Ienaga Kano (家永カノ, Ienaga Kano) is the name assumed by one of the Abashiri Convicts. Her true name is Chikanobu (親宣).[1]
Appearance
Personality
Ienaga has always loved art for a long time.
Background
Sometime in the past, due to her interest in art, she met the counterfeit artist, Chouan Kumagishi through an art dealer.
Plot
(From chapter 70 onwards)
In a cabin that Hijikata's group is staying at, Ienaga is recuperating from her wounds as Ushiyama is feeding her. She listens silently the whole time as the other members of the group talks about Noppera-Bou and his motives in Japan. (70)
Ienaga and her group heads to Yubari where they run into Sugimoto's group inside the Edogai store. As tensions begin to flare up between the two parties, Asirpa's stomach begins to rumble loudly, interrupting the heavy mood there. Upon hearing this, Ienaga asks if she should make some food for everyone and that they should continue the conversation at the table, to which Sugimoto exclaimed that she is still alive.
Shiraishi questions Ienaga if the meat she prepared is safe to eat, and she says that she made them from horse intestines, which causes Kiroranke to spit out the food due to his policy of not eating horse meat. When Hijikata expresses concerns about how to distinguish the fake skins from the real ones, Ienaga says she may know someone who could help them, and tells them about a counterfeit artist named Chouan Kumagishi.
Some time later, several people head out to the mines in order to confirm Sergeant Tsukishima's status while Ienaga, Hijikata, and Ogata stay at the Edogai store to find some clues. Suddenly, a Molotov cocktail is thrown into the store, lighting the place on fire. Ienaga attempts to flee the store but Ogata tells him not to go out as he'll be shot.
Ienaga looks for a way out of the store but the windows all have bars on them, which prevents her from doing so. Just then, she is surprised by Ushiyama breaking the bars off as she had returned with Sugimoto and Asirpa, the former entering the store to assist Hijikata and Ogata. Ushiyama pulled her out of the store and the two groups begin fleeing the burning store. Back in the town of Yubari, Hijikata says that he and Ienaga will go meet up with Nagakura and Shiraishi, while Ushiyama and Ogata go with Sugimoto and Asirpa.
They were able to regroup with Nagakura, Shiraishi, and Kiroranke and began to make their way towards Tsukigata. Ienaga says that it would be difficult to openly talk about the tattooed skins with the guards watching them, and Kiroranke suggests that Shiraishi sneak inside since he had broken out of Kabato Prison before. But Hijikata says that there is no need for that as Nagakura has some connections there and could arrange a private meeting. When Nagakura asks if Shiraishi knew Kumagishi, he begins to tell them all about his past in Kabato Prison and how he met Kumagishi. They find a spot to make campfire and eat some food as Shiraishi continues to talk about his time in Kabato Prison. By the time Shiraishi had finished telling his story, Ienaga had already fallen asleep. The next day, they set out for the town of Tsukigata.
When they finally reached Tsukigata, Ienaga accompanied Nagakura to Kabato Prison to meet with Kumagishi. Upon speaking to the warden there, Matasuke Ooshima, they find out that Kumagishi had died last spring, having been shot while attempting to escape during outside labour. The both of them rejoins the rest of their group and discusses about what they should do now that Kumagishi is dead. They decide to continue their journey and head to Abashiri Prison.
They settle in an inn in Tsukigata where Kiroranke says it's a big deal that they were able to find out about the fake skins so quickly. However, Hijikata says that if they have no way of distinguishing them, then it makes little to no difference. Nagakura and Ienaga laments over Kumagishi's death and their loss before admitting that they have no other choice but to depend on Shiraishi. Ienaga expresses his disbelief that Shiraishi would be so crucial to their plans.
The next day, Hijikata reports to the rest of his group that Shiraishi has been captured by the 7th Division and they ponder on what they should do. When Kiroranke expresses his optimism and says that Shiraishi may be able to escape on his own, Ienaga says that Shiraishi could be killed and skin as of this moment. When Nagakura says that if he ends up being locked, and that it could take months for him to escape, Hijikata tells Ienaga and Nagakura to wait in Tsukigata for Sugimoto and head to Asahikawa together while he and Kiroranke go and get Shiraishi back.
Once Hijikata and Kiroranke returned from their mission and informed the rest of them that they had failed to rescue Shiraishi, everyone thought about what to do before deciding to leave Shiraishi to his fate since they already had a copy of his tattoo. However, Sugimoto refuses and says that he wants to save Shiraishi and pulls over Suzukawa, saying that they could use his skills as a con artist.
Abilities and Equipments
Trivia
Ienaga likes meat dishes but dislikes shrimp.