"A Journey into the Mythological World of SMT4A

Text by Nobuyuki Shioda

Nobuyuki Shioda's A Journey into the Mythological World of SMT4A is currently being serialized on the official SMT4A website. Well-versed in the series, Shioda has been involved in numerous Megaten-related strategy guides and fan books, including Shin Megami Tensei no Subete and Devil Summoner Soul Hackers no Subete. This time, he was given the opportunity to write a special edition of the column that relates to the new information covered in this article.

The myth of the unsubmissive ones

Hello. I'm Nobuyuki Shioda, and I'm in charge of a serialized column on the official website for Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse, where I explore the myths and history of the demons featured in the game. We are pleased to have this special edition as part of the series and hope you will enjoy it along with the publications on the official website.

Now, in the game, the monotheistic and polytheistic factions are in conflict with each other. The influence of monotheism in Christianity and Islam centers on the One True God and his angelic followers, whereas the polytheistic forces consist of a vast diversity of gods such as those from Greek and Celtic mythology. While it might appear on the surface that polytheism has the upper hand in terms of numbers, if you take a glance at religions in the real world, you'll get hit by the realization that the monotheistic side is the overwhelmingly dominant one. Therefore, the gods of polytheism joined forces and are trying to resist somehow; to put it in rough terms, they're an opposition coalition against the ruling party. By assembling a large number of followers rather than voters, the polytheistic side might actually have a chance of winning.

In SMT4A, the underground world beneath the Firmament that is revealed to be Tokyo in the previous title takes the center stage. Naturally, as it's located in Japan, Shinto is expected to exist as the local religion there. Shinto is a polytheistic religion comprised of various deities with the sun goddess Amaterasu at the top, but how does this come into play? Normally, one might expect them to join with the polytheistic forces, but as it turns out, things aren't that simple. This is because the clash between the Amatsukami (heavenly deities) and Kunitsukami (earthly deities), which has been reflected in the demon races and other aspects of the Megaten series up to now, is present.

The Amatsukami, who came from the High Plain of Heaven, demanded control of Japan from the Kunitsukami, who had ruled the earthly world known as Central Land of Reed Beds, and established the Yamato Court. However, not all of the Kunitsukami complied with the demands of the Amatsukami. Across Japan, those who resisted the rule of the heavenly deities came to be known as 'unsubmissive ones.' They were demoted to the status of evil beings like the tsuchigumo or the oni, and were gradually suppressed by Amatsukami such as Emperor Jimmu and Yamato Takeru.

For example, the demon Cironnup revealed in this article is a god of the Ainu people and is included among those labeled as 'Emishi' by the Yamato court. Emishi was a general term for those unwilling to submit that lived in regions east of the Yamato court and initially included people from central Japan and the Kanto region. As symbolized by the tale of Yamato Takeru’s eastern expedition, the land of the Emishi was little by little subjugated by the Yamato court, and they ended up being driven off to the Tohoku and Hokkaido regions. The Kunitsukami who did not side with the Amatsukami forces and were, hence, 'unsubmissive,' gradually transformed into the oni and yōkai preserved in local legends, suggesting that considerable resentment remained between the two groups.

On December 25th, 2015 —the day after this issue of Weekly Famitsu goes on sale— we will be releasing Cironnup and Ainu Mythology, the 10th installment of the serialized column on the official website, so please look forward to that as well."

Translator note:

Cironnup's skill Enduring Cheer (grants the effect of Endure to the party for one turn) is originally named 我満のフホホイGaman no Fuhohoi. Fuhohoi is likely an okokokse, which is a customary Ainu plea for sleeping gods to awaken. Here's how it sounds