The cast and characters of Like a Dragon: Ishin!, just like its predecessor Kenzan, it focuses on historical Japanese figures (usually) being portrayed by familiar faces from the main series. If you want to look for characters from Kenzan please look at the main character index.

NOTE: Per official translation, all characters' names are written family name first, given name last to reflect the time period the game is set in.

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Sakamoto Ryoma/Saito Hajime

Sakamoto Ryōma/Saito Hajime

Portrayed by: Kazuma Kiryu (Takaya Kuroda)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryoma_4.png

^{As Saito Hajime}

Sakamoto Ryoma was born in Tosa to the lowest-ranking samurai class, a "Goshi".

While his adoptive brother, Takechi Hanepita, and other young people worked hard to improve their lives, Ryoma struggled to find purpose. However, his swordsmanship was without match, and as such was allowed to train in Edo.

Upon his return, with support from Yoshida Toyo, alongside Takechi Hanpeita, their plan to achieve societal reform in the Tosa Domain was in motion. However, the night before they aim to make their move, Toyo falls victim to a masked assailant, and Ryoma's life is changed forever.

Ryoma's quest to avenge his foster father leads him to the city of Kyo, where he takes up the false name "Saito Hajime" and becomes a member of the Tokugawa Bakufu's Special Police Force, the Shinsengumi.

Adaptational Attractiveness: The real life Ryoma was average looking at best, he certainly didn't have Kiryu's chiselled good looks.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: His fighting skills impress everyone in the Shinsengumi, so he's made the captain of the Third Division the day after he joins.
Bare-Fisted Monk: Compared to Kiryu's street-fighting style, Ryoma's unarmed skills are noticeably more refined and faithful to martial arts like karate though he does know how to effectively use his natural pure brute strength with certain techniques.
Been There, Shaped History: Although he spends most of the story as Saito Hajime, he still ends up doing some of the same deeds as the historical Ryoma. He brokers peace between Choshu and Satsuma domains who were arch enemies, setting the Meiji restoration to motion, but did so completely by accident while drunk and he doesn't remember it afterwards. Also he modifies the letter to the shogun to demand the abolition of social castes, thus sowing the seeds for Japanese democracy.
Berserk Button: Much like Kiryu, threatening or harming innocent, defenceless people is a quick way to make him resort to violence whether it be man, woman, child, or even animals.
- He gets particularly enraged when Takeda starts sexually harassing Ikumatsu in front of him in the middle of tense negotiations at gunpoint.
"I thought I'd just have to shut you up... But now I've got no problem cutting you down."
Book Dumb: Aside from his sword training in Edo, he never received any sort of formal education but you probably wouldn't be able to tell until he mentions it.
But Now I Must Go: After defeating Takechi and foiling Yamauchi's plan to sell out Japan to the British, thus ensuring the Meiji Restoration succeeds, Ryoma hangs up his swords and departs for the countryside with Oryo, looking to lead a quiet life in a new Japan.
Call to Agriculture: While he doesn't immediately retire and thus halt the main plot entirely, part of the justification for the "Another Life" section of the game is to prepare for when he can finally sheathe his sword for good and live the rest of his life in peace with Haruka. It's implied that this is his final fate after defeating Yamauchi and saving Japan, leaving for the countryside to live a quiet life with Oryo.
Clueless Chick-Magnet: He ends up with a lot of women who are very attracted to him through the various side stories. He's completely oblivious to all of it, even a few women who practically throw themselves at him. Ironically, the one time he does appear to pick up on the innuendo, it's with someone who turns out to not be interested in him.
Combat Pragmatist: As expected of a Like a Dragon protagonist, he uses anything and everything^* he can in a fight. One notable heat move has him make use of a blacksmith's tatara (furnace) to give some poor mook a very fiery bad day.
Composite Character: He takes up the roles of both Sakamoto Ryoma and Saito Hajime, who in this timeline is just an alias.
Counter-Attack:
- Starts the game with the ability to parry any melee attack with his fists if you time the guard right, even blades and spears. It also grants him momentary invincibility that can be prolonged with certain upgrades. His Wild Dancer style also has a parry but the timing is much more strict and it has less Invincibility Frames than the bare-fist parry so it's more useful to simply dodge.
- There are other more conventional counter attacks that he can use with certain upgrades and training, including the infamous Tiger Drop.
Cradling Your Kill: After a fierce Duel to the Death, Ryoma inflicts a fatal blow on Okada Izo who begins to lament his lonely, unloved fate as well as the dangerous, dark road Takechi has chosen. As he tries to beg Takechi's brother Ryoma to help Takechi, Ryoma holds him in this manner and promises to help stop Takechi from taking his plans too far, which seems to grant Okada some measure of peace as he dies.
Dance Battler: Downplayed and invoked. The Wild Dancer style is named after the heavy amount of spinning and twirling he does when attacking and dodging.
Disney Death: As is tradition in the Like a Dragon series. The game ends with a severely wounded Ryoma using the last of his strength to kill Yamauchi, with the implication being that he dies from his wounds shortly after, but the post-credits scenes reveal that Ryoma survived.
Doting Parent: While he doesn't get to spend as much time with Haruka as his main series counterpart on account of the latter being Demoted to Extra, he still serves as a loving parental substitute for her and is incredibly passionate when cheering on her in karaoke.
Drowning His Sorrows: He drowns himself in booze after hearing of Takechi's death, spending the majority of Chapter 9 on an extended bender.
Due to the Dead: Ryoma respectfully listens to Izo's last words and closes his eyes after he Dies Wide Open and later puts up two graves for Kondo Isami and Todo Heisuke bearing their haori and blades.
Extremity Extremist: While he does use his legs for certain heat actions and a few heavy (triangle/Y) attack techniques, none of his unarmed "Brawler" style combos and combo finishers involve his legs at all. They're all punches and strikes with his hands.
Friend to All Living Things: Gets along very well with the various stray dogs and cats he encounters in Kyo. With a little bit of work, he can even adopt them to live with him and Haruka in the "Another Life" portion of the game.
The Gunslinger: He uses a revolver as one of his primary weapons much like the historical Ryoma.
Heroic Ambidexterity: His "Gun" style holds his handgun in his right hand while his "Wild Dance" style holds it in the left. He has no trouble aiming and hitting his target in either hand. Some of his combo finishers in "Sword" style also have him swing his sword with only the left hand for heavy damage.
Improbable Weapon User: Since it's Kiryu who's portraying him, anything and everything he can get his hands on will be used in a fight, from tools, to dried plums, to a carrying pole with two massive containers at each end of it.
The Infiltration: Ryoma infiltrates the Shinsengumi under the name "Saito Hajime" to get closer to its captains, believing one of them to be Toyo's killer.
Internal Reformist: Discusses using his new authority as the Shinsengumi's new Third Division Captain to improve the Shinsengumi into a more noble and respected force than the feared band of killers they are at the beginning of the story. While he says this mostly to assuage the apprehension of Oryo, the reputation of the Shinsengumi does improve considerably since he joined up and started pushing its members to be less ruthless and more accomodating towards civilians.
Magic Knight: Owing to the the Kiwami remake's new incorporation of the Trooper card system into the main gameplay and storyline, as opposed to limited to a sidequest minigame, Ryoma now has the potential for an absurdly varied amount of blatantly supernatural abilities on top of his already formidable combat skills. Just don't expect it to ever matter at all within the unaltered storyline.
- Blow You Away: He can create a whirlwind to knock enemies away.
- Kamehame Hadoken: Can blast enemies with a surge of energy that can be aimed slightly while it's firing out. A DLC variant incorporates fire.
- Having a Blast: Can generate a massive explosion after striking the ground. A DLC variant incorporates sound and apparently music based on the music notes flying around.]]
- Healing Hands: Several cards simply restore his health to varying degrees. Some heal him over time. Others cure status ailments.
- Playing with Fire: Can blast enemies with fireballs sending them to the floor writhing from the flames.
- Shock and Awe: He can shoot lightning from his hands that can spread across a group of enemies.
- Status Buff: A large number of cards simply boost Ryoma's attack or defense temporarily. The attack buffs are often limited to strengthening a single fighting style like the Sword style or the Wild Dancer style. Some will also boost the rate at which cards will charge up for reuse while others will cause the heat gauge to rise on its own, or even fill up entirely.
- Storm of Blades: Can summon several ominous floating katanas to impale a single foe all at once and inflict the "Bleed" status effect.
- The Beast Master: Through the Trooper cards, Ryoma can summon predators like bears and tigers to maul his opponents in battle. Other animals can serve a less direct and more supportive role like a dog to distract enemies with cuteness or a chicken that lays eggs to either heal Ryoma or explode and damage enemies.
- Time Master: Can slow down time for everything except himself.
- Gravity Master: Apparently uses the "Essence of the Void" to create a "Black Hole" to trap enemies at a medium distance away, with any enemies weaker than a Mini-Boss being utterly paralyzed.
Martial Pacifist: Even though he mows down hundreds of bad guys, Ryoma still goes out of his way to spare the life of anyone who he feels doesn't deserve to die.
Moveset Clone: Downplayed, but quite a few of his bare-fist attack animations are very similar to the karate-based fighting style of Joji from 3.
Multi-Melee Master: Ryoma is a master of a wide variety of melee weapons. From his katanas, tantos, giant blades, to large blunt weaponry and farming tools, among others.
Oblivious to Love: He is taken completely by surprise when Otose reveals that Oryo has feelings for him. The innkeeper comments that Ryoma must be too dense not to notice Oryo's rather obvious signs.
One-Man Army: Par for the series, he'll be fighting his way through an absurd amount of foes throughout the course of the storyline.
Parental Substitute: To Haruka, much like modern day Kiryu.
Religious Bruiser: Sort of? He befriends a Shinto Priest early in the story and he's encouraged to pray at the many shrines located around Kyo which builds up his "Virtue" and lets him acquire all sorts of useful bonuses. One of the Friendship sidequests also involves him asking the same priest to perform an exorcism on an acquaintance who's fallen ill under possibly mystical circumstances.
Revenge Before Reason: Despite Takechi's offer to get Ryoma back to Tosa safely, he decides to follow through with his dangerous plan to infiltrate the Shinsengumi and find the killer of his adoptive father, Yoshida. That he's bitter over Takechi's willingness to work together with the Tosa Joshi to achieve his new ambitions even though they're elitist, opressive scumbags who've ruined their and are the most likely culprits behind Yoshida's death also plays a role in his decision to turn his back on Takechi.
Skilled, but Naive: Young enough for older characters like Kondo Isami to call him "kid" and is very strained by the Shinsengumi's insistence on using death as punishment for not just enemies but allies as well, resulting in many seeing him as naive. He's still a One-Man Army and Master Swordsman who quickly establishes himself as one of the Shinsengumi's greatest fighters.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Kazuma Kiryu.
Strong and Skilled: He's about as strong, agile, and resourceful as you'd expect from someone portrayed by Kiryu but his unique skills make him a Bare-Fisted Monk, Master Swordsman, and Gunslinger all wrapped up into one fearsome package.
Sword and Fist: In addition to being able to fight with his bare fists, he also incorporates some of his bare-handed martial arts with his sword fighting.
Sword and Gun: His Wild Dancer style utilizes both sword and gun. It's also a purely offensive style that sacrifices defense for speed and damage.
Sympathy for the Devil: He admits that his first reaction to realizing his own adoptive brother had possibly arranged the death of their foster father was to set his mind on killing Takechi when they reunite. However, his usual Tranquil Fury breaks when he finally sees Takechi's face and notes just how miserable and tired he looks and the toll his radical plans for Japan have taken on him.
That Man Is Dead: By the end of the game, he has fully accepted his new identity of "Saito Hajime", member of the Shinsengumi, as evidenced by him not acknowledging Yamauchi calling him "Sakamoto Ryoma", and outright stating that there is nobody in the room who goes by that name.
Thou Shalt Not Kill: Much like his Expy Kiryu, Ryoma makes a point of never killing anyone and spares most of his opponents lives at blade point. Which makes it all the more poignant when he loses his cool and mortally wounds Izo, and later outright slays Takeda and Yodo.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: One drunken night, he insisted that Saigo Kichinosuke of the Satsuma Domain Katsura Kogoro of the Choshu Domain drop their grudge and simply try to enjoy a simple night on the town with him. A generational grudge that kept two major Loyalist factions at each other's teeth was buried, allowing them to unite as one powerful Loyalist alliance strong enough to take on the Bafuku. With the fake Ryoma Sakamoto buying foreign weapons for this alliance, the country is effectively on the brink of a destructive all-out civil war which is especially disastrous when foreign powers like the British could exploit the situation and reduce a wartorn and weakened Japan into a colony.
You Killed My Father: His main objective and motivations are to look for the killer of his father figure/mentor.
Walking Arsenal: The amount of weapons he can carry and use is rather large. That's not even considering the weapons he can steal from enemies or pick up from the environment.

