Benizakura
A stolen cursed sword that becomes a mass-produced bioweapon.
The Benizakura is a cursed sword that appears in the 2010 Japanese animated film Gintama: The Movie, a retelling of the Benizakura story arc from Gintama. In the film, the swordsmith Murata Tetsuya requests that Gintoki Sakata retrieve the Benizakura, which has been stolen and used to commit serial murder. The blade is no ordinary cursed sword; it is revealed to be a bioweapon that the Kiheitai have been mass-producing. The Benizakura exerts Nizo Okada's body to strengthen itself, eventually consuming him and causing him to go berserk. Gintoki ultimately destroys the Benizakura using a new sword created by Murata Tetsuko.
Quick Facts
- First appearance
- Gintama: The Movie (2010)
Lore & Background
The Benizakura is a cursed sword that was stolen from the swordsmith Murata Tetsuya. Tetsuya had been acting as an accomplice to the Kiheitai in hopes of perfecting the Benizakura, which they had been mass-producing as a bioweapon. The sword is wielded by the assassin Nizo Okada, a previous antagonist known as Nizo the Butcher. The Benizakura is revealed to be no ordinary cursed sword; it exerts Nizo's body to strengthen itself. Tetsuya states that "the life or death confrontation [may have] awakened memories of battle that lay dormant inside of [Gintoki]." Nizo is eventually consumed by the Benizakura and goes berserk. Tetsuya sacrifices his life to protect his sister, realizing the error of his ways. Gintoki uses Tetsuko's sword to finish off Nizo and destroys the Benizakura.
More in Characters
Elsewhere in Gintama
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