The Kitsune Saiguu (Japanese: 狐斎宮), also known as Lady Saiguu and the Hakushin Kitsune, was a prominent historical figure in Inazuma who was worshipped as a kitsune goddess. She was a descendant of the Hakushin Clan, was a close ally of Ei, alongside the oni Chiyo,[1] and served a mentor-like role towards a shrine maiden named Asase Hibiki.[2]
During a "dark disaster," likely the cataclysm five hundred years ago,[3][Note 1] the Kitsune Saiguu was among those who disappeared.[2][Note 2] She was consumed by a "dark will," and both her body and memories were broken down and turned into filth.[1][4]
The Hakushin Ring catalyst is narrated from her perspective and its blueprint is rewarded after completing the World Quest Series Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, which is related to her.
Profile[]
The Kitsune Saiguu was one of Hakushin's descendants and dwelt in the Grand Narukami Shrine.[1][2] Like all kitsune, Saiguu had a longer lifespan than most humans, but it is unknown how long she lived before her death.
Appearance[]
The Kitsune Saiguu had white hair and fur.[2][5] As shown in Raiden Shogun's character teaser, her wardrobe consists of the typical Miko priestess.
Story[]
Little is currently known about the Kitsune Saiguu's early life. She was familiar with the oni Chiyo, complimenting her beauty and her sword skills. At some point, she won a race against Reizenbou, the Chieftain of the Yougou Tengu. Saiguu believed the Tengu was going easy on her, however, to her slight ire. Afterwards, Reizenbou opted to become her protector.[1]
She often competed with the bake-danuki Ioroi, showing up to stop him from causing mischief. At one point, she tricked him into submitting to the Raiden Shogun by challenging Ioroi to pick a Naku Weed from the Tenshukaku garden, during which he was caught by Ei. She then tricked (convinced) Ei to spare Ioroi's life and take him under her command instead as the "Protector of the Grove."[1][6] She also secretly learned some of the bake-danuki's magic.[5]
500 Years Ago and Death[]
Do not be blinded. Do not waver. Keep walking the path that you believe in.
—The Kitsune Saiguu to the Raiden Shogun, before their final parting[4]
Around five hundred years ago,[3] the Kitsune Saiguu became familiar with a certain group of mortals whom she unexpectedly ended up befriending. Included among them were a "shrine maiden" (Asase Hibiki), an "easygoing young man" (possibly Kamuna Harunosuke),[Note 3] a "Kanjou" (Hiiragi Hiroshi), and a "clan who used ingenious techniques to make man-made meteors bloom in the skies" (the Naganohara Family). She doted heavily on the young Yae Miko, who arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine shortly before the cataclysm. She was also friends with the kitsune Urakusai, author of the original Chronicles of the Six Kitsune, due to his literary talents and tea expertise. However, he is said to have made a "mistake" which led the Kitsune Saiguu to banish him, and which possibly contributed to the cataclysm's effects in Inazuma. Afterwards, the Saiguu moved from the Grand Narukami Shrine to Tenshukaku, warning that danger would soon come.[7]
When the cataclysm occurred, both Makoto (the then Electro Archon) and Ei ended up leaving for Khaenri'ah (the latter some time after the former), while the Kitsune Saiguu stayed behind in Inazuma; this would be their final parting, and they were aware that tragedy would ensue.[1] The Kitsune Saiguu and those remaining, including Reizenbou, worked tirelessly to protect the land. To protect Ioroi, the Kitsune Saiguu tricked him from staying involved by playing a game of hide-and-seek with him.[1] Legends relay that during the disaster, the Kitsune Saiguu also guided human refugees to safety in the underground halls of Araumi.[8] At some point presumably around then, Reizenbou and the Kitsune Saiguu also visited the Empty Boat of a Thousand Gates. While exploring the Araumi underground, Asase and Kamuna found traces of their presence.[9] She also worked to protect the Sacred Sakura from Abyssal defilement, and set up barriers to protect the Thunder Sakura roots around Inazuma. She tasked the Konda Clan with protecting one such barrier.[10]
