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Housen (鳳仙 Hōsen) was the ruler of Yoshiwara and a former commander of the 7th division within the Harusame Space Pirates. He is the main antagonist of the Yoshiwara in Flames Arc.

Background[]

His title, "King of the Night", did not solely come from him being the ruler of Yoshiwara, the land of eternal night, but also from being known as "King of the Yato", an Amanto tribe that is averse to sunlight. Even amongst the dozens of powerhouses within the Yato tribe, the King of the Night was a powerful figure who built his own army.He founded the 7th Division of the Harusame, of which Kamui later would become the youngest leader.

Long ago, Housen reigned over the Yato as the King of the Night. Umibouzu was the only one who refused to follow him, and so they fought each other. The fight lasted continuously for 3 days and nights, and the only reason they stopped fighting was because Umibouzu needed a toilet break, and no victor was declared. However, Umibouzu was the first one who could keep up with Housen for so long, the first one he couldn't settle a fight with, and it was the first time he had a fight end in that manner, as stated by Housen himself in Episode 141.

As time passed by, he became a high-ranking official within the Harusame, of which he also founded the 7th Division, as stated by Kamui in Episode 141. It is not known when or how this happened.

Ultimately, he decided to retire in Yoshiwara, where he would meet a young Hinowa who saw him walking with an umbrella on a sunny day. Confused by this, she persistently kept asking why he was afraid of the sun and got punished by her caretakers, as she was unaware that those of the Yato tribe are averse to sunlight.

According to Hinowa, Housen had a hard time dealing with Suzuran due to her refusal to leave her post.

Eight years before the present, a woman became pregnant in Yoshiwara. As per Yoshiwara law, this would mean death for both the child and the mother, so a group of women decided to protect her and prevent this from happening. Hinowa, now a grown woman, was one of them. The pregnant woman died giving birth to the child, but when the ones protecting them tried to run away and escape with the child, Housen came after them. With the Hyakka, he caught them on a bridge, but Hinowa came prepared to give her life, so she took one of the Hyakka's spears and pointed it at her neck. Housen then threatened that he knew they had hid the child under the bridge with another caretaker, and would not oversee this if she committed suicide. Hinowa then gave in, and both she and the child who would later be known as Seita survived.

Appearance[]

He was tall, strong, physically endowed and had very lean and toned muscles.  He had a very manly looking face, with dark black eyes, and long, dark-gray hair. It's uncertain if his hair color came from his age, or if it had always been like that, as shown in the flashback from his fight with Umibozu, it was basically the same color with a darker tone; despite his age he kept his hair.  Like all of his kind, he had flawlessly smooth and fair skin, a very well toned body unhindered by age, and was "well-endowed".

Personality[]

Housen ruled Yoshiwara with an iron fist. With the Yato blood running through his veins, he was just as bloodthirsty and battle-hungry as any other Yato.  He enjoyed sake and seemed to have an incredibly high tolerance for it; it is impiled that as a Yato he posses an insatiable appetite, lust and immense self-control. He was known to be quite lustful, having slept with many women (with his "well-endowed" bazooka as said by Gintoki). He possessed endless willpower and will to live, as he spent decades on Yoshiwara without getting bored; living day by day he could have gone on like this for life, but he was still capable of quickly reverting to his bloodthirsty self.  He always kept Hinowa close to him, and it seems he needed her moreso as a woman than as an object, keeping her alive and even cutting the tendons at the back of her feet to ensure she would not be able to escape. He possessed immense authoritative charisma and eloquence. In the end, all he truly wanted was to rest under the sun, showing a rather kind, gentle and peaceful charismatic side to him.

Strength & Abilities[]

His strength is equal to Umibouzu's, the most powerful alien hunter in the universe, one of the few who opposed Housen. Like all Yato males he has attractive smooth fair skin, a compelling voice, very well-toned & lean body unhindered by age, he is "well-endowed," and he naturally possesses a perfect body as a living being and even without training his muscles remain lean, brawny and his body shape doesn't change no matter how much calories he intakes, or how he lives his life, as shown that even though he spent years in Yoshiwara drinking, eating, bedding women, and sleeping, his body still remained in perfect condition.

