Kojirō Sasaki

Kojiro Sasaki is first introduced as a unique non-player general and bodyguard in Samurai Warriors 2. He is playable with a generic moveset in Samurai Warriors 2: Empires and becomes a playable character in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends. He is Musashi's rival. He's symbolized by the kanji for "sword" (剣) and "swallow" (燕).

Samurai Warriors
In Samurai Warriors 2, Kojiro appears as reinforcements for the Eastern army at Battle of Kuzegawa. He is one of the generals who guards their escape point. During Ginchiyo's story mode, he also appears to reinforce Yoshihiro and traps Sakon at Shoryuji. In Musashi's story mode, he acts as his rival's foil and taunts him at any given opportunity. He is killed after their duel at Ganryu Island. If Musashi impresses him during his dream mode, he will appear as the stage's last challenger. When he's defeated, he dubs his rival as the land's greatest warrior with his dying breath.

His story in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends explains how the two swordsmen meet one another. Kojiro, after witnessing villagers being slaughtered by pirates, decides to satisfy his boredom by defeating the brigands. During his unintentional rescue, Musashi appears to help him. At the battle's conclusion, Kojiro sees Musashi as his greatest opponent and becomes obsessed with showing his rival a "truly beautiful" death. After the other swordsman flees, Kojiro's talents were scouted by the Tokugawa clan and they hire him to frame Hideyori for scheming to take Ieyasu's life. Unexpectedly, an assassination was actually planned and Kojiro is ordered to kill Hideyori instead. Yukimura and Musashi help the young heir safely escape. More interested in dueling his rival, Kojiro's focus shifts to Musashi and he beats him. Curious to know how a sword can move people, he gives Musashi a year to hone his craft. Kojiro miraculously survives their fateful duel and joins the ranks to destroy Osaka Castle. Once the Tokugawa army claims victory, the two swordsmen have one last match together. In his ending, Kojiro is thrilled to finally achieve his goal but is simultaneously stricken at losing his greatest rival.

In his dream mode, Kojiro and Musashi work together to defeat many of the land's greatest swordsmen. They additionally compete with one another to see who can score the most fame.

Appearance
Kojiro's skin is deathly white and his lips are very red. He has a normal build but is also rather tall in comparison to many other characters. He has long black hair that he wears in a ponytail and wears hoop earrings. Kojiro's outfit is a red trench coat that is outlined with yellow, along with a brown shirt, standard black bottoms, and heeled boots. He also wears a blue sash and two chains around his waist and blue armguards that are outlined in yellow.

In his alternate colors in Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends his coat changes from red to blue, his shirt from brown to blue, his sash from blue to green and his armguards from blue to green. His alternate colors in Warriors Orochi 2 are very similar, although he takes on a purple and blue theme as opposed to his blue and green theme in Xtreme Legends. In Warriors Orochi 2, Kojiro's alternate costume makes his outfit mostly black with a white/silver outlining. His skin is a more natural colour and he no longer wears his earrings.

Voice Actors

 * Maxime Mensah - Samurai Warriors 2 (English)
 * Antoine Yared - Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends (English)
 * Yuji Ueda - Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "I will give you all a beautiful end."
 * "Are you excited at the chance to be slain by me?"
 * "I'll kill you in ways you never imagined."
 * "Ahh... The killing has begun, I shiver in anticipation."
 * "Your life is in my hands."
 * "Look out! The spirit of a dead woman walks among the enemy!"
 * "Are you trying to insult me, or are you just stupid?"
 * Nagamasa and Kojiro; SW2 Empires

Samurai Warriors 2: Empires

 * R1 + : Kojiro braces himself then quickly dashes through the enemies with a slash to the right
 * R1 + undefined : Kojiro whistles for his horse

Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends

 * R1 + : Kojiro charges for a moment and performs his Tsubame Gaeshi. He does an unblockable upward cut.
 * R1 + undefined : Using a bit of Musou, Kojiro can temporarily make himself invisible. If he attacks, the effect will wear off but his attack will be stronger.

