Abe Tanomo

The Shogun's kuchiyaku (food taster), who is personally responsible for inspecting the food that is served to the Shogun for any sign of poison. Because of this, Abe no Kaii is an expert on poisons and, thus, an expert on poisoning others. He is assigned to help Retsudo kill Itto by the Shogun, but secretly schemes behind their backs to kill both Itto and Retsudo thus allowing him to become the force controlling the Shogunate behind the scenes. Unlike Retsudo, who is at least a Bushi and holds himself to certain standards of honor, Abe no Kaii holds nothing but disdain for the warrior code and will stoop to use any tactics to get what he wants and is also a gutless coward who always thinks of himself first.