Matsukaze

Matsukaze (松風 or 谷風), which means "wind in the pines" or "wind in the bath", is Keiji's beloved horse in folktales and legends. He was born through a selective breeding of only the finest horses available.

In the Samurai Warriors series, he is the strongest and fastest horse with the best overall stats. In Samurai Warriors 3, it is one of the rare horses in the game.

Background Info
A popular tale says that Keiji obtained it when he was planning to leave the Maeda clan. He and his uncle were previously drinking piping hot tea and chatting about their daily activities. Through their brief exchange, Keiji noticed his stringent uncle's words, though proper, had a distinct hint of hostility towards him. Once his uncle began to shuffle a bit, Keiji stated that the tea must have been too hot and offered to prepare a cool bath for him. Toshiie agreed and left while Keiji made preparations.

Left alone with his thoughts, Keiji became furious and threw in the coldest water from the well into the bath. He roughly told a servant that his uncle's bath was ready and hastily left from the mansion. On his way out, he passed by the family stables and spotted Matsukaze. Keiji angrily bellowed that the stallion was too good for his foolish relative and rode off with the clan's prized mount. Around the same time, Toshiie entered his bath and, just as he was running out from the water's chill, he saw his best horse stolen before his eyes. A variation of the story adds that it was actually winter and Toshiie was promised a warm bath.

Another legend states that Matsukaze had proved too wild for its original owners and ran off into the countryside; it was next seen being ridden by Keiji. Since then, the two were never seen apart and the Maeda clan was greatly distraught at losing their best horse in such a simple manner.

Matsukaze was said to be a horse of immense size and strength, able to carry his master's large frame for days. After his master's death, it is said that Matsukaze ran off and was never seen again. The horse's height and capabilities were popularized in modern times by the Hana no Keiji comic series.

How to Unlock
Matsukaze is unlocked by completing the following requirements:


 * Samurai Warriors: Siege of Azuchi Castle; Shingen Takeda Forces; While on the field, defeat Mitsuhide. Then enter the castle from the east and defeat Keiji within one minute. Quickly defeat the spawning supply team to obtain the saddle.
 * Samurai Warriors 2: Buy other high rank horses and Matsukaze will appear in the shop. Purchase it with 7,200 gold.
 * Samurai Warriors 2: Empires:
 * Samurai Warriors 3: Defeat the 54 tanuki scattered throughout the Murasamejo Mode using the Normal difficulty setting. Players will obtain Matsukaze's saddle and can ride him the next time they select a stage.
 * Samurai Warriors Chronicles: Purchase all other horses and build an intimate friendship rating with Keiji. Buy it at the shop for 10,000 gold.
 * Warriors Orochi: Earn a max level Cavalry skill and have a Samurai Warriors character or Orochi lead.
 * Kessen III: Appears as a treasure during the Suppression of the Iga Village in chapter 9. May need a A or S rank to obtain it. While the player rides it, they will not lose their acquired experience even if they retreat.
 * Mōri Motonari: Chikai no Sanya: With a middle aged and elderly Motonari, periodically check the empty living quarters in every castle town. If successful, there should be a kunoichi and shinobi trying to steal something from the area. Interrupt them five times and then do the same with Terumoto. Since the lady of the duo is tired of being stopped, she decides to hand over their bounty to the "cutie" before leaving. Equipping Matsukaze allows the character move an extra three spaces.