| “ | That's right. That attack was a secret form of the Oboro sword style, the Soul Transfer. It allows me to possess the body of whoever I strike with it. I claim your body for my own. Give it up to me now, or you can burn in Hell alongside me. | ” |
–Jinkuro, Starting Act Muramasa: Rebirth | ||
Jinkuro Izuna (飯綱 陣九朗 いづな じんくろう, Izuna Jinkurou) is a swordsman, a criminal and a rōnin who has a mastery of the Oboro Style, the use of the Muramasa blades. He can be considered the true protagonist of the Momohime route, especially since the character that the player plays is actually him possessing Momohime's body.
Profile Overview[]
Jinkuro is a former samurai who is a ronin, he is among one of the most feared criminals in japan, he would take part as a mercernary in various kingdom clans in order to make a living for himself and boost his pride honor in the society until one day he was killed during one of his mission.
Where he have to learn the soul transfer technic when he became a deceased person and only his souls remains in order to be able to possess somebody's body to re-have the ability of completing his mission in the progress that he does not want to be failed as long he still able to make any other possible way to fulfill his duty as a ronin samurai, that he was not able resume to do so after he was killed, he refuses failure in his job and the fate he had just succumbed into and for this reason he needs to possess somebody's body as he cannot do his duty without a someone's living physical body.
Almost a half decade later he will be eventually crossing paths with momohime through his soul whose the body he will possess through out the main storyline of muramasa in order to finish the job he has been assign for although he did not actually intended to choose momohime to possess but rather her will be husband yagyuu yukinojo in which he will be only able to do after the events of the main storyline of muramasa in the future later years.
Even when momohime gave birth to three children that was fathered by her husband yagyuu yukinojo and jinkuro's soul will eventually stay in yagyuu yukinojo's body until the death through old age of the body where his soul has to left it and be forever in hell to suffer for eternity that he described as something that momohime will be "happy" of, despite that momohime never wanting or had the desire to wish him going into hell to suffer for eternity.
Appearance Traits[]
Jinkuro is a 41 year old man at the time of his death in 1691 that he retained as his current appearance shown in the muramasa's cutscene in one of it's ending, based on his facial physical features, he looked much older than his actual age as his face looked around 55-60 years old, it's probably due to his difficult lifetime the reason why he had much an older looking body and face.
His clothing features of a traditional men's white kimono outfit with a black waistband tied to his waist along with the white kimono rob, like any other characters in muramasa, he is usually represented with a katana sword in his portrait.
Personality Classification[]
Jinkuro is a foul person at heart. Ruthless, merciless, and power-hungry, Jinkuro will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He is cunning, aggressive, and ambitious. He respects those who are strong and despises the weak.
In Momohime's story, Jinkuro shows a kinder side, mostly due to Momohime's influence on him. He refrains from killing Yukinojo, helps Momohime's family and even gives her body back when he believes he can't escape death.
While he only makes an appearance in the second ending of Kisuke's story, during their confrontation he's shown to be more ruthless and bloodthirsty, and even Momohime is terrified of him, calling him a monster.
Background Story[]
Jinkuro Izuna was born in 1650 to an impoverished poor peasant family in the kansai region of japan, most of his siblings died from intense hunger caused by the famine that spreaded in japan during the mid 17th century, as his parents also became sick because of the same reason that his siblings endured.
This forced jinkuro to work at a very early age where he will resort to criminality by robbing stores and raiding hiking vendors that sells or transports foods and other goods to make his own living to be stable in order to survive in his poverty situation but jinkuro does not always resort to criminality to make a living he will sometimes he will be volunteer to work in some local companies as a worker assistant or as a shoe cleaner and even a basket carrier for other people to carry their belongings in which he have done during childhood and adolsence lifetime.
As he age older he gets involved into more than just simple heavy work and eventually becoming a criminal later in his life, as he wanted to boost his life living to lift himself out of the poverty, during his adult lifetime he would participate in various clan kingdom missions to work for them as mercernary since these clan kingdoms who operate raid missions and killing their opponents are going to pay a stable and high enough amount of earning for anyone who will be willing to work for them.
This purported income from these various clan kingdoms, became an attraction option for jinkuro and see it as a good opportunity choice that he believes thinking it will make his life better and giving him the urge to become ronin samurai for them where during one of it's task missions, one day where jinkuro was assigned to do for will be the main cause of meeting the demise of his own life.
Plotline Summary Perspective[]
He was first encountered in momohime's route perspective when she was in the graveyard where she found herself out of nowhere before jinkuro approached her as his soul and eventually possessing her body.
Jinkuro was initially one of Oboroya Senju lowest ranking students, an apprentice to the Oboro style. He murdered his master and the rest of the apprentices to be the sole user of the Oboro style. After this, he would continue doing mischief and become one of Japan's most feared criminals and a powerful ronin.