Ultimately, after her final parting with the Raiden Shogun, the Kitsune Saiguu disappeared into the "deep darkness," never to be seen again.[2] In her dying moments, Kitsune Saiguu asked the "dark will" that gnawed at her to spare her memories.[1] As her body and mind were consumed, her memories were powerful enough that some of it remained unsullied as it settled into the earth as filth, thus creating Hanachirusato.[4]
Legacy[]
Around the same time the Kitsune Saiguu disappeared and died, Takamine the Mistsplitter disappeared during a battle against the dark forces,[11] while Chiyo was consumed by a "beast of sin" and was corrupted by it, drawing her blade against Ei only to be defeated and run away.[12][13] Mikoshi Doukei, Chiyo's biological son, secluded himself in Konda Village out of shame over his mother's betrayal,[14] while her adoptive son Mikoshi Nagamasa joined the Shogunate to restore the Mikoshi Clan's honor instead.[2][15]
In the wake of their absences, the Mt. Yougou group went their separate ways. The Great Tengu went on a self-imposed exile over her failure to protect the Kitsune Saiguu, leaving Teruyo behind.[2] Kamuna left for Liyue in the "fury of his mourning."[2] The Earth Kitsune and the Sky Kitsune turned their forms to stone to await the Kitsune Saiguu's return. Some of these statues, such as the lit Earth Kitsune Statues, can be interacted with using the Memento Lens. Hibiki took over as leader of the Narukami Shrine, awaiting Takamine's return.
Hanachirusato, who formed from the remnants of the Kitsune Saiguu's memories within the filth that contaminated the land, manifested in order to continue performing the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual. Decades later, when Kamuna returned to Inazuma, she appeared before him and asked him to perform the ritual, initially causing him to mistake her for the real Kitsune Saiguu. Despite quickly realizing Hanachirusato's true nature, Kamuna performed the ritual, and spared her.[16][Note 4]
Ioroi, who had been deceived by the Saiguu, still believes their game of hide-and-seek has been going on to the current day. At some point following the cataclysm, he grew bored when she no longer appeared to play with him, and went out causing havoc to try and lure her out. This led to him and many other bake-danuki being sealed in stone by Kamuna Harunosuke.[6]
Character Mentions[]
Character Stories
| Character | Stories |
|---|---|
Character Voice-Overs
| Character | Voice-Overs |
|---|---|
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Trivia[]
- The Saiguu was a big fan of fried tofu.
- The kitsune mentioned in Retracing Bolide's Summer Night's Waterballoon piece was the Kitsune Saiguu.[1]
- Kitsune Saiguu is mentioned in the description of the following Furnishing:
Etymology[]
- Her name in Japanese (Japanese: 狐斎宮) means "Fox High Priestess."
- Saiguu (Japanese: 斎宮 "purification shrine"), also read as saikuu, itsuki-no-miya, or imimiya, refers to the High Priestess of the Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred Shinto shrine in Japan.[18]
- Strictly speaking, saiguu originally refers to the residence of the high priestess, but it later became synonymous with the priestess herself.
- From the mythological era, saiguu had been chosen from unmarried imperial princesses. This tradition however ceased to exist in 1336 because of one of the most catastrophic civil wars of Japan (the Nanbokuchou War), which is coincidentally around 500 years before the fall of the last shogunate (which may have inspired the current upheavals of Inazuma).
- The Ise Grand Shrine enshrines the sun goddess Amaterasu (who is also the ruler of the pantheon and the ancestral goddess of the Imperial House) and the agriculture goddess Toyoukebime. The latter is often equated with another agriculture goddess Ukanomitama (better known as Inari), whose divine messengers are foxes (Japanese: 狐 kitsune).
Gallery[]
Genius Invokation TCG[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Based on Hamayumi's description, many years after Takamine's disappearance (around which time the Kitsune Saiguu also disappeared), Hibiki lent Domeki her assistance. Based on current knowledge, Hibiki lived a normal human lifespan; thus, Saiguu's disappearance occurred within that general time frame as well.
