Had it been because he had taken a Kanabo and dashed hundreds of skulls with it? Or had it been because of his need to secure a 'trophy' from his victims. How could anyone refer to him as an ogre? Had it been because he had marched onto a battlefield to cut down the fiercest warriors. He had defeated the best and he had purified the samurai class by ridding the land of impostors. Monks believed he was possessed by something dark and otherworldly and cursed him while a noble lord began to call him 'Oni-Yamaoka,' the rageful Samurai, an insult both to Kazan and his family.ĭetermined to redeem his family's name, Kazan now butchered anyone who dared call him Oni-Yamaoka. His rage, bloodlust and perverse sense of honour knew no bounds. He humiliated farmers and warriors alike, yanking off their topknots and stripping them of their armour. The killings were brutal, cruel and morbid.
Ignoring the code that had been taught to him, Kazan killed impostors in the hills and the valleys, on the beaches and in the woodland. His father tried to turn Kazan's attention to more noble pursuits, but Kazan refused to heed his advice, and borrowing his father's Katana, he embarked on a dark pilgrimage to prove his worth and rid Japan of impostors. He wanted to surpass his father's reputation and end what he saw as the thinning of samurai culture with farmers often posing as samurai. Honouring his family name was never enough for Kazan Yamaoka.