Dakuan is a major character in the Ninja Scroll franchise, appearing as a crafty and morally ambiguous spy for the Tokugawa Shogunate. He operates under the guise of a Buddhist monk, using his aged appearance, traditional hat, long beard, and ringed staff known as a shakujo as part of his disguise. This unassuming exterior, however, masks a shrewd and underhanded individual of very short stature, with a cartoonish face and bulging blue-grey eyes that belie his cunning nature.

As a spy, Dakuan is a master of stealth and information gathering, preferring to work from the shadows rather than engage in open combat. His primary motivation is to protect the Tokugawa shogunate by rooting out and eliminating threats, such as those posed by the Eight People of Kimon and their allies who seek to overthrow the government. While his mission serves the state, his personal methods are ruthless and pragmatic. He is willing to do anything to achieve his goals, including blackmailing innocent people and treating allies as expendable assets. This is most evident in his introduction, where he poisons the wandering swordsman Jubei Kibagami with a poisoned shuriken and only offers the antidote as a reward for completing a deadly mission.

Dakuan’s relationship with Jubei is central to the story of the original film. Based on manipulation and mutual distrust, Dakuan blackmails Jubei into hunting down the Eight Devils of Kimon. Despite their shared objective, the spy never hesitates to remind Jubei that his cooperation is not voluntary. This cynical partnership extends to the kunoichi Kagero, whom Dakuan also recruits. His treatment of others is consistently transactional; he demonstrates little loyalty beyond what serves his immediate needs, at one point even planning to dispose of Jubei after his usefulness has ended.

Over the course of the story, Dakuan shows minimal personal development. He remains a calculating agent driven by duty and self-interest. However, a difference in portrayal exists between the original Ninja Scroll film and the subsequent Ninja Scroll: The Series. In the film, he is openly treacherous and possesses several supernatural abilities, including a chameleon-like camouflage that allows him to blend into his surroundings, an extendable shakujo for mobility, and even rubber-like limb extension. In the television series, his personality is somewhat softer and his role becomes that of a more conventional ally. He largely loses his supernatural ninjutsu powers and is depicted more as a cunning, though still self-serving, schemer focused on personal goals like finding the Dragon Jewel.

Despite his advanced age, Dakuan is highly effective and possesses a range of notable abilities. His primary skills lie in infiltration, espionage, and tactical planning. When forced into a fight, he avoids direct confrontation, instead relying on his wits, setting explosives, and using his extendable staff as an offensive or mobility tool. His camouflage ability, which requires him to shed his clothing to merge perfectly with the environment, is one of his most remarkable defensive powers. While not a frontline warrior, his agility, experience, and unpredictable tactics make him a surprisingly resilient and dangerous opponent.