Sanzo

Mirumoto Sanzo left the Dragon Clan after his family was slaughtered by ogres, becoming the noted ronin Sanzo, Secrets of the Dragon, p. 36 a samurai without a daisho who rode a horse that was better kept than himself. This former samurai of the Dragon Clan interested Miya Yumi so much that he took on Sanzo as a yojimbo and took this time to study him. Yumi was so moved by Sanzo's story that she replaced Sanzo's missing daisho. Way of the Wolf, pp. 11-12 Musha was the name of his loyal mare, who served him both in life and death. Legions, Part XI
== Early Life ==
Mirumoto Sanzo lived at Lost Samurai Village, a remote mountain village, as proud samurai and its protector. One fateful day, a band of marauding ogres and ronin attacked Sanzo's home. He returned to his village too late to prevent the attack, too late to do anything to aid his people. Overcome by fear, he could not bring himself to fight. He watched in mute horror as his wife and daughter were murdered, while all those he had sworn to protect died at the ogres' hands. He watched as the leader slung his father's swords over his back, swords Sanzo had left behind rather than carry them into the fields with the workers. The beasts trudged into the wilderness, and Sanzo could do nothing. Later he met the ronin who had destroyed his village, but fled from them in fear once more, missing his chance for revenge. The Legion of the Dead: The Tragic Ronin
== Ronin ==
=== Earning his Daisho ===
Sanzo, now a ronin, was a small samurai with no daisho, haunted eyes and a jagged tattoo on one side of his face, who easily was involved in brawls in every waystation on the road. In one of them, beside the Emperor's Road, Sanzo met a the Miya Daimyo Miya Yoto. The Miya was a fervant supporter of ronin and lower caste samurai, and considered Sanzo the archetype of Ronin. Yoto hired him as his personal yojimbo and took the opportunity to interview Sanzo at length. As payment Sanzo was gifted with a daisho of his own. Way of the Wolf, p. 12
=== Clan Wars ===
During the Clan Wars, by pure chance, he fell in among a group of others outcast by circumstance -- Miya Yumi, and the mysterious Koan. Game Master's Guide; 2nd Ed, pp. 61-67 Yumi was trying to uncover the treachery of the Miya Daimyo and her cousin, Miya Satoshi. After visiting Yumi's uncle, the deposed and imprisoned Miya Yoto, Game Master's Guide; 2nd Ed, pp. 65-67 they moved to Kyuden Ashinagabachi, where the Wasp Clan Champion Tsuruchi commanded Ashinagabachi Ichiro to guide them to the Traitor's Grove. Yumi was searching for Kenshin's Helm, a cursed nemuranai. Yumi communed with Bayushi Tesaguri, whom used to be in the possession of the helm and whose spirit was the first to be bound to the grove. In 1127 they moved to the Phoenix lands, expecting to cross Beiden Pass undetected, as she believed there were enemies looking for her. The Helm was hidden within the Phoenix lands, in the possession of one of the greater spawn of Uragirimono, another of the humans cursed by the nemuranai. Time of the Void, pp. 25-27 Tesaguri had said that it was hidden at Doro Owari Mura, and that Yogo Junzo was seeking it. Time of the Void, p. 46 The nemuranai had been hid in a cave by Shosuro Hametsu alongside the 11th Black Scroll, the Doom of Fu Leng, but both items had been stolen by Uragirimono. Time of the Void, p. 48 Traveling and fighting beside them, Sanzo learned some small part of what it meant to be a hero and helped to prevent a terrible tragedy from befalling the Empire. Way of the Samurai, p. 81 Still, he never forgave himself for his failure so long ago. For years he chased death with a blind fury, never relenting against the creatures of the Shadowlands. 
== Ambition ==
In 1132 Sanzo found the broken shards of the Bloodsword, Ambition, within the empty halls of Kyuden Bayushi. After forging them into a wakizashi, Hidden Emperor, p. 27 he set out to hunt the ogre that had murdered his family. After a long hunt, he finally confronted his adversary and gained the revenge he had long desired. Twilight Mountains (Dark Journey Home flavor) Sadly, indulging in his blood lust also gave the bloodsword a measure of control over him. The sword drove him to find and slay the one responsible for the duel that led to the swords initial destruction -- Emperor Toturi I. Armorer (Ambition's Debt flavor) Hidden Emperor, p. 41
=== Killing the Ogre ===
Sanzo eventually found the lair of the ogre who had killed his father and his family. After a fight Sanzo was able to kill the ogre and reclaim his family sword from the hands of the dead beast. Ogre Bushi (Jade flavor) Hidden Emperor, p. 41 The whole event was whitnessed by an Ise Zumi named Togashi Abokito, who then followed the ronin. Unexpected Allies, p. 59
=== Murdering Toturi ===
At the time, Toturi and Isawa Kaede were hiding in Shiba lands in a house in the mountains near the Village in the Valley. Broken Ambition, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf Kaede was struggling to help Toturi overcome the Lying Darkness' hold upon him. In 1133 Sanzo found and attacked the Emperor, wounding him grievously. Last Refuge (Fire and Shadow flavor) Sanzo managed to regain some control before he could strike the killing blow and fled. Moment of Brilliance (Honor Bound flavor) Kaede arrived to find Toturi mortally wounded and Sanzo gone. Hidden Emperor, p. 66 He gave one of the remaining shards of Ambition to one of the townsfolk of the village. 
