Lord Mifune

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**Lord Mifune** was the original Daimyo of the Northern Province and Usagi's master, until he was slain by Hikiji's forces at the fateful Battle of the Adachi Plains. As a Daimyo, Mifune possessed all the traits that make a man a great leader: a man of wisdom and mercy with the strength of will and character to protect his lands and people from those who would harm them. He has been mentioned many times throughout the series, and though he's only made a few appearances in flashbacks, his influence had a major impact on Usagi's life.

## History

Lord Mifune was a lord of great renown throughout the country. For generations, his clan had ruled the Northern Province, gaining the respect and loyalty of many, including Usagi's family. The only man who dared to challenge Lord Mifune for control of his domain was a minor lord from a neighboring province named Lord Hikiji.

Many times, the Lord of the Black Sun attempted to invade and defeat his enemy in battle, but Lord Mifune was a tactical military genius, and defeated Hikiji every time, forcing him to retreat. It was after one such battle that Lord Mifune first met the young Miyamoto Usagi, who would later become his greatest vassal.

The day previous, Usagi came across the battlefield where the Mifune forces once again crushed Hikiji's. On a foolish impulse, Usagi stole a wakizashi (short sword) of a dead samurai. Later, plagued by guilt over his dishonorable action, Usagi snuck back to the field to return the blade to its rightful owner. However, some ashigaru saw Usagi and mistook him for a looter. Despite how strongly Usagi fought, the foot soldiers managed to subdue him, and were going to cut off his hand as punishment for thievery, until Lord Mifune came upon them on his horse with his retainer Gunichi. When the daimyo demanded to know what was going on, the foot soldiers accused the boy of being a looter, but the Usagi bravely denied the accusation. After looking at the boy for a moment, Lord Mifune told him to go home, telling him that he hoped this would be the last time he set foot on a battlefield. When Gunichi asked why Lord Mifune spared the boy, he said that he saw strength in that child's spirit, and deceit wasn't in his character. Perhaps, one day, that boy would be in service to their clan as Gunichi's comrade.

Many years later, Lord Mifune's intuition proved correct. One day, the Dogora School of Kenjutsu, the most prestigious fencing school in the province, held a tournament and invited all the neighboring schools to participate. As the patron of the Dogora School, Lord Mifune attended to see the new generation of samurai. As a special reward for the winner, not only would they be invited to enter Lord Mifune's service, but they'd be awarded with a daisho (sword set) forged by the great swordsmith, Koetsu. Lord Mifune watched as the young Usagi defeated every opponent set against him, including his old friend, Kenichi. When the tournament was over, Lord Mifune himself presented Usagi the katana, Yagi-no-Eda (Willow Branch), and the wakizashi, Aoyagi (Young Willow), and stated that Usagi would be welcomed in his service.

A short time later, Usagi did indeed enter Lord Mifune's service, at the recommendation of his retainer Gunichi. As time went one, Lord Mifune promoted Usagi to the high rank of hatamoto (bannerman) for his loyal and capable service. One night, Neko Ninja invaded the castle to assassinate Lord Mifune and his family. While Lord Mifune, along with Usagi and Gunichi, managed to slay the ninja set against them, Lord Mifune's wife and son, Lady Kazumi and Prince Tsuruichi, were killed. Consumed by the anger and sorrow over the loss of his family, Lord Mifune went to war against the man who controlled the Neko Ninja: Lord Hikiji.

Both Mifune and Hikiji gathered their forces at the Adachi Plains. At this battlefield, the clan that would hold dominance over the Northern Province would be decided. At first, the battle wen exactly as Lord Mifune planned and had quickly routed Hikiji's forces, but at the last critical moment, one of Mifune's generals, Buichi Toda, turned traitor and started attacking his lord's men. Mifune and his men were caught in a pincer between Toda and Hikiji's forces and was completely cut off from his own men. At this point, Gunichi chose to abandon his lord rather than die in a hopeless battle; only Usagi remained loyal to go after his lord. Lord Mifune was shot down by a hail of arrows, and as his last request to his retainer, he asked that Usagi cut off his head and bury it in secret so that Lord Hikiji wouldn't have the pleasure of dishonoring him by putting on display. Usagi dutifully obeyed his lord and acted as his second when cut off his head, then fought viciously to escape the battlefield, even receiving a blow to the forehead by Lord Hikiji himself as he broke through their lines.

Thus ended Lord Mifune's life, a great lord brought down by treachery. However, even in death, the daimyo's influence still had an impact on Usagi's life. After burying his lord's head in secret, Usagi had to escape the province because Hikiji's men were hunting down any Mifune soldier who survived the battle. Usagi came upon the hut of an old woman who offered him shelter, but she turned out to be a demon woman, devouring stragglers she had captured as they fled the battle. Being unused to fighting yokai, Usagi would have been killed by the demonic creature, but was rescued by the spirit of Lord Mifune himself who slew the wretched creature. When Usagi asked how this could be possible, Lord Mifune's spirit reminded him that while a retainer's loyalty is great, a lord loyalty to his retainer is greater. And Mifune's loyalty to Usagi was so powerful, it brought his spirit back to save his retainer's life. Usagi later woke up in the middle of a field with the hut nowhere in sight and wasn't sure if what he saw was a dream or not.

## Fighting Style

Lord Mifune was known far and wide as a military genius and the victor of many battles during the Age of Warring States, and was without a doubt a great warrior, given how he would lead his own men into battle and was able to kill many Neko Ninja that tried to assassinate him when he was off guard in his own castle. He was such a great warrior and military commander that, after several crushing defeats, Hikiji resorted to his signature treachery to bribe one of Mifune's own retainers in order to defeat him. Were it not for that, Lord Mifune would have certainly won the battle.

## Trivia

* Lord Mifune was named after famed Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune.
* Lord Mifune's mon (crest) was modeled after a rabbit's footprint in the snow.