Tosa Loyalist Party

Takechi Hanpeita

Takechi Hanpeita
Brother and Revolutionary, Founder of the Tosa Loyalist Party

Voiced by: Katsunori Takahashi (Original), Keiji Shibusawa (Hideo Nakano) (Remake)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takechi.png

^{Original Version}

Tosa Loyalist Party Founder and Sakamoto Ryoma's adoptive brother.

Takechi founded the Tosa Loyalist Party under orders from his foster father, Yoshida Toyo, in hopes of forcing the ruling Yamauchi Clan to abolish the rigid class system in return for avoiding the ever-growing threat of violent revolt.

However, Takechi and Ryoma are forced to go their separate ways following the murder of their foster father, Yoshida Toyo.

Ambition Is Evil: Ryoma seems to think so. Under Yoshida Toyo's guidance, their original goal was to reform Tosa starting with its corrupt nobles. After Yoshida's death he's become one of those nobles himself, joining hands with his former oppressors with his sights set on reforming the entire nation instead of just Tosa. Ryoma's concerned that despite good intentions he's not entirely certain their deceased foster father would approve of this drastic shift. Because of the sort of company he'll be keeping, Ryoma's concerned he one day won't recognize Takechi or be able to consider him his brother if he keeps going along with such a radical scheme.
The Bad Guy Wins: Takechi's dream to overthrow the corrupt Bakufu does come to fruition, and he gets to have a hand in reforming the government in the early years of the Meiji Restoration before retiring as a respected daimyo. However, it was ultimately Ryoma's actions that allowed him to get where he was while his own destructive plans are foiled and his cynical beliefs proven wrong in the face of Ryoma's idealism. He's not shown to be particularly enjoying his retirement while his brother lives happily with Oryo in distant lands.
Big Bad Friend: He is Ryoma's adoptive brother and also just so happens to be the Big Bad and Final Boss.
Big Bad Duumvirate: With Yamauchi Yodo.
Canon Foreigner:
- In the original release, Takechi wasn't portrayed by any character from the mainline Yakuza games.
- Averted in the remake, where his role is instead portrayed by Keiji Shibusawa.
Dead Person Impersonation: In the ending, he impersonates the executed Yamauchi, taking on his credentials as the daimyo of Tosa.
Evil Makes You Ugly: When Ryoma reunites with Takechi long after learning of all his dastardly plans and manipulations which have caused so much pain, suffering, and death, Takechi's appearance has changed drastically in a short time span. He looks as if he's suffered some Rapid Aging with his hair turning grey and having more wrinkles, with the implication that the stress of all his dark actions have caused him to age prematurely. The Kiwami remake adds in Exhausted Eye Bags that further accentuate how much he's deteriorated. However much of this is undone just in time for the Final Boss fight.
Final Boss: Of Ishin.
Foil: With Keiji Shibusawa's face and voice actor in the remake, he serves a rather similar role to him being a Shadow Archetype to the protagonist and Final Boss while managing to contrast him heavily in of characterization. Shibusawa is significantly older than Kiryu and far above him in terms of authority in the Dojima Family while Takechi is implied to be much closer to Ryoma's age and they both lived as lowly goshi for most of their lives. Shibusawa ruthlessly commits atrocities against his fellow man without breaking a sweat whereas Takechi is later shown to be so conflicted over the pain and suffering his actions cause that he's physically deteriorated out of sheer stress. While Shibusawa is somewhat polite to Kiryu, he's revealed to be resentful and envious of him as some sort of heir to Kazama's ethos even treating him as a rival to his ambitions for power and glory just because they both happen to have chosen the same irezumi tattoo. This behavior and his willingness to target civilians naturally also earns him the hatred of Kiryu. While Ryoma and Takechi clash heavily over their ideals and beliefs on what course of action would benefit the country with Takechi showing signs of resentment over Ryoma's apparent naivety, they still ultimately love each other as brothers.
Heel–Face Turn: Ryoma finally gets through to him at the end of their climatic battle, and Takeshi is so moved that he vows to undo the mess he started, even Taking the Bullet for Ryoma when Yamauchi Yodo shows up to try and assassinate his best friend and brother. Takechi survives his wounds and is later revealed in the epilogue to have started using Yodo's identity to, ironically enough, do the opposite of Yodo's intended evil plans.
Ink-Suit Actor: In the remake, he's modeled directly after his voice actor.
Mirror Boss: He acts as this, even using a variation of the Wild Dance style. This is most likely because he is based on the historical Sakomoto Ryoma, even stealing the name from the "real" one.
Moving the Goalposts: For himself. Despite being very capable of moving forward with his plan to bring about change in Tosa, he quickly makes some alterations; he joins forces with the Tosa Government to instead bring down the Tokugawa Bakufu and bring about his desired changes throughout the entire nation.
Mythology Gag: Twofold.
- While this game's Sakomoto Ryoma is portrayed by Kiryu, Hanpeita Takechi is based on the actual Sakomoto Ryoma.
- In the remake, his role is portrayed by Keiji Shibusawa, who is not only Kiryu's Shadow Archetype in Yakuza 0 but also serves as that game's Final Boss. That they're both introduced in a relatively supportive light before being revealed to be incredibly cruel and ruthless helps. Not to mention, Shibusawa primary motivation to make a name for himself as the "Dragon of Dojima" before losing it to Kiryu who carried that title for decades to come has certain ironic parallels in the way that Takechi stole Ryoma Sakamoto's name to achieve his ambitions, culminating in Ryoma giving up the name for the rest of his life.
Prematurely Grey-Haired: The dark actions he had to take for his revolution prematurely turn his hair grey, or perhaps Ryoma perceives him as much older than he actually is. However his excitement to fight Ryoma restores his youth before the final battle.
The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Takechi believed that only through violent, bloody conflict could change be affected on Japan, and he had Toyo killed because he felt the Magistrate was too naive to accept this fact. Only after he's defeated and spared by Ryoma does Takechi see he was wrong.
Sent Into Hiding: He hides in a safehouse in Mukurogai once becoming the Bakufu's enemy puts his life at risk.
Shock and Awe: In the second phase of the Final Boss fight against him, his Heat aura glows yellow and he can cast lightning from his hands, stunning Ryoma and sending him to the floor.
Storm of Blades: In the third and final phase of the Final Boss fight against him, he can summon multiple floating, glowing red katanas before making them all stab Ryoma all at once. If he gets hit by any of them, they will inflict the "Bleed" status effect.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Keiji Shibusawa in the remake.
Taking the Bullet: He shields Ryoma from Yodo's bullet, but luckily he survives.
The Unfettered: He is revealed to have crossed several lines for the sake of his goals: Betraying and killing several of his own collaborators considering them loose ends, arranging the death of his own foster father to ensure he stays in power, and having a whole city set ablaze just to encourage civil unrest for the country.
Visionary Villain: Originally, his plan was to reform Tosa and the rampant elitism and oppression that plagues it, but in the year that Ryoma's been in Kyo, he's instead switched gears to trying to reform the entire nation even if that means cooperating with his former oppressors back in Tosa.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: His methods to reform the country aren't very peaceful, to put it mildly.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: As the fake "Ryoma Sakamoto", at least two major characters and hired guns were personally killed by him after they've done work for him, with the implication that it was to prevent them from leaking any vital information.

Yoshida Toyo

Yoshida Toyo
Father to Orphans and Feared Disciplinarian, Tosa Domain Magistrate

Portrayed by: Shintaro Kazama (Unshō Ishizuka)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yoshida_95.png

A Tosa Magistrate and Right Hand to Yamauchi Yodo.

Despite holding a position within Tosa's government, his support of the class system is merely a front. For years, Toyo has supported lower-class children who’ve lost their parents and face discrimination. Among those children were Sakamoto Ryoma and Takechi Hanpeita.

Striving to bring about change, he ordered Takechi to form the Tosa Loyalist Party: a group of 500 men ready to force the local government's hand.

However, the night before their proposed revolution, Toyo is killed by a masked assailant.

Defector from Decadence: Despite being Number Two to the Tosa daimyo and a well-respected Magistrate, Toyo hates the caste system that gave him his power and seeks to overthrow it and replace it with a more meritocratic system with himself, Ryoma, and Takechi at the head.
Greater-Scope Paragon: Despite dying in the first hour of the game, Toyo's dreams and influence continue to drive both Ryoma and Takechi through the rest of the plot.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: His death kicks off the plot.
Parental Substitute: To Ryoma and Takechi, having taken them and others in as young orphans and teaching them the ways of politics and fighting.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He saves Ryoma from an unjust punishment for protecting a woman and her ill child from ruthless aristocrats.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Shintaro Kazama.

Okada Izo

Okada Izo
Devoted Swordsman and Dreaded Butcher, Tosa Loyalist Party

Portrayed by: Akira Nishikiyama (Kazuhiro Nakaya)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/okada_3.png

The Tosa Loyalist Party's most brutal killer and Nakanishi-ha Itto style swordsmanship practitioner. Also known as "Izo the Butcher."

Despite his quiet exterior, his dark eyes harbor a dangerous bloodlust beneath their surface. Okada joined the Tosa Loyalist Party out of admiration for Takechi Hanpeita, but that devotion borders on obsession.

Affably Evil: He's a remorseless killer who'll even silence his own allies if he thinks it'll aid the Loyalist cause, yet he always speaks in an incredibly polite manner. Even when it's obvious that he has a murderous hatred for Ryoma and threatens to cut him down, he never stops speaking to him with a surprising amount of respect.
Blow You Away: The third time you face him, he may swing his sword to call forth a purple whirlwind that poisons Ryoma if he gets hit by it.
The Butcher: One of his nicknames, owing to his merciless killing of many people he's fought against or assassinated over the course of his career.
Creepy Monotone: A ruthless killer who never raises his tone much unless he's fighting.
The Dragon: To Takechi. Becomes The Brute once Ito and Sasaki join the conspiracy.
Dark Is Evil: After the 1-year Time Skip, he dresses in all black and is one of the more ruthless members of the Tosa Loyalists, ready and eager to kill anyone that is an obstacle to their plans.
Dramatic Irony: Izo's relationship with Ryoma goes in opposite directions to Nishiki's with Kiryu, with the latter two starting as close friends before their relationship sours due to the former's Trauma Conga Line making him prioritise his ambitions and Nishiki dies before they can properly reconcile, whereas Izo has a bitter rivalry with Ryoma and his death has him part with Ryoma on slightly better terms, with him entrusting Ryoma with stopping Takechi.
Face Death with Despair: His stoic demeanor immediately disappears once he's mortally wounded by Ryoma, and tearfully tells Ryoma how he simply desired to be acknowledged as brothers as Takechi saw Ryoma, before begging him to stop Takechi before he goes too far down the dark, miserable path he's chosen.
Flunky Boss: Fights alongside his goons the first two times he's encountered.
Four Is Death: He and Ryoma end up fighting four times throughout the game, and the fourth encounter ends with Izo dead.
Green-Eyed Monster: He's jealous that Ryoma got the Number Two position within the Tosa Loyalist Party instead of him, despite Izo being an early member and Ryoma having just arrived. Later, it's revealed that he desperately wants Takechi to acknowledge him as a brother in the same vein as Ryoma, but Takechi never considered anyone but Ryoma as his brother.
I Just Want to Be Loved: As he dies, he weeps that all he ever wanted was for Takechi to love him as a brother, just like he loves Ryoma.
Leitmotif: "Innocence for Violence and "For Your Sake".
Hero Killer: He has killed numerous Bakufu officials and Shinsengumi troopers, including Captains Tani and Suzuki, and leaves Kondo mortally wounded.
Poisonous Person: The third time he's fought in the remake, he gains a purple heat aura after losing enough health and his sword swings can now inflict the poison status effect.
Recurring Boss: He's fought four times throughout the story.
The Resenter: On top of being a Green-Eyed Monster, he admits that he's very vindictive if you speak to him after defeating him the first time. When he's later beaten a second time, he confesses that he still can't stand the sight of Ryoma.
The Rival: Sees himself as Ryoma's rival, both for the role as Party Representative and Takechi's brother figure.
Serial Killer: Implied to be on a killing spree while fighting Ryoma. Historically, Okada was a hitokiri (which translates to "manslayer") and was complicit in a number of hits and assassinations during the Bakumatsu Era.
Smug Smiler: To an unnerving degree.
The Stoic: Eerily calm most of the time despite the savagery of his work.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Akira Nishikiyama.
Undying Loyalty: To Takechi whom he reveres with his life.
The Unfettered: Willing to resort to murder to support Takechi's ambitions. When he sees that a former ally like Ryoma has infiltrated the Shinsengumi under an alias, he decides to cut him down anyway believing that Takechi will understand his actions if Ryoma's that willing to be an obstacle to their ambitions. His envy and hatred probably also play a role in that too.
Worthy Opponent: He comes to consider Ryoma this.

