Ayame

Ayame (菖蒲, Ayame) is the wife of the former Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan leader Shiden, who first appeared in Dead or Alive Ultimate. She is also the birth mother of Hayate, Kasumi, and Ayane.

History
A resident of the Mugen Tenshin Village, Ayame met and fell in love with Shiden, and together they had two children; Hayate and Kasumi.

While Shiden was away, his older brother, Raidou raped Ayame. This resulted in the pregnancy and birth of Ayane. While Hayate and Kasumi were treated as their heirs, Ayane was kept from the truth of her birth and was secluded from the clan due to Ayame's shame. When Ayane was older, Ayame revealed to her that she was her mother. This resulted in Ayane's jealousy towards Kasumi.

Dead or Alive 3
When Ayane was upset, Ayame comforted her daughter. Ayame then told Ayane that the blood in Ayame's vein flew in Ayane, Kasumi, and Hayate and their family bonds were stronger than any shinobi code. Ayame asked her daughter to save Kasumi rather than be her enemy. After that, Ayane stopped calling Ayame My Lady and began to call her Mother.

Appearance
Ayame is a young, slim, pale-skinned woman with a round face with soft features and large, round eyes, just like her daughters Kasumi and Ayane. Her eyes are dark brown, as is her hair, which is worn loose and long with a short front-fringe; it's possible her son Hayate inherited his eye and hair color from her. Although Ayame is shown to be young when her children are very young - about ten years old - after six years, or maybe more pass, Ayame appears not to have aged and still looks as young as she did years before. Her normal attire seems to be kimonos.

Personality
Although briefly seen, Ayame seems to come across as a loving mother toward Hayate and Kasumi; she happily watches them play together as children, and when Kasumi runs away from the clan after Raidou harmed Hayate, Ayame becomes distressed with her daughter's disappearance straight away, possibly because she knows why Kasumi left and was putting herself in danger, and that the clan will now have to kill Kasumi for risking their safety, which would be terrible for any good mother to face with.

It's easy to believe that Ayame can't be a totally loving mother, however, due to her abandonment of Ayane. Although, while this action comes around as selfish, it's possible that Ayame couldn't mentally cope with raising a child conceived through rape, and Ayane would have constantly reminded Ayame of that traumatic event. She could have also been pressured to give up Ayane, who was of a "cursed" birth, to keep honor of the head family, or to keep Shiden happy, who may not have wanted to raise his dishonorable brother's child. When Ayame finally told Ayane the truth, she bursts into tears, which could mean that she regretted at least some of her treatment of Ayane, at least showing some compassion for her youngest child.

Etymology
Ayame's name in kanji (菖蒲), means "Iris". It is also the name that is given to a type of Japanese iris, which acts as a character symbol for her daughter, Ayane in the Ninja Gaiden series. This seems rather odd and slightly ironic, as Ayane was the child she didn't keep. Along with the other Japanese adults, Ayame's name is written in kanji.

Shiden
Ayame is shown to have great love for her husband. He grew furious after finding out about Raidou raping her. They are shown to care very much for each other and appear to have a good husband/wife relationship.

Hayate
It appears that Hayate has a good relationship with his mother. Though they are rarley seen together, it is obivious that they love one another greatly.

Kasumi
Ayame is shown to be very loving to Kasumi, as shown when she sadly said her name after finding out that her child left. She even asked Ayane to help Kasumi rather than be her enemy, showing her love for her children.

Ayane
Ayane never showed hatred against her mother, most likely because she understood why her mother gave her away. In Dimensions, they shared a close moment and Ayame told her no longer to call her My Lady. After the discussion, for the first time in her life, Ayane called Ayame Mother.

Raidou
Raidou is Ayame's brother-in-law. After Shiden was away, he raped her. This resulted in Ayane's birth. During the opening movie of Dead or Alive Ultimate, Ayame has a flashback of Raidou raping her. The flashbach showed Ayame angrily looking up to Raidou, so its possible that she stood up to him.

Dead or Alive Series

 * Dead or Alive Ultimate (2004 - 2005)
 * Dead or Alive: Dimensions (2011)