Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami

## Image Gallery

**Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami Nobutsuna** (上 (かみ) 泉 (いずみ)  伊 (い) 勢守 (せのかみ)  信綱 (のぶつな) ), also known as the "**Sword Saint**" (剣聖, *Kensei*), is one of the fighters participating in the Tenkaichi tournament, representing Shibata Katsuie.

## Appearance

Kamiizumi is a noticeably older and aged individual, with a diminutive and frail looking stature. His heavily wrinkled face is almost completely obscured by his extremely long flowing whitened hair and equally long flowing whitened eyebrows, moustache and beard; he generally has either a tranquilly wise or a satisfied facial expression. Under normal conditions, Kamiizumi has noticeably darkened irises with whitened pupils although when stimulated by his battlelust, his irises become concentric and whiten while his pupils darken. Until his fight, Kamiizumi was only seen cooped up inside an adult-sized buggy, wearing a simple kimono and flanked by his two female retainers. When it was his turn to fight, his full attire was revealed to be a very simple fair-coloured kimono with white hakama and his two swords strapped to his left side; he also went barefoot.

## Personality

Kamiizumi appears to have a mellow and untroubled persona that belies a sharp awareness and approval for elite fighting strength and bloodlust; his sensitivity to fighting strength is so keen that he only wakes up in the presence of truly strong combatants. He does however become bored if his opponents aren't as stimulating as he hopes them to be. Kamiizumi is otherwise very genial and cordial when awake, speaking quite casually with those around him, even those he is fighting.

Kamiizumi also has an underlying perverted side, constantly mumbling about "titties" and busty woman while he snoozes.

## History

Born and raised in his family castle in Kozuke Province, Kamiizumi Hidetsuna was raised in an environment completely conducive to the mastery of the sword.
Sat down opposite his master, Hidetsuna told him that he'd make the Kage-ryu the greatest style in Japan's history. Aisu contently replied that he'd leave his style and sword in Hidetsuna's care as he knew no-one else as talented; he added that the martial way was perfected by utilising the forces of nature to their maximum, a state that was in the realm of gods. Hidetsuna replied his interest but stated he aimed to be the strongest in history "unrivalled in a thousand years" and he would make the sword divine. Kamiizumi's sheer genius and astounding resolution to be the strongest enabled him to master three different styles before he turned 30, culminating in the founding of Shinkage-ryu!

For over the next twenty years, Ise-no-Kami participated in the violent battles of the era whilst spending time ardently researching and refining martial arts for the sake of making his sword reach the gods.
At the age of 60, Kamiizumi participated in an demonstration of his sword prowess, nonchalantly cutting an arrow fired at him from a seated position. With his students heaping great praise on him, Ise-no-Kami was left knowing what he sought was no longer among his fellow humans. That evening, a visibly frustrated Kamiizumi fumed that his earlier display had actually been awful and vexed over his inability to reach the gods and make his sword divine.

Ise-no-Kami's lofty ideals drove him to completely forego wielding a weapon, spending his entire days in meditation at the top of a mountain in order to probe his mind and body for a way to reach the gods; there Kamiizumi mused on how he would eventually attain the state of reaching the gods. Thus, the swordsman spent all his hours meditating, continuously striving to seek out and reach the gods.
After ten years of constant meditation, in the year 1577, Marume Kurando came to the mountain, concerned over Kamiizumi's health and asking for him to come down. Ise-no-Kami slowly mumbled in reply that the "gate" was right ahead of him and, at that moment, his heart briefly stopped beating. In that instant, Kamiizumi reached a state where he could hear the voices of the gods. Regaining consciousness, Ise-no-Kami collapsed to the ground coughing before murmuring that the gate was opened; he explained that he could feel the power of the gods there and the laws of the universe which gave way to the essence of martial arts.

## Plot

Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami was seen gathered in Ozaka castle, along with the other warriors competing in the Tenkaichi tournament.

On the second day of the Tenkaichi tournament, Kamiizumi was seen dozing inside his buggy on board the Shogun's ship, Sweet Winds, his two retainers either side of him. His raven-haired retainer informed him that the match would begin soon, with Kamiizumi mumbling about sucking titties in his slumber. Kamiizumi continued to mumble about titties until he roused from the land of nod, noting that a storm was brewing. Noticing the bloodlust of Yagyu Munenori, his raven-haired retainer confirmed it was and added that Munenori was fighting resolutely, to which Kamiizumi commented his satisfaction. As Yagyu Munenori achieved a brutally definite victory over William Adams, a pleased-looking Kamiizumi commented that Munenori had come a long way.