Shinshengumi

Kondo Isami

Kondo Isami
The Faceless Leader, Shinsengumi Chief

Portrayed by: Eiichiro Funakoshi (Original), Koichi Adachi (Akio Ōtsuka) (Remake)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kondo_2.png

^{Original Version}

Shinsengumi Chief and Fourth Generation Heir to the Tennen Rishin style.

Armor-Piercing Question: Hits Ryoma with one in their first conversation:
Kondo: Saigo may have met with Sakamoto Ryoma before he left town... But that Sakamoto Ryoma... is a fake. Isn't that right? Ryoma-san?
Batman Gambit: One that revolves around his own death, no less. He's known from the get-go that Ito is trying to usurp control of the Shinsengumi in order to use it as the Bakufu's personal army, so not only did he leave very specific instructions for Hijikata to get Ito to reveal himself as a traitor in the event of his death, he also planted Todo Heisuke as a mole to get into Ito's good graces in order to trace Ito's scheming back to the source, which gives the protagonists the necessary ammunition to find out who the mastermind is and strike.
Canon Foreigner:
- In the original release, Kondo wasn't portrayed by any character from the mainline Yakuza games.
- Averted in the remake, where his role is instead portrayed by Koichi Adachi.
Establishing Character Moment: When Ryoma finally meets Kondo after three chapters in the Shinsengumi, he meets the elusive chief of the organization in the middle of him... chasing women around in a brothel while blindfolded.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Hijikata states that Kondo and him used to be humble farmers before forming the Shinsengumi.
The Ghost: For the first half of the game, Kondo never appears in full on screen; he's seen briefly in the shadows in Chapter 6, and only appears fully in person near the end of Chapter 7. This leads to resentment from Ito's faction of the Shinsengumi as they expect the leader of their group to actually be present for their meetings and operations, some even passing around a rumor that Kondo died years prior and Hijikata is actually the one calling the shots.
The Hedonist: Rather than lead the Shinsengumi in person, Kondo spends most of his time partying with courtesans in Gion (though he's still quite the cunning strategist, so his hedonism isn't too detrimental to his work).
Master Swordsman: The current Heir to the Tennen Rishin style and effectively its reigning champion. Every other practitioner in the game learned the style from him. He's so skilled that A Quick Time Event during his boss fight has him halt Ryoma's sword swing entirely by stabbing the flat of his katana redirecting and planting it to the ground before quickly swinging upwards while Ryoma's vulnerable.
- Subverted right after his boss fight when Ryoma notes that the masked man who killed Yoshida Toyo a year ago was a much stronger fighter. While he claims to have gotten rusty after not fighting for a while, later revelations about the Tennen Rishin style's origins suggest that Inoue's the true master of the style back when it was originally called the "Mito Tengu" style.
Playing with Fire: In the Kiwami remake, he gains a fiery Battle Aura after taking enough damage and will gain a new attack where he'll shoot fireballs from his hands. Thankfully, your sword can block them and since they're counted as bullets, armor that lets you block bullets is also useful here.
Red Herring: Ryoma initially believes Kondo was Yoshida's killer due to the assassin using the same Tennen Rishin style and Kondo wearing iron gauntlets identical to the ones the assassin wore, but the actual identity of the killer is Inoue.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He's not against hearing out his underling's plans, even deciding that Ryoma's idea of having the Tokugawa Abdicate the Throne is a better plan than his "burn Kyoto to the ground and move the Emperor to Edo" idea.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Adachi in the remake.
Sword and Fist: A unique technique of his is changing stances and then rushing forward with a guard-breaking shoulder barge and then slashing downwards. It's nearly unblockable.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: His initial plan to end the political strife in Japan is to raze Kyoto and force the Emperor to move to Edo, thus uniting the government in one single spot. He drops the "Extremist" part when Ryoma presents his idea to have the Bakufu peacefully dissolve, and Kondo decides that's a better idea.

Hijikata Toshizo

Hijikata Toshizo
The Icy and Merciless Commander, Shinsengumi Deputy Chief

Portrayed by: Yoshitaka Mine (Shido Nakamura II)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hijikata_6.png

Shinsengumi Deputy Chief and Tennen Rishin style swordsmanship practitioner. Also known as the "Demon Vice-Leader."

A Father to His Men: Despite being known as the "Demon Vice-Leader," Hijikata is respected by everyone in the Shinsengumi.
Affectionate Nickname: Kondo and Okita have known Hijikata for a long time and sometimes call him "Toshi".
Foil: On top of sharing the same face and voice, he's got several similarities to Yoshitaka Mine like his polite manner of speaking, ruthlessness when dealing with enemies, and Undying Loyalty to another, namely Kondo Isami. However, a number of important distinctions in both his characterization and how his role in the plot plays out make him very different as well. He doesn't have as much of a Dark and Troubled Past as Mine, resulting in him being far more mentally stable, thus he never slips into becoming an antagonist. Although, Kondo predicting his own assassination and helping Hijikata prepare for dealing with the aftermath probably helps him from going down the same unstable path as Mine who went off the deep end after Daigo was put into a coma after getting shot. He's also much less resentful of the character based on Kiryu, Ryoma, compared to how Mine saw Kiryu. He even admits to holding Ryoma/Saito in high esteem which is a far cry from how Mine dismissed Kiryu as an irresponsible fool unworthy of Daigo's admiration. Thus he never has a reason to actually cross swords with Ryoma until much later and even then they're simply sparring rather than the intense and higly emotional 1-on-1 bout Kiryu and Mine had in the finale of 3.
From Nobody to Nightmare: Much like the chief, his ancestry was not much more than 300 years of farming and he had also expected to live the rest of his life as a humble farmer. The arrival of British naval ships changed everything, thus the current unstable times where strength rules above ancestry and Hijikata is now known as the "Demon Vice-Leader" of the infamous Shinsengumi.
Mercy Kill: He kills Yamanami after Ryoma spares his life, since as a deserter, he would receive a harsher death.
Moveset Clone: To his superior, Kondo Isami right down to using the same fireball attack in the Kiwami remake.
Necessarily Evil: He considers the Shinsengumi to be this, reasoning that peace can't be achieved without blood being spilled.
Playing with Fire: In the remake, he can launch fireballs from his hands just like Kondo Isami.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Yoshitaka Mine.
The Unfought: Played with and outright lampshaded by Hijikata himself, as he's never given any reason to cross blades with Ryoma at any point throughout the story and only asks if he'd like to spar (even though it is mandatory) later in the game.

Ito Kashitaro

Ito Kashitaro
Mastermind of the Shinsengumi, Shinsengumi Advisor

Portrayed by: Goh Hamazaki (George Takahashi) (Original), Daisaku Kuze (Hitoshi Ozawa) (Remake)

"I feel its leader should possess knowledge, culture, morals, and insight."

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ito.png

Ito as he appears in Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)

^{Original Version}

Shinsengumi Advisor and Third-Highest-Ranking Member.

Badass Normal: He's a powerful endgame Boss Fight but in the Kiwami remake he's one of the few to never use the sort of mystical abilities that many others in the main campaign do.
Co-Dragons: He and Sasaki serve as such to Takechi.
Dramatic Irony: Hamazake and Kuze playing Ito in the original and remake; the former two are initially ambitious Smug Snakes who's encounters with Kiryu, the former being touched by Kiryu's decision to trust him and the latter tossing his ambitions to the side in favour of settling his rivalry with Kiryu, which leads to them both developing into Noble Demons. Meanwhile, Ito not only barely has any interaction with Ryoma, but he betrays the Shinsengumi by helping orchestrate Kondo's death to achieve his aims and creates a splinter cell when he doesn't get his way.
Evil Costume Switch: Once he's openly revealed as the founder of Goryo Eji, he switches from a blue Shinsengumi haori to a green one with his sleeves rolled up.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Cracks a joke about the burning of the city of Kyo where a number of citizens almost certainly died horrifically or suffered horrible injuries. A catastrophe that he had caused himself.
Evil Laugh: Lets one out after Todo saves him from being executed for his treachery against the Shinsengumi and Kondo Isami.
Foil: Manages to be one to both of the characters who portray him in both the original Ishin and the Kiwami remake. Hamazaki and Kuze both start off as smug ambitious bad guys that later undergo Character Development into more honorable, respectable men in their appearances. Ito never experiences any sort of epiphany and remains the same sort of villain to the bitter end.
- It's especially ironic on Kuze's end as his ambitions to become the Dojima Family Captain in 0 are quickly crushed, reducing him to a mere soldier for the rest of the story which he accepts with little complaint, even displaying a surprising amount of loyalty and dignity in such a role. Conversely, Ito is essentially defined by his desire to increase his authority and it drives him to commit atrocities and outright mutiny.
Flunky Boss: Fights alongside an entire crew of soldiers to combat Ryoma, Okita, and Hijikata,
Green-Eyed Monster: He coveted Kondo's position for himself, and after being denied a promotion went on to create Goryo Eji and install himself as its leader.
I Never Said It Was Poison: Following the Kyo fire, Ito tries to position himself to be the Shinsengumi's next Chief by evoking Kondo Isami's death, specifically how he'd been murdered by a ronin (Izo). Hijikata, however, had only said that Kondo was 'absent' (which he usually was anyway) and never mentioned that he'd been killed or how, exposing that Ito had played a role in Kondo's death.
King Mook: Uses an identical katana stance to certain generic mooks and shares a lot of attacks and tendencies like quickly dodging to the side while slicing vertically. Obviously, he's much tougher and also has a lot more elaborate and unique attacks on top as well.
Leitmotif: In the Kiwami remake, "Pledge of Demon" makes its return, unchanged from Yakuza 0.
The Political Officer: Rather than being recruited by Kondo, Ito was directly assigned to an advisory position within the Shinsengumi by the Bakufu itself.
Smoke Out: During his boss fight, a cinematic will play in which he'll take advantage of the thick steam generated in the castle's boiler room to disappear from sight to later perform a sneak attack.
Smug Smiler: Tends towards shit-eating smirks from time to time. While they certainly fit the treacherous Hamazaki, on Kuze they evoke his characterization in the first chapter of Yakuza 0 prior to his swift fall from grace and subsequent Character Development.
The Starscream: It's pretty clear that he wants to take charge of the Shinsengumi, to the point where Okita claims everyone knows that it's ultimate goal. He's even willing to resort to betrayal to achieve this.
- Start My Own: After Ito's attempts to take control of the Shinsengumi via treachery fail, he leaves the Shinsengumi along with Takeda, Todo and most of their remaining troops to form a rival militia commanded by him, the Goryo Eji.
Uncertain Doom: During the Tosa raid, Hijikata stays behind to fend off Ito and his Goryo Eji. Only Hijikata returns after the final boss fight, spattered in blood and no worse for wear.

