Kikuta Isamu

Kikuta Isamu was a member of the Tribe, the biological father of Otori Takeo, first husband of Sara and paternal half-brother of Otori Shigeru; his mother, a member of the Kikuta family, had a relationship with the young Lord Otori Shigemori (Shigeru's father) which resulted in Isamu's conception, though Shigemori never met Isamu. While often mentioned, Isamu only appears in some of Takeo's visions in Brilliance of the Moon and the first chapter of Heaven's Net is Wide.

Said to have been one of the most powerful and feared members of the Tribe and a peerless assassin, Isamu was in line to become Master of the Kikuta Family. However, he became disillusioned with his life of murder and cruelty. After meeting and falling in love with Sara, a woman of the Hidden, he unexpectedly deserted the Tribe and renounced violence, converting to the ways of the Hidden. The Tribe sentenced him to death for his desertion, which resulted in his murder at the hands of his cousin, Kikuta Kotaro, about two years later. Kotaro offered him a chance to return to the Tribe, but Isamu instead led him further into the forest (presumably to protect his new community from Kotaro), then allowed his cousin to kill him, saying he forgave him for doing so. Isamu and Sara's son, Tomasu (later re-named Takeo) was born after his death.

Isamu was confirmed as having the powers of the second self, of moving in complete silence, of being immune to most poisons and the enhanced hearing and vision of the Kikuta. Given that his skills were superior to Kotaro's, he presumably also had the abilities of invisibility and the sleep-bringing Kikuta gaze. Isamu was said to have often used poisons for his assassinations. He loved roaming the mountains and exploring nature, as Takeo had during his youth. When the time of his death came, despite the ruthless training he had endured for most of his life, Isamu refused to defend himself and forgave Kotaro for murdering him, bravely facing his death in accordance with his new beliefs.