Sawagejō Chō (
His nickname is "Chō the Swordhunter" because his goal is to use every kind of sword in the world, and his favorite type of sword are the ones made by Shakkū Arai. After Shishio's defeat, he works for the police, and helps with the Enishi case.
Appearance[]
Sawagejō Chō is a young tall and thin man. He has blonde long hair in a pointy upwards hairstyle that somehow resembles a broom. He wears some sort of red kimono with purple flame details at the bottom with leather boots. Underneath he wears black pants and a t-shirt with several straps in order to carry all his swords.
Personality[]
Chō is a bloodthirsty, yet arrogant and foolhardy person. He is prone to lose patience and interest when talking to people he does not want to be around. On the other hand, Chō seems to be not as loyal to authority, because he clearly disobeys orders from Shishio Makoto, and after the events of the Kyoto arc, he starts to work for the Tokyo police.
Relationships[]
- Shishio Makoto: While Chō was part of the Juppongatana, he showed respect and obedience to Shishio, but he is quick to act on his own (like when he left mount Hiei to go to fight against Kenshin). Deep down it seems that Chō is not that loyal to Shishio and his cause.
- Himura Kenshin: At the beginning of their fight, Chō underestimated Kenshin's abilities, but as the battle progressed he started to feel anxious and irritated towards Kenshin, to the point of clearly state that Chō finds him insufferable and annoying. He gained fear of the latter when Kenshin evaded his attack and defeated him.
- Sagara Sanosuke: Chō cannot stand Sanosuke's prescence and considers him irritating and annoying. When both of them were imprisoned before the events of the "rengoku" ship, Chō and Sanosuke started a brawl at the prison cell when Sanosuke starts to call him "Broom Head".
Abilities[]
Chō proves to be nowhere near challenging when he fights using his first pair of swords, having all four destroyed in an instant. However, though he is laughably slow and clumsy, compared to the Himura Kenshin's godspeed, he is a master of maneuvers when it comes to his elastic longsword, and he can pull off circus-like tricks using his scabbard, sheathing it in mid-air at a whim (though compared to Kenshin, this skill also borders on useless).
Sanosuke taunts him at one time, calling him the weakest of the Juppongatana. However, this isn't really the case, since Sadojima Hōji does mention that if the Juppongatana go up against Kenshin and his allies, those among them who are weaker than Chō will most likely lose their lives, implying Chō ranks only behind the three that Hōji recommends for this task instead.
Weapons[]
- Twin Katana - Chō has two katana strapped on his back. They are without name and the first to be broken in Chō's fight with Kenshin.
- Renbatō: (
連 刃 刀 ) (Chain Blade Sword) One of Shakkū's earlier swords. Two katanas are connected at the hilt to form one sword with two parallel blades. The idea behind this is, even if the cut doesn't kill you, two cuts made so close together can't be stitched up and the victim will die by blood loss or of infection. While it would be a force to be reckoned with, because Chō is rather ungainly and slow, Kenshin manages to intercept his swing and break these pair of swords with ease as well.
- Hakujin no Tachi: (
薄刃 乃 太刀 ) (Long Sword/Tachi of the Thin Blade) One of Shakkū's last swords. It's very long and was made as thin as possible. The tip is weighted so the wielder can control the direction the blade flies with a flick of the wrist which makes dodging by a small margin dangerous. Chō wears this concealed around his waist under his clothes, only using it when his opponent proves worthy of it. His skill with this sword in particular is formidable, so much that he even injured Kenshin's leg by surprise and managed to also dismantle his remaining weapon, the scabbard of his old Sakabatō. - Hakujin no Kodachi (薄刃小太刀) (Thin-Bladed Short Sword) a black glove with a thick wrist band. Within the wrist band is a long thin blade that is similar to Hakujin no Tachi. With a simple twist of the wrist, Cho can extend the blade from the wrist band and have it circle around his target.
- San Jintou (散らばる刃物) (Scattered Blades) A katana, but instead of a regular blade, it has a simple metal thin stick that has dozens of tiny metal blades attached to it. By swinging the katana, the tiny blades are sent flying in the direction that the sword was swung at.
Technique[]
- Orochi (オロチ) (Serpent Style) While using Hakujin no Tachi, Cho has his sword circle around him target and pulls so that the sword will wrap it self around the target.
History[]
Sawagejō Chō appears as one of the members of the Juppongatana, in service of Shishio Makoto.
Kyōto Arc[]
Chō, as well as several other members of the Juppongatana, is summoned at Shishio's hideout at Mount Hiei. In there, he learns that Kenshin is in possesion of Arai Shakkū's last sword, so he leaves to fight against him. Chō fights against Kenshin in a shrine, but during the fight all of his swords are destroyed, he is defeated by Kenshin (with a "Ryū Kan Sen ● Tsumuji") and captured by the police.
He is imprisoned by the police at the orders of Saitō Hajime, who questions him about Shishio's plans. While on prison, he meets Sanosuke Sagara, and they start a brawl. Then Chō accepts to tell the police all he knows about Shishio.
After Shishio's defeat, Chō starts to work as a spy for the Tokyo police. He also informs the Kenshingumi about the fate of the rest of the Juppongatana after they dissolve.
Jinchū Arc[]
When Yukishiro Enishi appears on Tokyo, Chō is ordered by Saitō to gather information about Enishi's plans. He manages to get some info about Enishi's wealth and actions.
Development and Reception[]
According to Nobuhiro Watsuki, the inspiration behind Chō was Benimaru Nikaido, a character from the "King of Fighters" videogames, and also Yoshitora, a character from the "Samurai Showdown" videogames.
In Live-action film[]
Ryosuke Miura was cast as Sawagejō Chō in the 2014 live action movies Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends.
Trivia[]
- His Kansai dialect is modified to a U.S. southern accent in the English anime.
- Nobuhiro Watsuki had an assistant from Kansai supervise Chō's speech, but it was modified to make him easier to understand for speakers of the standard dialect.
Gallery[]
