Ayame (Tenchu)

Ayame (彩女, a homonym of the word for "iris" meaning "colorful female") is a player character in the Tenchu series of stealth games. Introduced in Acquire's Tenchu: Stealth Assassins in 1998, Ayame is a young prodigy assassin in a historical fantasy version of the 15th century Japan, who has been adopted by a ninja master and raised along with her partner Rikimaru to serve a local clan's lord. She is one of the lead characters in all subsequent installments of Tenchu except of Tenchu Z and has been well received by gaming mass media, often perceived as one of the top assassins and best female ninja characters in video games.

Appearances

In the Tenchu series

Ayame's story begins when a young shocked girl, unable to remember anything but her name and age, is discovered by Master Shiunsai of the small Azuma school of ninjutsu (Azuma Shinobi-ryu) in the desolate ruins of Kyoto after it was devastated by the Ōnin War (1467–1477) during the Muromachi period. Shiunsai finds himself unable to neither leave or help her and so he eventually decides to take her with him and train her to become a kunoichi (female ninja). Ayame is the most raw-talented of Shiunsai's pupils, including his other pupils Rikimaru and Tatsumaru. Despite her late start and bad attitude, she is initiated into the circle of ninja when she is only 14. Ayame becomes known for her sharp tongue and quick, deadly techniques, with a set of skills very different from Rikimaru, as she is faster and weaker but more cunning and aggressive than him, using a unique style of acrobatic, smooth attacks.