| Shizu | |
| |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Princess |
| Affiliation | House of Hakkaku |
| Weapon | |
| Status | Unknown |
| First Appearance | Tenchu: Dark Secret |
Princess Shizu (志津姫 Shizu-hime) was the wife of Lord Kagemasa Hakkaku. Married off by her father for strictly political reasons, she found the marriage unhappy and escaped the Hakkaku province a year after the wedding, eventually taking refuge in the small frontier village of Saiga.
Biography[]
Not much is known about Shizu's life before her marriage to Lord Hakkaku. However, she was close friends with Lord Matsunoshin Gohda's daughter, Princess Kiku.
After the marriage, though possessed of a volatile and warlike nature, Lord Hakkaku treated his wife with tenderness and care. But one day, everything changed. Kagemasa's gaze was filled with a cruel light, and his sudden, terrible rages struck down even those closest to him. He was a like a stranger to Shizu. As the days passed, the sight of Kagemasa's figure began to fill Shizu with dread. And just when she thought that things could not get any worse, Kagemasa began bringing her to a series of bizarre and disturbing occult rituals, which could only be described as inhuman. Shizu feared these ceremonies greatly, but her husband demanded that she attend, and she could do nothing but pray that they ended quickly.
The princess feared she was drowning in Kagemasa's madness, and soon her pure, sad heart began to wither. Finally, pushed to the limits of her endurance, the princess begged her remaining few loyal retainers to help her escape, and they agreed. On a certain night, before the hour of the ritual as at hand, the brave retainers caused a distraction so the princess could flee under the cover of darkness. Yet before the princess could make good her escape, a figure appeared in the darkness... Her lord and husband, Kagemasa Hakkaku. Shizu did her best to free herself from Lord Hakkaku's grasp, but his grip was like iron. Frightened, she grabbed a small dagger from her bag and stabbed her husband in the eye, injuring him gravely.
Following the events of Tenchu: Dark Secret, Princess Shizu left her family's home in the Akama province one day, never to be seen again.