Shinjo Kyuwa was a member of the Unicorn Clan. In 1168, alongside Shinjo Yoshifusa and Shinjo Hoitsu, he accused Shinjo Natsume for some grave misdeed for which the Shinjo Daimyo Shinjo Shono was forced to make Natsume a ronin. In truth it was all a masquerade that Shono had engineered to start the rebuilding of the Legion of Two Thousand. The ploy was enacted to sever any links to the Unicorn Clan, and Shono funded Natsume's tasks.