As an elite Yato, Hosen possessed superhuman traits; force, strength, speed, lightning-fast reflexes, flexibility, agility, dexterity, auto-reflexes, coordination, self-control, adaptability, muscle control, durability, invulnerability, immunity, vitality, virility, endurance, aura, senses, awareness, accuracy, precision, willpower, pain-tolerance, fear-tolerance, bravery, comprehension, genius-intellect, limitless learning and memorization capabilities, leadership skills, management skills, analytical skills, instant mental computational skills, economical and political skills, eloquence, charisma, handsomeness, attractiveness, pheromones, "well-endowment", will to live, instincts, flawless smooth skin, tactical analysis, perception, intuition, judgement, youthful longevity, and regenerative healing capacity. Like all male Yato males he was capable of many impressive feats, such as easily intercepting and catching bullets or kunai with his hands and teeth, eating and drinking anything, had the ability to live without feeling guilt or regret, live completely free of mental or spiritual exhaustion, all of these which far exceeded that of humans, amantos and even that of his fellow Yato, he was one of the most powerful individuals in the Galaxy. As with the other members of the clan, his main weapon is an umbrella, in this case, he wielded a large, black umbrella when fighting, but a smaller, red one in his flashback against Umibouzu. He can use both perfectly with only one hand. Gintoki mentions that he has a monstrous strength, easily shattering the rest of Gintoki's katana with his palm or destroying a massive stone column. As King of the Night, and a former Captain of the Harusame, he possessed exceptional leadership and tactical skills. His exceptional skills as a ruler are explained when Tsukuyo admitted that under Housen's rule Yoshiwara was open (except for the ceiling) and flexible, with few but relatively reasonable rules, Yoshiwara had plenty of business competition, and power struggles, but no one dared to break Housen's rules and cross certain lines so there was virtually no crime. He was capable of easily amassing all the wealth and power he wanted whenever he wanted. He possessed immense authoritative charisma and eloquence, persuading and manipulating anyone and anything into being submissive, obedient, and loyal to him, by his presence and aura alone. Hinowa pointed out that in the end all he wanted was to rest peacefully under the sun, showing that he also had strong, gentle, peaceful, trusting, kind, charisma and aura as well.

Relationship[]

Story[]

Yoshiwara in Flames Arc[]

In present time, Hosen was introduced in Episode 139 of the Yoshiwara arc. A Hyakka scout reported that a ronin, who turned out to be Sakata Gintoki of the Yorozuya, had been hired by Seita so that he could see Hinowa. Believing it was not worth his time, Hosen had previously been ignoring this child who had been spotted multiple times asking for Hinowa. Hosen then sent Tsukuyo to kill the child and Gintoki. Tsukuyo, having ties with Hinowa, instead tried to help them get away. However, in their path to escape they were suddenly attacked by Kamui, Abuto and Ungyou of the Harusame Space Pirates. The Yorozuya and Tsukuyo tried to fight them off, and managed to escape with their lives, but Seita was abducted. Kamui then brought Seita directly to Hosen, requesting a night with Hinowa, much to Hosen's animosity. Kamui further angered Hosen by calling Yoshiwara a heaven he had made for himself, a prison for a poor neglected old man to keep hold of his cute, little dolls. Hosen continuously told Kamui to shut up, but when he didn't, a fight broke loose between the two, as Kamui was only out for the blood of one who was as strong or stronger than himself. However, the fight was quickly stopped by Abuto and Ungyou, as the members of the Harusame had only been sent there to investigate Hosen, and fighting was completely unnessecary. Interfering with the two, Abuto lost an arm and Ungyou lost his life in the process.

Meanwhile, the Yorozuya, disguised as members of the Hyakka, and Tsukuyo entered Hosen's mansion. However they were quickly found out, and Tsukuyo had to stay behind to fight the Hyakka off. Kagura and Shinpachi fought Abuto, who couldn't handle an awakened Kagura, but didn't want to kill one of his own race (Yato) either. The battle ended outside on a roof slate, and as Shinpachi held Kagura back before she could deliver a final blow to Abuto, the slate fell apart, and their footing with it. Abuto pushed them back on a ledge as he fell off the building. Kamui brought Seita to Hinowa because he wanted to see that which could drive an old man to such a state. Hosen then arrived, only to tell Seita that Hinowa wasn't his real mother. Finally, Sakata Gintoki made his entrance and Kamui sat back and watched as a large battle was fought between Gintoki and Hosen. Gintoki had much trouble even defending against the King of the Night, but managed to buy Seita enough time to carry Hinowa out of there. Tsukuyo appeared along with a number of Hyakka who were rebelling against Hosen and attacked him with a rain of kunai. Gintoki then stood back up again and continued fighting Hosen with the help of Tsukuyo and the rebelling Hyakka. Hinowa told Seita to head to the control room to open the hatch that prevented sunlight from entering Yoshiwara, which was originally a shipyard for building Bakufu ships. The ships entered through the hatch, and after Seita managed to open it, Gintoki delivered the final blow to Hosen, which sent him straight through the wall of his mansion and out onto a roof and into the sunlight. As Hosen was a yato who hadn't seen sunlight for many years, as stated by Hinowa in Episode 144, his body immediately reacted to the sun and he dried up, dying in Hinowa's lap, who had been carried to him by two rebelling members of the Hyakka, as seen in Episode 145. She had always wanted to show him the sun, and cried as she said that he was just a foolish old man who wanted to sleep under the sun, yet he built that foolish city and turned everyone against him.

