Muramasa

Muramasa is a master swordsman and a former member of the Mibu Clan. He is  Demon Eyes Kyo's teacher and mentor.

Appearance
He has blond hair, blue eyes e wears a blue and white kimono. He equips two swords (in the past). After using sei, he has long blond hair

Personality
He has a kind and gentle personality, that allows him to make friends with people and animals

This thanks also to Satori. In fact, when it appears in the manga there are birds on his shoulder (but one of them remains afterwards during the story. His name is Ruri. See profile's colour image)

He take care on Kyo, that he loves as a son (Kyo himself saw in Muramasa a father figure and was upset by his death)

Story
He was a former Taishirou (he was the head of them). He carries a heavy burden of guilt for what the Mibu have done and, in Kyo, he saw the fall of the Mibu'. He left the Mibu with Kyo to teach him Mumyo Jinpuu Ryu and he loves him as a son (Kyo was then called the Demon Child' due to the unknown manner of his birth and the fact that as soon as he was born, the Mibu stopped being able to have children).

After leaving the Mibu Clan, Muramasa married a woman named Mayumi and stayed with her and her younger sister, Mahiro, in the mountains. He finally finds happiness with Mayumi but it is short-lived, as she is assassinated. Mahiro at first believes it was Kyo and thus swears to kill him, but it is later revealed to be Chinmei. Muramasa is several hundred years old, but appears young due to a technique called "Sei", used by Mibu elders to stay alive indefinitely. Unfortunately for Muramasa, even his Sei is being wasted away by a deadly illness. The illness is later reveal to be called the Death disease, a design flaw in all Mibu constructs. The disease disintegrates their bodies. After helping Kyo in his mission, he dies of the disease and crumbles away into the wind above his wife's grave. Before catching the Death Disease, Muramasa was probably the most powerful Mibu. Even Kyo admits that Muramasa was above him.

Death
Muramasa dies shortly after teaching Kyo the True Mumyo Jinpuu Ryu. Muramasa fades away into the wind while he and Yuyaare drinking tea and watching the flowers on the tree next to his house bloom. Kyo sees his passing and is deeply disturbed.

Powers and Abilities
Muramasa is a blacksmith and the maker of the famous Muramasa swords (crafted Kyo's, Sasuke's and Benitora's legendary weapons).

He is also a powerful swordsman, as strong as Kyo.

He is a master of Mumyo Jinpuu Ryu and taugh it to Demon Eyes Kyo and Kyoshiro Mibu. He was able to master every technique except for the Kouryu, the ultimate attack (as he explained in a flashback until the end of volume 36)

1) Sei
A technique that is part the restorative arts known as "So". This is one of the more advanced techniques and makes the user appear young and healthy. Works as a sort of temporary regeneration/revitalization. It restores the user's energy, negating the effects/symptoms (but not curing) deadly illnesses, and even canceling the user's senses to pain for a while.

2) Satori
 The power  to see through a person's heart and to 'hear' what they are thinking. Strong thoughts are like shouts, and easy to hear, while unfocused ones are like whispers, and more difficult to hear, and he can only hear what a person is thinking on the surface: deeper, concealed thoughts are hidden from him. He can use this to 'hear' what an opponent is thinking in battle, enabling him to time his own moves with the opponents to a much greater extent. It can be compared to One Piece's Kenbunshoku Haki (also known as Mantra, in this case)




 * Body-bind: Muramasa enters the mind of his target and places a "body-bind" on them, immobilizing and making them unable to move. The drawback is that it can be overpowered if the target has sufficiently strong will.

3) Mumyo Jinpuu Ryuu Satsujin Ken (Lightless Divine Wind Style Killer Sword)
Mumyo Jinpu Ryu is Muramasa sword style and encompasses both physical kenjutsu and powerful wind techniques. Muramasa wield it with gentle and precise skill. Satsujin Ken encompass the basic techniques


 * Mizuchi_2.jpgMizuchi: The most basic form. Muramasa launches a deadly wind at the enemy. The wind continues slicing away at the victim until nothing visible of their body remains. The attack's nature negates the efforts of the victim to regenerate or heal themselves.


 * Shinkiro (aka Shin) : The user creates visual illusions, even turning illusions back on foes who had originally cast them. Also, the illusions of Shin are capable of mildly damaging attacks to harass the enemy.

4) Mumyo Jimpuu Ryuu Ougi
The advanced techniques in the Mumyou Jinpu Ryu. The techniques are based on Shishin, the four general attacking styles: Suzaku (the red phoenix), Byakko (the white tiger), Genbu (the black tortoise) and Seiryu (the azure dragon)


 * Suzaku: A very powerful attack with incredible speed. Muramasa shoots a flaming phoenix that slices, rams, and pulverizes the target with great force. He can even ride along within the Suzaku to initiate the attack up close and personal if he so chooses. If the foe is much weaker, then this attack can even deprive them of their regeneration. If the Suzaku is defeated by the enemy then it revives itself from destruction to attack once more. The exceptions to this resurrection occurring are if the Muramasa is too weakened to form the Suzaku correctly at its full power or if the strength difference between the Suzaku and the opponent's rejoindering attack are simply too great.


 * Byakko: Muramasa creates a white tiger which he launches at the foe. If the strike of the tiger's first claw misses, then the opponent is dragged in by the second claw and ripped apart by the beast's fangs. Like Suzaku, the attack can be used from a distance or the user can travel inline with Byakko to carry out the attack up close and personal.


 * Genbu: A black tortoise entwined with serpents made of wind. It functions simultaneously as an offensive and defensive move. The user surrounds themselves in a dome/sphere (the tortoise's shell) to block an incoming attack. Meanwhile, the serpents can then bind and destroy the enemy.


 * Seiryuu: More than a dozen Mizuchi are projected toward an opponent and surround him, eventually merging to create an immobilizing and destructive whirlwind that pulls the opponent into the heavens where the waiting Muramasa (in the form of the legendary blue dragon) descends to deliver a powerful blow.

5) Red Eyes
Muramasa can call out to the Mibu blood within him for significant boost in power, which changes his eyes to crimson red

6) Soul "Awakening"
The spirits of Fubuki, Hishigi and Muramasa gather to wake up Julian, Shinrei, Hotaru and Yuan (who were "turned off" by the Sendai Aka no Ou).

Differences between Anime and Manga
When Muramasa dies in the anime, he dies while being with Yuya and Kyo watching from the side. In the manga he dies giving Kyo parting advice while turning to dust (during this time Yuya has been brought away by Bontenmaru, and Bontenmaru doesn't even appear in the anime).

Trivia
Although it was Kyo's teacher, Muramasa was not able to evocate the true form of Mumyo Jimpuu Ryuu: Kouryuu (the Golden Wind). This because he never reached / released (in battle) his full potential (or "the Power of Faith", see Demon Eyes Kyo Techniques)