Kenren Taishou is Sha Gojyo&#039;s previous incarnation.

__Background__
General of Heaven&rsquo;s Western Army. A lawless man who loves sak&eacute;, flowers, and women. He&rsquo;s an infamous commander who used to be a general in the Eastern army, but he was demoted for sleeping with his commander&rsquo;s wife, and became Field Marshal Tenpou&rsquo;s subordinate. He&rsquo;s a bold wanderer overflowing with chivalry, but also has a meddling, common-sensed face. He&rsquo;s a good older brother &ndash;type person, especially to children and his subordinates. He&rsquo;s been called Tenpou&rsquo;s husband, but he&rsquo;s actually more of a housewife, supporting Tenpou, who wouldn&rsquo;t be able to handle daily life if left to his own devices. He doubted the absolute principle policies of heaven from before. He is attracted by the lower world&rsquo;s art and the beauty of living things, and while he&rsquo;s a military man in heaven&rsquo;s army, he becomes involved with Goku. 

__Character Features__
He has short black hair and black eyes, a sarcastic mouth, and a big, childlike smile. That look resembles Sha Gojyo somehow. He loves lower world luxury items like cigarettes. Since acquiring these goods is difficult, he smokes several brands.

__Weapons And Powers/Abilities__
Kenren is shown using guns in his missions.

(Source: Saiyuki.wikia)

Many years ago, humans and demons lived in harmony. But that unity ended when demons started attacking humans and plotted a mission to unleash Gyumao - an evil demon imprisoned for thousands of years. Now, Genjo Sanzo, a rogue priest, must team up with three demons - Sha Gojyo, Son Goku, and Cho Hakkai - and embark on a perilous journey to the west to stop these demons from resurrecting Gyumao and restore the balance between humans and demons on Earth.
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(Source: Anime News Network)

Illich Auyapah Guardiola is an American actor and voice actor for ADV Films, Funimation Entertainment, and Seraphim Digital Studios. He easily has one of the most recognizable voices, with a unique accent that is hard to pinpoint. In Houston, TX. Illich is also known as "The Honduran Hotcake."

500 years before the story of Saiyuki, a heretic child with golden eyes is brought into Heaven. He is given into the reluctant care of a minor deity named Konzen, the nephew of the Merciful Goddess Kanzeon Bosatsu. Konzen eventually gives the child the name "Goku". Goku becomes friends with two other minor gods, Marshal Tenpou and General Kenren of the Western Army of Heaven. He also meets a strange little boy who seems to be his own age, the War Prince Nataku. Although Goku is happy in his new home, Heaven is not kind to heretics. There are those who would use Nataku and Goku as tools in an attempt to seize the throne of Heaven, and Konzen, Tenpou, and Kenren may not be able to save them.
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(Source: Anime News Network)

An OVA adaptation of the climactic part of Saiyuki Gaiden.