- ↑ Regarding the "dark disaster" and the cataclysm: When Hibiki recounts Takamine the Mistsplitter's and the Kitsune Saiguu's disappearances in Shaft of Remembrance's description, she also mentions "Nagamasa joined the Shogunate to clear the Mikoshi name."
Through the descriptions of Katsuragikiri Nagamasa and Mask of the Kijin, it is evident that Nagamasa's adoptive mother was Chiyo, who was "swallowed whole by a beast of sin" when she "fought against the abyss." Though she broke free and slew the beast, she was "stained by a deep sin" and "steeped in darkness as far as the eye could see," causing her to turn on Ei. Similar wording is used in regards to Tartaglia, who wound up in the Abyss and, "within that darkness," learned his fighting techniques and underwent a drastic personality change.
Given that Chiyo's corruption (and by extension Saiguu's disappearance) and Domeki's rebellion happened within Hibiki's lifetime, this puts both events within the realm of 500 years ago. According to Chunk of Aerosiderite, a surge of "endless dark monsters with alien, dark blood" occurred during the fall of Khaenri'ah. In We Will Be Reunited, Dainsleif explains that Khaenri'ah fell 500 years ago, making it extremely likely that the "dark disaster" is another term for the cataclysm. - ↑ Ioroi's recollection of the onmyouji who sealed him gives the impression that the man had an easygoing personality; Hanachirusato later identifies him as Harunosuke. Hibiki reveals that sometime after Saiguu's disappearance and Ioroi's sealing, Harunosuke left Inazuma entirely.
- ↑ Harunosuke is highly likely the Mysterious Man seen in the memories revealed by the Memento Lens. The Kamuna bloodline utilized sacred words, and the Mysterious Man had to have been familiar with the Kitsune Saiguu to mistake Hanachirusato's presence as her return.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Kitsune Saiguu | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 狐斋宫[※][※] Hú Zhāigōng | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 狐齋宮[※][※] Hú Zhāigōng | |
| Japanese | 狐斎宮 Kitsune Saiguu | Fox High Priestess |
| Korean | 호재궁호재궁 Ho Jaegung | Fox High Priestess |
| Spanish | Sacerdotisa Kitsune | Kitsune Priestess |
| French | Kitsune Saiguu | — |
| Russian | Кицунэ Сайгу Kitsune Saygu | — |
| Thai | Kitsune Saiguu | — |
| Vietnamese | Ngài Kitsune | |
| German | Kitsune Saiguu | — |
| Indonesian | Kitsune Saiguu | — |
| Portuguese | Kitsune Saiguu | — |
| Turkish | Kitsune Saiguu | — |
| Italian | Saiguu Kitsune | — |
Change History[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Weapon: Hakushin Ring
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Artifact Set: Shimenawa's Reminiscence
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Interactable, Pirate's Diary: Pirate's Diary #4
We shall be like Domeki 500 years ago. - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 World Quest, Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual: Yougou Cleansing
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 World Quest, Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual: Tanuki-Bayashi in the Forest
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 NPC Dialogue: Ioroi
- ↑ Book: New Chronicles of the Six Kitsune, Vol. 2
- ↑ World Quest, Through the Mists: A Particularly Particular Author
- ↑ Interactable: Earth Kitsune Statue (in front of the Empty Boat of a Thousand Gates)
- ↑ World Quest, Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual: A Strange Story in Konda
- ↑ Weapon: Mistsplitter Reforged
- ↑ Weapon Ascension Material: Mask of the Kijin
- ↑ Weapon Ascension Material: Narukami's Affection
- ↑ Artifact Set: Emblem of Severed Fate
- ↑ Weapon: Katsuragikiri Nagamasa
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 World Quest, Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual: Sacrificial Offering
- ↑ Wikipedia, Sushi § Inarizushi
- ↑ Kotobank: 斎宮