Genichi Sojo

> *“He gave birth to the enchanted blades, the ultimate weapons of slaughter! Their only purpose...is to kill!”*
> ― Sojo to Chihiro as he talks about Kunishige Rokuhira's Enchanted Blades.[source]
>
>

**Genichi Sojo** (双 (そう) 城 (じょう) 厳 (げん) 一 (いち) , *Sōjō Gen'ichi*) is a major antagonist in the manga series Kagurabachi. He is one of the biggest names in Japan's underworld, being a prominent weapons dealer and the leader of a group of sorcerers pursuing Char.

Sojo is also the current owner of one of the Enchanted Blades, **Cloud Gouger** (刳雲 (くれぐも) , **Kuregumo**), and has submitted another of the Enchanted Blades, Shinuchi, for sale at the Rakuza Ichi, the underworld's largest auction.

## Appearance

Sojo is a tall man with a lean and muscular build. He has long, messy neck-length dark hair and noticeable dark circles under his eyes with visible stains beneath his eye bags for unknown reasons.

## Personality

Sojo, despite his outwardly casual demeanor, primarily operates with a strict and no-nonsense attitude. He maintains zero tolerance for subordinates who disappoint him, going as far as to torture one of his dispatched informants for failing to capture Char and executing numerous sorcerers in his employ for the same reason. Overall, Sojo believes strongly in individuals staying committed to their chosen life paths.

Additionally, he has displayed immense mental strength by enduring past traumas forced upon him without showing any apparent effects.

However, upon encountering Chihiro, a different aspect of Sojo emerges. He seems enthusiastic and almost frenzied at the prospect of facing off against Chihiro's Enchanted Blade, Enten. This is revealed to be a result of his admiration for Kunishige Rokuhira and the weapons he created, Sojo viewing them as perfect instruments for killing and nothing more.

Despite his enthusiasm in combat, Sojo is still able to calmly analyse the events unfolding around him, able to rapidly pinpoint his opponents' moves and strategies.

## Plot

### Background

Over a decade ago, the Kamunabi blacklisted Sojo, effectively marking him as a wanted criminal. Sojo was still able to operate in the underworld, being wily and powerful enough to evade the authorities.

For an unknown period of time, Sojo had held Char and her mother captive and ran experiments on them to find a way to utilise Datenseki. Char later escaped through her mother's sacrifice.

### Sorcery and the Enchanted Blade Arc

Sometime after Char escaped, Sojo dispatched Norisaku Madoka to eliminate Chihiro and retrieve Char. Upon learning of his failure from an informant he had dispatched in the area, Sojo had the informant nailed to a ceiling post in his bathroom, and as Sojo bathed he berated the informant and Norisaku Madoka's failure. Sojo was curious over the existence of a seventh enchanted blade, and decided to put out a bounty on Char and Chihiro's enchanted blade, stating he would pay any price for Char and Enten, which caused large numbers of sorcerers to go after Char and Chihiro.

Sometime later, the Kamunabi managed to take down the bounty. At around this time, Sojo met with two members of the Hishaku, and lackadaisically reported everything was going according to plan. Also around this time, the Kamunabi learned Sojo had submitted Shinuchi to be auctioned off at the Rakuza Ichi, due to occur in one month, Azami passing this info on to Chihiro and Shiba.

### Vs. Sojo Arc

Sojo, wanting to sate his curiosity over Chihiro's Enchanted Blade, decided to look for him, bringing Cloud Gouger. Along the way he eliminated Norisaku Madoka as well as his mother and sister for failing his task. Afterwards, he contacted the brother of the psychokinetic sorcerer who died to Chihiro. The brother informed him of Chihiro's whereabouts and urged him to get revenge, and Sojo agreed before attacking the brother as a 'warm-up'. The brother managed to use his sorcery to cause Sojo to experience his past trauma, but Sojo endured it and killed the brother, musing over the fascinating sorcery.

Sojo arrived at Cafe Haru Haru and immediately clashed blades with Chihiro, as Hinao and Char hid away from the two. Sojo activated Cloud Gouger, calling out its name, before using **Mei**, which blasted Chihiro through a wall. Standing back up mostly unharmed thanks to **Aka** absorbing the attack (unseen by Sojo), Chihiro saw Sojo's still-bloodstained sword and questioned whether it was stained with the blood of evildoers. Upon Sojo's reply that he didn't care, Chihiro activated Enten, summoning the black and multi-coloured goldfish, and declared Sojo had no business wielding that katana. Seeing Chihiro prepare to fight, Sojo grinned in anticipation and summoned clouds from his enchanted blade.

Pondering on how Chihiro survived **Mei**, Sojo questioned Chihiro on how he had acquired an enchanted blade he had never heard of. Upon Chihiro's refusal to answer, the two dashed onto the nearby rooftops, Sojo sending up a wave of ice with **Yui** which Chihiro cut through with **Black**. The two continued to clash, neither landing any solid hits, but Sojo's superiority was clear, not even being winded.

