Madame Kaji

"Under the law, revenge is a luxury reserved for *men,* like you*.* Women like me, must be... practical. We must focus on our *result.*"- *Madame Kaji to Mizu*

**Madame Kaji** is a supporting character in the Netflix series, *Blue Eye Samurai*, who is voiced by Ming-Na Wen.

## Biography

Madame Kaji is a woman who has managed to find autonomy over her life in a world hostile to women. Tart, unflappable, wise and unsentimental (can sometimes be charmingly persuasive). She worked her way up to this managerial role from the bottom up.

As a brothel madam, she manages a group of prostitutes and as a Courtesan (called Oiran in Japan) she has more refined entertainment skills and training in the traditional arts than common prostitutes.

## Appearance

Madame Kaji is a middle aged, tallish and slender Japanese woman with beige skin, narrow dark brown eyes with epicanthic folds, and black hair worn in an elaborate up-do. Often she wears makeup such as white foundation, blusher and red lipstick which is typical for women in her profession. Her outfits consist of a kimono with socks and sandals. Being an Oiran and brothel Madame, she can afford to wear more expensive and ornate kimonos.

## Personality

As a brothel madam, Madame Kaji is a stern leader to her group of prostitutes, making sure they earn their keep, but seems to care about them much deep down. She is also straight-talking, brave, insightful, astute, honest and organized with high intelligence. She was able to quickly notice that Akemi was a noble princess and not a courtesan like Goro had introduced her to be. She was also blunt and brazen enough to threaten Goro (a male flesh-trader) with a stab to the nose for his poor business and even openly dissed his low intelligence (compared to hers).

To her paying clientele (who are men) Kaji is a smart and gracious host, acting non- judgemental and hospitable to them, as shown with her interactions with Mizu and Abijah Fowler. However, she does hold a well hidden disdain for men, having revealed to Akemi in a condescending tone how men like to be spoiled and pampered by women but then act strong and powerful, this disdain could also be powered by the fact that women are also treated inferior to men and seen as their property in Japanese Edo-period society.

A softer side to Madame Kaji's personality was seen with Kinuyo, a deaf and mute girl whom she bought from an abusive father. Kaji took care of her with gentleness and patience, until the girl was forcibly taken away by Boss Hamata for his own twisted pleasures to Kaji's sorrow. Kaji also imparted helpful advice to Princess Akemi: to control her future husband's life to gain autonomy of her own.

## Plot

Madame Kaji who is a madame of a brothel and an Oiran in Mihonoseki, is first mentioned by Mizu, who visits her brothel, to gain information about Abijah Fowler, deducing that Kaji visits Fowler's house (as he is one of her clients) with her workers, ( with Mizu desiring to know how to infiltrate Fowler's house to kill him). Mizu demands a male worker to let her speak to Madame Kaji, and she comes to serve Mizu, giving her tea and mistaking her for a male samurai who wants a sex service, she shows her some of the different services at her brothel such as body painting, shibari and male prostitutes, she mentions that her brothel caters to people's peculiar kinks and even mention that some men prefer male prostitutes to female, guessing this to be the case for Mizu. However Mizu brushes Kajis offers aside and speaks of her desire to kill Fowler by getting into his house. The two make an agreement for Madame Kaji to tell Mizu the information in exchange of Mizu mercy killing a young female named Kinuyo to release her from a harsh life but make her death look like an accident in Kinuyo's abuser, Boss Hamata's home, however after Boss Hamata finds the dead bodies he suspects it was the work of Madame Kaji and orders her and her workers to be killed and her brothel burnt down. After Mizu instructs Madame Kaji and her workers to hide and take shelter in her brothel's cellar guarded by Ringo. Mizu slays Hamata's entire army and knocks Hamata down, leaving Kaji to beat the tyrant Hamata to death for his prolonged abuse and killing of innocent people in Mihonoseki. Also during Mizu's stay at her brothel, she bought and employed Akemi Tokunobu after she expressed her desire to work at her brothel (in Akemi's efforts to attack Mizu after Mizu humiliated Taigen in their spar, which cause Akemi's father to cancel her and Taigen's betrothal, Kaji of course being completely unaware of all of this).

## Relationships

**Mizu**- Mizu visits to speak to Kaji at her brothel, Kaji thinks that she is a male Samurai who wants a sexual service, at first she gives Mizu tea. The two then converse and Kaji shows Mizu some of the different services in her brothel, in case Mizu would like one, Mizu however would turn down all of the prostitutes and services offered to her only to ask Kaji about Abijah Fowler and how she can get to his home, knowing that Fowler is a regular client, that Kaji and her workers visit. Mizu says that she would like to kill Fowler and askes Kaji what she would like in return. Kaji shares that revenge is a luxury only for men and that women such as her have to think more carefully about what they want, she tells Mizu about her town's overlord, a *yakuza* named Boss Hamata who tyrannizes the locals and takes 50% of all their earnings and that anyone that stands up to him has their lives and all their accomplices lives wiped out. She tells Mizu, that he forcibly took a girl named Kinuyo from her, and that she would like Mizu to plot an accident in the Boss' home to release Kinuyo from her tortured existence. Later on, when the boss found Kinuyo and one of his soldiers dead- he would demand his assasins to burn Madame Kaji's brothel down and kill everyone in there, Kaji would remark Mizu to have caused them to get murdered, Mizu then told all the women to hide in the cellar and for Ringo to defend them with a kitchen knife. After Mizu killed all of Boss Hamata's army and knocked Hamata out, Kaji thanked Mizu told her she was the manliest person she ever met, before beating Hamata to death with her workers, getting the vengeance she long desired. Mizu and Madame Kaji would meet on other occasions, such as when Mizu found her in Akemi's marital home and told her that she and her workers needed to leave the city immediately as Abijah Fowler would be launching an attack on the Ito household with his army.

