TV-Series
Description
Ogen is the elderly leader of the Iga Tsubagakure ninja clan and the grandmother of Oboro. As the clan's chieftess, she is a highly experienced ninjutsu master who, together with her Kouga counterpart Danjo, holds the Scroll of the Ten Battles. When the retired shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu orders the Iga and Kouga to resume their ancient rivalry and each select ten warriors to determine the shogunate succession, Ogen is named among the Iga's ten combatants and stands as their leader in the coming conflict.
In her youth, Ogen was deeply in love with Danjo of the Kouga clan, and the two hoped to end the feud between their families through marriage. After a surprise attack by allied forces in which her grandfather was killed, she came to believe that Danjo had betrayed her and falsely accused him, which destroyed their relationship. She carried the regret of that decision for the rest of her life, and even in old age she remained embittered toward the Kouga, at times wishing for their complete destruction, including Danjo himself.
Despite her lingering hostility, Ogen is shown to care about securing a better future for the younger generation. She allows Oboro to become engaged to Danjo's grandson Gennosuke in the hope that the two of them can bring about the lasting peace that she and Danjo never achieved and find the happiness she herself missed. In the anime, she is a gentler and more forgiving grandmother than in other versions of the story, encouraging Oboro when she struggles in her training and concealing some of the darker history between the clans so that Oboro will not be consumed by hatred.
Ogen also places considerable trust in Yakushiji Tenzen, elevating him to the position of her second-in-command, and she initially considers him as a possible husband for Oboro before deciding that Gennosuke is the better match. Among her notable abilities, she is a seasoned fighter skilled in conventional ninja arts such as throwing shuriken, and she shares a spiritual connection with a hawk that serves as her messenger and companion. She does not possess the flashy supernatural techniques that define many of the other champions, but her authority, experience, and resolve make her a formidable presence.
Ogen's development is defined by the contrast between the hopeful young woman who once loved Danjo and the hardened leader weighed down by regret. Her story ends at the very beginning of the renewed conflict, when she and Danjo face each other and kill one another in their final duel, making them the first two casualties of the ten battles. Her death leaves Oboro to carry the Iga clan's fortunes for the remainder of the war.
In her youth, Ogen was deeply in love with Danjo of the Kouga clan, and the two hoped to end the feud between their families through marriage. After a surprise attack by allied forces in which her grandfather was killed, she came to believe that Danjo had betrayed her and falsely accused him, which destroyed their relationship. She carried the regret of that decision for the rest of her life, and even in old age she remained embittered toward the Kouga, at times wishing for their complete destruction, including Danjo himself.
Despite her lingering hostility, Ogen is shown to care about securing a better future for the younger generation. She allows Oboro to become engaged to Danjo's grandson Gennosuke in the hope that the two of them can bring about the lasting peace that she and Danjo never achieved and find the happiness she herself missed. In the anime, she is a gentler and more forgiving grandmother than in other versions of the story, encouraging Oboro when she struggles in her training and concealing some of the darker history between the clans so that Oboro will not be consumed by hatred.
Ogen also places considerable trust in Yakushiji Tenzen, elevating him to the position of her second-in-command, and she initially considers him as a possible husband for Oboro before deciding that Gennosuke is the better match. Among her notable abilities, she is a seasoned fighter skilled in conventional ninja arts such as throwing shuriken, and she shares a spiritual connection with a hawk that serves as her messenger and companion. She does not possess the flashy supernatural techniques that define many of the other champions, but her authority, experience, and resolve make her a formidable presence.
Ogen's development is defined by the contrast between the hopeful young woman who once loved Danjo and the hardened leader weighed down by regret. Her story ends at the very beginning of the renewed conflict, when she and Danjo face each other and kill one another in their final duel, making them the first two casualties of the ten battles. Her death leaves Oboro to carry the Iga clan's fortunes for the remainder of the war.