#noragami analysis

2. Not forgetting that there is someone (a boy) she saved when the accident happened. But the next morning she forgets it and wonders why she jumped on the road, why was there a cat? She doesn't remember anything. But on her way back home with her friends, she slowly remembers that someone was following the cat yesterday when she saw a poster of a missing cat named 'Uesama'. She thinks that if she finds the cat, she will be able to remember.

Unaware that her soul had slipped through her body…She followed the scent and met him. Then she saved him from an ayakashi.

"THIS GIRL... SHE'S SAVED ME TWICE"

3. She brings Yato and Yukine to Kofuku's place. Yukine kept stinging Yato so much that he was going to kill Yato and had already become corrupted. Yukine had spawned ayakashi eyeballs on himself because of the sins he committed.

Thinking logically, she didn't go to Nora because she knew Yukine would die if she brought Nora. She knows it's dangerous to go to the enemy side, but she calls Kazuma for help.

She comes out and called out to him to stop. Hiyori states that Yato is like a father to Yukine and that he had done so much for him, putting up with his sins and blights and he didn't want to let him go, greatly affecting him.

Again she saved them.

4. So when Yato and Bishamonten find themselves in the grip (or hairline) of an angry Izanami, it is Amaterasu who gives Kofuku and the others the idea to summon the soul. Soul Summoning involves calling someone's true name to bring them back from the yomi.

Soul summoning works for Bishamonten (because Bishamonten was her real name, among many others), but when Hiyori calls 'Yato' thinking it's his real name, it doesn't work. That's when everyone realizes that Yato has been hiding his real name from everyone. He was afraid that if they knew his real name and past, they would hate him and abandon him

The (卜 boku) in "Yaboku" is a kanji that refers to "fortune telling" or "divining. It happens to look identical to the katakana (ト to), which is why Yato's alias up until now has been "Yato." Sakura, Yato's earlier shinki, read this name wrongly, interpreting the first part of his name as 'Ya' and second part of his name 「ト」 as the katakana 'to'.

It is Adachitoka's way of letting the readers know that the name Yato is not his true name.

Despite Hiyori knowing him all this time as "Yato," she was able to figure out in time that the last character in his name most likely is read alternatively as that kanji, instead of the katakana. Hiyori does manage to figure out Yato's real name is 'Yaboku'.

Hiyori calls him Yaboku and saved him from the clutches of Izanagi and the Underground (Yomi).

5. She turned into a Shinki and ended the calamity by destroying the brush. And saved the world. She cut the paintbrush not even kazuma could cut it.

There is something bothering me since the last chapter (103-1)... Yato wants to die...

He doesn't have the strength or will to get up and fight for his life anymore. And he's not wishing for someone to save him before it's too late either. He is wishing for a quick death, not to be saved. He doesn't seem to have a will to live anymore. I read this panels in shock. Yato is the character that time after time has shown an unbreakable love for life and the strongest will to keep existing. The Yato we knew has always wished to live no matter what. He taught Ebisu to appreciate his life, to clung to life and not want to be replaced by reincarnating.

If a reason to make him want to die now existed, what would that be? What could possibly have changed that could make him want to die?

It's not because of his past. Sure he has always been haunted by his past and there's so much he regrets but he lived more than a thousand years with those regrets and never wanted to pay for them by dying, dispites he believing that's what he deserves.

This time he hasn't once think about what would feel like to get out alive and be reunited with Hiyori and Yukine like he has envisioned other times before when his life was in danger. This time he has envisioned himself so many times as a reincarnated child that is like he wants to be replaced by a younger version of him. Like if that was the best possible outcome for everyone. Better for whom exactly?

After he decided to kill Father to put an end to the calamity to protect everyone specially Yukine and Hiyori, he thinks about how a new gentler version of himself would be good for Yukine.

But that's not it either. That thought was after he already decided to go on a suicide mission. He was doing the aftermath of his decision that's all.