Prior to the events of Momohime's story, Jinkuro was hired by the Wakamiya clan to vanquish a nekomata, Okoi, who has been terrorizing their castle. Though he drove the Nekomata off by chopping her tails off, she cursed him with the last of her energy left, afflicting him with a fatal illness that would eventually kill him. Refusing to accept his fate, Jinkuro decides to use a technique called Soul Transfer with the intent to take possession of Yagyu Yukinojyo's body. However, during the struggle, he instead ended up possessing the body of Yukinojyo's fiancee, Momohime, who was trying to protect him. In order to free himself from the princess, he needs the Dark Resurrection Blade to make a complete Soul Transfer. He has no intention of giving Momohime her body back until he achieves his goal, and takes her along with the fox Kongiku in his quest to gain a new body.
Endings:[]
In the first ending of Momohime's route, they find no way to save Momohime and Jinkuro ends up offering his own soul to restore Momohime, going to hell in the process. Momohime decides to do everything she can to save Jinkuro and goes on a religious pilgrimage, canceling her plans to marry Yukinojyo.
In the second ending of Momohime's route, Kongiku's theft of the mask is found out by Yuzuruha. She punishes Kongiku by turning her back into a normal fox, while Jinkuro in the body of Momohime battles Yuzuruha's ally Kisuke. They wound each other fatally; Jinkuro uses a Spirit Fusion to save Momohime. By fusing his spirit with hers, he is able to save her. Momohime survives but loses her memory. She is taken in by an elderly couple who name her Oboro. After defeating an Oni that attacks her village, she discovers she is now proficient in the use of the Oboro Style and sets out on a journey to find out about her past. Kongiku, now a normal fox, joins her.
In the third ending of Momohime's route, with the help of the Muramasa, Jinkuro is sent back in time to the night where he attacked Yukinojo. Jinkuro finds himself in the past at the point he transferred his soul into Momohime, who does not know him at the time. Deciding to wait until Yukinojo is alone to attack, he successfully uses the Soul Transfer technique on him. After this, Jinkuro decides to marry Momohime while in Yukinojo's body. As for Kongiku, she disguises herself as a housemaid to be closer to them. Jinkuro refuses the Shogun's orders to attack Narukami and instead protects Momohime as her husband. In the epilogue, he continued doing mischief as "Yukinojo", and fathered three children.
Relationships[]
Momohime[]
It is suggested throughout the game that Jinkuro develops feelings for Momohime, though he refuses to admit it at first. He's initially cruel and ruthless towards her, but as the story progresses, he becomes kinder and protective of her, and by Kongiku's comments, he begins to fall in love with her as well. He comes to care for her so much that he starts to do things for her, and even helps her family on one occasion. A jealous Kongiku starts to point out how much he starts to do things for Momohime's sake and not his own, showing how much Jinkuro grows to care for her, though he tries to deny it. During their visit to Hell, Momohime becomes so scared that she forces Jinkuro out of her body, resulting in him being eaten by a demon. Momohime manages to save him by tricking the demon into swallowing her whole so that Jinkuro can possess her again, earning Jinkuro's praise.
In all of the three endings of Momohime's story, Jinkuro always chooses to sacrifice himself for Momohime's sake. In the first ending, he chooses to go to Hell so that Momohime can be saved. In the second, after defeating Kisuke, he fuses with Momohime's soul at the cost of his life to save her from a fatal injury, and in the third ending. he also chooses to sacrifice himself for her before the Muramasa takes him back in time.
Kongiku[]
Though a loyal follower who loves him dearly, Jinkuro hardly sees Kongiku as anything more than a tool. And indeed, she proves to be greatly useful as she steals the Muramasa Mask for him and gives him helpful information through her network of foxes. She becomes increasingly jealous of Momohime, and notices how Jinkuro grows to care for her and develop feelings for her as well, and bitterly comments on his change of behavior due to her influence, much to his annoyance. At one point in the story, she threatens to rip her apart should Jinkuro fall in love with her, but she never carries out said threat. However, it seems that Jinkuro does care about her a bit, as In the second ending he vows to save her when she's turned back into a normal fox as punishment for stealing the Muramasa Mask from the foxes.
She accompanies Jinkuro in all of the three endings. In the first one, she weeps after Jinkuro decides to go to Hell to save Momohime and stays in the temple to bid him farewell. In the second, she stays by Oboro's, Momohime's, side even when she's turned back into a normal fox, unable to tell her about her true identity. And in the third one, it's implied she became one of Momohime's maids and watches over Jinkuro from the distance.
Kisuke[]
Jinkuro and Kisuke do not interact until the 2nd endings of both Momohime and Kisuke. Being that Oboroya Senju preformed Spirit Fusion on Kisuke to save his life and have the Oboro Style passed down, and Jinkuro's wanting to be the sole user of that style, they harbor animosity towards each other.
Oboroya Senju[]
Okoi[]
Hired by the Wakamiya clan to kill off the spirit terrorizing them, Jinkuro saw through Okoi's disguise and attacked her. Though he missed his chance to decapitate her, he managed to cut off her tails, thus robbing her of her powers. She curses him, resulting in Jinkuro's failing health. This event eventually leads to the start of Momohime's path.
Trivia[]
- Jinkuro, upon finding Shikami in Hell says, "This will make Momohime happy". It appears that Jinkuro's feelings for Momohime have grown to the point where he does selfless acts for her.
Gallery[]