Okita Soji

Okita Soji/Hirayama Goro
The Mad Samurai, Captain of the First Division

Portrayed by: Goro Majima (Hidenari Ugaki), Takuro Ono (real Okita; Original), Jun Oda (Katsuyuki Konishi) (real Okita; Remake)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/okita_15.png

^{"Original version" (spoiler)}

Shinsengumi First Division Captain and Tennen Rishin style swordsmanship practitioner. Killed and replaced the real Okita Soji; originally called Hirayama Goro.

Ax-Crazy: Easily the most outwardly bloodthirsty and violent of the Shinsengumi; besides his blood-splattered haori, Okita also has a reputation for attacking and/or killing promising recruits out of a desire to show off his skills, and his wild fighting style and personality has earned him the same "Mad Dog" nickname as Majima.
Adaptational Ugliness:
- The real Okita was said to be a handsome man who happened to die in his 20s, and most adaptions turn him into a full-blown Bishōnen. Here he's portrayed by Majima, who's in his 40s but is very far from a Bishōnen (although he's obviously still handsome in his own demented and rugged way). This fact gets lampshaded by Saito, who comments that he looks very different from the rumors.
- Turns out, it's because he killed the real Okita, before being made to take his place afterward. The real Okita is definitely a lot younger-looking and baby-faced than Hirayama. Although in the remake, he's portrayed by a much more rugged-looking Jun Oda.
Blood Knight: If Okita finds a Worthy Opponent, even if they're on the same team, he won't stop until he kills them.
Blood-Splattered Warrior: His haori is always positively drenched in blood.
Combat Pragmatist: He's not above using some pretty tricky and under-handed tricks to win. One such move is throwing his katana at his opponent and then using the distraction to try and stab them with his tanto.
Confusion Fu: Much like Majima usually is, he's the fastest, most agile user of the Tennen Rishin style with all sorts of tricky techniques unique to him. Also applies to his tanto fighting style as you'd expect.
Damage Over Time: After he heats up, some of his attacks can inflict the "Bleed" status effect causing Ryoma's health to drop over a brief period of time.
Devious Daggers: Just like the modern Majima, he carries around a tanto and his usage of it can be especially deceptive as noted above.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Noticeably paler than other characters which certainly adds to his unhinged, bloodthirsty nature.
Eyepatch of Power: A pretty awesome one too, as instead of a patch he uses a Tsuba to cover up his missing eye. The historical Hirayama Goro had also lost his left eye and is often depicted wearing a similar eyepatch, which can serve as an early hint to this character's identity.
Fire-Forged Friends: With Ryoma, at first the two don't get along but after fighting against and with each other, the two become steadfast allies.
Handicapped Badass: Losing the use of one of his eyes hasn't stopped him from being considered the Shinsengumi's strongest member before Ryoma came along.
Hollywood Tone-Deaf: He brings the same chaotic energy to karaoke as his main series counterpart, which is to say his performance of Samurai Ondo goes completely off the rails as he either forgets or makes up the lyrics and has a borderline Boke and Tsukkomi Routine with his exasperated hype man Ryoma.
Kill and Replace: Goro Hirayama actually killed the real Okita, and Kondo made him take on the identity of the late Okita, so that the rumors of the latter's death wouldn't spread.
The Lancer: To Ryoma/Saito once they become Fire-Forged Friends.
Moveset Clone: Reuses the modern Majima's tanto techniques when he switches to it halfway through Ryoma's first fight with him. Specifically, he borrows Majima's fighting style from Yakuza 5.
Psycho Knife Nut: Considering who portrays him, isn't it any surprise that he's very skilled with his tanto.
Shockwave Stomp: After he Heats up, he'll jump up and stab the ground to create an ominous red shockwave that can inflict the "Bleed" status effect.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- Of Goro Majima. It's taken even further than the other characters in the game, as his real first name, "Goro", is the same as Majima's (albeit written with a different kanji).
- In the Kiwami remake, the real Okita is one to Jun Oda from 0.
Throwing Your Sword Always Works: While an opponent is distracted with a thrown sword, Okita can close the distance and stab them with his tanto.
Tranquil Fury: Similar to the modern Majima, you can tell he's truly enraged when he drops the usual playfulness, gets serious and speaks in low, measured tones. Both times it happens involve the murder of a colleague and close friend, specifically the murder of Inoue and later the murder of Todo.

Nagakura Shinpachi

Nagakura Shinpachi/Hirama Jusuke
Man of Principle, Captain of the Second Division

Portrayed by: Taiga Saejima (Rikiya Koyama), Saito (Masato Obara) (real Nagakura)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nagakura_6.png

^{"Original version" (spoiler)}

Shinsengumi Second Division Captain and Tennen Rishin style swordsmanship practitioner. Originally called Hirama Jusuke, whom he replaced when the real Shinpanchi was killed by Serizawa Kamo.

Affably Evil: While not necessarily evil, he's the very first Captain of the notorious Shinsengumi Ryoma meets and is introduced slicing a man open during the recruitment tests of new soldiers, telling him that he'll "probably" live if he gets to a doctor quick enough. Personality-wise he's diligent but friendly and warms up to Ryoma pretty quickly. He's the very first friend Ryoma can sing Karaoke with after his boss fight.
- He figures out immediately that Ryoma purposely let Katsura escape. While he once again re-iterates that the punishment for betraying the Shinsengumi is death, he simply warns him to be less obvious instead of acting upon Ryoma's likely collusion with a known enemy. He even talks of how he'd hate the idea of killing Ryoma since he respects him so much.
Bald of Authority: He's a captain of the Shinsengumi and has a shaved head. That the original Nagakura also had a shaved head probably played a role in deciding which deceased Shinsengumi captain he'd be impersonating.
Bald Head of Toughness: As expected from the shaved head of Y5 Saejima, he's a very tough man.
Facepalm Of Doom: Nagakura non-lethally does this to Yamauchi at the end of the game, catching his entire face in one hand and tossing him back over to Ryoma when he tries to flee.
Kill and Replace: Kondo made Jusuke Hirama take on the identity of Nagakura so that the rumors of Nagakura's death wouldn't spread.
Mighty Glacier: Very downplayed. His Tennen Rishin skills make him has fast as the other practitioners but his personal techniques tends towards big, slower, singular heavy attacks as you'd expect from a Saejima-based character. He acknowledges this when he compares himself to other users like Okita.
Shock and Awe: His sword and attacks gain a paralyzing electric effect once he heats up in the remake.
Sleeves Are for Wimps: Standing out from the rest of the Shinsengumi captains, Nagakura's haori has its sleeves torn off.
Strong and Skilled: He's been with the Shinsengumi long enough to master the Tennen Rishin style but he's also a huge wall of muscle that adds in his own personal brute strength-centric techniques.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Taiga Saejima. The real Nagakura is one to Saito the prison guard from 4.

Matsubara Chuji

Matsubara Chuji
The Honest Lawman, Captain of the Fourth Division

'Portrayed by: Yu Morinaga (Hiroki Tochi)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/matsuraba.png

Shinsengumi Fourth Division Captain.

Death by Secret Identity: While he was already likely to be executed once it became clear that he's a spy, Inoue specifically kills him right before he can reveal Ryoma's real identity.
Defiant to the End: Attempted. Once Ryoma seemingly agrees to execute him for being a spy for the Choshu, he pulls out his sword despite being vastly outnumbered by elite warriors and defiantly mocks the Shinsengumi and Kondo Isami before declaring that they'll never defeat the Choshu. He also spitefully tries to reveal that "Saito" is actually Ryoma but is cut down just in time by Inoue.
Irony: Apparently built up a reputation as one of the more honest and trustworthy members. He's actually spying on the Shinsengumi for Katsura and his Choshu faction and it gets him killed once the other members find out. He even accuses Ryoma of being untrustworthy despite being a mole long before he even joined the Shinsengumi.
Karmic Death: Ruthlessly slaughters the Informant named The Crow to ensure that whatever he knows about either Matsubara or Ryoma/Saito doesn't slip out. He's similarly taken out by Inoue before he can reveal the truth about Saito actually being Ryoma Sakamoto.
The Mole: He's Katsura's inside man in the Shinsengumi.
The Unfought: Hijikata tasks Ryoma with executing him for his betrayal, so Matsubara pulls out his sword and readies himself to fight for his life. He gets cut down from behind by Inoue before he even gets a chance to actually defend himself.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Yu Morinaga.

Takeda Kanryusai

Takeda Kanryusai
Discreet Tactician, Captain of the Fifth Division

Portrayed by: Hiroshi Hayashi (Shun Sugata) (Original), Hiroki Awano (Riki Takeuchi) (Remake)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takeda.png

Takeda as he appears in Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)

^{Original Version}

Shinsengumi Fifth Division Captain. A swordsman who also wields two pistols.

Depraved Bisexual: It is hinted among some of the captains that Takeda engages his men in some intense "training", and he makes a few thinly veiled rape threats against Ryoma just before his boss fight while simultaneously sexually harassing Ikumatsu while holding her hostage.
Guns Akimbo: Two flintlock pistols, specifically, the ones Takechi used to kill Inoue as the fake Sakamoto Ryoma.
Gun Fu: He'll follow up melee kicks with gunshots and can also roll about quickly while taking shots.
The Gunslinger: He prefers to use guns in a fight rather than his sword.
Hate Sink: Not initially though he can be somewhat offputting at times. However once he defects to form the Goryo Eji with Ito and especially after he fatally wounds Todo, he shows his true colors as a sleazy, opportunistic scumbag only loyal to himself. So much that the principled Ryoma doesn't hesitate to kill him on the spot.
He Knows Too Much: Takeda learns about the Shinsengumi's plot to assassinate the fake Ryoma after he catches Todo trying to slip a message to Niibori/Katsura. Initially he wants to use it as blackmail so he can quietly defect to Choshu once the fake's plans collapse, but his gloating over killing Todo and threatening Ryoma leads to Ryoma putting him down for good.
Lean and Mean: Only in the original Ishin as he's reusing the appearance of Hiroshi Hayashi but is significantly more unpleasant. The Kiwami remake averts it due to instead reusing the looks of the beefier Hiroki Awano.
Moveset Clone: A weird example. Technically, he's borrowing all of his attacks from the Mysterious Agent/Andre Richardson from 3. However said Yakuza 3 boss was already basically using a "modernized" version of Kazuto Arase's fighting style from the original game but with some new attacks on top. Takeda omits those new attacks leaving only the Arase attacks aside from replacing Arase's diving shots with a more mobile rolling shot.
Poisonous Person: In the Kiwami remake, he gains a purple heat aura after losing enough health, and his bullets can now inflict the poison status effect.
Real Men Wear Pink: A powerful, gruff soldier who wears a noticeably pink kimono.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Hiroshi Hayashi. In the Kiwami remake he's instead one to Hiroki Awano.
Opportunistic Bastard: Defects with Ito to form the Goryo Eji but isn't particularly loyal to that either, seeing it as a sinking ship that'll collapse entirely once Takechi's done with them. He uses his knowledge of Todo being a Reverse Mole to blackmail Ryoma into connecting him with the Choshu in preparation for when he deserts the Goryo Eji.

Inoue Genzaburo

Inoue Genzaburo/Serizawa Kamo
Wizened Master, Captain of the Sixth Division

Portrayed by: Osamu Kashiwagi (Shunsuke Sakuya), Fumiya Ushijima (Hideyuki Umezu) (real Inoue)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/inoue.png

^{"Original version" (spoiler)}

Shinsengumi Sixth Division Captain and Tennen Rishin style swordsmanship practitioner. Killed and replaced the real Inoue Genzaburo; Originally called Serizawa Kamo.

The oldest Captain within the ranks of the Shinsengumi. Though an elite swordsman in his past, his skill has dulled due to age. He is now mocked as the "Grey Old Man of the Sixth Division."

