki

The chief magistrate of Amihama. Kotobuki is essentially a good man, but lets his devotion to his duty as a samurai cloud his judgment, frequently pitting him against the player.

• Anti-Villain: Due to his blind devotion to the Shogunate and his superiors, he is a frequent opponent to the player characters.
• Blood Knight: He considers charging into a cavern full of Prajnas to be entertainment, though he doesn't seem to enjoy the killing so much.
• Final Boss: In the “A Change of Heart” ending, he’s the final foe the player must defeat.
• Friendly Enemy: He knows Akagi personally, as seen by their interactions, and shows sorrow in routes where Akagi is killed.
• Heel–Face Turn:
  • Pulls one in the hidden path, after deciding his superior just kicked too many dogs.
  • Also tries to pull one in one ending in an attempt to assassinate Kinugawa. Unfortunately, it was a body double he and the player kills...
• Large Ham:
  • One of the most Hot-Blooded characters in the game. Having almost No Indoor Voice and accentuating almost everything he says with powerful gestures, Kotobuki manages to steal almost every scene he plays a role in. Lampshaded by himself in the Golden Ending when the main character pulls a Big Damn Heroes moment.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: His most defining character trait and his biggest flaw. He is a really well-meaning man, but his duty as a samurai forces him to follow orders to the letter. Even when his superior, the Big Bad Chief Minister Kinugawa, does very cruel things to his subjects, Kotobuki is unable to defy the man. He does find the guts to defy his superiors near the ending of the hidden path, as he can't stand by and watch how Laura gets slowly executed.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is the Red Oni to Moro. Of the two magistrates, Kotobuki is quicker to draw his sword and does not really think for himself, while Moro is more of a thinker, who only uses violence as a last resort.

Shigeru Moro

A magistrate who always acts with the better interests of his country. He may not look like much, but certainly pulls through when needed. As one of his enemies describe him: "He may look like he is half asleep, but can still put up a good fight."

• Barefisted Monk: His preferred fighting style.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He is a very easygoing and nice guy, but one of the most competent hand to hand fighters in the game.
• Duel Boss: In “Road to Ruin”, he ambushes the player in the black ship while nobody else is on, leading to a one-on-one fight.
• Final Boss: In the “Road to Ruin” ending, he personally takes on the player for the last fight.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: When fought as the final boss, he uses his sword to fight, in contrast to his usual martial arts.
• Nice Guy: One of the more likable characters in the game. Like Laura, he never bears ill will to anyone, but unlike her, he does employ violence when the need arises. But only as a last resort.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is the Blue Oni to Kotobuki. Of the two magistrates, Kotobuki is quicker to draw his sword and does not really think for himself, while Moro is more of a thinker, who only uses violence as a last resort.
• The Quisling: He is seen as this by the Prajna due to his appreciation of Western culture.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Pulls this during the ending of the Shogunate faction path, when he can't stand for Kinugawa's cruelty. You can choose to follow him or fight against him.

Kinugawa Sisters

The three daughters of Chief Minister Kinugawa, consisting of Mayu, Chika and Yuri. They really have a thing for torturing prisoners.

• Cold-Blooded Torture: What they like to inflict upon people. Whenever you get arrested by a guard, you have to face a torture minigame hosted by one of the three sisters.
• Corrupt Bureaucrat: Despite their exalted station, the princesses are not above petty graft. They'll let a criminal go free without torture for a mere 1,000 mon.
• Daddy's Little Villain: Are just as cruel and inhuman as their father is.
• Dark Action Girl: A trio of them. They are featured as recurring antagonists in multiple story paths.
• Dominatrix: Are clearly meant to be a samurai version of this character type. They even have a large amount of prisoners who enjoy being tortured by them.
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: They certainly look gorgeous in contrast to their father, but they're just as cruel as he is.
• Final Boss: They serve as the final obstacles to the player in the “Samurai Straight” ending.
• Fisticuffs Boss: In the “Light of Hope” path, their battle is the culmination of a No-Gear Level.
• Hypocrite: If you get her into bed, Yuri asks you to "please be gentle" with her. By this time, she'll have tortured you at least three times.
• Spoiled Brat: When the nameless ronin defeats them in public at the start of the hidden path, their first response is to summon their father to punish the ronin.
• Torture Technician: Each specializes in a particular method of torturing prisoners.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: Each one has their own preferred weapon and fighting style:
  • Yuri has a spear.
  • Mayu prefers Dual Wielding two katanas.
  • Chika wields one katana with two hands.
  • All of them Carry a Big Stick as well, but only for torture sessions.
• Wolfpack Boss: They always fight together in a group.

