References: Yue-ciel@tumblr, Awataguchi Yoshimitsu Japanese wiki page, game wiki, Recollections part 5, Facebook info post

Canon history:

-He was forged in the Kamakura era (1185-1333) 800+ years old (except it takes place in 2205 so more like 1000)

-Burned in the Siege of Osaka in the 1600s with Toyotomi Hideyori as his master, and was then picked up by the Tokugawa clan. Ichigo burned with him. (Honebami and Souza Samonji burned in a different fire later on. Honebami lost pretty much all his memories in his fire; Namazuo only lost some.)

Headcanons:

-Height is approximately 5'4"

-Considers all the Toushirous his family, but Ichigo Hitofuri and Honebami Toushirou his "true" brothers


-He speaks politely to everyone except those he’s extremely close to. But he doesn’t use overly formal keigo or ancient speech styles or anything, just standard です・ます as he does in the game.

-He’s generally friendly and easygoing. He doesn’t often lose his temper, and has a relaxed “it’ll all work out somehow” attitude in most situations.

-But this leads to being a little short-sighted, and he has a tendency to get himself into things without thinking them through. Nonetheless, he’s usually not bothered and he takes challenges and predicaments as they come.

-He’s quite physically affectionate. He likes hugs and little touches and he’s often pouncing on Honebami, doesn’t mind playing with people’s hair or feeding them or whatever. He wouldn’t do it with a stranger but he doesn’t shy away from touching or being touched.

-He’s constantly snacking, especially on modern treats. But at the end of the day his favorite is still dango

-He’s a prankster. Most likely to start pillow fights, throw water balloons, chase people around with bugs, etc. He also likes to throw out rude teasing comments, but he’s not enough of a dedicated troll to carry on any long or elaborate schemes.

-He doesn’t remember anything from his early years, but sometimes he gets little snatches of subconscious memory. Melodies he heard once, or feelings of déjà vu, just little things. They’re very small and they come out very rarely, but they’re all he has left as a reminder that those early years really did exist.

-He doesn’t remember being a naginata, or much of anything before coming into the Toyotomi clan under Oda Nobukatsu (so around the late 1500s early 1600s). Was either given as a gift to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, or stolen.

-He was passed down to Hideyori and privately he considers Hideyori “his” master. He was well-loved by Hideyori and was carried by him everywhere (***though Hideyori didn’t fight? Double-check***)

-He was in Hideyori’s possession during the siege of Osaka castle. As Hideyori’s beloved personal sword, he was the blade Hideyori used to commit suicide. ALTERNATIVELY: Hideyori escaped the castle and fled, but he had to leave everything behind, so Namazuo had to watch his master flee without him.

-Either way, he lost his most beloved master and has a lot of grief and regrets, which fuel his quiet doubts about the saniwa and their current mission. He’s one of the swords most susceptible to corruption, because he does want to change the past and he doesn’t have total loyalty and faith in his master. But he trusts and relies on the swords he looks up to and cares about, like Ichigo, so he puts his loyalty with theirs.

-After the fire he came into Ieyasu’s possession as part of the Tokugawa clan but he never cared for them as much. He was reforged during this time, hence his survival but with memory loss.

-He obviously still has fire-related issues; though he’s determined to move on and he tries hard to focus on the future, he’s still affected by the past in many ways and he hasn’t let go as much as he’d like to think he has.

-He has painful associations with summertime/fire/heat, so he prefers winter, cold foods, things like that, because they’re more comfortable for him. He often wears lighter clothing, compared to the other swords.

-However, he often puts himself in situations that force him to face those fears and sources of discomfort. He really does want to overcome them and move forward, so he’ll push himself with mixed results.

-He has short-term memory problems, though they aren’t severe (about the same as a typical person with a bad memory). He’ll forget something he was supposed to do or tell someone, it takes him a while to remember somebody’s name (and he may forget they’ve met once before). It isn’t extreme enough to have caused any problems in battle, but it’s part of the reason he uses the same level of politeness for most people.