Adaptational Attractiveness: Downplayed compared to other examples, but his original appearance was based on how he appeared in 3 whereas in the remake looks more like he does from 0 onwards giving him a relatively smoother, thinner face.
Assassin Outclassin': The real Okita, Nagakura, and Inoue attempted to kill Serizawa Kamo just after he had returned from Tosa after killing Toyo. Despite having the numbers advantage and the element of surprise, Nagakura and Inoue get killed by Serizawa in the attempt, and even Okita only managed to land a hit on Serizawa when he gets surprised by Hirayama and Hirama yelling out to him before being killed himself by Hirayama.
The Atoner: He's much more receptive to Ryoma than the other captains and even kills Matsubara before he can reveal Ryoma as The Mole, which is later revealed by Okita that this was his way of atonement for having been hired to kill Toyo.
Dented Iron: Despite his past as a Master Swordsman, many make note of how his age is catching up to him and that he's not quite the swordsman he used to be though some characters like Hijikata contest this notion.
Irony: He looks like Osamu Kashiwagi and as the masked assassin, he's responsible for murdering Yoshida Toyo who looks like Shintaro Kazama. In the mainline games, Kashiwagi is the Captain of the Kazama Family and is Patriarch Shintaro Kazama's loyal direct subordinate, thus he would never kill him the way Inoue does so to Yoshida.
Kill and Replace: After killing the real Inoue (alongside the real Okita and Nagakura) in self-defense, Kondo gave him the choice of either killing himself in atonement, or allowing "Serizawa Kamo" to die for treason and continue to live under Inoue's identity, so as not to weaken the image of the then Miburoshigumi.
Killed Offscreen: He's shot dead by the fake Sakamoto Ryoma and his body dumped in the river, most likely to silence him as the fake's plans begin to materialize.
Professional Killer: He moonlights as a hired killer to earn more money for the Shinsengumi.
Old Master: Said to be the oldest of the Shinsengumi captains, yet he's still able to keep up with captains half his age, fought both Ryoma and Takechi to a standstill in his role as the masked man, and killed the real Inoue and Nagakura in a three-on-one duel almost immediately after his flight from Tosa.
- Tellingly, when Ryoma faces off against Chief Kondo Isami who he suspects to be the masked man, he soundly wins and decides that Kondo isn't him, simply because the masked man was that much stronger. Justified as it turns out that Inoue is the true master of the Tennen Rishin style, having mastered it back when it was called the "Mito Tengu" style before Kondo renamed it.
Scars Are Forever: He has one in exactly the same spot as his Yakuza counterpart. Which helps mask The Reveal that he's the masked man, as he only receives the scar immediately after returning from Toyo's assassination.
Secret Test of Character: Gives Ryoma one when the two of them apprehend Okada. He prepares to execute Okada after Ryoma defeats him to see how Ryoma would react — would he let it happen, or prove that he isn't a "bloodthirsty whelp" like Tani or Suzuki? Ryoma stops him before the Kyo police show up, after which Inoue confirms that was a test and he had no intention of actually killing Okada.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Osamu Kashiwagi. The real Inoue is one to Fumiya Ushijima from 5.
Trademark Favorite Food: Speak to him in Kuramachi during the daytime before the night raid on the forty shishi and he'll mention that his favorite spot for food serves cold noodles called Reimen. Perhaps Kashiwagi's love of cold noodles is an inherited trait.
Walking Spoiler: His role as the masked man is a major reveal towards the second half of the story and leads to many revelations about his character.
Warm-Up Boss: He's the masked man that Ryoma fights at the end of chapter 1. He introduces the Tennen Rishin fighting style that Ryoma will have to contend with multiple times as the story progresses, thus the one time you get to fight him, he only ever uses the basic fundamental attacks every other user of that style has and no unique attacks like the others. You also don't even actually drain his health to zero. Halfway through his healthbar, you perform a Quick Time Event and the battle ends with him managing to escape.

Tani Sanjuro

Tani Sanjuro
Reckless Hedonist, Captain of the Seventh Division

Portrayed by: Yahata (Kenji Hamada) (Original), Akira Mabuchi (Masanori Takeda) (Remake)

Shinsengumi Seventh Division Captain.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tani_3.png

Tani as he appears in Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)

^{Original Version}

Greed: Obsessed with money and getting a bigger cut of bounties the Shinsengumi claim, such that he rejects Ryoma and Inoue's help with bringing down Izo so he can get the lion's share of the reward. This leads directly to his death.
Informed Attribute: He and Suzuki show that the Shinsengumi captains aren't as formidable as their rep made it sound like.
Leeroy Jenkins: His impatient attempt to rush into a gambling hall and round up the Tosa loyalists gets him quickly killed by Okada.
Red Shirt: His only significant contribution to the story is showing that Okada is a skilled and ruthless enemy.
Slashed Throat: How Okada kills him after slicing his ankles to keep him from moving.

Todo Heisuke

Todo Heisuke
Fresh-faced Cutthroat, Captain of the Eight Division

Portrayed by: Shigeki Baba (Shunsuke Daito) (Original), Tianyou Zhao (Nobuhiko Okamoto) (Remake)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/todo_5.png

^{Original Version}

Agonizing Stomach Wound: Takeda shoots him in the gut when he catches Todo trying to get a message to Niibori/Katsura, and it takes several minutes and a lot of blood before Todo finally dies.
Beware the Nice Ones: He's pretty friendly to his co-workers and personally gives Ryoma a tour of Shinsengumi Headquarters as well as covering all the basics of being of his new status as their new Third Division Captain. However, he's fully dedicated to the Shinsengumi's Iron Code and ruthlessly cuts down the deserter Akimoto when Ryoma tries to let him escape.
Deadpan Snarker: Displays a dry wit at times.
Fake Defector: He defects to Goryo Eji along with several other Shinsengumi officials, only to be revealed as Hijikata's inside man.
Kill the Cutie: Downplayed but he's still the youngest, most fresh-faced member of the Shinsengumi in all versions of Ishin and one of the friendliest members too. His death at the hands of Takeda is portrayed in a very tragic manner as he slowly, painfully bleeds out while affirming his loyalty to Kondo Isami and his fellow Shinsengumi to the bitter end.
Mythology Gag: Both of the characters who plays Heisuke in the original and remake, Baba and Zhao, fit well considering how the both of them appeared to be antagonists in their respective games, only to have sided by the protagonists by the end. This is especially prevalent with Baba, who started off appearing to be on Saejima's side before turning out to be working for the Big Bad, before changing sides for real, much like how Heisuke starts off polite and friendly before displaying a more ruthless side that culminates in him siding with Ito when he betrays the Shinsengumi, only to reveal himself as a Reverse Mole shortly after.
Undying Loyalty: To Kondo Isami. After Takeda discovers he's a Reverse Mole and fatally shoots him, he's mostly horrified about Ito discovering the deception and jeopardizing their plans to stop Takechi's plans, begging Ryoma to stop Takeda before it's too late as otherwise he'd be ashamed to face Kondo in the afterlife. When Ryoma accepts this request, Todo's so relieved he remarks that he can die satisfied. Later Hijikata, Okita, and Nagakura reveal that he spent his last moments telling them to place his corpse next to Takeda's to create the false narrative that they lost their lives as Goryo Eji soldiers and ensure that Ito never finds out the truth. He died, only caring about the success of the last mission Kondo gave him.
The Unfought: He's the only one out of the six Tennen Rishin users in Shinsengumi who Ryoma never crosses swords with, not even for a sparring match.
Weapon Across the Shoulder: Only in renders though. It fits his laid-back demeanor despite the brutality of the Shinsengumi.

Suzuki Mikisaburo

Suzuki Mikisaburo
Miserly Profiteer, Captain of the Ninth Division

Portrayed by: Kan Ogita (Ryota Takeuchi) (Original), Kanji Koshimizu (Ayumi Tanida) (Remake)

Shinsengumi Ninth Division Captain.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/suzuki_3.png

Suzuki as he appears in Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)

^{Original Version}

A-Team Firing: After watching Izo the Butcher effortlessly cut down Tani, Suzuki tries to confront Izo with his revolver, but starts shaking in fear so badly that his trembling hands cause him to miss most of his shots, with Izo only moving to block the last one with his blade. He's then swiftly dispatched by Izo as well.
Informed Attribute: His actual skill with weapons and fighting; despite working in an organization that runs on Asskicking Leads to Leadership, Suzuki is implied to have gotten his Captain's Position due to his political connections with Ito rather than any talent with weapons. His poor showing in his "fight" with Izo, where he misses nearly every shot with his revolver and then gets unceremoniously cut down in a reckless charge, hints that he didn't have much talent to begin with.
Moveset Clone: In the brief fight in which you fight alongside him and Inoue, he simply uses the same basic sword techniques as generic Samurai warriors you encounter. This in stark contrast to Inoue who's said to practice Tennen Rishin style and is just as skillful as you'd expect. Probably should've been the first clue that if he actually tries to take on an established dangerous warrior like Izo on his own, he'd go down quickly.
We Hardly Knew Ye: He gets killed by Okada along with Tani in an unsuccessful gambling hall raid.

Harada Sanosuke

Harada Sanosuke
Brutal Roughneck, Captain of the Tenth Division

Portrayed by: Masato Aizawa (Hiroki Yasumoto)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harada_6.png

Shinsengumi Tenth Division Captain and Hozoin style spearmanship practitioner.

Badass Normal: A brutal fighter for sure but in the Kiwami remake, he's one of the few boss fights to never use any of the mystical powers that a number of others do.
The Brute: All he really cares about is proving his strength and gaining respect. The state of the country and its people is of little consequence to him.
Combat Pragmatist: Uses a spear because he seems convinced that its reach makes it a superior weapon to mere swords. He then goes on to pull out a revolver as he claims that his willingness to fight dirty makes him stronger than any other member of the Shinsengumi.
Death from Above: After he's defeated by Ryoma, he perishes when a burning tower falls over right on top of him while he's too weakened to avoid it.
Dual Wielding: He's usually seen carrying a spear but he pulls out a revolver when it comes time to finally face him.
Foil: To the original Masato Aizawa from 5. Aizawa was hot-headed and rough-mannered at times but still managed to acquit himself as pretty honorable. Even after the reveal that it was all a deception, Kiryu still shows him a lot of respect for legitimately working hard to realize his dreams and visionary ambitions as savage as they are. Harada on the other hand never rises above being a selfish, vulgar brute. While his desire to prove his strength makes him similar to Aizawa, he's treated as significantly less important and much more pathetic, as he considers his pragmatatic approach to be what makes him strong in contrast to Aizawa who clearly prides himself on how hard he worked for his strength. Whereas, Aizawa's story ends with his narrow defeat and some respectful last words towards him. Harada is much more easily defeated and dismissed as a forgettable nobody before perishing in a pitiful fashion.
Glory Hound: Only joined the Shinsengumi to make a name for himself as a powerful warrior.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Has a new attack in the Kiwami remake in which he'll rush forward with an unblockable spear charge, skewering Ryoma on his spear, shooting at him twice before pulling the spear back out.
Jerkass: He's rather thuggish, showing little to no respect to any of his peers and working for the Shinsengumi primarily as a means of showing the world how powerful he is through violence.
- He's also plenty callous about the deaths of his fellow captains, dismissing them as weak and simply feeling bad for the officers who worked for them.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He's not wrong that losing so many captains in a short time span is terrible for the reputation nor just how demoralizing it is that their "so-called elites" can be taken down so quickly.
Karmic Death: Killed when a building he and his men set on fire collapses on top of him while he's injured and too weak to pull himself free.
Might Makes Right: He's obsessed with proving the might of his organization and his own, to the point he blindly follows Ito's deception believing that burning of Kyo will restore the Shinsengumi's fearsome reputation.
Small Name, Big Ego: Harada loves to talk highly of himself, even acting as if he was one of the original founding members of the Shinsengumi who followed Kondo from Edo (despite being a newer recruit and none of the Edo faction liking him all that much). This is completely destroyed when Ryoma defeats him and says Harada was nothing special, just a footnote in history barely worth mentioning.
Smug Snake: Dismissive of his fellow Captains and convinced that he's the strongest member of the Shinsengumi. Ryoma crushes that notion pretty quickly and dismisses him as nothing special.
Unskilled, but Strong: The reason why he uses a spear is the extra reach and because he is strong enough to swing it with one hand. He believes that's what make him the most powerful captain as the other rely on swordsmanship.
Villainous Breakdown: Spends his last moments begging Ryoma to help him before he's crushed to death by a burning building. This, after Ryoma dismissed him as a nobody not worth mentioning in his own story.
Weapon Twirling: Dextrous enough with his spear that he can do it one-handed. Justified as he's practiced fighting with a spear in one hand and a flintlock pistol in the other as mentioned above. It certainly makes for some damaging attacks that make it harder to approach and strike back during the boss fight against him.

