Kaina: Surugajou Gozen-Jiai

Set during the Kan'ei era (1624–1643), Kaina: Surugajou Gozen-Jiai is a visceral tale of martial ambition and deadly swordsmanship. The story opens at the precipice of a fateful duel between two severely scarred warriors. Irako, entirely blind, faces his rival Fujiki, who fights with only one arm. By decree, their final confrontation will be waged not with practice wooden swords, but with live steel, guaranteeing that one man will perish before the match concludes. The harrowing path leading to this lethal bout is rooted in fierce rivalry and forbidden desire. Both men were once driven by the ambition to be chosen as the rightful heir to a prestigious dojo, a pursuit that ultimately cost them their bodies and bound them in mutual hatred. Their bitter struggle for succession became deeply entangled with the passions of two women whose lives intersected with the dojo: the master’s own daughter and his secret lover. As loyalties fractured and obsessions deepened, the intertwined fates of these swordsmen and women spiraled toward an inevitable, bloody reckoning beneath the gaze of Suruga Castle.