From top left: Kojiro as a child; Fudo vs. Jisai; Denshichiro vs. Kojiro; Encounter with Takezo in the battlefield of Sekigahara; Sadakore's squad in a night skirmish against a mob of peasants; Kojiro vs. Koun.
The Kojiro Arc is the sixth arc in Takehiko Inoue's Vagabond, spanning from chapters 128 to 179. It follows the backstory of Kojiro Sasaki, detailing his early years and the events that lead up to his renown status.
Duration[]
Chapters: 128–179
Volumes: 14–20
Summary[]
The arc shifts 17 years into the past; the first half focuses on Kojiro Sasaki's early childhood, and the challenging upbringing under the care of his adoptive father, Jisai Kanemaki. It explores their relationship and Jisai's difficulty in raising a deaf child, while striving to steer him away from pursuing the way of the sword. Progressing to Kojiro at age 9, the village faces a crisis involving their protector, Yugetsusai Fudo. Following this event and its aftermath, a timeskip advances to Kojiro at age 17, when Ito Ittosai reappears and, convinced of his potential, compels him to engage in his first duels. The second half of the arc follows Kojiro under the wing of Ittosai, detailing their travels and the events that unfold, including a brief encounter with Takezo on the battlefield of Sekigahara. This ultimately leads to their separation, marking Kojiro's first experience of being on his own - the one that shaped him the most. The arc concludes with Kojiro's conflicts against Sadakore’s squad.
Synopsis[]
Kojiro's upbringing[]
The story stops, and goes back in time to 17 years before the events shown at the story's start. Kojiro Sasaki's backstory is shown.
Jisai discovers that the kid Kojiro is deaf.
Late spring of 1583. The Kitanosho Castle is about to be destroyed in the Battle of Shizugatake. The baby Kojiro is sent to his father's former master, Jisai Kanemaki, to avoid death. Jisai adopts him. The story then shows Kojiro's difficult upbringing: Kojiro is deaf and has a natural gift for the sword; Jisai is an old fallen swordmaster, now living in poverty, who lost his status when he was defeated by his student Ito Ittosai, thus he tries to keep Kojiro away from the path of the sword; both live marginalized by the villagers.
Fudo's menace[]
Fudo arrives to the village.
All changes when Kojiro is 9. After a bad year for fishing, the village hasn't resources for the tribute to their protector, Yugetsusai Fudo, who also takes their girls when they turn 14. They decide to kill him, and ask Jisai for help, knowing he is a swordmaster. He accepts. Kojiro makes friends with the local kids after defeating them in a fight, their leader Tenki Kusanagi becomes his best friend. However, Fudo arrives. The village prepares the attack, but Kojiro and Tenki get ahead and burn Fudo's house, starting the fight. Fudo defeats Tenki, but Kojiro amputates his right arm. However, Fudo continues, steals Kojiro's sword and intends to kill Kojiro with it. Right then, Jisai and the villagers arrive. Jisai kills Fudo. The village celebrates and gives Jisai honors, but he declines and continues living humbly. His classes start to have many students, but he denies entry to Kojiro. From then on, Jisai and Kojiro battle everyday, with Jisai always winning and repeating he won't teach him the sword.
Ittosai's return[]
Ittosai orders the men to fight each other.
Timeskip to when Kojiro is 17. Autumn. The village uneases in the prelude of the Battle of Sekigahara. Ittosai Ito returns, much to the dismay of his former master Jisai, and meets Kojiro. Contrary to Jisai, Ittosai affirms that Kojiro is a natural fighter. That night Ittosai is at the beach, when he is challenged by a group of 5 swordsmen that includes the Yoshioka members Denshichiro Yoshioka and Ryohei Ueda. Ittosai sees Kojiro nearby and invites him. Then, Ittosai orders the men to fight each other until there is one left standing, who will fight him. A fighter is killed, then Kojiro enters and defeats other two. Then Kojiro fights Denshichiro. The two are novice and have numerous problems during the fight. After they have lost too much blood, they hurry to a final collision. Kojiro wins. In the fight's aftermath, while Kojiro and Denshichiro recover, all characters coincide that Kojiro's destiny is to become a formidable fighter. Jisai finally understands this and concedes. He entrusts Kojiro to Ittosai. After Kojiro recovers, he departs with Ittosai. Some time later, Jisai writes a swordsman certificate awarded to Kojiro, and entrusts Tenki to find Kojiro and give it to him. The story then implies that Jisai passes away.
Wanderings[]
Takezo and Kojiro fight back-to-back in the battlefield of Sekigahara.
Now traveling together, Ittosai names Kojiro's style as Ganryu (巌流, rock style) and, to get challengers, advertizes him as Invincible Under The Heaven. The fighter Gonnosuke Muso also claims that, and fights each one: both defeat him. Gonnosuke joins them, but is told he is not mentalized yet for mortal combat. Eventually, the 3 go to the Battle of Sekigahara, but they arrive when it is already over. A young soldier approaches them: Takezo Shinmen (who will be Musashi Miyamoto). The 4 fight together against squads of survival hunters, killing many. Eventually, Takezo is defeated when his left leg is shot by an arquebus. Ittosai kills the gunman and scares off the last hunters remaining. The 3 leave the battlefield, while Takezo lies wounded, setting the events shown at the story's start.
Survival missions[]
Sadakore's squad taking refugee.
In the battle's aftermath, groups of peasants that lost all because of the battle are vengefully hunting soldiers. Ittosai abandons Kojiro in the confusion of these fights, to toughen him up and convert him into his ultimate rival. Reluctantly, Gonnosuke follows Ittosai. The story then introduces a squad of 6 soldiers that fought for the losing side and are now hiding from the manhunt. They are led by captain Sadakore. They vow to return to their lord in Osaka. Then all characters in the story are shown fighting for their lives. During a night combat, Sadakore's squad takes 2 casualties. They make a plan: they will dress as peasants and cross the nearby mountain to reach Osaka; if they find enemies, Sadakore will sacrifice himself, as the squad's oldest, so the rest can continue; if things go so bad that only one of them must survive, it will be Ichizo, the squad's youngest.
Kojiro vs. Sadakore's squad[]
Kojiro fights against Koun.
Sadakore's squad reaches the mountain summit, but they find a threatening Kojiro, who has been running and fighting for days without sleep, food nor drink. The squad follows the plan and Sadakore stays to fight Kojiro. Sadakore dominates the fight with his manrikigusari, disarms Kojiro and takes his sword. Kojiro seems to be escaping, but he returns with his left arm wrapped in fabric, which he uses to block Sadakore's sword swings. Eventually the fabric unwraps, revealing that Kojiro was concealing a dagger. Kojiro kills Sadakore. However, the rest of Sadakore's squad has returned. Koun, the squad's strongest, fights Kojiro so vehemently that he breaks Kojiro's sword. Unarmed, Kojiro starts to fight Ichizo instead; he throws him and picks a sword behind him. Ichizo hesitates for too long and Kojiro kills him, to the dismay of his brother Shinjiro who can't fight due to his wound in his left leg. Kojiro renews his fight with Koun. The two are in top physical form and even become faster over the course of the battle. Both have a few close calls. In a final clash, Kojiro kills Koun. The story implies that Shinjiro, the last of Sadakore's squad, dies alone in the mountain's summit.