At Ozaka castle, Kamiizumi was wheeled out by his students for his Tenkaichi match, whilst mumbling in his sleep about a woman with large boobs. When Hino Choko was introduced and stood before him, Kamiizumi instantly awoke and was helped out of his buggy by his student. While strapping in his swords, Kamiizumi inspected and acknowledged that Choko was to be his opponent, even asking whether Choko was even human. Addressing Choko, Kamiizumi cordially said they should go a play in the cage. With Hino looking down at Kamiizumi and uttering the word "kill", the Sword Saint agreed with a grin on his face.
Stepping into the Twin Dragon's Cage, Kamiizumi one-sidedly conversed with Hino, complimenting the name of the cage before mentioning that he'd never fought a rikishi in all his years, adding that he wanted to see as many moves from him so he'd go easy at first. With Hino starting the fight prematurely and attacking with a heavy stomp, Kamiizumi dodged with an interested look on his face. With an excited expression on his face, the Sword Saint then began to effortlessly evade all of Choko's strikes. Suddenly saying he was bored of Choko's display, Kamiizumi stopped moving and took one of Choko's strikes head-on, using his martial arts to counter the strike and send the rikishi crashing into the ground; after dropping Choko, Kamiizumi then spoke a haiku.[NOTE]"Both burly muscles and young maidens' soft titties, are, by nature, meat." Choko returned to his feet with a roar, eliciting Kamiizumi to tease that he seemed upset, and attempted to grab for the Sword Saint. Disappointed that this was all Choko had amounted to, Kamiizumi deftly leaped through and over the grab attempt, saying that he should get a look of Choko's face before finishing him off, culminating in the Sword Saint stealing Choko's mask and sending the rikishi sprawling into the cage's wall. Musing how ugly Choko had to be to hide behind a mask, Kamiizumi noticed a needle stuck to the mask's interior and wondered what it could be for, before suddenly sensing a powerful yet unknown pressure behind him. Turning to face Choko, Kamiizumi realised that the rikishi had actually been asleep the entire time.
Receiving a polite greeting, Kamiizumi was visibly surprised Choko could do such a thing and greeted the rikishi in return. Choko asked who Kamiizumi was, but immediately interrupted the Sword Saint before he could respond, saying he'd try to guess instead, with Kamiizumi telling him not to make him wait too long. Observing the rikishi, Kamiizumi recognised that the pressure he'd been feeling all along had finally revealed its true form. Choko finally ascertained the situation, correctly, deducing Kamiizumi to be the renowned Sword Saint; the rikishi apologised for making Kamiizumi wait, with the swordsman saying it was about time. However, before they resumed, Choko casually asked if Kamiizumi had a name he wanted to be called by. Kamiizumi replied it was an odd thing to ask and if they couldn't just get started, but Choko pressed that it mattered since the name made the man. Commenting that it sounded like he was being lectured, but coming to agree anyway, Kamiizumi told Choko to call him "Bushin" as he was the strongest in the world.
Expressing his like of the name, Choko responded that Kamiizumi should call him "Onigami", before launching into a rapid series of attacks that the Sword Saint nimbly avoided. Voicing his admiration of Choko's attacks, the rikishi unsuccessfully tried an attack from above, before smashing the cage away with a frontal charge. Having stopped moving and Choko looking to land the final blow, Kamiizumi somehow managed to avoid getting crushed by the strike. Praising him, Choko asked how he managed to dodge that and a fully awakened Kamiizumi replied that he will show him why they call him "Bushin".
Choko cheerfully asked to be shown more martial arts, before driving at Kamiizumi and attempting a palm strike. However, Kamiizumi merely sidestepped the rikishi and sent the man hurtling backwards into the uprooted cage; he then asked what Choko thought, saying martial arts were pretty fun and adding that one who knows the laws of the universe and can make its power their own has the potential to become a martial god. Chuckling that Choko flew quite a way but that it still didn't do much, the rikishi replied that he hadn't been hurt this much in a while. With Choko guessing there to be a principle behind the Bushin's strike, Kamiizumi confirmed it to be correct, saying Choko had good instincts and that manipulating the flow of power was the law of martial arts. Happy, Choko said it sounded fun, revealing he had never cared for martial arts and law until now; surmising the principle of manipulating the flow of power, Choko said he'd give it a try, but Kamiizumi calmly replied that it might seem easy when he did it, but it was actually *very* difficult to pull off. Choko confidently agreed that he couldn't do it like *Kamiizumi* could, but he shouldn't be counted out since he was also called a "god" too. At that, Choko kicked forwards, sending a blade of air flying towards the Bushin. Despite avoiding the air blade himself, the sheathe of Kamiizumi's katana was hit and destroyed instead. Choko stated that the air blade was essentially his own kind of katana, before saying they should now have a *real* sword fight.