Chief Minister Onsen Kinugawa

The chief minister of the Shogunate. While he tries to come over as polite, his wicked and cruel nature quickly shows.

• Big Bad: He is, along with his daughters and his ninja servants, the only truly evil character in the game.
• Corrupt Politician: Genuinely enjoys to inflict cruelty upon the citizens, but pretends it is all for the greater good.
• Evil Laugh: Really seems to have an obsession with this trope, as he is frequently seen laughing evilly while inflicting cruelty.
• Duel Boss: In the “Light of Hope” path, he fights the ronin one-on-one.
• Faux Affably Evil: He presents a seemingly polite exterior at first to the citizens but in reality it's a facade as he is monstrously cruel by heart.
• Final Boss: In the “Light of Hope” path, he serves as this. In “The Chief Minister Lived”, the player instead fights his body double, who is pretty much identical in combat.
• For the Evulz: What many of his cruel deeds amount to.
• Foregone Victory: His whole tournament is based around this, those who decided to accept their reward ends up being boiled alive and those who stay after being beaten will eventually die at the hands of an assassin.
• Karma Houdini: Almost all of the endings have him either get away with his crimes, while the ronin is powerless to stop him, or even managing to kill the ronin or Japan modernizes at the cost of its soul even though Kinugawa is displaced. Only the hidden Golden Ending has him getting what he deserves.
• Kick the Dog: Seems really fond of doing this. To the public, he justifies this by needing to show he will go through great lengths to restore public order. But he actually just likes to inflict misery upon other people.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Tries to sell off his cruelty as this, saying the fear people will have of him will bring back public order in no time. But as mentioned before, he just simply likes being cruel for no reason.
• Manipulative Bastard: In one of the endings, he managed to talk Laura into giving her steamship and cannons, all in the name of peace. In truth, he replicated the ship and cannons, building a huge armada and turning Japan into a dictatorial militaristic colonial empire.
• Meaningful Name: his name is a shoutout to the hot springs near Kinugawa River. This is a double Bilingual Bonus: first, "Kinugawa" can be translated as "Angry Demon"; second, "Onsen" means "hot springs" and is a place where you enjoy water and steam bathe, which foreshadow both his personality and his preferred method of execution.
• Multi-Stage Battle: In the “Light of Hope”, he is first fought on a platform above his boiling pot trap, before he flees and tries to escape on the British black ship, where he is defeated once and for all.
• Obviously Evil: He is a Palpatine look-alike who wears dark robes and a skull pendant who loves boiling people alive.
• Rasputinian Death: Gets one of these in the Golden Ending. He is first injured by the nameless ronin in a sword fight, then he is shot by count J.J.. After that, he is dropped into a bowl of boiling water. But he somehow manages to survive this and steals the British ship. It takes being impaled by a sword and left on a burning and exploding ship to finally do him in.
• The Unfought: Is this trope in most of the story paths. You only actively fight him in the hidden story path.
• Turns Red: A literal example in the Golden Ending. When he falls into his boiling pot, he climbs out, with the only effect on him being his skin becoming red.
• Villain Has a Point: Wants to turn Japan into a colonial empire using modern technology. After the British characters criticize his line of thinking, he tells them the British Empire inspired him to do this, as colonialism made the British so powerful in the first place.
• Villainous Breakdown: Gets this in the hidden ending, as he can't stand seeing his plans get foiled by the nameless ronin.

Toguro

The apparent leader of the Black Masks, Kinugawa's own ninja squad who discreetly deals with his enemies.

• The Brute: He's Kinugawa's personal Professional Killer, asked to handle matters Kotobuki shouldn't know about.
• Dual Wielding: His fighting style involves his wielding two blades.
• Highly-Visible Ninja: He and his men don't even bother with stealth, preferring to attack you head-on.
• Malevolent Masked Men: He wears a trademark black iron mask.

The Amihama Eight

The eight members of the Four Samurai Lords and the Yakuza Quartet, united by a common cause of repelling a foreign invasion.

• Enemy Mine: The enemies decide to let go of their grudge to save Amihama from the foreigners.
• The Magnificent Seven Samurai: There are eight of them, but they fit the mold.

