Vagabond is one of the most remarkable pieces of fiction you can ever come across. The series is written so simply yet so profoundly that one can alter the flow of his life if he adheres to the morals shared in the story.
The story, which has received several accolades, was written by Takehiko Inoue. The series takes place in ancient times when people used to live and die by blades. The story is one of the best-written stories, and after a few chapters, you can resonate with the main character.
The series captures the journey of Musashi Miyamoto, who is on his way to finding his true self and struggles to succeed, but at every new stage, he learns a new lesson, which makes him a better person than yesterday. This article will look at the 25 strongest characters in the Vagabond series.
Table of Contents
Top 25 Strongest Characters in Vagabond Manga
25) Jotaro
Jotaro is the supporting character from the manga series Vagabond. He is a monk and a good swordsman. He is also a very intellectual guy.
He is the one who serves as a spiritual guide and mentor to our main character, Musashi. He always guides Musashi to help him become a better warrior. He is indeed a significant and vital character in the Vagabond series.
24) Sukekuro Kimura
Sukekuro Kimura is a member of Yoshioka School. Sukekuro Kimura is well trained as a swordsman.
He plays a vital role throughout the series, where he has dueled with many swordsmen, including the main character, Musashi. Sukekuro Kimura is also great in martial arts; he practices ryu-style arts. Overall, he is a great character.
23) Bungoro Hikita
Bungoro Hikita has long hair and wears a traditional samurai outfit. He has a scar on his face, which tells us how experienced a warrior he is. He is the disciple of Kami Izumi Ise no Kami and has been under his care for a long time.
He is a powerful and fearsome swordsman and is considered a ruthless warrior. He plays a significant role throughout the series as he is one of the Musashi opponents. He was introduced in the early chapters of the series and played a prominent role in some scenes.
22) Magobe Debuchi
Magobe Debuchi is a physical giant compared to other characters in the story. He was also one of Musashi’s opponents when he entered the Wagyu school to look for the most muscular man.
Magobe Debuchi is a member of rivalry Itto-Ryu, the rival martial arts school to Ichi-Ryu. He is known for his immense strength, which matches his unique fighting style. He was introduced to the readers in the Yagyu arc.
21) Soho Takuan
Soho Takuan serves as a mentor to Musashi and acts as a big brother to Otsu. Soho Takuan is a focused monk; he is very straightforward with his opinions, which may make him look rude, but he isn’t; he is wise.
He has taught Musashi much about humility. We can see Takuan tie Musashi to a tree and mentally torment him to teach Musashi a lesson. The way of teaching can be brutal, but it undoubtedly helped Musashi.
20) Hyogonosuke Yagyu
Hyogonosuke Yagyu is the grandson of Sekishusai Yagyu, the head of the Yagyu estate and school. He has thick eyebrows, a manly face, and a muscular build. His personality is childish, but he cares about his loved ones.
We have also seen him crying for his grandfather while seeing him in a frail state. The students of Yagyu School also respect him. Whenever students see him, they greet him very well. He has a warm personality but becomes alert whenever he feels murderous intentions from someone and quickly gets aggressive.
19) Rindo Baiken
Rindo Baiken is the daughter of Baiken Shishido and was adopted by Kohei Tsujikaze. Throughout the series, we have seen Rindo being quiet rather than talking; she likes to use her actions to convey her thoughts.
She is also very stealthy and can go from one point to another without getting detected. She is also very swift and can kill anyone with one blow from her chain. Although she is still a kid, her ability to kill is among the best in the series.
18) Fudo Yugetsusai
Fudo Yugetsusai is a former military officer who helped free a village. Later, after ruling over a village, he misused his power over the village, offered no protection to the village, and caused damage.
He is a drunkard who snatches the food from the villagers, forcefully takes pubescent girls, and marries them, making them wives. Therefore, the villagers decide to kill Fudo. During the night, Jisai, who the villagers choose, kills Fudo and earns the villagers’ respect.
Although, at the time, they used to view him as their hero and savior, towards the end of his life, he was nothing more than a dictator who misused his power for his entertainment and had to pay the price.
17) Kizaemon Shoda
Kizaemon Shoda is one of the most talented swordsmen Musashi has encountered. He gave Musashi a run for his money and was able to teach him some valuable lessons as well. Kizaemon Shoda is the leader of four Yagyu senior disciples.
He has a massive build and is highly competitive. He does not let a good opponent go without fighting with him. He is loyal and will take down anyone who appears to be a threat to his superiors. He also fought in Sekigahara and took down several opponents.
16) Jisai
Jisai appeared to be a loner who stayed alone by himself. Jisai was unaware of the outside world and kept forgetting how his students looked. One day, Jisai receives a letter from his former student, Sakeyasu Sasaki, informing him he will die soon and informing him to take care of his son.
