Summary
Shougo Amakusa, originally named Shougo Muto, is the nephew and disciple of Hyoue Nishida. Following the martyrdom of his Christian parents, he and his sister Sayo relocated to the continent with Hyoue. There, Hyoue instructed him in the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, though Hyoue lacked the proper qualification to transmit the art, leading Shougo to misuse the techniques with catastrophic consequences. Hyoue had previously lost his status as successor to the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu after failing to counter his master’s Kuzu Ryu Sen and surviving a fall into a watery grave. His master was Seijuro Hiko the 12th, who was succeeded by Seijuro Hiko the 13th, the master of Kenshin. Realizing his error in teaching Shougo, Hyoue attempted to intervene, but Shougo permanently blinded him using the Rai Ryu Sen, a technique Shougo invented and the only addition to the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu since its inception. Shougo then returned to Japan to lead a hidden Christian cult in Shimabara. He employed the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu to assassinate government officials responsible for the repression of hidden Christians during the Shogunate. Convincing his followers that he was the Son of God, he adopted the name Shougo Amakusa, positioning himself as the self-proclaimed successor to the historical figure Shirō Amakusa from the seventeenth century. He utilized this role to avenge the deaths of his parents and the fellow Christians who were martyred during his childhood.
