Ogami Ittō, formidable warrior and a master of the "suiō-ryū" swordsmanship, serves as the "Kogi Kaishakunin" (the Shōgun's executioner), a position of high power in the Tokugawa shogunate. Along with the oniwaban and the assassins, Ogami Ittō is responsible for enforcing the will of the "shōgun" over the "daimyōs" (lesser domain lords). For those samurai and lords ordered to commit "seppuku", the "Kogi Kaishakunin" assists their deaths by decapitating them to relieve the agony of disembowelment; in this role, he is entitled and empowered to wear the crest of the shogunate, in effect acting in place of the "shōgun".