The real reason why he made the decision was because he read Hiyori's journal, we already know that much. While he read it, blushing, he had to realize that Hiyori is in love with him.

Hiyori herself acknowledge that her feelings are evident from what she wrote. Of course this made Yato really happy. But why instead of make him hopeful and wishing to return to her side like he wished in the yomi arc, he's now wishing for a quick death? He made the promised to Amaterasu before to risk his life and go kill Father but he wasn't intending to die. Hiyori's words not only give them the strength and motivation he needed to do what he had to do but completely change the way he regarded his own life.

He has shown during this arc that he doesn't care what happens to him anymore but the last chapter even make it seems like he does wants to die. He's literally thinking "Yeah that sounds good. Hurry up and finish me off"

Why is he not fighting for his life anymore? Why is he giving up and accepting death? Could reading Hiyori's thoughs and learning about her feelings make him not only want to risk his life but actually wanting to die and reunite with them after reincarnating?

Is it possible some part of Yato wants to die for Hiyori's sake?

The thing is, Yato doesn't want to robe Hiyori from his human life. He has change and mature a lot as a God since the first failed marriage proposal. He rejected her in the hospital arc saying he couldn't take her with him to the far shore until she's an old woman. He tried to find her a suitable match in Kamuhakari, a good man to tie her plaque with. He never intended to tie his plaque with Hiyori's like Kofuku did.

His feelings have evolved from "I'll make Hiyori the happiest person in the world" (chapter 27) to "I'm going to make sure she's happy" (chapter 82.5) Meaning he'll not be the one to make her happy. Going so far as to say that she's going to have dozens of grandchildren and marry an up-standing, self-sufficient man, then starts drunk crying at the thought of Hiyori getting married.

He is so in love with her and protective of her that he won't allow to take Hiyori for himself, not only because he considers himself to not be worthy of her but because they belong to different worlds. Yato wants the best for Hiyori, he wants her to experience and have a full human life, that she have the opportunity to become whatever she wants to become and have things he can't be or give her... children, grandchildren, a husband that would provide for her family, that at least won't be a burden to her economically and socially, that can keep her company, be seen by humans and grow old with her. He can't be someone that can provide her with a fulfilling human life. He is a God, it is his job to make sure she appreciates and seizes her life to the max.

Therefore, the fact of knowing her feelings makes things more complicated for her to have a normal human life. If the feelings were only on his side, he already committed to push down his feelings (the best he can) so he wasn't going to get in her way. But by the feelings being mutual it'd be far more complicated to ignore them and keep away from each other. So maybe he's considering himself, his current memories and feelings an obstacle for Hiyori's life and thinks it'd all be solve if he reincarnates. His feelings would go away and he we'd be destroying any romantic connection by turning himself into a child. Maybe he thinks he'd even be saved from the pain of seeing the woman he loves marrying another man.

Honestly I can't see them being together while Hiyori is alive because of Yato's strong wish that she has a happy fulfilling life to honor the gift she was given, to honor the opportunity she has that was robbed from Yukine, Sakura and all other shinkis.

I’m reading through the Hospital arc and… the parallelism between Hiyori and Masaomi and Mizuchi and Yato in regard to familial expectations is really hitting me in the chest this time around.

Hiyori, being in place of Mizuchi. She always admired her father; saw him as someone to idolize and look up to. They wanted to hold those things dear and be someone their fathers could be proud of.

Masaomi, being in Yatos place, got so tired of being told how to live, being held in this box of “you need to keep on the family business”, and having his future laid out for him. And just like Masaomi, Yato ran. He did everything he could to escape those expectations and ideals projected onto him by his father.

Hiyori, on the one hand, felt compelled to follow the family business, although her family insisted she follow her own path. She knew inside they still hoped she would take on the Hospital. These circumstances, of course, were heightened for Mizuchi.

She did EVERYTHING her father asked of her, in hopes he would praise her and love her. This tore at her to constantly try and yet see him so focused on Yato, who wanted to pursue his own path. He had “betrayed” Father time and again, while she just kept trying.