Soon after waiting for the child and slowly losing hope, he saw a boat with a child inside. The child was named Kojiro. After receiving Kojiro, he becomes a caring father.
15) Sadakore
Sadakore is an older man with a short stature. He is the captain of his squad. He was a great swordsman and a teacher; he used to teach in his school, where he also trained his adopted son, Koun.
In the series, we saw him fighting along with his squad for the Western side in the brutal Battle of Sekigahara, but unfortunately, Sadkore’s squad lost the battle. Sadkore and his remaining squad tried to escape the battle, but they were surrounded by enemies hidden in the forest.
14) Toji Gion
Toji Gion has a calm, relaxed personality. In the first Yoshioka Arc, he heads the Yoshioka School. He seems uninterested in fights and unresponsible, but later in Hozoin Arc, after burning the school, Toji sees Musashi fight Inshun during the fight.
He is shocked and realizes how much more he needs to improve to defeat Inshun. After witnessing the fight, Toji disappears in the forest. Despite his overwhelming talent, he loves to work hard, does not take things lightly, and wishes to be the best in the country.
13) Ryohei Ueda
Ueda is seen wearing a yukata, and his hair is tied in the chonmage style. Ryohei Ueda was an abandoned child. Later, it was adopted by Kempo. Ryohei grew up with Seijuro and Denshichiro.
Ryohei had a brotherly bond with Seijuro and Denshichiro, so he used to go easy on them during training fights. However, Ryohei was criticized by Kempo for going easy, and Kempo told him to fight fair and square with all his might.
Soon, Ryohei was kicked out of the school for going easy on Denshichiro, but somehow, Ryohei Ueda managed to return to school. Moving on to Denshichiro’s duel with Musashi, Denshichiro was killed soon after; his other brother was also killed in the duel, so Ryohei Ueda is pronounced head of the Yoshioka School.
12) Denshichiro Yoshioka
Denshichiro Yoshioka is a large, muscular man with a sharp, broad face. He is the son of Kenpo Yoshioka and the younger brother of Seijuro Yoshioka. He is also a teacher. Denshichiro Yoshioka is a respectful swordsman who never returns to his word.
His brother Seijuro is the head of the Yoshioka School, but Denshichiro Yoshioka takes care of the pupils and trains them. He looks up to his brother as a better swordsman and works hard to match him.
11) Kohei Tsujikaze
In the series, we have seen Kohei Tsujikaze wearing a bandana on his head and wielding a sword as his weapon. Later in the series, when he is grown up, we see him with long hair and a facial scar and using a sickle and chain as his weapon.
Kohei Tsujikaze’s mother tries to kill him by pushing him into the waterfall, but Tenma Tsujikaze kills her and takes Khoei under his wing. At 12, Khoei joined a group named Tsujikaze and was the most savage member.
Under the group’s influence, Khoei tried to rape a villager’s wife. Disgusted, Tenma killed the woman to put her out of her misery and crushed Kōhei’s testicles, making him impotent. Kohei tried to kill Tenma but was unsuccessful and was imprisoned.
10) Inshun Hozoin
Inshun Hozoin appears to be young in the time of Vagabond; he is a monk, and hence he is bald, nor does he have any facial hair other than eyebrows. At a very young age, he was incredibly skilled and considered a prodigy.
He also tells his peers to be quiet during a duel. His strength comes from childhood, when he watched his parents die before him and couldn’t do anything because he was too young.
He trains to become invincible and wants to eliminate his weakness and guilt. Once he realizes this after his fight with Musashi, he appears to be happier, challenging Musashi to a friendly about if they meet again.
9) Seijuro Yoshioka
Seijuro looks much younger than his age, unlike other swordsmen and skilled men. He has a feminine face. He is wearing a yukata with a katana at the side of his hip. Seijuro Yoshioka is a very responsible man.
He truly loves her lover, Akemi, and he wishes to marry Akemi. Seijuro Yoshioka likes to play around with girls, but he also likes to drink a lot. He might act tough, but he cares very much for his family and students.
Seijuro Yoshioka protects the backs of his brother and his disciples by eliminating threats by using any methods available, even if they disregard his samurai’s honor. Seijuro inherited the Yoshioka School and was its head. However, it was a title he never wanted.
8) Yoshioka Kempo
Yoshioka Kempo is one of the members of the Yoshioka school. Along with being a good teacher, he is also a great and skilled swordsman and very well-trained in martial arts.
Yoshioka plays a vital role throughout the manga, as he is a rival to Musashi, with whom they have dueled many times. Yoshioka Kempo pushes Musashi to become a fine swordsman. He also plays a crucial role in the development of the series.
