The Taoist

"The Taoist" (Chinese and Japanese: 道士; pinyin: Dàoshì; Wade-Giles: Tao-Shih; rōmaji: Dōshi) Error creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: convert: command not found (c.v. Masaru Ikeda → Tomohisa Aso)

A mysterious old fortune teller, who appears time to time out of nowhere to talk to (or sometimes taunt) Kenshiro Kasumi. Other people may or may not notice his appearance or existence, as he seems to possess some kind of mysterious ability to make bystanders forget about him after disappearing. He gave a "fate medallion" to Kenshiro as a flip coin to help him make a decision when facing a serious dilemma. He also grants worthy people connected to the Hokuto clan a wish about their fate similar to the time he briefly extended Mang Kuangyun's life so that he could fulfill his wish to battle the successor of Hokuto Shinken.

He meets Kenshiro the second time in a bar after the defeat of Jean Carne and tells him that there are still many strong warriors in China. The third time was in a temple after Kenshiro learned that the bandit leader was Pan Yuling. The fourth time was after Kenshiro's brief encounter with Biao Baifeng. The fifth time was after Kenshiro's initial encounter with Liu Zongwu. The Taoist would also reveal himself to Yuling in the church after her brother barely survived an assassination attempt and Liu Zongwu after arriving in Shanghai.

The Taoist's identity and agenda were never explicitly revealed, but many Japanese fans speculate him to be Běidǒu Xīngjūn (Chinese and Japanese: 北斗星君; Wade-Giles: Pei tou Hsing chün; rōmaji: Hokuto Seikun), Taoist god of the Big Dipper. Beidou Xingjun is a god of death appearing as an old man. He carries a list which records the date and time each person dies. But it is said that a dying person praying to him could extend their life.

Other speculate him to be the spirit of Shuken. As in the Thai translation Yasaka mentioned "There is no record that you and Yama had a child" when conversing with the Taoist. Although this may be a translation error.

Taoist in the anime.