## Powers & Abilities

Kamiizumi Ise-no-Kami is an immensely renowned swordsman and martial master, hailed by many; a testament to the reputation of his fighting strength is the great number of Tenkaichi participants who specifically came out to watch him fight. By the admission of his student Marume Kurando, who is a martial master in his own right, Kamiizumi could comfortably defeat ordinary martial artists while fast asleep, adding that it would take someone truly strong for Kamiizumi to even wake up. He refers to himself as "**Bushin**" (武神?Literal translation: *Martial God*), because he believes himself to be strongest in the world.

Kamiizumi's martial prowess is tremendous, showing incredible evasive abilities and mobility, despite his advanced age; during the initial stages of his fight with Hino Choko, he was able to nonchalantly dodge and avoid every single one of the furious strikes that Hino threw at him. Even after Choko awakened back to his original self, Kamiizumi was able to evade all of the attacks Choko threw at him, with Choko himself saying that the swordsman flowed around him like water.

### Martial Arts

**Shinkage-ryu** (新陰 (しんかげ) 流, *Shinkage-ryū*?Literal translation: *New Shadow Style*): Founder of the Shinkage-ryu, Kamiizumi is regarded as a Sword Saint and a true master of swordsmanship. Because of his supreme mastery over the sword, Kamiizumi is "forbidden" to draw his sword (much like how rikishi aren't allowed to use kinjite in sumo); he has not broken this prohibition in over 50 years. After the sheathe of his sword was destroyed by Hino Choko in their fight, Kamiizumi once again wielded his sword and showed his incredible skill with it.

**Muto-dori** (無 (む) 刀 (とう) 取 (ど) り, *Mutō-dori*?Literal translation: *Swordless Seize*): As a result of his sword-based kinjite, Kamiizumi has mastered hand-to-hand martial arts. An example of his extreme proficiency is his ability to utilise his opponent's power to increase his own. He demonstrated this twice against Hino Choko twice, by using his effortless-seeming body control to deflect Hino Choko's immense physical power, throwing off the rikishi's posture and sending the man crashing to the ground; Yagyu Munenori postured that it was a technique that virtually negates physical strength and could very well be the ultimate form of martial arts.

**Gate of Celestial Awakening** (天覚 (てんかく) ノ (の) 門 (もん) , *Tenkaku no Mon*?Literal translation: *Heaven(ly) Awakening Gate*): As described by Marume Kurando, Kamiizumi has reached the state where he has opened the "door to martial consciousness". According to Kamiizumi, this state is a point which separates the realm of man from the realm of god; once open, he can apparently even control the beating of his own heart at will. According to Marume, even the principles that underlay the fighting styles of the world, which seem like mere supposition, become feasible for Kamiizumi in reality.
While the gate is open, in this state, Kamiizumi's reaction speed and agility surpass human limits and his manipulation over the flow of power reaches inhuman levels. While in this state, Kamiizumi demonstrates the ability to utilise fa jin in his strikes, as shown when he sent Hino Choko careening backwards with a simple thrust of the hilt of his katana.

## Notes & Trivia

* This character is based on the real life Kamiizumi Nobutsuna.
* He was born **Kamiizumi Hidetsuna** (上泉 秀綱 (ひでつな) ).
* Being the founder of Shinkage-ryu and a pioneer of Japanese swordsmanship, Kamiizumi is the master of a number of renowned swordsmanship students, including Yagyu Muneyoshi and Marume Kurando. As a result, this also makes him the great-grandmaster of Yagyu Munenori and Hozoin Inshun.
	+ Unsurprisingly, Kamiizumi is acutely aware of Yagyu Munenori, waking up to and also recognising the reputed samurai's bloodlust and showing notable satisfaction with Munenori's style of swordsmanship.

## References

1. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 1 (pages 66-67).
2. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 17 (pages 25-26 & 33-34).
3. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 14 (pages 7, 13 & 27).
4. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 15 (page 20).
5. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 17 (pages 24-26).
6. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 20 (pages 12-15).
7. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 20 (page 16).
8. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 20 (pages 17-21).
9. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 20 (pages 22-25).
10. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 20 (pages 25-33).
11. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 17 (pages 16-19).
12. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 17 (pages 25-26).
13. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 19 (page 36).
14. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 18 (pages 10-11, 16-17 & 20).
15. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 19 (pages 38-42 & 45-47).
16. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 1 (pages 64-65).
17. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 18 (page 21).
18. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 18 (pages 26-27).
19. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 18 (page 28).
20. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 18 (page 35).
21. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 18 (pages 23-27).
22. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 18 (pages 34-35).
23. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 18 (page 29).
24. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 19 (page 48).
25. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 20 (page 34).
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 20 (page 10).
27. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 17 (page 22).
28. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 17 (page 21).
29. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 15 (page 38).
30. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 15 (page 39).
31. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 16 (page 48).