Fuji

Fuji is gentle, subdued and burdened by years of being treated as something other than human. People react to his immense body with fear, and that rejection leaves him vulnerable to the first person who appears to offer him salvation.

His loyalty to Saizuchi is based on gratitude rather than shared cruelty. Saizuchi saved his life, and Fuji consequently accepts years of mistreatment because he believes repaying that debt requires unquestioning obedience.

Underneath that submissiveness is the pride of a genuine warrior. Fuji responds profoundly when someone finally addresses him as a martial artist rather than a monster or living siege weapon.

Fuji's most obvious advantage is his extraordinary size. At 5.64 metres tall, he possesses tremendous physical power and can destroy buildings with his gigantic sword.

He is more than a creature of brute strength. Fuji understands swordsmanship well enough to recognize defensive openings and appreciate the ability of a superior martial artist. His scale magnifies ordinary sword techniques into attacks of enormous destructive range.

His equipment includes massive armor and a katana proportioned to his body. Together they make him function almost like a siege weapon, which is precisely how Saizuchi chooses to employ him.

Fuji and Saizuchi are held back as part of Shishio's forces during the attack on Kyoto. They eventually appear at the Aoiya, where Fuji's sheer size threatens to overwhelm the defenders regardless of their individual skill.

Hiko arrives to confront him. Instead of treating Fuji as a monster, Hiko recognizes that his opponent possesses the heart of a warrior and tells him to fight on his own terms rather than merely obeying Saizuchi.

Fuji removes his restrictive armor and, for the first time, openly defies Saizuchi. Hiko accepts his challenge as a duel between martial artists and defeats him with Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu while deliberately sparing his life. Fuji is satisfied because Hiko has given him the respect as a warrior that others denied him.

After Shishio's defeat, Fuji is pardoned and assigned by the Meiji government to Hokkaido, where his strength can be used in land development and defense rather than exploitation and destruction.

Saizuchi saved Fuji after he had been attacked and gravely wounded because of his appearance. Fuji's gratitude allows Saizuchi to manipulate him for years, repeatedly insisting that his life debt requires obedience.

Hiko Seijuurou is the first opponent to treat Fuji straightforwardly as a fellow martial artist. That recognition gives Fuji the confidence to reject Saizuchi's control, and Fuji accepts defeat from Hiko with satisfaction rather than resentment.

Makoto Shishio commands the Juppongatana organization to which Fuji and Saizuchi belong.

Anji Yuukyuuzan, Soujirou Seta, Usui Uonuma, Chou Sawagejou, Henya Kariwa, Kamatari Honjou, Iwanbou and Houji Sadojima are Fuji's fellow members of Shishio's Juppongatana.