== Death ==
In the end, Sanzo wandered the Empire alone, his wakizashi as shattered as his mind, a madman. Public Ridicule (Soul of the Empire flavor) He wandered for some years before finally succumbing to death. A Phoenix shugenja discovered his body and realized that the curse of the Bloodsword had overcome him. The sword and his skull were placed in Gisei Toshi for study, but the fate of Sanzo's spirit was never known. None had been able to commune with his soul in Yomi, nor any of the other Spirit Realms. 
== Legion of the Dead ==
In 1166 Sanzo and his horse Musha joined the Legion of the Dead. They had stepped forward to answer Matsu Goemon's call to fight the Legion of Blood, against those who were responsible for the forging of the Bloodswords. Sanzo had been in the Realm of Thwarted Destiny since his death years before. Shiba Tsukune asked him to aid the Legion in seeking the Oblivion's Gate, where they intended to help Kisada return to the mortal realm to fight Iuchiban. Sanzo feared he would fail once again, as he had in life, but then realized that a man who risked nothing had already failed. Sanzo, along with his horse, lead the Legion toward the Gate. Legions, Part X Because of his extensive knowlage of this realm he knew a way to the Gate that Kuni Yori and his Legion of Blood did not know of. Mirumoto Satsu encouraged Sanzo to believe in himself and gifted him his own wakizashi to replace the one Sanzo had lost. Satsu said that no Mirumoto could fight with only one sword, even one who no longer bore the family name. 
He was instrumental in the defeat of the Legion of the Blood, attacking Kuni Yori at a key moment so that Hida Kisada, the former Crab Clan Champion and Fortune of Persistence, could pass through Oblivion's Gate. Sanzo was in Yomi for a brief time, and looked upon the souls of his wife and daughter. He watched them from a distance for a while and was at peace, he then return to wander the Realm of Forgotten Destiny, which he renamed to "Maigo no Musha" in honor of his most faithful companion, his horse. 
=== Outsiders enters the Realm ===
Sanzo sensed two Crane warriors who had ventured through a newly formed passage into Maigo no Musha. One of them, Daidoji Kitagi, wished to know what had became of his father, Daidoji Yoshimaru, whom had perished in the Battle of Oblivion's Gate, but his body was never recovered. Sanzo told Kitagi that his father had been part of the Legion of the Dead, and remained in the realm as guardian. Flight from Darkness, by Shawn Carman
=== Daidoji Uji ===
The presence of the two Crane had started to weakened the boundaries of the realm, and Sanzo requested them to leave. Himatsu exposed himself as a Maho-tsukai, and drew his sword empowered with maho threatening Sanzo.Their invasion brought about an unexpected side effect. From the darkness appeared a shadow, which quickly overcame and fatally wounded Himatsu. He was an alternative Daidoji Uji, the Iron Crane, which had arrived from a nightmare world. All then left Maigo no Musha. Uji's shadow had been careful in fataly wounding Himatsu so that the Bloodspeaker did not die quickly, thus allowing time to avoid a death within this unstable realm. 
== Legacy ==
=== Seiden Sanzo ===
The spirit of Sanzo was revered in Seiden Sanzo. Seiden Sanzo (Celestial flavor)
=== Family ===
Sanzo had a son, Hozumi. Worldly Matters, by Shawn Carman
== Appearances ==
=== Gohei's Daisho ===
In 1172 Sanzo aided Akodo Senichi to return to Ningen-do, because the Deathseeker had not fulfilled his destiny in the Destroyer War. Three, by Lucas Twyman Senichi found the Gohei's Daisho lying beside him shortly after he awoke from the strange dream. Judgment, Part 2, by Lucas Twyman
=== Judgement ===
In 1176 Isawa Mizuhiko, current wielder of Judgement, crossed the borders of the Spirit Realms during sleep, and pondered with Sanzo about the Bloodsword. Judgment, Part 1, by Lucas Twyman Mizuhiko killed Akodo Ginawa some time later, and his spirit visited the Spirit Realm for a brief time. Sanzo met him, and Ginawa's old friend, Matsu Hiroru, also joined. 
== See also ==
* Sanzo/Meta
* Sanzo/CW Meta
== External Links ==
* Sanzo (Imperial)
* Sanzo Exp (Hidden Emperor 5)
Category:Ronin
Mirumoto Sanzo
Category:Maigo no Musha