Description / Lore
Main image of Hachisuka Koroku.
Hachisuka Koroku as a boss.
Hachisuka Koroku is a military commander who served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He is the leader of the Kawanami, a powerful clan that made its fortune providing water transportation along the Kiso River.
The Kawanami clan was a group of Nigitama, Yokai who mean no harm, led by the Shiftling Koroku. However, when the effects of war reached Sunomata, the Yokai turned violent and scattered.
Koroku meets Tokichiro and the protagonist when Tokichiro enlists his aid in bidding a castle in Sunomata. Tokichiro uses his power to soothe the raging Kamaitachi, making it a Nigitama once more, and the rest of the clan follows suit, returning to Sunomata. Koroku and his band of Yokai end up forming the nucleus of the Hideyoshi army.
When the protagonist and Tokichiro part ways, Koroku chooses to stay on Tokichiro's side. During the battle of Komaki and Nagakute, Tokichiro is possessed by the man with the staff and transforms Koroku and the entirety of the Kawanami clan into crazed aratama. Koroku confronts the protagonist in this deranged state, and is ultimately defeated.
Koroku is later reunited with the protagonist in the interim where he apologizes profusely for attacking the protagonist. Koroku then requests a proper fight with the protagonist, after which he moves on to the next plane, though not before promising that they will meet again.