Shougen Mukai

Mukai was the retainer of a clan that had been disbarred for crimes against the Tokugawa and whose lord had been ordered to commit seppuku. Ogami then still working as the kogi kaishaku for the shogun had participated in the execution acting as second for the disgraced lord. Makabe is now a ronin eking out a meagre existence fishing by the banks of the river where his lord had died. He has taken the name Hoozuki after a plant that continues to bloom even after it has been uprooted and lives in quiet peace.