"Cannibal Courtesan" Akaginu (人喰い
Appearance[]
Akaginu was a beautiful woman with long flowing strands of hair that were attached with pins. She had a curvaceous figure, wore a slightly loose kimono decorated with skulls, snakes, and tree peonies that opened at the top to reveal her shoulders and her cleavage, and tall geta sandals.
Gallery[]
Personality[]
Akaginu was described as a very seductive and vile woman. As her alias is self-explanatory, she was a cannibal who had a taste for male flesh whenever she killed them after first making them succumb to their sexually temptations with her beauty. In addition, her appetite also causes her to see men as food rather than people, as she viewed Shion as being an "Onden" (隠田), and can start to feel cravings whenever she meets a man that comes off as being different from her other victims, seeing it as a chance to "try something new".[2]
History[]
Past[]
At some point, Akaginu became a criminal who had a reputation for killing and cannibalizing upon the men she lured in.[3] Eventually, she was arrested by the authorities and was given the death penalty, however, Akaginu was offered by Yamada Asaemon Shion a chance to be pardon from her crimes if she were to complete a mission that required her to venture to an island that is said to possess the Elixir of Life and return back with it for the shogun to consume. Having favored this option, Akaginu agreed to participate.
Island Arc[]
Upon agreeing to the mission, Akaginu is taken to a gathering spot were other death row criminals are interested in joining the expedition. After they were told to start a massacre until only a few were available to leave for the island, Akaginu becomes one out of the ten criminals to survive and is assigned Yamada Asaemon Shion as her monitor.
Akaginu executed by Shion.
Upon sailing towards the island, Akaginu had hoped of having Shion become her next victim. However, after making landfall, she sees that Shion is immune to her charms, which causes the cannibal to become excited to know that she can try out a new delicacy. She then makes her move by trying to violate Shion, resulting in her execution in the process as the Asaemon did not give in to her advances.[4]
Abilities and Powers[]
As a well-known death row criminal, Akaginu was deemed to be a woman who was too dangerous to be left alive. She was known to be very skilled in manipulating the minds of men in order to feast on them. She was more than qualified to participate in the expedition to Shinsenkyō, as she was capable of surviving a killing spree full of death row convicts like herself, with her hands restrained nonetheless.
Creation and Conception[]
Akaginu's and Shion's early concepts.
Early concept art of Akaginu and Shion were included in Jigokuraku Kaitai Shinsho.
Trivia[]
- The name "Akaginu" (あか絹?) literally translates to "red silk".
- Akaginu ranked 15th place in the manga's 1st Character Popularity Poll.
- In the Jigokuraku Fashion Review of Volume 1, Akaginu's attire received 3 out of 3 stars.
- According to Chapter 46.5, Akaginu was the most favored criminal to be assigned to when the remaining unassigned criminals were left down to her, Warped Keiun, Moro Makiya, and Hōrubō. The Asaemons who were available at the time were Kishō, Genji, Jikka, and Shion.
- In her food record, Akaginu reveals that she had feasted on samurai, eel, and fishermen.[5]