7) Munisai Shinmen
Munisai Shinmen, also known as Miyamoto Muninosuke, is a very impactful character from Vagabond. He is the father of Musashi Miyamoto, a samurai; he treated his son very harshly so he would become a tough samurai growing up.
He was very strict but also kind. He was highly skilled in martial arts and specialized in using swords and juttas. He purposely made his son hate him so that he could get the gist of how adverse the world is.
In that era, you either kill or get killed. That’s how it was, and if he had shown his tender side to his son, Musashi would have become weak and been killed early on.
6) Musashi Miyamoto
Musashi Miyamoto is one of the main protagonists of the manga series Vagabond. Musashi Miyamoto is considered one of the strongest swordsmen in Japanese history. Initially, he was named Takezou Shinmen, but later, he changed it to Musashi Miyamoto.
His father treated Musashi Miyamoto very harshly, so he wanted to overcome his father for his childhood. This desire made him feared by others; however, he had a soft side for his childhood friend Otsu.
In the series, we saw him obsessed with achieving “Invincible under the Heavens” until he realized it was an empty title. Later in the series, we see him being more gentle and peaceful.
5) Kojiro Sasaki
Kojiro Sasaki, one of the main protagonists of the series Vagabond, is also known by his pet name, Crazy Tiger from Echizen. He is the legendary rival of Musashi Miyamoto.
In the series, he is portrayed as deaf and mute; he has a baby face with long flowing hair. Kojiro was born to Sasaki Sukeyasu and his wife. However, their castle would be destroyed in battle, so his father sent him to his master, Jisai Kanemaki, to avoid death.
Later in the series, he battles opponents, strengthening Kojiro Sasaki. Kojiro Sasaki is known for his swallow-cut technique, which is very deadly during fights. Kojiro’s personality is very playful. However, he is also very sexually active. His way of communicating with people is by dueling against them.
4) Ito Ittosi
Ito Ittosi, known as Ito Yagoro, is a legendary swordsman and a great master. Ittosai is one of the most renowned swordsmen within Vagabond, seen as a legend or a myth. He was the head disciple of Kanemaki Jisai.
He is incredibly speedy and robust, fast enough to cut a firearm in half and draw his sword with a little effort. He is famous for challenging Miyamoto Musashi. Ittosai has a humorous personality; we have even seen him entertaining in the middle of combat.
He laughs very often, as he knows there aren’t many individuals who can defeat him. But Ittosai can quickly be serious in combat if needed, making him deadly. He follows his path and makes his judgments.
3) Inei Hozoin
Inei Hozoin is a supporting character from Vagabond; he is also a historical figure famous for the founding school of Sojutsu called Hozoin-ryu. Inei Hozoin is an old, bald man full of wrinkles with a broad face.
His eyes are tiny and appear to be closed. Like his student and friend Yagyu Sekishusai, he is humorous and lighthearted; however, he is also very wise but can be severe sometimes. He has also trained Musashi and given him proper guidance.
When Inei was younger and a pupil of Kami Izumi Ise, he was foolish and careless, just like Musashi. After years of training under Kami Izumi Ise, he found the hozoin-ryu. Years later, he became good friends with Inshun and his parents before their deaths. After their deaths, Inei took Inshun in with love and affection.
2) Sekishusai Yagyu
Sekishusai Yagyu is an older man with long hair. But later in the series, he shaved his hair. He is a very kind-hearted and respectful man. Sometimes, he can be carefree, but he is wise. He also cares about his grandson Hyogonosuke and takes Otsu as his granddaughter.
We can see him worrying for Otsu when she leaves to find Musashi. Despite his age, he is very healthy and active. He is a talented swordsman, and it is also said that not many pose a threat to him. You can take a rough guess; he can even frighten somebody while sleeping.
1) Kami Izumi Ise no Kami
When Kami was alive, he was known as the greatest swordsman. Even the mighty Takeda Shingen was impressed with his skills. He was incredibly skilled, even at the age of 50. One day, young Yagyu Tajima no Kami Muneyoshi challenges Kami by saying, I respect you, but you’re already 50 years old; this fight is mine!”.
Kami accepted the duel and walked in unarmed. When Yagyu faced Kami, he could sense the blood and thirst, but the thirst was coming from Kami; it was his reflection. Yagyu was feared, but Kami grabbed the sword from Yagyu’s hands and dropped it in no time.
Witnessing the duel, Inei also requests to duel Kami by saying, “Bastard! You think you can take me on unarmed?”. Before Inei could do anything, Kami grabbed the spear out of his hands incredibly fast. Inei then admitted his defeat.
Do small things with great love.
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I am a first-year student pursuing Data Science and Artificial intelligence and have always been mesmerised by AI and wish to build one for my own in future. In my free time, I like to watch Romance Anime or read Seinen Manga.