Zenki Kirisame

The leader of the Four Samurai Lords, Kirisame is a wandering samurai who has returned to Amihama in order to defeat the Yakuza Quartet.

• The Leader: He led the Four Samurai Lords in the past, and leads the Amihama Eight in battle against the foreigners.
• Oral Fixation: Kirisame is always seen chewing on a straw.

Isshinisai Kotetsu

One of the Four Samurai Lords, Kotetsu is a man who is wrongfully accused of killing a government official and is sentenced to torture by the Kinugawa sisters.

• Happiness in Slavery: As you progress further in Nodobotoke's questline, Kotetsu starts slipping into this mindset after being continuosly tortured by the Kinugawa sisters.
• Wrongfully Accused: He is framed up by Hiyoko who makes it look like he killed a government official.

Mysterious Thief/Izo Orochi

An enigmatic thief hiding behind a mansion at the harbor, he has no recollection of his past life, so he steals from others to learn something about himself.

• Gentleman Thief: He may be a thief, but he still cares about people he steals from.
• Identity Amnesia: One of the Four Samurai Lords is now stealing to make a living.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: He utters strings of curses as he tries to remember about his past.

Gramps/Jubei Kumagami

An old man who lives under the railroad in Little Britain, Gramps is a leader of the Amihama homeless and outcasts who welcomes them into his group.

• Cool Old Guy: He seeks to help every poor man in Amihama by offering them his help and advice, and he's also a pretty chill guy.
• Heroic Second Wind: He manages to resist his condition long enough to help the Amihama Eight repel the foreigners.
• King of the Homeless: Gramps takes it upon himself to see that his fellow homeless are treated with respect, and they show him respect in return.
• You See, I'm Dying: He suffers from a terminal condition that makes him unable to join the other Lords.

Kai Kobato

A member of the Yakuza Quartet and a right-hand man of the gambling den mistress, Kobato is known as a "King of the Lackeys". He is the questgiver for the yakuza quests.

• The Dragon: To the gambling den mistress.
• Eyepatch of Power: Undoubtably, even with one eye he fights like a beast.

Daigoro Suzume

A member of the Yakuza Quartet and the "Deathbringer consultant", Suzume is the final antagonist of the thief's questline.

• Even Evil Has Standards: He seems rather upset if told he made a little girl cry by slaughtering her family, and says he couldn't bring himself to kill her too.
• Sinister Shades: The guy's shades indicate he's up to no good.

Gozo Hiyoko

A member of the Yakuza Quartet and the leader of the thugs, Hiyoko is the man who killed the government official Kotetsu was accused of killing.

• Evil Old Folks: He is a rather nasty piece of work.

Manmaru/Yorozumaru Mozu

A weird man often seen in the town, Manmaru is a child in a grown man's body. And that grown man is the yakuza boss' younger brother and a killing machine for the Deathbringers.

• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Who would've thought that a local mentally challenged guy could be a member of the Yakuza Quartet.
• Dual Wielding: Manmaru is rather skilled at dual-wielding katanas.
• Manchild: He has childish mannerisms and a high-pitched voice despite being an adult man, which suggest he has some sort of psychological disorder.

Gambling Den Mistress/Deathbringers Boss Kazumi Mozu

The owner of the gambling den in Amihama, the mistress is a rather sour person that despises the magistrate.

• Cop Hater: The mistress hates the local police with a passion, so she sends the nameless ronin to kill as many of them as he can.
• Dragon Lady: She certainly has that aesthetic.
• Even Evil Has Standards: After learning that Jubei is terminally ill, the mistress offers to pay the expenses for his medicine.

Other characters

Gunji Dojima

The blacksmith of Amihama.

• Big Damn Heroes: If you did the quest to recruit him, he pulls this in a hidden sidequest, arriving to assist you and a group of other samurai against an army of foreign invaders. He also saves you from being run over by a train if you are defeated by the Prajna in the tutorial fight at the cost of your weapons, but only if he's not a blacksmith.
• Death Equals Redemption: Plans to commit sepukku to atone for letting his best friend Hanpei die. Unless you convince him to take over the smithy. And by convincing, we mean beating him in combat.
• Shoplift and Die: He is practically the only merchant in the game who wants to beat you up himself when forgoing to pay. The other merchants simply call the guards.

Old Fossil

The owner of a local kendo dojo, he tasks the protagonist to be an instructor and bring new students in.