Yamazaki Susumu

Yamazaki Susumu
Shadow Operative, Shinsengumi Inspector

Portrayed by: Hiroshi Kugihara (Nobutoshi Canna) (Original), Joon-gi Han (Yuichi Nakamura) (Remake)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yamazaki_2.png

Yamazaki as he appears in Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)

^{Original Version}

Shinsengumi Inspector tasked with assignments ordinary members can't be caught doing, such as espionage and interrogation.

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the remake, his original model, the zombie looking Kugihara was swapped out in favor of the much handsome Joon-gi Han.
He Knows Too Much: The fake Sakamoto breaks into Shinsengumi headquarters and kills him because Yamazaki is privy to a lot of secrets for his plans for Japan.
In the Back: His corpse is discovered with a stab wound on the back. Todo notes that he was too cautious and capable to be taken down like that so it might have been someone he trusted before he let his guard down.
Killed Offscreen: The fake Sakamoto kills him while the rest of the Shinsengumi are dealing with other problems.
Loves the Sound of Screaming: Likens the sound of his screaming prisoner to music.
The Mole: He's in Takechi's pocket and reported on Ryoma's whereabouts to the Loyalists, which was how Takechi was able to outmaneuver the Shinsengumi several times.
Perpetual Smiler: Basically never seen frowning.
Sadist: Uses torture to interrogate inmates but he definitely enjoys his work a little too much.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Hiroshi Kugihara from 5 who also took sadistic pleasure in torturing another. In the Kiwami remake he's instead one to Joon-gi Han, specifically for his appearance in 6 where he also displayed sadistic tendencies.
Torture Technician: He's the Shinsengumi's main interrogator, and as such he's in charge of torturing people to get the information he wants, using his brutal methods to inflict pain.

Yamanami Keisuke

Portrayed by: Isao Katsuragi (Fumihiko Tachiki) (Original), Masaru Sera (Tōru Ōkawa) (Remake)

Yamanami as he appears in Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)

^{Original Version}

Former Shinsengumi Third Division Captain and Tennen Rishin style swordsmanship practitioner.

Adaptational Attractiveness: Downplayed since they're both middle-aged men but Yamanami having Masaru Sera's Ken Watanabe-esque looks in the remake make him arguably more conventionally attractive compared to the likes of the Obviously Evil-looking Isao Katsuragi with his wider frog-like mouth and very large forehead.
Blade Spam: Downplayed to a realistic extent. He's capable of a swift series of stabs and slashes with one of the moves he gains after he loses enough health.
Grapple Move: After he Turns Red, he gains a new unique move in which he spreads his arms and slowly approaches Ryoma as if to hug him. Get too close and he'll snatch Ryoma by the neck and sock him in the gut a few times before slashing him.
Playing with Fire: After he Turns Red in the Kiwami remake, his Heat aura glows bright orange as his blade catches fire. His overhead slash in particular will light Ryoma on fire if it connects causing him to writhe and fall to the floor.
The Quiet One: He grunts and even speaks a little during his boss fight but never says a single word in cutscenes. Not that he gets more than a couple scenes to say anything.
Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Hijikata kills him for deserting Shinsengumi after Ryoma spares his life.
- Supposedly he was told he would be allowed to live if he killed Ryoma in their Duel to the Death. Whether or not that proposal would be honored becomes a moot point after Ryoma bests him anyway.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Isao Katsuragi. In the remake his likeness has been replaced by Masaru Sera's.
Sword and Fist: He's a master of Tennen Rishin but as mentioned above, his unique Grapple Move has him sock Ryoma in the gut a few times before slashing him.
Villainous Widow's Peak: Has one in all versions of the game.
Walking Spoiler: Exists to be killed off both to establish the ruthlessness of the Shinsengumi towards disloyalty as well as to "grant" Ryoma his new position as the Third Division Captain
We Hardly Knew Ye: Introduced without uttering a single word, defeated in a boss fight and executed seconds later. He isn't even introduced by name, with the game referring to him as "Man in White" for his boss battle.

The Bakufu

Tokugawa Yoshinobu

Tokugawa Yoshinobu
The Last Shogun, 15th Shogun of the Edo Bakufu

Portrayed by: Daigo Dojima (Satoshi Tokushige)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tokugawa.png

Tokugawa as he appears in Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)

Fifteenth Shogun of the Edo Bakufu.

Abdicate the Throne: Ryoma and his allies want him to do this to subvert a brewing civil war between the Bakufu and the Loyalist-leaning Satcho Alliance. After Ryoma beats Yoshinobu in a fight and he reads the letter the Shinsengumi drafted, he agrees.
Flechette Storm: During his fight, he throws some sort of throwing knife from afar.
Gratuitous Spanish: His boss theme, "La Muerte del Gobierno".^Translation:"The Death of the Government"
Kamehame Hadoken: In the remake, he's capable of firing a massive laser blast.
Reasonable Authority Figure: While he is suspicious of Ryoma at first, once they start talking, he finds himself amenable to the ideas laid out in Kondo's proposal for the Meiji Restoration.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To Daigo Dojima, having a similarly high level of authority and having to make tough decisions to do what's best for the people he leads.
Sword and Fist: He's a skilled swordsman but he'll also use kicks and flying knees, the latter of which showing resemblance to his modern incarnation's flying knee strike.

Sasaki Tadasaburo

Sasaki Tadasaburo
Rival police leader, Mimawarigumi

Portrayed by: Masaru Watase (Rintaro Nishi)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sasaki_90.png

Commander of the Mimawarigumi.

Blood Knight: Similar to Watase in 5, he sees the chaos caused by the Loyalist party as the perfect opportunity to personally go to war.
The Brute: Involved in Takechi's plans only for the sake of combat and warfare. His style of swordplay is some of the most unwieldly and brutish as well.
Co-Dragons: He and Ito serve as such to Takechi.
Flunky Boss: Never faces the heroes without a squad of Mimawarigumi troops to back him up.
Foil: Despite sharing his modern counterpart's predisposition of a Blood Knight, Tadasaburo places his personal want for war above his loyalty to the Tokugawa Shogunate, all too ready to betray the Shogun for Takechi's side. Watase, on the other hand, was utterly loyal to the Omi Alliance as a whole and wanted war for his own glory, as well as the Omi Alliance's. The Seventh Chairman betrayed Watase, unlike the opposite that happens in Ishin!
Inspector Javert: Briefly during the burning of Kyo, he rightfully suspects that members of the Shinsengumi are responsible. Unfortunately, this leads him to try and arrest Ryoma and Okita who've only just returned to town and are completely innocent, forcing them to fight him and his squad of Mimawarigumi.
Privileged Rival: Unlike the Shinsengumi which is made up of Ronin and lower-class samurai, the Mimawarigumi is comprised of Hatamoto who directly are retainers to the Bakufu.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: Commands the personal police force of the Bafuku and tough enough that, the two times he's fought as a boss fight, he never really suffers a true on-screen defeat, simply holding his ground after the scuffle while reinforcements arrive. Both times an ally of Ryoma has to stay behind to stall him and keep him from interfering further with their mission.
Shock and Awe: In the Kiwami remake, he can shoot Chain Lightning from his hands after he heats up. Pretty useful since you always have AI party members whenever you fight him.
Uncertain Doom: During the Tosa raid Nagakura stays behind to hold off Sasaki and the Mimawarigumi. Only Nagakura returns after the final boss fight, spattered with blood and well enough to toss Yamauchi around like a ragdoll.
Unskilled, but Strong: Much like Watase's hand-to-hand skills, Sasaki's sword technique is rather lacking in proper skill and finesse but it'll still cut clean through his foes all the same.
Villainous Valour: At the very least, Okita seems impressed by how he cares more about fighting strong enemies than class hierarchies or political agendas. Okita even remarks that they could have been friends under different circumstances.

Katsu Rintaro

Katsu Rinatro
Ambitious and Treacherous, Bakufu Navy Admiral

Portrayed by: Minoru Aoyama (Kenyuu Horiuchi) (Original), Masato Arakawa (Kosuke Toriumi) (Remake)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/katsu_1.png

Katsu as he appears in Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)

^{Original Version}

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the remake, he's played by Masato Arakawa, who's a lot younger and nicer looking, compared to the gaunt, middle-aged Aoyoma in the original.
Dark Is Evil: An ambitious, untrustworthy sort that wears black in all versions of the game.
Evil Genius: His scheming causes all sorts of problems for the heroes.
Karma Houdini: Has a hand in the planning behind the horrifying burning of the City of Kyo. We don't know if he ever gets any sort of comeuppance as detailed below.
Non-Action Guy: Despite being admiral of their military's navy and carrying around the requisite swords, it's never suggested that he can actually fight.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Minoru Aoyama. In the Kiwami remake he is instead one to Masato Arakawa, using his pre-Time Skip design. Presumably, both characters being lacking in physical ability is why they're used to portray a Non-Action Guy.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He completely disappears from the story around the last few chapters after Takechi plays his hand and reveals himself to Ryoma.

Unaffiliated

Nakaoka Shintaro

Nakaoka Shintaro
A Man Chasing the Truth, Tosan Samurai

Portrayed by: Makoto Date (Kazuhiro Yamaji)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nakaoka.png

A samurai from Tosa who is assigned by the new magistrate to investigate Yoshida's death, following Ryoma's trail to Kyo.

Cool Old Guy: An affable, intelligent older man who becomes a close ally of Ryoma and can even hold his own in a scuffle when surrounded by multiple armed foes as Ryoma notes.
Disney Death: He seemingly dies from his wounds during the raid on Omiya (where the historical Nakaoka was mortally wounded), but The Stinger shows that he survived and is writing Sakamoto Ryoma's biography under a pen name, and Otose mentions he's alive.
Hardboiled Detective: He serves as a Bakumatsu equivalent of one, being tasked with investigating Yoshida's death.
My Greatest Failure: He was in charge of security for the meeting between Toyo, Takechi, and Ryoma when the Magistrate was murdered, leading to Nakaoka getting fired and cast out of Tosa. He's taken the fall personally and joins Ryoma on his quest for revenge so as to settle his own score with the assassin.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Makoto Date.

Saigo Kichinosuke

Saigo Kichinosuke
Proud and Boisterous Man of War, Satsuma Military Commander

Portrayed by: Ryuji Goda (Masami Iwasaki)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saigo_6.png

Commander of the Satsuma Army.

Dual Boss: After Ryoma breaks up a rivalry fight between him and Katsura, the trio get into a fist fight with Ryoma having to fight the both of them.
Full-Frontal Assault: Gets into a fistfight with Ryoma inside of a bathhouse, with nothing but steam to cover up their private parts. Prior to the remake, the fight was probably one of the only things westerners knew about the game. It gets referenced in Kiwami as "Passionate Manly Bathhouse Battle".
Good Old Fisticuffs: In contrast to Ryoma, he's as much of an unwieldly brawler as Ryuji Goda though his huge size and Super Armor still make him a force to be reckoned with.
Heroes Love Dogs: He's quick to save a dog from being attacked by thugs, and quickly takes a shine to the canine. Even when the dog bites him, he laughs it off and commends the dog's bravery, declaring it a new ally of Satsuma. This is a Historical In-Joke based on the fact that the real Saigo Takamori was a huge dog person, having personally kept many in his house, to the point where one of his most famous statues depicts him with his dog at his side.
The Idiot from Osaka: Invoked. He's not dumb, but he deliberately speaks with a thick kansai dialect to keep a low profile, Handwaving why the character shares the same accent as his "actor" Ryuji Goda despite being from Satsuma.
Mythology Gag: The scene of him saving a dog from a bunch of thugs is taken straight from Yakuza although with some obvious differences.
- The wall of the bathhouse he's initially fought in depicts a golden dragon on the wall. While it's obviously not the same design perse, it's still similar to the one Ryuji Goda had tattoo'd on his back in modern times.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: Commander of a region's army with a whole lot of personal muscle to back up that authority. In a cutscene he also displays enough skill with the blade to clash evenly with Master Swordsman Katsura Kogoro.
Shock and Awe: When he heats up in the Kiwami remake, some of his attacks gain a shocking, electrical effect that stuns Ryoma and sends him to the floor.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Ryuji Goda.

