Mei Mitazono

A young woman from Mitazono Village, Mei was born to a Japanese mother and a foreign father. Her mother died when she was young and her father decided to settle in Mei's mother's hometown where he would raise Mei and help introduce western agricultural techniques to the village. Her childhood was idyllic and her father was a well-respected man in the village until the arrival of a yakuza named Onitake.

Onitake erected a factory that quickly polluted the village and ruined the crops that Mei's father had worked so hard to cultivate. When he tried to stand up to Onitake he was murdered and Mei barely managed to escape with her life. Stumbling into the polluted waters she was rescued by Shiranui who trained her in the arts of wood manipulation and allowed her to tend his Garden of Life-Extension. Mei was so badly injured that Shiranui had to place a seed within her to mend her wounds. However the seed will continue to grow and eventually consume Mei.

Rather than being upset by the deadly fate that hangs over her, Mei takes the skills she has learned and seeks revenge against the murderers of her father. She often works alongside Renji after he is recruited into Shiranui's ranks. Despite her deadly abilities she often seems very placid and warm-hearted when in the company of her compatriots in Shiranui's ranks.

---

The Meaning Behind the Name - 御手園芽生

Mei's name is written with kanji meaning "hand" (御手), "garden" (園) and "budding (of a plant)" (芽生).