Daidoji Toyoharu

Daidoji Toyoharu was a bushi of the Crane Clan.

Thwarted Destiny
Toyoharu followed his father's footsteps and was trained in the secretive Daidoji Harrier dojo. Before his gempukku, his school was disbanded, and his father requested seppuku, which was granted by the Daidoji Daimyo. His Lord's daughter, Daidoji Akeha, was fond of the Daidoji Yojimbo, praising his skill with the blade. She wrote him a letter confessing fondness, and Toyoharu was destined to become her personal guard. His career as yojimbo ended when Toyoharu was maimed by a Scorpion, who humiliated him, but not killed him.

guard captain of Kyuden Ukara

Depising his Lord
Toyoharu became the guard captain of Kyuden Ukara, the estate of Daidoji Hoji. He depised his Lord, a rich and greedy glutton, who drank only the finest sake, ate only the finest foods, and wore only the finest silks. He invited concubines into his bedchambers with his second wife and sleeping infant. The first wife grew too old too quickly for his tastes and Hoji cast her away.

Scorpion Plot
In 1199 Hoji invited a Scorpion delegation, becoming fond of a Bayushi maiden. The next day all the guests had disappeared, and Hoji claimed they had stolen a family artifact while he was sleeping. Toyoharu had become also charmed by the girl, and days later he let the maiden to slip from the castle hidden in a cart. Ashamed by his betrayal, he prepared himself to ask seppuku, but he found a note from the Scorpion girl. She presented herself as a Kuroiban, and that Lord Hoji was an imposter. Twenty-five years ago he had strangled the true Daidoji Hoji before the young man's gempukku. This imposter facilitated a spy network that did great harm to these provinces, serving dark forces.

Death
Several days later Toyoharu admitted he had permitted the girl to leave. He would show his Lord where she was hidden. Toyoharu guided Hoji and his guards to a trap in a nearby forest, where Toyoharu knew of an existing portal to Gaki-do there. His Lord, companions, and himself, were all killed by the Gaki.