Story Mode Stages

 * 1) Pirate Hunt - Kojiro fights with the local Fisherman against a group of Pirates and the Tokugawa army.
 * 2) Battle of Kuzegawa - Kojiro fights for the Eastern army against the Western army.
 * 3) Battle of Sekigahara - Kojiro fights for the Eastern army against the Western army.
 * 4) Chaos in Kyoto - Kojiro fights for the Tokugawa army against the Toyotomi army and a group of Vagabonds.
 * 5) Osaka Campaign - Kojiro fights for the Tokugawa army against the Toyotomi army.
 * 6) The Greatest Swordsman (Dream Stage) - Kojiro and Musashi fight against the Oda army and the Toyotomi army.

Fighting Style
Kojiro's fighting style differs in regards to which of his two weapons he is using; his nodachi or his two broadswords. When using his nodachi (mostly in his regular attacks) he attacks with reasonably wide sweeps and very precise attacks, this gives him an overall good range but makes it hard to hit with some of his attacks, particularly when he is using thrust attacks. When using his broadswords (only in charge attacks) his range becomes exceptional, hitting both far out in front of him and far around him.

His katana attacks could be compared to fencing as he does do a lot of thrusting attacks with it, but typically he uses it like any other sword-user uses their swords. His broadswords cannot really be compared to a fighting style as he never actually wields them; they appear trans dimensionally and he simply moves his hand to move them, as if he is directing them with his hands.

Overall, Kojiro is very versatile due to his two weapons but his precise attacks can make him difficult to master, however, as this only applies to a few of his moves he is a great crowd clearer and suitable for most players.

Requirements for obtaining Kojiro's 4th Weapon
Stage: Chaos in Kyoto Requirements: Within 10 minutes, make Musashi Miyamoto appear and defeat 300 enemies. (Insert Strategy)
 * Strategy

Requirements for obtaining Kojiro's 5th Weapon
Stage: The Greatest Swordsmen Requirements: Within 13 minutes, make Nobunaga Oda appear and defeat 500 enemies. (Insert Strategy)
 * Strategy

Early Life
Kojiro was a swordsman of the late Sengoku and the early Edo eras of Japan. Born in approximately 1585, he is remembered best for his famous duel with Musashi Miyamoto, which he lost and had his life taken.

Kojiro fought under the name of 'Ganryū' which was also the name of the kenjutsu school which he founded. He is believed to have studied the 'Chūjō-ryu' style of sword fighting from either Jisai Kanemaki or Seigen Toda, the latter being a master of the kodachi (a short sword). He became famous because of his school and the many duels he had won and was honored by Tadaoki Hosokawa as the chief weapons master of the Hosokawa fief north of Kyūshū. He used a nodachi that he called 'The Laundry-Drying Pole', also called the Monohoshizao.

Kojiro's Drying Pole was a nodachi, with a blade length over 90cm (3ft) long which is a lot larger in comparison to regular katanas which are 70cm (2ft, 3"). Despite this however, Kojio wielded the blade with surprising speed and precision. His famous technique, known as 'The Swallow Cut' or 'Tsubame Gaeshi', was feared and respected throughout feudal Japan and was named so due to it mimicking the motion of a swallow's tail during flight. With its quick and precise motion, it could strike down a bird in mid-flight. The technique involves striking downward from above and then instantly striking again in an upward motion from below.

Duel with Musashi
Kojiro had a long rivalry with Musashi and is considered by many to the most challenging opponent that Musashi ever faced. Musashi heard of Kojiro's fame and asked Lord Hosokawa to arrange a duel for him, which was sorted and arranged for April 13th, 1612 on the remote island of 'Ganryujima of Funashima'. There are many accounts of the fight between the two, all of which leading to Kojiro's death, however many also depict that Musashi could have potentially cheated to win their duel.

Among the first of these 'cheating' rumors is that it is stated that Musashi arrived three hours late for their duel deliberately to unnerve Kojiro, a tactic he had used in earlier duels with other swordsmen. The second was that Musashi used the environment against Kojiro, such as the sun and the tides of the sea. Regardless, Kojiro was ultimately defeated by Musashi and his death is often debated even to this day.