Kai

Kai is a new character in Samurai Warriors 3. In Samurai Warriors 2, she is a lady samurai bodyguard the player can unlock and buy from the shop.

She is a vassal of the Hojo family and Ujinaga Narita's daughter. She is famous for her beauty and her act of personally riding into battle. Though heralded as a brave woman, modern historians wonder how many of her accomplishments are real as they might be fictional stories from the Edo period. Her heroics are not mentioned in notable historical records, making her actual name and existence unclear.

Her height for her Samurai Warriors incarnation is 165 cm (5'5"). In Gamecity's Samurai Warriors 3: Empires character popularity poll, she is sixteenth place out of forty characters.

Role in Games

 * "Lady Kai, you are truly magnificent."
 * - Yukimura Sanada; Samurai Warriors 3

Samurai Warriors
In Samurai Warriors 3, Kai starts as a fresh recruit for the Hōjō army. Her first battle is at Tonegawa against the Uesugi. After the conflict, the battles in Kantō momentarily subside and Shingen passes away. Soon after Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu and Sanada troops invade Shinpu Castle. As they fight, Kai begins to grasp what it means to protect those important to her and swears to better serve her master, Ujiyasu. Hideyoshi eventually becomes the land's most influential ruler and heavily surrounds Oshi Castle after Masamune's surrender. Although the odds are against them, Kai fights to inspire the men and breaks the water gate. While she knows that the battle is still against them with Masamune's reinforcements, Kai defends the Hōjō until the conflict ends.

Upon their victory, however, Ujiyasu passes away and entrusts her to continue protecting the Hōjō family. Odawara Castle falls with Ujiyasu's death and they surrender to the Toyotomi. When Masamune riots against Hideyoshi in Oshū, she decides to uphold Ujiyasu's final wishes and joins the subjugation effort. By this time, Kai believes that she is fighting for a more valuable dream for her lord and won't tolerate Masamune's ambitions. After Mitsunari perishes, the Toyotomi family is in danger so she joins Yukimura's desperate resistance at Osaka Castle to continue protecting her dream of a normal, happy world. Before the battle, she spots a depressed Kunoichi struggling with her feelings and encourages the other woman to fight against the odds. Together, they successfully save Yukimura and the struggling Toyotomi army, claiming victory against the Date and Tokugawa forces. With her dreams fulfilled, she enjoys her life as a normal woman in the new land of peace. She and Kunoichi humorously try to pick out new clothes and join the court women in fawning over Muneshige (and scoff at the accompanying Ginchiyo).

Warriors Orochi
During the original timeline in Warriors Orochi 3, Ujiyasu left Kai in charge of Odawara Castle's defense as he left to join Sun Jian. In his absence, the castle was gravely surrounded by the serpent army and the defenders lost their lives trying to protect it. Kaguya and company prevent these events from happening by saving her and the other defenders in the past. Grateful for their assistance, she joins the coalition in the future. Kai quickly befriends Kaguya during their time together and teaches the mystic the values of humanity.

Later she helps save Musashi from his fate and joins the chase for Da Ji at Nanzhong. While their target escapes, her party is able to defeat Himiko. Rather than force her to join the coalition, Kai lets the girl leave since she respects her will to protect Da Ji.

In the Good Ending, she assures Kaguya that humanity will prosper without the mystics' help and bids her farewell. Conversely in the True Ending she has no memory of her time in the dimensional world, vaguely stating that she had a strange yet fantastic dream.

Pokémon Conquest
Resuming her role as Ujiyasu's retainer, Kai opposes the protagonist at Kigan Castle in Pokémon Conquest. She echoes her lord's desire to fight for a greater purpose, shouting that she wishes to protect those dear to her. When the protagonist defeats them, Kai explodes with disappointment with their second loss before following her lord's retreat.

Personality
Kai is a maiden raised since birth to be a warrior. Instilled with strict training from her clan, she secretly desires to live as a normal woman of her class. Wanting to protect her home and family, however, she fights with daring, masculine pride. Even with her skills, she isn't the most experienced or tact person on the field, which sparks occasional teasing from veterans. During the spin-off titles, there is a running gag that her tomboyish attitude is barbaric and closer to a bear or some form of wild beast. Her experiences in war somewhat matures her flippant tendencies over time, as she eventually values the responsibility of protecting something important to her.

Like Kunoichi, she talks in a frank and modern dialect, although she is more aggressive with her words than her counterpart. In the Japanese script, she constantly worries about looking cool to others and respects people who immediately fit her ideal feminine image of herself. This trait is omitted in English to instead emphasize her tough-skinned warrior traits.

Ujiyasu doesn't address her as a woman, unceremoniously calling her "boy" or "brat". While annoyed by his nicknames, she respects her master and his wishes to protect the common man. She addresses him as "great lord" (お館様, Oyakata-sama). To her, Kunoichi is the one person who she doesn't want to lose to in battle or in beauty. Since she also respects and admires Yukimura, she considers Kunoichi her rival and is insulted when she is compared to her. The shinobi's insults always makes her flustered and irritated. Even so, she will be kind to her when the situation calls for it and they eventually become good friends. She befriends Kaguya and Sun Shangxiang in her Warriors Orochi appearance.