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Housen's death in Episode 146

Hosen was buried at an unbearably hot place, as stated by Umibouzu in Episode 146. He was buried on a cliff with his umbrella used as a gravestone. Gintoki, who was there with Umibouzu, said that the prostitutes wanted Hosen to sunbathe in the afterlife. Umibouzu then told Gintoki that he didn't expect him to take down Hosen. However, Gintoki quickly disapproved that he did it himself, and said he never would have made it alone and that they just ganged up on him. Umibouzu continued that Kamui thought otherwise. Kamui had been put in charge of Yoshiwara, as he took credit for killing Hosen, telling the Harusame that it was a result of their investigation. But he hadn't sent anybody there, and had left the place completely unattended. According to Umibouzu, this was because Kamui had no interest in Yoshiwara. His only interest was in Gintoki, and he obtained Yoshiwara so that no one would lay a hand on them. Umibouzu then stated that Gintoki may have saved Yoshiwara, but he himself, would be killed.

Battles[]

Fight Outcome Time it Occurred
Housen 1st Division vs. Kamui Interrupted Episode 141
Housen vs. Sakata Gintoki Almost Win Episode 143
Housen vs. Sakata Gintoki, Tsukuyo and Hyakka (and sun) Loss Episode 145

Quotes[]

  • (To Kamui) "Succeed me? Don't make me laugh. Kamui, you don't believe in hierarchies. You only believe in the difference between the strong and the weak. You don't bother yourself with the weak. But against the strong, it doesn't matter you it is you would bare your fangs agaisnt your master."
  • (To Abuto) "Quite the friends they are. They're extorting a retired old man trying to peacefully live out the rest of his life. I've lost interest. If money is what you want, take as much as you want. Things like that are worthless to me now. However, this town, if you try to steal my country I will show you the true strength of the Night King.
  • (To Kamui) Wither away, I started withering away long ago ... How have I shriveled so much when the sun doesn't even reach me?
  • (To Gintoki) "It seems you're not just talk. Within Earth standards, that is.
  • (To Gintoki) Of course you samurai wouldn't be able to shatter my chains, when you couldn't protect your own nation from the Amanto.
  • (To Gintoki) When a lion loses a turf war, it must hand over its land and its females. Do you understand? You samurai no longer have a home, or right to hold women. Because your land and females all became ours long ago! That's right, this city, its women, Hinowa all belong to the King of the Night! They are chained up as my pets. They cannot escape anywhere and you losers don't have the right to stop me! Its your fault for being too weak to protect anything!
  • (To Gintoki) A loser should act like one and just suck on his thumb...and watch as this nation and its women are violated by the stronger ones!"
  • (To Gintoki and Hyakka) Weak! Weak!! You can assemble as many faint rays of light as you want. You still won't be able to dry out the King of the Night! You cannot light up this dark night!
  • (To Kamui) You take everything you want by force. You hold down everything you dislike by force. You can only express love and hate through fighting. Kamui you will eventually learn, When you're old and look back at the path you took, you'll find that our path is empty. Even when you find something you truly desire, you lack the arms to hold it. You can old sink your claws into it. The more you try to bring it closer, the deeper your claws sink in. The more you reach out for them, the further away they go.
  • (To Himself in thought) A true night, where no light can reach...so even in death, the King of the Night must walk into the night

Trivia[]

  • Housen's name has the same pronounciation of 奉先[1] (Chinese: Fengxian, Japanese: Housen[2][3][4][5]) , that is the courtsey name of Lü Bu.[6] [7]
  • Yato tribe motives and theme have parallels in Chinese culture, so since Lu Bu Fenxian (in Japanese Riyo Fu Hōsen) was the strongest Chinese warrior (according to the legend), so Housen is the strongest Yato warrior.
  • Housen's real inspiration (Lü Bu) appears as a character in the manga Record of Ragnarok, regarded as "The Strongest Hero in the History of Mankind[8]

References[]

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