Koshirō Fujita

Koshirō Fujita is Tōko's fourth son and a Mito samurai who lived during the end of the Tokugawa regime. He is best known for being the youngest known leader of the Mito Tengutō, a short-lived group of anti-totalitarianism rioters. Meiji period folklore romanticizes Koshirō as a talented youth who died well before his time.

His Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5 counterpart is identified by the historical figure's private given name, Makoto. The game differs from reality by identifying the name as his public alias and using another spelling (マコト rather than 信). Koshirō Fujita is treated as the character's true name. His political ideology is extremist.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
Makoto is the fourth son of the late Touko Fujita, a Mito scholar and former advocate for the anti-foreigner political reformist movement. During his early childhood in Mito, he became friends with Tadayoshi Oguri since his family are servants and sympathizers to the Ichijo cabinet. Touko recognized Makoto as the heir of their family legacy once his talents became apparent. He gave his son the cursed Suzaku talisman and informed him of the legends regarding the White Dragon Priestess. Makoto and Chinami left their home at an early age to study at Edo.

When Touko perished in a great earthquake, Makoto was named family heir. He chose to wait for Chinami to complete his training before building his social connections to the extremist party. Their earliest followers are exiles from Mito, but Makoto's charisma caused their numbers to eventually swell. Two years before the main setting, Makoto met Katsura in the capital and was convinced by him to organize an armed revolt. Whenever his group goes to fight, Makoto sacrifices his life force to summon Suzaku in battle.

The Mito Insurgency first aide Hisamitsu Shimazu. Fatigue and Shimazu's fall against the shogunate forces convinced Makoto to retreat from the capital. Makoto arranges for an attack at Nikko Toshogu Shrine as he recovers, hoping to transmit their message for unity on hallow ground. Their march towards the temple is temporarily interrupted by Yuki and her childhood friends, and Makoto is well aware of her purpose. He shares brief pleasantries before, resumes the march, and controls Suzaku at the shrine until it becomes berserk with Yuki's approach. Yuki and her friends defeat it and vanish when the hourglass flips. Makoto is weakened by the god's loss and is easy prey for the shogunate forces.

Two major story arcs occur during his captivity. In the vanilla game he resists Amami's authority. To repay his courage, the god kills him and converts him and his comrades into the undead. As a consequence of his death, his rite as the Suzaku of Heaven is transferred to Chinami. His corpse is used by the Mashira and Kai to hunt down the rogue Iemochi. Every available timeline has Kai use her bell to direct Makoto in Choushu. Chinami tries to reach out to his brother, but the cat specter's bell increases Amami's spell on him. He is pursued and purified by Yuki's party before they leave Choushu. He shares parting regrets with Yuki and Chinami before vanishing from existence.

Kazahanaki reveals that Makoto and his comrades are being imprisoned somewhere within Edo. The shogunate eventually orders for their execution to serve as an example to the rebellious Ichijo branch. Amami unleashes a horde of vengeful spirits to hone on their freed prisoners, leading to a wild chase in the eastern suburbs. A fire erupts and threatens the innocent townsfolk, drawing Yuki and her party towards the ruckus. Makoto is the last survivor and happens to reunite with Yuki and Chinami within the burning wreckage. He entrusts them with the future as he guards their escape, perishing when the building collapses.

To succeed with Chinami's personal route, Yuki has to go back in time and save him from his death. She warps to the exact place and moment she last parted with him. Yuki sacrifices her life force to eradicate the vengeful spirits threatening him, convinces him to keep living, and tells him a way to escape. Her words move him to survive. Makoto hides from the public eye before paying Oguri a visit at Rindou's manor. During the evening, he confesses his bitter anxieties from their last meeting: he was going to sacrifice the youths for his own survival. Makoto believes his abhorrent callousness for others has forever forsaken his rite to become a guardian.

On the eve of the final battle, Makoto invites Yuki and his brother to enjoy supper with him. He informs them that Oguri has employed him as a family retainer. Before he is bogged down by work, he wants to express his gratitude for the two youths. Makoto welcomes Bauduin's company during their conversation, proud to learn that his younger brother has matured since they last met. The elder brother teases his young sibling during his ending, coaxing Chinami to be more assertive of his intimacy for Yuki.

Ishin no Arashi
Ishin no Arashi includes Koshirō as an optional ally/enemy for the extremist ideology. The first title includes him in the Mito Tengutō's rebellion if he is still alive March 27, 1864. His death poem is included within the brief reenactment. Bakumatsu Shishiden has him gift the protagonist with his father's poem if he is befriended.

During the default scenario in Shippuu Ryoumaden, Ryōma receives an letter from Koshirō calling for Mito Tengutō recruits. The Tosa gentleman wants Koshirō to adopt pacifistic measures to change the era, reasoning that an armed resistance would be a fool's errand. Failing to succeed within the one month deadline leads to the Mito Tengutō's historical execution.

If the player meets Koshirō beforehand, he accepts Ryōma's concerns but refuses to turn his back on his comrades. Should Ryōma's words get through to him, the hot-headed rebel realizes he could have massacred everyone dear to him with his recklessness and cancels the rebellion. He thanks Ryōma for saving their lives and remains alive in Mito for the rest of the game.

Development
Makoto was designed to be a "dignified and righteous swordsman". His color scheme was made to be an inverse of Chinami's outfit with violet highlights. The colors are meant to match his maturity. Both designs were made to have matching gauntlets between them.

Personality
Friendly, humble, and calm, Makoto is driven to achieve peace. He refuses to obey tyranny in any form and seeks to always protect the people and his men. Although he does not lose face before his followers and wields unbelievable strength, Makoto privately fears that he is too young to inherit his father's wishes. He feels his doubts inhibit him from being a honorable warrior worthy of his family name.

Makoto is proud of Chinami's bravery, gently fostering his younger brother's progress with warm encouragement and constructive criticism. He believes his brother has the potential to surpass him. He adores Yuki due to his previous guardian candidacy, fond of her politeness and need for his service. Makoto is respectful of his attraction to her and half-jokes about it to lightly spur Chinami.

Character Symbolism
His symbolic color is akane-iro, a dark red named after the madder. It is alternatively described to resemble the reddish hue of a dusk horizon.

Fighting Style
Makoto is a hard hitter who may cause trouble for low-leveled parties. His group attack may be deadly against Metal characters so keep them out of battle if possible. He falls easily against Water attacks.