Ito Takayoshi is a character of the Netflix series, Blue Eye Samurai, who is voiced by Harry Shum Jr.. He is the second son of Shogun Ito and Akemi's husband.
Biography[]
Takayoshi is the second son of the Shogun Ito and got married to Akemi. Takayoshi stutters so his mother forbade him to speak to women in order to avoid being laughed at. This resulting public silence from Takayoshi, combined with his lethal skill at kyudo (archery) and the death of his first wife after an unhappy marriage, has led to rumors at court that he is a cold, indifferent and abusive tyrant.
Personality[]
Takayoshi seems aloof and cold to most; as a result of his mother dismissing any woman who is 'incompatible' with him, and the death of his previous wife (the cause of which is still unknown), rumors around the court are that he is a tyrant to women. However, his public silence is a result of his domineering mother's forbidding him to speak to women, in order to maintain their family image of perfect dignity. In private, he is not harsh but relatively shy and gentle-natured; he is simply inhibited by a slight stammer, which disappears when he's around people who allow him to relax (or when he recites renku poetry).
His initial, indifferent reaction to Akemi's anger when he shot her bird with an arrow was simply him trying to publicly conform to his mother's desire. When he later noticed his mother tormenting Akemi during their wedding feast (and claiming it had been his idea to cook and serve her dead bird to her) he sent her two replacement birds as a gesture of apology. When Akemi angrily confronted him in private, assuming he had been taunting her, he finally plucked up the courage to explain himself, revealing his stammer in the process and assuring his gesture of apology was genuine. Understanding immediately, Akemi softened and explained he did not need to be ashamed of his stammer around her, or rush his speech- she compared him to a childhood tutor of hers with a similar stammer, who she'd had a crush on. As a result of this interaction and the consummation of their marriage, Takayoshi quickly developed a warmer relationship with his wife, and began speaking aloud more frequently. In the aftermath of Edo's burning, he showed sadness for the destruction and loss of life, as well as relief at Akemi's safety.
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