Shingen Yashida

Shingen Yashida was a Japanese martial artist who disgraced his family name by attempting to kill his own daughter, Mariko Yashida , for his father's business empire. He held a strong dislike towards mutants, because ever since the day his father was saved by Wolverine , he became fascinated with their kind and unravelling their secrets, and felt that his family's name was ruined by his father's obsession.

Biography

Background

During his youth, Shingen studied biology in college, learning about mutation and the role of recessive genes in passing on characteristics to offspring. From this understanding, he felt that his father, Ichirō, saw little of his traits in his son, instead favoring Shingen's daughter, Mariko, as the rightful heir to the Yashida Corporation.

But due to his father's ailing health and Mariko's youth, Shingen was put in charge of the corporate side of affairs, to serve as a test of his competence as the CEO of the family's business. Shingen tried to please his father by preventing the company from descending into bankruptcy, even going as far as disguising the cost of Ichirō's determination to escape death in amassing large quantities of adamantium, from the board and the stockholders. Shingen thought he would be rewarded for his actions, but Ichirō nonetheless cut him out of the loop and wrote Mariko as the successor to his title in his will.

The Wolverine

After his father died, Shingen planned to kill his daughter because he feared that she would take over his father's business once Ichirō's will was opened, which named her as the successor to the Yashida corporate empire. So Shingen conspired with the corrupt Japanese Minister of Justice Noburo Mori to put out a hit on Mariko's life, contracting the Yakuza to eliminate her. After Logan escapes the funeral with Mariko, Shingen orders the Yakuza to track them down by searching near the village where Mariko grew up in.

Shingen eventually captures his daughter with the Yakuza's help and has her brought back to the Yashida mansion. He lectures her on how Ichirō saw little of himself in his son, but favoured her as his true offspring and the more worthy heir. Shingen attempts to kill her, until the Black Clan reveal their presence and he is forced to flee. Viper appears on the scene and infects Shingen with a toxin to prevent him from pursuing Mariko.

When Wolverine is about to remove the parasite that prevented his healing factor from functioning, Shingen attacks him, but Yukio fights back and defends Wolverine just long enough for him to remove the parasite and recover. Wolverine then fights Shingen, but initially allows him to live with the truth that he ordered his own daughter to die.  As Shingen regains his senses, he charges at Logan, and impales the latter with his sword. When Wolverine takes the full force of Shingen's sword and no signs of wavering, Shingen asks "What kind of monster are you?". Logan replies "The Wolverine", then kills Shingen by unsheathing his claws in the samurai's neck.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Due to Wolverine traveling back in time to January 1973, and preventing Bolivar Trask from being assassinated by Mystique, and changing the significant events after that point, the events involving Mariko's assasination and Yashida absorbing Wolverine's healing factor never occurred. Thus, Shingen was never killed by Wovlerine.

Abilities

• Business Management - He has run Yashida Corporation as the CEO. Shingen efforts prevented the company from landing up in bankruptcy and even disguised his father's large purchases of Adamantium from the stakeholders. 
• Master Swordsman - Shingen is a highly skilled warrior. His swordsmanship skills are honed to the point where he has bested nearly every opponent who has faced him. He is also equally proficient in wielding two blades simultaneously between both hands. Despite his injured state by Viper, he was able to best Yukio in combat without much effort. Against Wolverine, Shingen was able to land many decisive blows, ultimately unable to actually kill or even defeat the much more experienced foe due to the latter's healing powers and immortality.
• Peak Physical Condition - Despite his age, he has shown an exceptional physical conditioning ranging from strength, speed, agility and endurance, likely due to regular rigorous swordsmanship training. He is very resilient as despite Viper stabbing him in the neck, which was laced with her potent venom, Shingen survived the assault. Shortly afterwards, he recovered enough to effectively fight both Yukio and Wolverine consecutively.

Relationships

Family

• Ichirō Yashida - Father
• Mrs. Yashida - Wife
• Mariko Yashida - Daughter
• Yukio - Foster Daughter

Original Timeline

Trivia

• When Shingen is fighting Logan in the Yashida household, his swords do not get cut apart instantly, despite the fact that Logan's claws are made of the indestructible alloy adamantium. This implies that the swords themselves are made of adamantium, as Ichirō had amassed large quantities of the mineral in his factory in the north of Japan.
• Shingen's statement of mutants being "God's mistake" is echoed in Logan, as when Logan is talking with Xavier early in the film, he states, "Maybe we really are God's mistake."

Behind the Scenes

• Hiroo Minami was a stunt double for Hiroyuki Sanada in the role of Shingen Yashida.

External links

• Shingen Yashida on the Marvel Wiki
• Shingen Yashida on Wikipedia