Niibori Matsusuke/Katsura Kogoro

Niibori Matsusuke/Katsura Kogoro
Streetwise Intelligence Dealer, Choshu Samurai

Portrayed by: Shun Akiyama (Kōichi Yamadera)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/niibori.png

Samurai of Choshu. Leader of the Choshu Loyalist Party that wants to restore rule to the Emperor of Japan.

Badass Normal: In the Kiwami remake, he's one of the few major boss fights that never displays any supernatural abilities beyond his incredible agility and overall fighting ability. It especially stands out when he's fighting alongside Saigo who displays electrical abilities.
Degraded Boss: An odd example but a number of katana wielding mini-bosses sharing his fighting style pop up in the series but from 6 onwards rather than this game where Katsura first introduces the moveset.
Dual Boss: After Ryoma breaks up a rivalry fight between him and Saigo, the trio get into a fist fight with Ryoma having to fight the both of them.
The Fettered: Leader of the Choshu Loyalists, but he's not desperate enough to set a city on fire to accomplish his goals the way Yoshida Toshimaro is, considering the whole idea to be terrible, messy, and unnecessary. He even plotted to have the plans leaked just to ensure that the Shinsengumi prevent the plans from ever following through.
Extremity Extremist: As expected of someone portrayed by Akiyama, if he fights barehanded he relies primarily on quick legwork. Even his swordfighting technique mixes in kicks.
Genius Bruiser: Katsura's genius-level intellect is brought up often but he's also famous for his swordsmanship. Even unarmed, he can throw down with the best.
I Have Many Names: He goes by Niibori before his true identity as Katsura is revealed. In the epilogue, he takes the name Kido Takayoshi as a minister in the Meiji government.
Master Swordsman: Katsura is famous enough that Shinpachi recognizes him by name. Specifically he's a Shindo Munen master known for his speed.
Moveset Clone: When he's unarmed, he fights identically to Akiyama from modern times.
Red Baron: Known as "Slippery Kogoro" for his quick, flexible fighting style (as well as his ability to quickly get himself out of a jam and avoid capture).
Smoking Is Cool: Just like the character portraying him. He's got a fondness for smoking and is sometimes seen with a kiseru in hand.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Shun Akiyama.
Sword and Fist: He incorporates Akiyama's signature kicks into his Shindo Munen.

Yoshida Toshimaro

Yoshida Toshimaro
Samurai of Choshu

Portrayed by: Kanai Kamon (Hideo Ishikawa) (Original), Futoshi Shimano (Naomi Kusumi) (Remake)

One of the highest ranking members of the Choshu Loyalist Party. He's one of the biggest names behind the proposed plan to set fire to the city of Kyo as part of a ploy to "liberate" the Emperor from the Shogunate during the chaos.

The Brute: One of the largest named characters and boss fights in the storyline and strong enough that he manages to overpower and injure Nagakura. He doesn't have much personality beyond that. All we have to go on is what is said of him and apparently he was spearheading the plan to set fire to the city of Kyo so he's definitely pretty radical to say the least.
Carry a Big Stick: Carries a massive all-metal kanabo to fight and he's very skilled with it, having killed several Shinsengumi grunts and even left Nagakura wounded.
Flat Character: He exists primarily as a boss fight and that's about it. The most characterization he actually gets is what is said about him prior to even meeting him: He's a high-ranking Loyalist and an extremist. That's it. He doesn't even get a single line of dialogue in cutscenes.
Irony: In the original version of Ishin, he's based on Kamon Kanai and he's technically a subordinate of Katsura Kogoro who's based on Shun Akiyama. In 5 where both Kanai and Akiyama appear, they're Arch-Enemies to one another and never would have cooperated together. Becomes much less ironic and more fitting when it's revealed that Katsura disagreed with Yoshida's radical plans and even arranged the events that would lead to his defeat by the Shinsengumi.
- Also present in a completely different way in the new Kiwami remake. Shimano was one of the series' loudest, hammiest bad guys but his likeness is used for the role of a reserved Silent Antagonist.
King Mook: Fights almost identically to the bulkier kanabo-wielding mooks and minibosses though he's tougher and more dangerous.
Shock and Awe: In the remake, once he heats up, his kanabo is imbued with electricity and some of his attacks can paralyze Ryoma now.
Silent Antagonist: Similar to Kamon Kanai, he's a lethally strong mountain of a man and doesn't have a single line of dialogue in cutscenes further adding to his imposing presence. He does grunt, roar, and speak a bit in battle though.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Kanai Kamon from 5 who was also rather quiet. In the Kiwami remake he is instead one to Futoshi Shimano, who possessed a similarly large, bulky build.
Unskilled, but Strong: Strong enough to send grown men flying with a single swing of his kanabo and even subdue Nagakura. However, his wild swings leave him pretty open at times, even stumbling about at points. Still, some of his combos end with a deceptively delayed back-swing that can catch you unaware if you assume too early that he's vulnerable.
Walking Shirtless Scene: He is introduced with his torso uncovered (except with a lot of blood) and nary a wound despite having fought several Shinsengumi members.

Narasaki Oryo

Narasaki Oryo
Attendant at Teradaya

Portrayed by: Nanami Sakuraba (Original), Yuki (Manami Sugihira) (Remake)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oryo.png

^{Original Version}

An attendant working at Teradaya, an inn in Kyo that Ryoma takes up residence in during his hunt for the masked man.

The Atoner: She helps plan the Omiya raid as a means of making up for spying on Ryoma for his imposter, and even lights the signal fire for the Shinsengumi to launch their attack.
Ascended Extra: The remake gives her Yuki's face and voice, promoting a side quest character to a main character.
Everyone Can See It: She has a major crush on Ryoma/Saito, and does a pretty bad job of covering it up.
Nice Girl: Oryo is a sweetheart that goes out of her way to provide hospitality to anyone that needs it, even wanted criminals like the fake Ryoma (at first).
The Mole: She's spying on Ryoma for his imposter, but when she realizes the imposter Sakamoto is not who he says he is, she stops.
You Killed My Father: Oryo hates the Shinsengumi and groups like them because her father was murdered by a Bakufu official when she was younger. Naturally she gets very upset when Ryoma/Saito joins them and becomes a captain though she relents when he tell her that as a captain, he could use his authority to turn the group into a more benevolent one.

Otose

Otose
Proprietress of Teradaya

Portrayed by: Mirei Park (Romi Park)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/otose.png

The innkeeper at Teradaya. She lets Ryoma stay at the inn despite his ever increasing tab.

The Atoner: She helps plot the assassination of the imposter Sakamoto to atone for her failure to warn the actual Ryoma that Oryo was spying on him.
Been There, Shaped History: She's one of the main organizers of the raid on Omiya, where the historical Sakamoto Ryoma was killed.
Shipper on Deck: She encourages Ryoma and Oryo's blooming relationship.

Ikumatsu

Ikumatsu
An Intriguing Beauty

Portrayed by: Hana (Aya Hirano)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ikumatsu.png

Cannot Spit It Out: Ikumatsu's Imagine Spot during her karaoke song implies she has a similar relationship with Niibori as Hana has with Akiyama, loving him from the shadows while he's too busy/dense to realize her feelings.
Damsel in Distress: Takeda takes her hostage after shooting Todo, and Ryoma has to rescue her when he comes seeking to silence Takeda.

Haruka

Portrayed by: Haruka Sawamura (Rie Kugimiya)

A young girl who was tragically orphaned and saddled with debt that threatens to see her forced to live on the streets.

Demoted to Extra: Rather than a major character in the main story as in previous Like A Dragon games, here Haruka only features as part of the optional "Another Life" side story and doesn't have any impact on the plot.

Yae

Yamamoto Yae

Portrayed by: Miss Tatsu (Miho Fujisawa)

A moneylender in Kyo, who enlists Ryoma's help in dealing with some shady loan sharks.

Action Girl: A very rare example from this game, but she actually does get involved in combat and is a good shot with her musket.
Alliterative Name: Yamamoto Yae.
Born Lucky: Goes on an improbable winning streak in cho-han in order to buy back one of her clients, reminiscent of the one Kiryu and Haruka pulled off in Yakuza.
But Now I Must Go: Leaves Kyo at the end of her side stories to pursue an education in Edo.
The Dreaded: Just like the character she's portrayed by, Yae's reputation precedes her, and other loan sharks know to not get on her bad side.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Miss Tatsu from Yakuza 0, albeit with a different fighting style. People on her "shitlist" even call her that.

Komaki

Komaki Munemitsu

Portrayed by: Sotaro Komaki (Jun Orihara)

The proprietor of the Komaki Dojo in Fushimi. He is Ryoma's Brawler instructor.

Old Master: Much like his canon counterpart, he's the creator of the Komaki school of martial arts, and is quite the powerhouse when Ryoma eventually squares off against him in spite of his advanced age.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Komaki from the main Like A Dragon games.

Ginryu

Ginryu / Ayanokoji Kimiyoshi

Portrayed by: Leo Ayanokoji

The proprietor of the Ginryu Dojo in Rakunai. He is Ryoma's Swordsman and Wild Dancer instructor.

Blade Enthusiast: The only payment he asks for for his lessons is to see increasingly rare swords.
Foil: Compared to his canon counterpart, while both of them are weapon enthusiasts and skilled with multiple weapons, Ginryu is a real aristocrat as opposed to Leo who just dresses like one. Additionally, Ginryu is not happy about being in a noble family, as he'd rather be running his dojo, while Leo is happy with his life of luxury.
Heir to the Dojo: Train with Ginryu enough, and Ryoma will learn from his other disciples that he is under pressure from his family to give up the dojo and enter into an Arranged Marriage, leaving Ginryu scrambling for an heir. Ginryu wants it to be Ryoma, who's not interested, while the rest of his students want it to be Heinosuke, the top swordsman of the dojo before Ryoma showed up.

William Bradley

An American man who came to Kyo seeking revenge for the murder of his brother. He is Ryoma's Gunman instructor.

Canon Foreigner: One of a few important NPCs to not be represented by a member of the Universal-Adaptor Cast.
Cowboy: He's designed along the archetype.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: It's possible for Ryoma to first encounter Bradley before he joins the Shinsengumi at the end of Chapter 3; however, Bradley will act as if he's already joined.
The Gunslinger: As one would expect given his role as the Gunman instructor.
Revenge: The reason he's in Japan at all is to get revenge on the Urayama Company, who killed his brother.
Southern-Fried Genius: He's from Texas and is a pretty smart guy, given that he was able to get intel on Ryoma before the two have even met.
The Unfought: Subverted. Unlike Komaki and Ginryu, whom you need to fight to learn the final techniques of their styles, Bradley is not fought as part of Ryoma's Gunman training... but he is an opponent in the Arena.

Thomas Glover (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Thomas Glover

Portrayed by: Andre Richardson (Jeff Gedert)

A British merchant supplying arms and munitions to the Satcho Alliance and Tosa Loyalist rebels ahead of the coming Civil War.

Arms Dealer: Eagerly takes advantage of both Japan's suddenly open markets and the brewing tensions within Japanese society by selling Western firearms and munitions to anti-Shogunate rebel groups.
Evil Brit: Behaves like a typical 19th-century 'sneering imperialist' archetype, although the real life Thomas Glover was Scottish rather than generically British.
Evil Colonialist: Glover is a key conspirator in a plot to turn Japan into a British colony and looks down on the Japanese as “backward savages” while championing the superiority of Western innovation over Japanese Spirit.
Flunky Boss: Has an entire platoon of armed British soldiers to support him during his boss fight against Ryoma and Okita.
Guns Akimbo: Two flintlock pistols.
Gun Fu: One must wonder how a British Colonist picked up such acrobatic gunplay.
The Man Behind the Man: Besides supplying the Tosa and Satcho with Western firearms, Glover also acts as a liaison between Lord Yamauchi and the British government in Yamauchi's plot to colonize Japan for Britain.
Moveset Clone: As you might've expected, he fights identically to Andre Richardson from 3though unlike Richardson in 3, he won't be switching to a shotgun.
Playing with Fire: Once he loses enough health in the Kiwami remake, he'll gain red fiery heat aura and some of his shots will set his enemies on fire, sending them to the floor writhing.
Surprisingly Good Foreign Language: Can speak fluent Japanese. By contrast, the man whose appearance he was based on spoke purely in English, although Richardson is at least implied to still understand Japanese.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Andre Richardson, even sharing a near identical role in the story.
Token Evil Teammate: In a game with multiple of depictions of white Caucasian foreigners from either Britain or America, Thomas Glover being the only truly malevolent example stands out.
Token Minority: The only non-Asian member of the cast playing a major role in the main storyline.
Uncertain Doom: Okita stays behind during the Tosa raid to hold off Glover and the rest of the British. Okita returns covered in even more blood than usual after the final boss fight.