• Impossibly Tacky Clothes: As more students enroll into his dojo, he starts wearing Western items such as a top hat, a monocle and a photo camera strapped to his chest.
• Non-Action Guy: He doesn't defend the dojo from challengers at all, instead letting the ronin and his students to do all the fighting.
• Old Master: His better days are behind him, but he still knows a thing or two about swordfighting.

Sensei

A female warrior who, after having taken revenge upon her friend's killer, does not know what to do with her life. The nameless ronin can push her in the right direction.

• Badass Teacher: Can be recruited as your assistant dojo instructor, should you own the dojo. The usefulness in this lies in the fact she quickly defeats dojo challengers, usually in seconds after they appear. This means the player doesn't have to return to his dojo every time there is a new challenger.
• Big Damn Heroes: Like Dojima, if you recruited her, she will appear to assist you and eight other samurai against an army of foreign invaders.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: After her quest for vengeance is over, she has no idea what to do. The ronin can send her to various jobs before proposing to work at his dojo as instructor.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": She is only known as Sensei, which is a Japanese word used for teacher. This is also a bit of foreshadowing, as she can be appointed to protect your dojo against challengers.
• Hime Cut: One of her defining traits.
• Meaningful Name: Sensei is the Japanese word used for teacher. In the western world, this word is frequently associated with the master of a dojo. Guess what she will become if you solve her sidequest...
• New Job as the Plot Demands: As Sensei looks for a place to call her own, she works as a security guard at, in order: a clothing store, a sushi shop, a gambling den and a language school, before settling down as an assistant instructor at the ronin's dojo.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: When you first encounter her, she is near a corpse of another samurai. She implies defeating him did not take any effort at all. Also, when you recruited her as your assistant instructor, she quickly offs anyone stupid enough to challenge the dojo within seconds after their challenge. Unfortunately, you never get to see her doing this.

Constable Shintaro Nodobotoke

A constable working at the magistrate's office, he employs the protagonist as a thief-taker, usually sending them after lawbreakers and Nodobotoke's personal enemies.

• Cowboy Cop: Nodobotoke occasionally sends the ronin to clean up his messes, telling him to use violence.
• Smug Snake: He certainly thinks he's hot shit and can order the ronin around.
• The Starscream: All his missions are his attempts to replace Sakotsu as the head constable. In the end, he succeeds.

Head Constable Joubunosuke Sakotsu

Amihama's head constable, Sakotsu is a bloodthirsty man who wishes to slaughter all yakuza in the town to rid it of their foulness.

• Affably Evil: One good thing that can say about him is his politeness is real, If you refuse his job offer he completely fine with it, believe that you would eventually come and accept it on you own.
• Ax-Crazy: It's a wonder such a murderous individual would be the head constable, but knowing Kinugawa's own penchant for madness, it makes sense.
• Berserk Button: Yakuza and crime in general.
• Knight Templar: His brand of justice is simply slaughtering all the yakuza in the town.
• Rabid Cop: He doesn't make any attempts to hide his bloodlust, sending the protagonist to kill yakuza for his twisted pleasure.

Mr. Uchimada

The recurring antagonist of the Homeless questline. He is one of the richest men in Amihama and an extreme Neat Freak. In fact, his guard consist of "Clean Samurai" which are samurai primarily dressed in white. This regularly puts him at odds with the homeless, who are, in his eyes, too dirty to exist.

• Bare-Fisted Monk: Tries to be one in the last encounter you have with him, but is fairly easily defeated.
• Butt-Monkey: Every encounter has the nameless ronin humiliate him in some way.
• Dirty Coward: Though not "dirty" in the traditional sense, he is rather cowardly in a confrontation (except during your last encounter with him, where he at least tries to put up a fight) and prefers to let his Clean Samurai bodyguards do the unpleasant work against his opposition.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Suffers from this. Especially when it comes to cleanliness. If you disagree with his obsession for everything clean or his stance against beggars, he will command his Clean Samurai to kill you.
• Neat Freak: Has an extreme dislike for dirty things. Even suggesting something isn't dirty which in his eyes is, is reason enough to sic his Clean Samurai on you.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Kills homeless people because he considers them unclean.
• Villainous Breakdown: A rather funny one. It happens when a large amount of beggars use his bath, right after the player character asked for permission to use his bath. Uchimada thought the ronin was asking for permission for himself, not the group of beggars. This incident also ruins his business related talk with a British gentleman. As a result, he starts madly laughing and sends out the Clean Samurai for the last time.