Kojiro Kanemaki

Kojiro Kanemaki (, Kanemaki Kojirō) is the deuteragonist of the manga Orient. He is the childhood best friend of Musashi and the captain of the Kanemaki Bushi. His and Musashi's goal is to form the greatest Band of Bushi ever.

Appearance
Kojiro is a lean young man with average height and build. He has yellow eyes and short, spiky blond hair. He initially wears a light-colored kimono with a color-matching hakama. He is always carrying around a sword which was given to him by his late father, Jisai Kanemaki, along with his own Kitetsu Sword.

Personality
Kojiro is a kind person and cares about his friends. Since his father's death, he had to take care of himself and became self-sufficient from a very young age. His resourcefulness comes in handy when he strategizes during fights. He can be little competitive with Musashi, and also has the tendency to compare himself with his friend, leading to him gaining an inferiority complex and doubting his own abilities and competence.

History
Kojiro lived with his father in the outskirt of Tatsuyama Town. They were treated inhumanly and were constantly bullied by the villagers who were influenced by the Oni worshippers. However, one day, while Kojiro was practicing his swordsmanship, young Musashi came there and was fascinated by his fencing skills. Soon after, Musashi became Kojiro's one and only friend from the town, which made him very happy. After the death of Musashi's parents, the boy was taken into the Kanemaki household, where the three of them lived humbly but happily up until Jisai's execution. After that, the boys got separated and Kojiro was left alone in the old hut. Even though he had to do odd-jobs to make a living, he grew up to an independent and handy young man.

Tatsuyama Town Arc
After school, Musashi visits Kojiro and shows him his pickaxe, which he calls sword for fighting oni and asks him to form a band and leave town with him. Kojiro refuses, stating that even Musashi no longer believes in that dream. Musashi leaves determined to prove him wrong, while Kojiro secretly wishes that Musashi have a normal life and don't suffer like him for being a Bushi.

The next day, Kojiro notices Musashi's school bag and his textbook. Seeing his textbook, he realizes that Musashi used the miner job as a way to practice his sword fighting skills and had never given up on his dream. He rushes to the mines, picking Musashi's pickaxe on the way and manages to get in time to save Musashi from being killed by a nekomata oni. As Musashi kills the oni, a light comes from the sky and a Kishin appears. The two slice it, but the Kishin regenerates and turn assumes its true form, and easily knocks them down. The Kishin then grabs Kojiro's sword wanting to eat it, but Kojiro refuses to let it go. Recalling his past and how much he hated the sword for all the bullying it caused him, he recalls his father words that the sword is Bushi's pride and refuses to let it go. Eventually the Kishin plugs it out of Kojiro's hands and eats it. However, Musashi then gets on the Kishin and manages to break open its belly and retrieve the sword. As Kojiro realizes that Musashi knows what is important to him, he agrees to form a band with him.

Takeda Bushi then appear and surround the Kishin. Musashi believes they had already defeated the Kishin, but Naotora Takeda tells him a belly wound won't kill a Kishin and they witness the Kishin regenerating. Naotora tells them go somewhere safe and Kojiro agrees, however, Musashi doesn't wish to let them steal their first win and intends to fight the Kishin.

Equipment
Kitetsuki (鬼鉄騎, Kitetsuki, Oni Iron Rider): A motorbike which he inherited from his father.

Kitetsu Sword

 * Rekku Yaezakura (, Air-Splitting Cherry Blossom): Kojiro's first Kitetsu Sword and his current weapon.

Powers and Abilities
Blue Sword Soul: Blue souls are often associated to be common in the bushi community, and can make multiple strikes in one action. It is said that two out of five bushi have blue souls.

Kojiro has used it to cut apart a lesser Oni with a single strike, which generated multiple slashes.

Musashi
A friend and rival of Kojiro Kanemaki.

Trivia

 * Kojiro is named after Sasaki Kojiro, a famous samurai who lived during the early Edo period.
 * Kojiro smokes, a habit he likely took up from his father. He attempted to quit right after he and Musashi left the town; however, he failed.
 * One of his noted special skills is making ends meet.
 * Kojiro ranked 2nd place in the manga's 1st Character Popularity Poll.
 * Kojiro does not drink because his alcohol tolerance is low.

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Коджиро Канэмаки