Yamauchi Yodo (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Yamauchi Yodo

Portrayed by: Kyohei Jingu (Hiroaki Yoshida)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yamauchi_2.png

The daimyo of Tosa, whom Yoshida Toyo once served under. An ambitious, power-hungry lord who will do anything to further his own personal status, his rule over Tosa has resulted in the perpetuation of the class system that the Loyalist Party was founded to abolish. He holds major influence over the plot of the game.

Chekhov's Gunman: Yamauchi is mentioned a few times throughout the story, but the full extent of his involvement in the plot isn't revealed until the last twenty minutes of the game.
Dirty Coward: Yodo tries to kill Ryoma and Takechi when they're both injured and exhausted after an extended night of fighting, using a gun instead of a sword. When that fails he tries to flee, only to get caught by the Shinsengumi. He spends his last moments pathetically begging Ryoma and company for mercy, offering them power and fame in his new puppet government if they'll let him go.
Greater-Scope Villain: He is the real cause of all the problems in the story, and the reason behind the formation of the Loyalist Party in the first place.
Hate Sink: A smug, classist, treasonous bastard who manipulated countless people in his scheme to sell Japan to the highest bidder. Not helping his cause is that Yodo is "played" by Kyohei Jingu, an equally reprehensible villain from Yakuza 1.
The Quisling: His ultimate goal is to sell out Japan to the British as a colony with the hopes that they'll make him a Puppet King.
Smug Snake: Just like his likeness, Kyohei Jingu, Yodo is a smug, condescending asshole whose words are dripping with arrogance and inflated superiority.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Kyohei Jingu.
The Unfought: Yamauchi doesn't get a boss fight against Ryoma, and is executed in the very same cutscene he's officially introduced in.
Villainous Breakdown: When Sakamoto pulls a No-Sell on his gunshots, he tries to flee, only to run into Nagakura who tosses him effortlessly to the ground as Okita and Hijikata arrive and surround him. He then begs pathetically for his life, pleading for Sakamoto to see things his way. "Saito" replies that there's no one named "Sakamoto Ryoma" currently in the room with them, and executes him while giving him "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Tries to pull this on Takechi once he is defeated by shooting him and intending to kill both him and Sakamoto should they refuse his offer. Key word is tries, as he greatly underestimates Sakamoto and his allies.

Nobuyasu Sanada/Sodachi

Portrayed by: Yasuo Sodachi (Takahiro Kageyama)

The leader of the Sanada Party. The final boss of the Dungeon sub quest.

Brought Down to Normal: After giving Sakamoto a hell of a fight, he gets his powers absorbed by Amon before his rematch with Sakamoto.
Mighty Glacier: He's strong and hits super hard. Blocking can only go so far against him.
The Worf Effect: He's dispatched easily by Amon with a sword that steals powers from its target. It's hinted that he lost all strength because of this and this will pass on to his sons and bloodline.

Amon Genjosai

Portrayed by: Jo Amon (Yasuhiko Tanabe)

A mysterious warrior who confronts Ryoma after he's finished the Battle Dungeon.

Anachronism Stew: He wears aviator sunglasses, which would only be invented 70 years after the events of the game.
Cool Sword: Aside from being an extremely stylish katana, it also has the ability to consume the power of those cut by it and transfer it to the wielder.
Sinister Shades: He wears sunglasses, and much every member of the Amon clan, he's up to no good.
Sophisticated as Hell: He usually speaks in the expected dramatic fashion of the Amon Clan... but also tells Ryoma to go fuck himself after being defeated for the second time.
Superboss: Like every Amon before him, he serves as this game's superboss that only the most highly leveled and skilled players can defeat.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Jo Amon.

Characters / Like a Dragon: Ishin!

Edit Locked

Sakamoto Ryōma/Saito Hajime

Portrayed by: Kazuma Kiryu (Takaya Kuroda)

Tosa Loyalist Party

Takechi HanpeitaBrother and Revolutionary, Founder of the Tosa Loyalist Party

Voiced by: Katsunori Takahashi (Original), Keiji Shibusawa (Hideo Nakano) (Remake)

Yoshida ToyoFather to Orphans and Feared Disciplinarian, Tosa Domain Magistrate

Portrayed by: Shintaro Kazama (Unshō Ishizuka)

Okada IzoDevoted Swordsman and Dreaded Butcher, Tosa Loyalist Party

Portrayed by: Akira Nishikiyama (Kazuhiro Nakaya)

Shinshengumi

Kondo IsamiThe Faceless Leader, Shinsengumi Chief

Portrayed by: Eiichiro Funakoshi (Original), Koichi Adachi (Akio Ōtsuka) (Remake)

Hijikata ToshizoThe Icy and Merciless Commander, Shinsengumi Deputy Chief

Portrayed by: Yoshitaka Mine (Shido Nakamura II)

Ito KashitaroMastermind of the Shinsengumi, Shinsengumi Advisor

Portrayed by: Goh Hamazaki (George Takahashi) (Original), Daisaku Kuze (Hitoshi Ozawa) (Remake)

Okita Soji/Hirayama GoroThe Mad Samurai, Captain of the First Division

Portrayed by: Goro Majima (Hidenari Ugaki), Takuro Ono (real Okita; Original), Jun Oda (Katsuyuki Konishi) (real Okita; Remake)

Nagakura Shinpachi/Hirama JusukeMan of Principle, Captain of the Second Division

Portrayed by: Taiga Saejima (Rikiya Koyama), Saito (Masato Obara) (real Nagakura)

Matsubara ChujiThe Honest Lawman, Captain of the Fourth Division

'Portrayed by: Yu Morinaga (Hiroki Tochi)

Takeda KanryusaiDiscreet Tactician, Captain of the Fifth Division

Portrayed by: Hiroshi Hayashi (Shun Sugata) (Original), Hiroki Awano (Riki Takeuchi) (Remake)

Inoue Genzaburo/Serizawa KamoWizened Master, Captain of the Sixth Division

Portrayed by: Osamu Kashiwagi (Shunsuke Sakuya), Fumiya Ushijima (Hideyuki Umezu) (real Inoue)

Tani SanjuroReckless Hedonist, Captain of the Seventh Division

Portrayed by: Yahata (Kenji Hamada) (Original), Akira Mabuchi (Masanori Takeda) (Remake)

Todo HeisukeFresh-faced Cutthroat, Captain of the Eight Division

Portrayed by: Shigeki Baba (Shunsuke Daito) (Original), Tianyou Zhao (Nobuhiko Okamoto) (Remake)

Suzuki MikisaburoMiserly Profiteer, Captain of the Ninth Division

Portrayed by: Kan Ogita (Ryota Takeuchi) (Original), Kanji Koshimizu (Ayumi Tanida) (Remake)

Harada SanosukeBrutal Roughneck, Captain of the Tenth Division

Portrayed by: Masato Aizawa (Hiroki Yasumoto)

Yamazaki SusumuShadow Operative, Shinsengumi Inspector

Portrayed by: Hiroshi Kugihara (Nobutoshi Canna) (Original), Joon-gi Han (Yuichi Nakamura) (Remake)

Yamanami Keisuke

Portrayed by: Isao Katsuragi (Fumihiko Tachiki) (Original), Masaru Sera (Tōru Ōkawa) (Remake)

The Bakufu

Tokugawa YoshinobuThe Last Shogun, 15th Shogun of the Edo Bakufu

Portrayed by: Daigo Dojima (Satoshi Tokushige)

Sasaki TadasaburoRival police leader, Mimawarigumi

Portrayed by: Masaru Watase (Rintaro Nishi)

Katsu RinatroAmbitious and Treacherous, Bakufu Navy Admiral

Portrayed by: Minoru Aoyama (Kenyuu Horiuchi) (Original), Masato Arakawa (Kosuke Toriumi) (Remake)

Unaffiliated

Nakaoka ShintaroA Man Chasing the Truth, Tosan Samurai

Portrayed by: Makoto Date (Kazuhiro Yamaji)

Saigo KichinosukeProud and Boisterous Man of War, Satsuma Military Commander

Portrayed by: Ryuji Goda (Masami Iwasaki)

Niibori Matsusuke/Katsura KogoroStreetwise Intelligence Dealer, Choshu Samurai

Portrayed by: Shun Akiyama (Kōichi Yamadera)

Yoshida ToshimaroSamurai of Choshu

Portrayed by: Kanai Kamon (Hideo Ishikawa) (Original), Futoshi Shimano (Naomi Kusumi) (Remake)

Narasaki OryoAttendant at Teradaya

Portrayed by: Nanami Sakuraba (Original), Yuki (Manami Sugihira) (Remake)

OtoseProprietress of Teradaya

Portrayed by: Mirei Park (Romi Park)

IkumatsuAn Intriguing Beauty

Portrayed by: Hana (Aya Hirano)

Haruka

Portrayed by: Haruka Sawamura (Rie Kugimiya)

Yamamoto Yae

Portrayed by: Miss Tatsu (Miho Fujisawa)

Komaki Munemitsu

Portrayed by: Sotaro Komaki (Jun Orihara)

Ginryu / Ayanokoji Kimiyoshi

Portrayed by: Leo Ayanokoji

William Bradley

Thomas Glover

Portrayed by: Andre Richardson (Jeff Gedert)

Yamauchi Yodo

Portrayed by: Kyohei Jingu (Hiroaki Yoshida)

Portrayed by: Yasuo Sodachi (Takahiro Kageyama)

Portrayed by: Jo Amon (Yasuhiko Tanabe)

Previous

Index

Next

Takechi Hanpeita
Brother and Revolutionary, Founder of the Tosa Loyalist Party

Yoshida Toyo
Father to Orphans and Feared Disciplinarian, Tosa Domain Magistrate

Okada Izo
Devoted Swordsman and Dreaded Butcher, Tosa Loyalist Party

Kondo Isami
The Faceless Leader, Shinsengumi Chief

Hijikata Toshizo
The Icy and Merciless Commander, Shinsengumi Deputy Chief

Ito Kashitaro
Mastermind of the Shinsengumi, Shinsengumi Advisor

Okita Soji/Hirayama Goro
The Mad Samurai, Captain of the First Division

Nagakura Shinpachi/Hirama Jusuke
Man of Principle, Captain of the Second Division

Matsubara Chuji
The Honest Lawman, Captain of the Fourth Division

Takeda Kanryusai
Discreet Tactician, Captain of the Fifth Division

Inoue Genzaburo/Serizawa Kamo
Wizened Master, Captain of the Sixth Division

Tani Sanjuro
Reckless Hedonist, Captain of the Seventh Division

Todo Heisuke
Fresh-faced Cutthroat, Captain of the Eight Division

Suzuki Mikisaburo
Miserly Profiteer, Captain of the Ninth Division

Harada Sanosuke
Brutal Roughneck, Captain of the Tenth Division

Yamazaki Susumu
Shadow Operative, Shinsengumi Inspector

Tokugawa Yoshinobu
The Last Shogun, 15th Shogun of the Edo Bakufu

Sasaki Tadasaburo
Rival police leader, Mimawarigumi

Katsu Rinatro
Ambitious and Treacherous, Bakufu Navy Admiral

Nakaoka Shintaro
A Man Chasing the Truth, Tosan Samurai

Saigo Kichinosuke
Proud and Boisterous Man of War, Satsuma Military Commander

Niibori Matsusuke/Katsura Kogoro
Streetwise Intelligence Dealer, Choshu Samurai

Yoshida Toshimaro
Samurai of Choshu

Narasaki Oryo
Attendant at Teradaya

Otose
Proprietress of Teradaya

Ikumatsu
An Intriguing Beauty