Norio (典雄; Norio) is a warrior monk hailing from Cedar Temple in Tsushima. A kind-hearted and compassionate monk wielding a naginata, Norio wishes to reclaim Cedar Temple in Jogaku from the Mongols. He is voiced by Earl T. Kim in English,[1] and Mitsuaki Kanuka in Japanese.
History[]
Norio is one of the few remaining warrior monks of Cedar Temple. Cedar Temple was formerly led by his older brother, Enjo, who was nicknamed the "Guardian of Cedar Temple". After hearing of the samurais' defeat at the Battle of Komoda Beach, Enjo, Norio, and the other warrior monks rode south to fight against the Mongols there.
However, they were captured by the Mongols at Akashima and later imprisoned in Fort Ito. The warrior monks were tortured and imprisoned in a ditch, starving to death, if not brutally executed by the Mongols. His brother, Enjo, is presumably killed, along with all the other warrior monks. After Jin Sakai and Lord Shimura liberate the fort, they rescue Norio, who suffers from survivor's guilt.
Jin and Norio help rescue the captured monks in Akashima and find Hochi, one of Norio's friends. After Hochi's rescue, the Mongols plan to attack Akashima Village in response. While the Mongol attack is successfully fended off, Hochi is killed blocking an attack meant for Norio. Jin encourages Norio to press on, and determined, Norio travels further north to Kushi Temple.
The two defeat the Mongols occupying the temple, but find the monks of Kushi Temple unwilling to fight the Mongols and the temple's Buddha statue missing. They reclaim the statue, but the temple is attacked a second time by the Mongols, destroying the statue in the process. Nonetheless, Jin and Norio once again defends the temple successfully, inspiring the monks of Kushi Temple to join the resistance against the Mongols.
Norio helps Jin in retaking Castle Shimura and Fort Kaminodake, before continuing on his mission to retake Cedar Temple. Later, Jin finds him in Jogaku Prefecture, preparing for the attack on Cedar Temple with the help of the remaining monks of Kushi Temple and Cedar Temple. Norio and the monks defeat the Mongols with Jin's help.
In Cedar Temple, Norio finds that his brother, Enjo, had survived the torture from the Mongols, but had all four of his limbs cruelly amputated, and his body burned and mutilated. Enjo had survived long enough to see Norio one last time and for Norio to perform a mercy kill for him.
Norio learns that the Mongol general responsible for Enjo's torture is Kharchu. After mercifully finishing off Enjo, Norio finally breaks and seeks revenge. He enlists the help of Jin to attack Fort Shouni, which Kharchu operates, but goes to attack the fort alone while Jin is sleeping to burn the fort down and brutally execute Kharchu by burning him alive. Norio expresses regret that he had been blinded by hate and revenge. Jin encourages him again to move forward in order to honor his brother's legacy and lead the monks of Cedar Temple.
Norio aids Jin in the final assault at Port Izumi, where Jin confronts Khotun Khan and defeats him, ending the Mongol invasion of Japan once and for all.
Tales[]
- A New Horizon
- Norio's Tales
- The Fate of Tsushima
- Eternal Blue Sky
Trivia[]
- Norio addresses Jin on differing familiarity tones between the Japanese and English voice. In English, Norio talks with Jin on a mutual first name basis, whilst in the Japanese dub, he addresses Jin as "Sakai-sama" which roughly translates to "Lord Sakai".