Kagetoki Kariya
An elite samurai working for the Shogunate. Kariya has not drawn his sword in quite some time being that there hasn’t been an opponent worthy of him in years, according to Goroujuu, a member of the Shogun’s council who visits him. Upon learning of Sara’s death, he determines that Mugen and Jin must be worthy adversaries, and brings himself out of retirement in order to face them. Although employed by the Shogunate, his truer motives are to use the government to further his own needs since the age of the samurai is ending.
His calm and collected demeanor hides a cold and manipulative personality. Kariya attempted to gain control of the Mujushin Dojo and is the one responsible for ordering Mariya Enshirou to kill Jin. He is ordered to seek out and kill Kasumi Seizou, the Sunflower Samurai, for his role in the Shimabara Rebellion as well as Kasumi’s heir—Fuu. Regarded amongst his peers as “The Hand Of The Gods” for his divine skills, being said that there is possibly no one in existence capable of defeating him, he is arguably the strongest fighter in the “Champloo Universe.” He fights Mugen and Jin simultaneously, easily handling Mugen’s fighting style and defeating Jin in a standoff. Similar to Shouryuu yet even more powerful, he is a master of his ki and is able to use it with great force both offensively and defensively, and to an almost supernatural level, hardly making anyone his equal (though Kariya admits that Jin is closer to his level than any opponent he has faced in years, but still the lesser, by a paper-thin margin).
As Fuu is finally running towards the hut where her father is, a vision of Kariya appears in front of her, with his quote about the scent of sunflowers. He could be said to be the ‘perfect Samurai’ Fuu imagined her father as, though his actions in seeking Fuu’s death after killing her father show this ideal to be as non-existent as Kariya states.
Jin finally defeats Kariya by sacrificing his own body to breach Kariya’s defense. The move Jin uses to kill Kariya was the last technique taught to him by his master, Mariya Enshirou. Although Mariya described the technique as suicidal, Jin manages to survive.
