Shirasagi Maniwa the 1st

Overview

Summary

Gallery

"Thǝ probability isn’t zǝro—and if it isn’t zǝro, thǝn a path still ǝxists. In this world, anything that is possiblǝ is possiblǝ."

— Shirasagi Maniwa the 1st

Shirasagi Maniwa the 1st
Kanji Name	真庭 白鷺 １世
Kana Name	まにわ しらさぎ いっせい
Romaji Name	Maniwa Shirasagi Issei
Character Information
Alias	Shirasagi of the Spear
Age	Unknown
Gender	Male
Personal Status
Classification	Human
Status	Deceased
Relatives	Shirasagi Maniwa (Shares Name)
Abilities	Wrath Seeker
Professional Status
Occupation	Ninja
Affiliation	Maniwa Ninja Corps
Equipment	Long Spear
Media
Work of Origin	Katanagatari Series
Novel Debut	Maniwagatari

Appearances
Novel Appearances
Series	Katanagatari Series
Volumes	Maniwagatari

Shirasagi Maniwa the 1st (真庭(まにわ) 白鷺(しらさぎ) １世(いっせい), Maniwa Shirasagi Issei), also known as Shirasagi of the Spear (長槍(ながやり)の白鷺(しらさぎ), Nagayari no Shirasagi), is a character from the Katanagatari Series. He is a ninja from the Sengoku Period and one of the first bosses of the Maniwa Ninja Corps. His name would later be inherited by Shirasagi Maniwa two hundred years later.

Personality

Shirasagi is an eccentric and incomprehensible man, whom nobody understands. He is said to have a unique and flashy fighting style for a ninja, always baring himself on the front lines, and yet he's been able to keep his ninja art hidden from everyone. Even in an organization that values individuality, such as the Maniwa, he doesn't at all mesh with anyone else, being entirely unfit to work in a group. He isn't understood by anyone, and most other ninja show disdain toward him, wishing to avoid him whenever possible, which is why few people aside from Houou Maniwa favor him for the position of one of the twelve bosses.

Shirasagi is a contrarian, always saying the opposite of what he's thinking. He regularly does things which appear to have no purpose, like carrying around his giant spear even though he never uses it in combat, or keeping up his strange accent, which is shown to be deliberate because he drops it at one point. He is also shown to talk quite arrogantly to others, even to his superiors, such as Houou and Kyouken Maniwa. Many of his actions seem to be deliberately calculated to annoy and irritate whoever he is speaking to. When evaluated by Kyouken for his aptitude to be one of the bosses of the clan, she claimed that a good leader must understand his subordinates, which is why she didn't find him to be a good pick; Shirasagi's position, however, is that understanding is not necessary, arguing that neither she nor Houou really know anything about him. He continued to value incomprehensibility for his entire life, never once revealing his secret ninja art to anybody, and continued to defy expectations and conventions until his death of old age, in itself a very unusual demise for a ninja.

Appearance

Shirasagi is a tall man with yellow eyes and long white hair with black highlights, tied in a ponytail. He is shown wearing pure white sleeveless ninja garb, with bandages wrapped around his arms, two chains wrapped around his waist and below chest, and knee-high striped footwear with yellow and white stripes, which fade into his pants. He also wears a long white and yellow cape in the shape of wings, tied with a golden button with a wave design on it.

Background

Shirasagi was a member of the Maniwa Ninja Corps during the Sengoku Period, right when the organization shifted its command structure to have twelve bosses. He was known as an outcast and an eccentric, not fitting into the Maniwa clan at all; nonetheless, he had a perfect record when it came to completing his missions, and so became a candidate for the twelve bosses, despite most of the village, including Kyouken Maniwa, being against it. After passing her test, he eventually did become one of the bosses, strangely not ever receiving any complaints from his subordinates. He continued serving the position for the next fifty years, until he died of old age, quite unusually for a ninja.

Abilities and Equipment

• Maniwa Ninja Art: Wrath Seeker (真庭忍法(まにわにんぽう) 逆鱗探(げきりんさが)し, Maniwa Ninpō: Gekirin Sagashi): Shirasagi the 1st's ninja art. Only its name is known, and nobody, not even Houou Maniwa, the chief of the clan, knows its effects. Shirasagi kept it secret for his entire life, and only the name was passed down through the generations.
• Long Spear (長槍(ながやり), Nagayari): A white long spear, its exact length being 8 shaku, 4 sun (approximately 254 cm). While he always carries it into battle, Shirasagi never actually uses it, only bearing it for show.

Quotes

• (Shirasagi to Kyouken) "Continuing to gǝt thǝ rolls of thǝ dicǝ right or wrong… Thǝ probability isn’t zǝro—and if it isn’t zǝro, thǝn a path still ǝxists. In this world, anything that is possiblǝ is possiblǝ. (...) And if so, thǝn pǝrhaps it’s finǝ for a shinobi likǝ mǝ to bǝcomǝ chiǝf."

Trivia

• The Maniwa surname means "garden of truth", partly suggesting the animal motif of the ninja clan.
• Shirasagi's first name means "white heron".
• Shirasagi's height is stated to be 5 shaku, 9 sun, 7 bu, which is roughly equal to 180 cm.
• Shirasagi's weight is stated to be 14 kan, 8 kin, which is roughly equal to 57 kg.
• Shirasagi's creed is stated to be "incomprehensible" (意味不明(いみふめい), Imifumei).
• Like his descendant, Shirasagi the 1st has a peculiar speech pattern. In his case, he uses the wrong kanji for certain words, still keeping the same pronunciation. While this wouldn't normally result any verbal difference, he reportedly has a strange accent.