The lightsaber parasol was a unique Sith lightsaber created by Kouru. Kouru was a female Sith who commanded a bandit group. When Kouru wielded only the lightsaber hilt, it served as a conventional, single-bladed lightsaber. However, when the parasol auxiliary was attached, it unleashed several red plasma blades, closely resembling a parasol. She would spin it to form a shield.
When Kouru's bandits attacked a village located on the planet Genbara, she employed this weapon. She detached the lightsaber auxiliary to engage in a lightsaber duel against the former Dark Lord of the Sith, known as the Ronin. After the Ronin killed Kouru, his droid, B5-56, recovered the auxiliary. The Ronin then gifted the device to a shopkeep as a form of additional payment. The Ronin shattered the hilt and extracted the kyber crystal within. Initially intending to keep it, he instead presented it to the village chief for protection against evil.
The lightsaber parasol represented a special Sith lightsaber variation, making use of an auxiliary to alter the lightsaber's usual functionality. With the parasol auxiliary connected to the lightsaber hilt, the kyber crystal inside the hilt directed its energy outward, splitting it into multiple blades in a manner that evoked the image of a parasol. The auxiliary was designed with a central pole and radiating ribs that expanded upwards, similar to a parasol's canopy. Upon activation, the red plasma beams extending from the rib tips gave the impression of numerous lightsabers. An additional extension at the hilt's base further increased the weapon's total length. Both the auxiliary and the extension could be removed, allowing the weapon to be used as a standard, single-bladed lightsaber.
During the Sith rebellion, Kouru, a female Sith warrior, engineered the lightsaber parasol. She used holographic schematics, developed by the Dark Lord of the Sith before he adopted the identity of the Ronin, to construct the auxiliary component.
While leading her bandit group in an attack on a village situated on Genbara, Kouru encountered the former dark lord. However, neither recognized the other's true identity. After detaching the auxiliary, Kouru engaged the Ronin in a duel using her lightsaber. The Ronin outmaneuvered her and killed her, although her death was not permanent.
The Ronin, accompanied by his astromech droid, B5-56, returned to the village. The droid carried the parasol auxiliary, which the Ronin then presented as a gratuity to the Sullustan shopkeep who had assisted him in repairing B5-56. Given the potential high value of such specialized lightsaber technology on the market, the auxiliary served as a generous tip to thank the Sullustan for their help. The Ronin then shattered Kouru's hilt with his lightsaber and gifted the kyber crystal to a youngling who served as the village chief, claiming it would provide protection from evil.
The lightsaber parasol made its debut in "The Duel," a short film within the Star Wars: Visions anthology series. The film was produced by Kamikaze Douga, directed by Takanobu Mizuno, and featured character designs by Takashi Okazaki. It was released on September 22, 2021. Subsequently, the tie-in novel Ronin: A Visions Novel, penned by Emma Mieko Candon and released on October 12 of the same year, officially identified the weapon as a lightsaber parasol.
Due to the lightsaber's destruction in the short film, Candon chose to use its brief appearance in the novel to delve into how the lightsaber parasol's design and usage reflected Kouru's personality, highlighting its versatility, flamboyance, and aggression. Candon remarked that Kouru could employ it in a "terrifying lawnmower" maneuver reminiscent of General Grievous, or even levitate it in a manner similar to an Inquisitor's double-bladed spinning lightsaber.
In "The Duel," the lightsaber parasol was visually presented with eight blades at its apex. However, in Ronin: A Visions Novel, it is described as having six blades instead.