Character Symbolism
She is symbolized by the characters "flower" (華), "spoiled" (爛) and by red flower petals in the Samurai Warriors series.

All of her weapons in Samurai Warriors 3 have a serpent naming motif. Her weapons are named after a water dragon (Normal), earth dragon (Power), and aerial dragon (Speed). Yamata no Orochi forms the namesake of her unique weapon, though she wields the dragon blade named after the eight headed serpent. In the Yamato Bumi, it is described as having oak and pine growing its back and eyes like red winter cherries. Its body extended to form eight hills and eight valleys. The well known account of the serpent is its demise to Susanowo's divine blade. The god sought to save a maiden named Kushinadahime from being sacrificed to the beast, had the beast drink from eight barrels of wine, and killed the beast whilst it slept from its drunken stupor. He cut open the beast's tail and found the sacred Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi. Other myths regarding the serpent associate him with bodies of water. Its stomach blood, for example, is mythologized to have given birth to iron sand or poison. Within the Tales of Heike, Yamato no Orochi embodied the drowned Emperor Antoku to fetch Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi from the waters.

Her second Unique weapon is named in Okitsukaibera's honor. After Izanagi escaped the grasps of his reanimated dead wife within Yomi-no-kuni, he decided to undergo a water purification ritual to wash off the taint. As he discarded his clothing, several deities were born from them. Okitsukaibera and two other gods were given life from the discarded braclet from Izangi's left hand. Okitsukaibera is thought to be a type of water god who resides along beaches. Specifically, Okitsukaibera embodies the power of waves crashing along the shore.

Voice Actors

 * Luci Christian (uncredited) - Samurai Warriors 3 (English)
 * Masami Suzuki - Samurai Warriors 3, Warriors Orochi 3 (Japanese)

Quotes

 * "What are you so surprised about? My victory was never in doubt!"
 * "Absolutely perfect!"
 * "Who does that Kunoichi think she is? I'll show her!"
 * "I won't stop until I win!"
 * "Feel my wrath!"
 * "Come, you're strong, you can do this."
 * "I'm unstoppable! Come, I'll take you both on!"
 * "In my house, you play by my rules."
 * "Hey, who are you calling a wild beast!?"
 * "What is that girl doing now? And naturally, I'm the one who has to save her!"
 * "Wait, the Sanada!? Yesterday's friend is tomorrow's enemy I guess."
 * "I fight for my people and for their simple everyday lives."
 * "Don't worry everyone, I'll protect you!"
 * "Well, am I a fine woman yet, my Lord?"
 * "What a mess. Lord Ujiyasu must be rolling in his grave."
 * "Now that would be a sight to see."
 * Kai and Kotaro; Samurai Warriors 3


 * "You're so strong yet... beautiful."
 * "That horrible man! Argh, how infuriating! I just hate guys who think they're so smooth..."
 * "Aw, did someone break your heart?"
 * Magoichi, Kai and Kunoichi; Samurai Warriors 3


 * "Ah, this is the life! My worries melt away whenever I'm in a hot spring!"
 * "There's my wet and soggy bear! Whee! Huh? I thought your skin would be rough to touch, but it's silky smooth!"
 * "Yeah, and don't you forget it! My skin has to be milky white if I wanna be the Hōjō's pretty girl."
 * "Silky smooth and milky white... May I touch it too?"
 * Kai, Kunoichi and Oichi; Samurai Warriors 3: Empires


 * "(sigh) Why aren't the guys liking me?"
 * "Ah, it's y'know, it's because you have such a strong front. But what you're lacking is in the inside. You gotta focus on being good-looking rather than the warrior stuff. If that doesn't work, you can always try another way to trap a man. Like winning him through his stomach! Oh, that's a good idea! You'll be famous for sure!"
 * "(sigh) Why am I hanging out with you?"
 * Kai and Masanori; Samurai Warriors 3 Empires


 * "So, they say you have this amazing power."
 * "Really? Sen just wishes we could live in a fluffy, happy world."
 * "F-Fluffy? Ah, well, I suppose. That's why we're working together. Do you think you can help out?"
 * "Okay, old lady."
 * "O-Old lady!? ... She's just a little kid, Kai. Ignore it, ignore it~!"
 * Kai and Senhime; Hyakuman-nin no Sengoku Musou

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: Extends whip-like sword directly in front of her before lashing it back towards her. Hits foes twice.
 * ,undefined: Two-handed vertical swing. Launches hit foes.
 * ,,undefined: Quick rising kick.
 * ,,,undefined: Two criss-crossing whips from her extended sword.
 * ,,,,undefined: Hopping, spinning slash with sword in its whip state. Hits foes twice.
 * ,,,,,undefined: Stabs forward as sword is in whip state. Whips sword around her to return it to its normal shape. If the entire motion hits, the action hook opponents closer to her. Otherwise it clears them away from her.
 * ,,,,,,undefined: Extends sword into whip form and stabs forward. If it connects, the sword will pierce a single foe. Kai turns to face the player whilst grabbing her weapon's hilt with both hands. She then swings her sword downward to slam her captured foe behind her.
 * ,,,,,,,undefined: Sprints forward and whips the ground twice. Doesn't hit downed foes.
 * ,,,,,,,,undefined: Performs a handstand while her sword rotates around her on the ground below.
 * ,,,,,,,,,,,: Three diagonal slashes with blade in its normal state. Extends sword into whip state and swings it horizontally four times. Places one hand on her hip as continues with four diagonal whippings. Ends the chain with a turning whip. Needs a moment for her sword to revert to its normal state.
 * Criss-crossing whipping attacks as she slowly walks forward. Sword strikes creates damaging ground effect to harm more targets.
 * (Ultimate/Kaiden): Rapidly whips ground in front of her to create a damaging geyser. Ground spikes and final water splash send foes away from her.


