Typical wears western dress including duster and a wide brimmed hat. When in towns or cities, he doesn’t wear his swords openly but while travelling often has the wakizashi on his hip and his uchigatana hung from his horse. He always has a tonto or two concealed on his person. During warm weather or while at home he often wears traditional hakama and kimono.

He keeps his hair tied in a top knot.

Shintaro is calm, collected and stoic, rarely letting anger or other strong emotions get the better of him. He is respectful and polite, regardless of his personal feelings about any given person. His outer personae belies the man he truly is, steadfastly loyal to his friends and family and among those he knows and trusts, he can be quite personable and expressive.

He has a strong sense of honour both due to his culture and being samurai. Duty is important to him as is his word, something he would never break once he gives it. Shintaro is very curious and eager to learn new things, often pushing himself hard to achieve any goals he assigns himself. This very determination is what allowed him to pick up many skills quicker than most of his peers.

He is a complex man who has endured much hardship but he tries to look beyond the difficulties of his past to a brighter future. Unfortunately recent events have put him on a path which will challenge both his resolve and personal sense of honour.

Served in a special military unit to help maintain order in Kyoto and deal with rebels within the city. 

Kenjitsu, Iajisu, Jujitsu and Kyūdō (archery)

Proficient with rifles

Japanese, English (good spoken, poor reading)

Okashi Suzuki (b. 1850, d. 1874) (wife)

3 brothers, 2 sisters

Shintaro is the youngest of his brothers and has one younger sister. As he was unlikely to inherit much from his family, he struck out to make a name for himself. He enrolled in one of the top dojo’s in Edo while still young. He worked hard to rise up in ranks, often pushing himself too much in order to keep up with the older more experienced students. It wasn't long before he was considered a master and qualified to open his own dojo. He didn't feel ready to become an instructor as he didn't feel he had sufficient experience. Instead he travelled to Kyoto where he heard Ronin could find employment with a special unit being formed. 

1865 – Joined the Shinsengumi, a special military unit created to help police Kyoto against insurrections on behalf of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

1867 – Met and eventually married Okashi Suzuki.

1871 – With the Shogunate abolished and the Shinsengumi now considered rebels after the events of the Boshin War, Shintaro decided to travel to American to start a new life. It was during this voyage he met various members of the Iwakura Mission. Oddly enough the key members of this mission had been on the opposing side during the Boshin War, in other words his former ‘enemies’. Learning about their goals gave Shintaro plenty to think about and in a way changed his outlook in life.

1872 – Arrived in America (San Francisco) and by using the money he saved rented a small home for him and his wife. He attended school to learn to improve his English reading and writing and about American law. In his free time he worked as a labourer to earn extra money, leaving his savings for the future.

1874 – 1875 – Returned from working late to find his wife had been attacked and mortally injured. He was able to learn a little about her attacker before she breathed her last but not enough he could go to the authorities with. He still reported the attack, trusting the local sheriff will investigate and find the killer. Despite telling them everything his wife had managed to tell him, they didn’t find any suspects. Frustrated and determined to get justice for his wife’s murder, he conducted his own investigation and uncovered a few clues. It was enough for him to decide to sell his home and travel north towards Montana where he hoped to track down his wife’s murderer.

1876 – Arrives in Kalispell, Montana where he hopes he can pick up the trail of his quarry.