An'ya Kuro

"A Jedi should have no possessions. Not even an identity. I gave mine up to show humility before the Force."

- An'ya Kuro

An’ya Kuro, who renamed herself the Dark Woman, was a controversial Jedi Master that served the Jedi Order in the final years of the Galactic Republic. A secretive and mysterious Jedi, Kuro abandoned her name as a sign of selflessness. Her Padawan training methods were considered unorthodox, and the end results were a mixed bag. After the loss of her Padawan Aurra Sing, she went into a self-imposed exile, but later rejoined the Jedi. During the Clone Wars, Kuro chose to serve the Republic as a spy, and because of this her activities during the Clone Wars were mostly unrecorded. During the onset of the Great Jedi Purge, Kuro went into hiding until she was discovered and struck down by Darth Vader.

Early life
After attaining the rank of Jedi Knight, Kuro began to travel the galaxy to find Force sensitive children that the Republic's screening process might have missed. One early success she met with on these travels was the discovery of Ki-Adi-Mundi on Cerea. On Coruscant, Kuro convinced the Jedi Council to allow Ki-Adi-Mundi to begin training despite being older than most accepted younglings. When he was old enough, the Jedi Council chose to assign Ki-Adi-Mundi to Master Yoda for his Jedi training, lest an emotional relationship develop between Kuro and the young Cerean.

Kuro utilized unconventionally harsh training methods which were nonetheless effective, and the Jedi Council often assigned difficult trainees to her. These methods often produced strong Jedi that inherited a hint of Kuro’s darkness, as visible in her former Padawan Jon Antilles. However, the harsh training conditions she imposed on her students sometimes led to failure.

Circa 53 BBY, Kuro discovered a Force-sensitive baby in the slums of Nar Shaddaa. Kuro brought the child to Coruscant to receive training. There, the child took the name Aurra Sing. Sing showed aggressive tendencies that led the Council to assign her to Kuro as a "problem case." Their efforts were in vain, however, and by age nine, Sing had still not attained the level of Padawan. While on assignment on Ord Namurt in 44 BBY, Sing was kidnapped by space pirates who convinced the young Jedi that she was sold off by her master. Sing, who had never been close to Kuro, believed the lie. Thus began a lifelong grudge against the Jedi.

Exile and return
Demoralized by the loss of Sing, Kuro retreated to Cophrigin 5 to meditate on her role as a Jedi, her training techniques and the future. In 32 BBY, after twelve years of solitude, Kuro returned to Coruscant just as Ki-Adi-Mundi, now a famed Jedi Knight, was preparing for a mission to Tatooine. Before his departure, Kuro warned her former Padawan to take considerable care on Tatooine, as she had foreseen a great darkness approaching in her dreams.

Shortly thereafter, the assassination of two Jedi verified the rumors of Sing's return as a Jedi-hunting assassin and bounty hunter. Kuro requested that the Jedi Council place her in charge of the hunt for her former Padawan, but she was denied on the grounds of her connection to Sing. Instead, Ki-Adi-Mundi, his new Padawan A'Sharad Hett, and Adi Gallia were dispatched the track Sing and bring her to justice. Kuro returned to Cophrigim 5, unaware that Sing had been hired to assassinate her. The Jedi task force converged on Kuro's retreat just as Sing prepared to strike. Hett engaged Sing in battle and subdued the bounty hunter, but was forced to tap into his anger to ensure victory. Discouraged by the darkness he had seen in himself, Hett wished to give up on his Jedi training until Kuro offered to train him to control his anger. As the Jedi prepared to depart with Sing in tow, a meteor shower struck their landing site, forcing a hasty departure leaving the Anzati-trained assassin behind.

Clone Wars
Kuro accompanied Master Windu to Geonosis where she aided in the starfighter battle. During the Clone Wars, Kuro chose to aid the Republic as a spy rather than a general. Together with Tholme and Aayla Secura, Kuro infiltrated Devaron to verify rumors of a Separatist base. During their mission, Kuro was observed by Sing, who was on the planet to assassinate the Devaronian senator. Sing sprung a trap that pinned Tholme and Kuro under cavern rocks, but the young Secura was able to subdue Sing. The injured Jedi Masters recovered with bacta treatments and returned to Coruscant. Kuro’s participation during the remainder of the Clone Wars is unknown.

Great Jedi Purge
"Your power is at an end, Dark Woman."

- Darth Vader



With the onset of the Great Jedi Purge and the establishment of the Galactic Empire, Kuro sought safety on Cophrigim 5. When Kuro’s hiding place was discovered by Mara Jade, Darth Vader arrived to personally kill the maverick Jedi Master. Kuro told Vader that she already accepted her fate, but nonetheless put up a fight. Eventually Vader brought down a huge tree on top of Kuro, trapping her. With a slash of his lightsaber, he ended her life. She appeared as a spirit to him immediately after her death. She told him that he still had the power to release Anakin Skywalker from the grip of the dark side. Then she disappeared and became one with the Force. This was the first time that Vader saw a Force spirit.

Behind the scenes


Kuro is one pronunciation of a Japanese character meaning "black." (It would normally appear as kuroi in adjectival form.) Similarly, onna (which arguably sounds rather similar to An'ya) means "woman." Thus, even before she gave up her name, she was "Dark Woman."

Also, "anya" means "mother" in Hungarian.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Republic: Vow of Justice
 * Star Wars Republic: Outlander
 * Star Wars Republic: Emissaries to Malastare
 * Star Wars Republic: The Hunt for Aurra Sing
 * Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
 * Jedi: Aayla Secura
 * Darth Vader: Extinction