During a lull in the fighting, Sojo explained his admiration for Kunishige Rokuhira, who he had read much about, and stated it was like a dream come true when he obtained Cloud Gouger. He then repeated his question on how Chihiro had obtained his enchanted blade. Chihiro declined to answer, and Sojo instead asked why Chihiro wielded his blade. Chihiro's response of 'defeating evil and protecting the weak' disgusted Sojo, who believed he was the only one who understood Kunishige's intent. Sojo backflipped off of the building roof to land on the streets, charging **Mei** as he did so, all the while explaining Kunishige's blades were the ultimate weapons of slaughter, only existing to kill.

Sojo landed and unleashed the charged **Mei**, but Chihiro landed and used the **Mei** he had absorbed using **Aka** to direct the lightning towards himself and avoid any damage to the citizens, at the cost of heavily wounding himself. Sojo prepared to use **Mei** again, but was unable to due to the charged **Mei** forcing a cooldown period. Chihiro then retorted Sojo was the one who didn't understand Kunishige's intent, before activating **Nishiki**.

Sojo mused on how Chihiro was still conscious, attributing it to his mere one week of experience. Sensing **Mei**'s downtime was almost over, Sojo insulted Chihiro's altruistic desire to protect the weak, claiming it to be the most inappropriate trait for Kunishige's 'weapons of mass destruction'. Chihiro angrily demanded Sojo to not talk about his father like that, startling Sojo at the revelation. Chihiro then rushed in, knocking Cloud Gouger out of Sojo's hand. Quickly grabbing back onto it, Sojo took note of Chihiro's increased strength and speed and used **Ketsu** to buy some time. Chihiro launched an attack but Sojo launched one at the same time, the two both evading.

Chihiro then noticed a car with Sojo's henchmen in it, Char's leg visible through the window. Sojo half-heartedly chastised their negligence, and blasted **Mei** as Chihiro sped towards the car, but the lightning was blocked by a wall rising from the ground, the work of a Kamunabi sorcerer. Sojo then noticed four other Kamunabi sorcerers around, as well as Shiba and Azami. Sojo gauged that he would fight against the five elite Kamunabi sorcerers, but recognised Shiba and Azami as an issue, deciding to cast **Kou** to create a cloud of mist, making his escape. His henchmen in the car were murdered by Chihiro, but the leg Chihiro had spotted was just a severed appendage, Sojo having ordered a diversion while Char was taken more discreetly to a laboratory, Hinao having been knocked out in the process.

Sojo arrived at the real car that Char was being transported in, and two mohawked sorcerers sitting in the back seats asked their boss about how he had fared with Cloud Gouger. Sojo replied he needed to deepen his understanding of it, as well as talk to Chihiro again. Either way, with Char, 'the material', back he concluded he could resume the plan 'to surpass Kunishige Rokuhira'.

Roughly five days later, Sojo entered his laboratory and observed the Datenseki he had obtained. At his mohawked henchmen twins' prompting, he explained the stone's ability to multiply inputted spirit energy, but the spirit energy would destroy the body upon returning to a human, blowing it up. Kunishige was the only one able to work with Datenseki and use it in the forging of weapons, the Enchanted Blades. Sojo believed with Char's regenerative Kyonagi cells, he could find a way to likewise harness the Datenseki's power.

Roughly 49 hours afterwards, Sojo visited the Chickenkeeper's Bath, lounging in a private room while musing over Chihiro's declaration of being Kunishige's son. He considered it possible, but declared it impossible to due Chihiro's ideals clashing with his own view of Kunishige. Three men then entered to return a 'product' they had used to eliminate an enemy group, but their spokesperson exclaimed their sorcerer had blown up in the process. Along with Sojo having previously stated the stone was 'traceable', the three men were provoked enough to attack Sojo, but Sojo easily defeated them, before leaving the bathhouse, thinking about how controlling the Datenseki still wasn't going well. Upon leaving, Sojo encountered all six members of the Kamunabi's Anti-Cloud Gouger Special Forces, and activated Cloud Gouger.

Sojo was slightly disappointed at Shiba and Azami not being there, so he wouldn't get to seriously test Cloud Gouger. A **Gansui** sent a large portion of earth rocketing into the sky, the sorcerer responsible concentrating on moving the earth to the ocean with another protecting her while the other four led by Ikuto Hagiwara attacked Sojo. The four sorcerers barraged Sojo with attacks, and seeing that they weren't letting him charge **Mei**, Sojo used **Kou** to spread water onto the four sorcerers, increasing the ensuing **Mei**'s area of effect. After staggering the four with that use of **Mei**, Sojo began charging a more powerful **Mei**, but as he unleashed it three of the four sorcerers jumped away while Ikuto used **Magnetize** to force Sojo and the water upwards, the lightning redirecting towards Sojo himself. As the three Kamunabi sorcerers rushed to attack him, Sojo started thinking of Chihiro again, cursing the thought.