**Kinuyo**- Madame Kaji bought Kinuyo a deaf and mute girl with money, from her abusive father, who regularly beat her. Kaji took care of Kinuyo in her home and communicated to her through sign language. As shown in a flashback when Kinuyo accidentally spilt sake, failing to pour the drink into a cup, in front of Kaji, she expected her to beat her like her father, but was relieved when Kaji did not react with anger or violence, but understanding. Kaji genuinely cared for Kinuyo and wanted the girl to overcome fear in her life and was distraught when Kinuyo was taken from her by Boss Hamata and vowed vengeance.

When Mizu asked what service she could offer Kaji in exchange for Fowler's location, Kaji decided to release Kinuyo from her tormented captivity. However, she told Mizu to do so by *killing* Kinuyo, and making it look like an accident. Kaji was pragmatic about this, correctly pointing out that Hamata knew of her affection for Kinuyo and would know she was behind it if Kinuyo simply disappeared; his retaliation would be to kill Kaji and all the other women in her brothel she looked after. Even acknowledging this, she was tormented over taking Kinuyo's life in a mercy-killing, telling Mizu to give Kinuyo the sign of "I love you" from her before she killed her, and quietly crying after she left Mizu's room. After Mizu slaughtered all but two of Hamata's *yakuza* gang, Kaji and her prostitutes killed Hamata in honour of Kinuyo.

**Goro-** Madame Kaji does not like Goro because of his lower intelligence compared to her and because he once sold to her a woman with an STD which caused a disease to spread in her brothel. When he came to her brothel with Akemi to sell, she did not welcome him warmly and reminded him that if he ever approached her again she would stab him in the nose. She also insulted Goro for his lack of intelligence, correctly deducing that Akemi was a princess not a courtesan like Goro (and Akemi) had claimed her to be. After Akemi persuades Kaji to take her on, she does promise Goro 50 ryo if Akemi can fulfil the tasks she is given.

**Boss Hamata-** Boss Hamata was a tyrannical man who lived on Kaji's street, he would demand 50% of his local businesses' earnings and violently kill anyone who challenged him. After Mizu asked what Kaji would like after sharing the desire to infiltrate Abijah Fowler's castle and kill him, she shared her desire for Boss Hamata's ways to be ended. She told Mizu to kill one of Hamata's accomplices and mercy kill Kinuyo but make it look like an accident and in exchange Madame Kaji would tell Mizu how to get to her client, Abijah Fowler's house. However after Boss Hamata found his prisoner Kinuyo and one of his assassins killed (by Mizu) he would visit Kaji with his army and order for her brothel to be burnt down as well as ordering his army to kill Kaji and all his accomplices. After Mizu told Kaji and her workers to hide, Mizu slayed Hamata's entire army before knocking him down, leading to Madame Kaji and her prostitutes to emerge from the brothel to face a weakened Hamata and deal the blows to his death in honour of Kinuyo. Hamata screamed and begged the women for mercy, but Kaji never spared any, taking the opportunity to deal karma to her enemy.

**Akemi-** Madame Kaji was introduced to Akemi when Goro brought her to her brothel introducing her as a Courtesan, however Kaji was able to quickly deduce Akemi to be a noble princess not a courtesan. After Akemi persuaded her to let her work at the brothel (so Akemi could attack Mizu, which Kaji was unaware of) she agreed to let her work for her but warned Akemi where what the Geisha avoids at night is how they start their day. For her first task, Madame Kaji instructed Akemi to provide services to Watari, an overweight client and make him erect and ejacuate. Akemi fulfilled this task through simple conversation and recitation of poetry, which impressed the workers. Akemi would then insist on serving Mizu when all the other prostitutes did not want to serve her. Later on in the series, when Akemi was on her travel to the Ito household, she stopped to meet Madame Kaji and her workers to ask for advice on her life, telling her how she was arranged to marry the Shogun's youngest son but that she wanted to have control of her own life instead. Kaji imparted to Akemi that she should control her to be husband's life to get control of her own. After a brief marriage ceremony, Akemi would invite Madame Kaji and her workers over to her new marital home and tell them that she wanted to buy their freedom and offered them jobs as her attendants. Kaji was not enthusiastic but accepted the offer but her workers such as Ise were happy and thankful to Akemi for her kindness.