 * Weapon Deadlock: Stabs opponent with sword extended. Whilst it pierces them, she whips them onto the ground twice before flinging them behind her.
 * Dashing : Spinning slash with normal blade.
 * ,: Downwards swing with sword in whip state.
 * ,undefined: Plummets to stab ground below.


 * Spirit Cancel: Lunging knee attack.
 * Special Skill: Conjures a series of water geysers to damage nearby foes. Effect lasts a short time after she begins it.

Mounted Attacks

 * ,undefined: Extends sword for an overhead whip.
 * ,,undefined: Downward stab with whip sword.
 * ,,,undefined: Circular whip with extended sword.
 * ,,,,,,,: Seven slashes to the right of saddle. Extends sword for the eighth twirling slash.

Ultimate Musou is now True Musou in Warriors Orochi 3. Loses Spirit Cancel and Weapon Deadlock. Gains the following addition.
 * Warriors Orochi
 * R1:

Samurai Warriors
Kai is a beginner friendly character with easy to use attacks. A majority of her charge attacks hit foes surrounding her in a large radius and remain versatile in crowds or duels. Her special skill is especially useful for crowd clearing and creating high numbered combos. While her attacks retain their effectiveness on harder difficulties, the somewhat sluggish recovery time needed for her sword's transformations may hamper her destructiveness slightly. Pay attention to the precise range and speed of her sword's whipping motions to keep her in the fight.

She is the statistically strongest female character in the cast, meaning she can deal and take damage better than other women in the game. However, she is also one of the slower ladies to compensate. Kai won't be as powerful as mightier male characters of the cast, but she offers an effective alternative for players who wish to experiment.

Historical Information
Kaihime was Narita Ujinaga's eldest daughter and a maiden said to be of unparalleled grace and beauty. To appease her father, who lamented only having daughters as his heirs, she also possessed bravery and cunning that was unlike other princesses. She was said to have had two sisters, Makihime and Atsushihime. She spent the majority of her youth at Oshi Castle. She was married to Yura Narishige until his death in 1578.

As Mitsunari's soldiers were fleeing from the water attack at Oshi Castle, Kaihime was said to have volunteered to rout the remaining soldiers. She donned armor and rode on horseback with 200 men. Sanada Masayuki, Sanada Nobushige, and Asano Nagamasa came to Mitsunari's rescue. She met with Sanada's reinforcements in combat and slayed their vassal, Miyage Takashige, in battle, taking his head as her trophy. Her accomplishments gave a huge boost to ally morale and forced Mitsunari to surrender, reporting his failure to Hideyoshi. According to the gunki-monogatari Narita Heiki, she was only nineteen years old at the time. Mitsunari was greatly ridiculed for failing to capture a position "guarded by a woman". To this day, the long strait where the incident occurred is also known as the "Ishida Tsutsumi".

When Odawara Castle surrendered, her father also chose to do the same with hope to end warfare. When her family exited the castle, Kaihime exhibited an air of dignity. Hideyoshi generously forgave them and allowed them to keep their properties. A few rumors say that this was due to Kaihime's elegance.

After their surrender, Kaihime and her father were entrusted to Gamō Ujisato and lived in Iwashiro-fukui Castle. Sometime when her father was away, an internal rebellion was caused by Hamada Shugen and his younger brother. During this time, her mother-in-law (or mother in other sources) was killed. As soon as she heard about the incident, Kaihime sought to end the rebels. After hiding her beloved sword, Nagiri, under her robes, she feigned a jovial conversation with her parent's killer and waited for them to lower their guard. When she saw her chance, she slayed the instigator and two followers, effectively repressing the bloodshed. Since her time at Iwashiro-fukui Castle was relatively short, some people argue that this could have occurred at her family home instead.

Hideyoshi heard of her bravery and took a great liking towards her. He donned her one of his concubines, awarding her family with 20,000 koku and more territory as a result. Her fate from here is largely unknown though it is said that she saved Senhime during the Ōsaka Campaign and retreated to live as a nun. Others say that she either committed suicide or was slain before or during the conflict. Another story says that when the castle fell, she fled with Oiwa no Kata (Narita Goheisukenao's daughter) and Nāhime (Oiwa no Kata's eldest daughter) and the three of them became nuns at Tōkei-ji. Another story says that when they were retreating, Kaihime personally defended Nāhime from assassins. Some speculate that this was because the girl was actually her and Hideyori's child.