Sojo recovered enough to unleash a **Yui** at the sorcerers, flash-freezing the water around him to send ice spikes upwards. The Kamunabi dodged and while Uzuki threw two poles next to Sojo, the sorcerer with enlarged hands grabbed Sojo's sword-wielding right arm. Sojo then began crackling with lightning as Uzuki threw two more poles and cast **Subdue** to bind Sojo with rope-like energy. Ikuto and Kugara made use of the lightning through Ikuto using **Magnetize** to force the iron-armed Kugara towards Sojo, the electromagnetic blast dealing great damage to Sojo and throwing him off the floating earth. Cloud Gouger was recovered by the large-hands sorcerer.

However, the still-crackling Sojo cast **Mei** again, creating a discharge around Cloud Gouger, and due to lightning attracting lightning Sojo was blasted in the direction of his blade, tearing through Kugara and the large-hands sorcerer and catching his blade in his mouth. As Ikuto ordered Kazane to engage, Sojo intercepted his sorcerery and sliced off his arm. The resulting battle was not shown, but Sojo presumably defeated the Kamunabi and made his way to the courtyard outside his laboratory, in a standoff with Chihiro. Sojo recounted his improved harmonisation with Cloud Gouger to Chihiro while commending Chihiro's own improved understanding, and cast **Mei** as Chihiro cast **Nishiki**, the two disappearing into blurs, both on their last legs.

## Relationships

*This section is a stub. You can help the Kagurabachi Wiki by expanding it.*

## Abilities

**Enhanced Durability:** Sojo performed a backflip off a multi-story building and landed on the road without sustaining any damage or injuries.

**Enhanced Speed & Reflexes:** Sojo can move at speeds faster than the trained eye can see. He could easily keep up with the attacks of Chihiro Rokuhira, parrying the wakizashi he threw at Sojo and later blocking his katana without having to turn around, both feats performed while he wasn't moving at his top speeds according to Chihiro himself. Sojo was also not only able to react to the speed of Chihiro's **Nishiki**, but even prepare a counterattack which caught Chihiro off-guard.

### Combat Prowess

**Master Swordsman:** Sojo is highly proficient in the art of swordsmanship, easily keeping up with the attacks of Chihiro, a trained and seasoned swordsman himself, even being capable of blocking an attack from behind with his katana without needing to turn around, surprising Chihiro. This was all done with only a week spent learning how to use Cloud Gouger, with Sojo himself stating he has yet to master the Enchanted Blade due to its significantly different performance in actual combat, making his bout with Chihiro, who has spent much longer learning how to use Enten, all the more impressive.

## Equipment

### Enchanted Blade

**Cloud Gouger** (刳雲 (くれぐも) , **Kuregumo**): One of the seven enchanted blades forged by Kunishige Rokuhira, Cloud Gouger is a special katana infused with sorcery that possesses supernatural powers. Upon activation through calling Cloud Gouger's name, up to two clouds shaped like Eastern dragons come out of the blade and fly around the wielder. Its special effects are deactivated when the katana is sheathed.

#### Techniques

\* ***Cloaked Mei** has no official name and is named solely based on conjecture.*

## Etymology

The name **Sōjō Gen'ichi (双 (そう) 城 (じょう) 厳 (げん) 一 (いち) )** suggests the idea of "strictness" or "severity" paired with the concept of a "twin castle," possibly symbolizing duality or strength in his character.

* **Sojo (双 (そう) 城 (じょう) ):** *双 (Sō)* and *城 (Jō)* together can be interpreted as "twin castle," which might symbolize duality or a strong, fortified presence.
	+ **双 (Sō)** means "pair" or "twin."
	+ **城 (Jō)** translates to "castle."
* **Genichi (厳 (げん) 一 (いち) ):**  *厳 (Gen)* suggests a stern or severe demeanor, highlighting a strict attitude. While *一 (Ichi)* signifies "first" or "number one," possibly reflecting a position of importance or prominence.
	+ **厳 (Gen)** denotes "strictness" or "severity."
	+ **一 (Ichi)** simply means "one" or "first."

## References

*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 5 (Page 16).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 5 (Page 16).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 7 (Pages 14-15).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 5 (Pages 12-13).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 8 (Pages 9-11).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 8 (Page 14).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 9 (Pages 10-14).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 9 (Page 17).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 13 (Page 7).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 7 (Page 17).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapters 3-4.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 5.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapters 6-7.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 7.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 8.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 9.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 10.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 11.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 12.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 13.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 16.
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 9 (Pages 13-14).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 10 (Pages 6-7).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 9 (Pages 8).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 10 (Pages 18).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 8 (Page 17).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 13 (Page 8).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 9 (Pages 15-16).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 9 (Page 18).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 9 (Page 6).
*Kagurabachi* Manga: Chapter 8 (Page 8-9).