Gōshō

Gōshō was the son of Mashō, the leader of Ceramic Village. Mashō, the creator of the Hanasaki style of ceramics, had strong artistic sensibilities. When the clay used in Hanasaki began to run out, Mashō refused to compromise his standards, in turn threatening to ruin the village once the clay inevitably ran out. To stop this from happening, Gōshō secretly killed his father and all the other Hanasaki practitioners, telling everyone they'd abandoned the village. He hid the remaining supply of Hanasaki clay, forcing the village to pursue new art styles. Under Gōshō, the village's ceramics became extremely ornate, luxurious, and colorful. Although the village prospered, gathering much more fame and business than it ever had before, some believed its new ceramics had no artistic value. Gōshō didn't consider this a problem, feeling that art that didn't sell wasn't worth pursuing. Kanyū, a disciple of Mashō, pleaded for Gōshō to help her bring back Hanasaki, but he refused, believing the village was better off. They frequently argued in the streets and, on at least one occasion, Gōshō struck her. When villagers tried to offer her assistance, Gōshō threatened to banish anyone who helped her. Ten years after Gōshō took control of the village, the mansion where he lived was attacked by Sasori and Deidara of Akatsuki, who were looking for the Hanasaki clay. While his guards engaged them and were killed, Gōshō sought shelter in the underground passage where he hid the Hanasaki clay and his father's body. Sasori and Deidara tracked him to the passage's door, at which point Deidara placed a C1 explosive in Gōshō's mouth. Deidara, upset by what he'd earlier overheard about Gōshō's views of art, detonated the explosive, killing him. Only afterwards did he discover that the door to the passage had a seal on it that only Gōshō could remove. To circumvent this, Deidara destroyed Ceramic Village.