But Mizuchi finally came upon a breaking point. That moment of “What do I do? Who am I? I’ve tried so hard” and the person she ran to when the pressure came crumbling atop her, was Hiyori… Hiyori who had also reached a breaking point of her own.

And so, just like Yato and Masaomi… they ran. And as we later discover… so did Yuka.

Ch. 96 "Call my name"

Hello, it’s been a while since I’ve written Noragami essays, and I’m back with another one that absolutely nobody has asked for: Ebisu and Takemikazuchi. This one will be a bit less organised and less detailed than my usual, but I thought it would be fun to pick apart some of their similarities and differences. It’s interesting to see how their relationship has changed from Take being outright antagonistic towards adult Ebisu, to the funnier, humorous interactions that we’ve been seeing more of in the recent chapters. 

This scene below is the first time the main cast gets to meet Take, which is when he meets the new Ebisu at Kamuhakari. 

With some hindsight now that we know Take’s backstory, we can see some parallels from their first exchange alone. Take mocks Ebisu for what his previous incarnation supposedly did. Where else have we seen this happen?

Take rather like a schoolyard bully who has their own problems at home, taking it out on others. Adding onto that, there’s the issue of their reincarnation that speaks to Heaven’s corruption.

Ebisu’s constant reincarnation isn’t much of a secret to Takamagahara, but reincarnation, much like death, is treated as a taboo topic. This taboo has been seen in Bishamon’s household early on in the manga, and followed up on with Take’s backstory arc. 

These make Heaven’s hypocrisy all the more glaring. Takemikazuchi’s household is literally built on cover-ups of the grisly circumstances of his reincarnation, but it’s Ebisu’s reincarnating that ends up in the spotlight.

Politics

Both Ebisu and Take are different archetypes of gods in Heaven. Both are very prominent gods, but Take represents the ‘proper’, orthodox way Heaven does things. Before Amaterasu made her grand appearance, he was virtually representative of Heaven itself. The scene pans to him whenever the heavens act.

In his very first appearance, we aren’t even shown Take’s face, which he hides behind an anonymous screen at the Kamuhakari and the white covering during Ebisu’s subjugation. His first appearance without a covering on is asking Yato if he swore loyalty to the Heavens, making it appear as though he’s the main representative of Amaterasu herself (albeit asking through Kiun, which adds extra Shady Points). 

The main villains of Noragami initially have “heralds” who act on their behalf before the real villain appears. For example, we knew about Father early on in the series, but he’s not the one we see: it’s Nora/Mizuchi/Hiiro who does the work and manipulation for him before we even know what he looks like. The corrupt system of the Heavens is Noragami’s other antagonist, and Takemikazuchi is that ‘herald’ to Heaven’s corruption, just like Nora. Take shares this kind of arc with Ebisu as well, who was initially set up to appear as the story’s villain. It’s interesting how once we’ve gotten to know these characters on their own, they’ve gradually been distanced from the “Heaven” group of gods. 

In terms of politics, Ebisu is notorious for being unconventional. He keeps strays, tames ayakashi and takes down spells from a nation the Heavens tried to wipe out, despite the taboos associated with them. In one of the bonus chapters he doesn’t blink an eye at the absurdity of a human girl finding her way to Takamagahara. 

Even at the Divine Council meeting, Ebisu’s stances can be described as liberal compared to the other gods.

And who shuts him down for it? None other than good old Take. Take makes a big deal about being in Heaven’s good graces, looking down on “false gods” and in general acting with the pomposity of one of the most powerful gods in Japan. Even up till the recent chapters, Take seems to align himself with the Heavens... up until he’s faced with the prospect that Heaven now considers him a threat.

Now that Take’s been cut away from Heaven, he’s been upgraded from a reluctant tagalong to a slightly more enthusiastic part of the group. It’s been a rocky transition, sure, but we’ll have to see where it leads.

Guideposts and Upbringing

As I’ve brought up in my Ebisu-Iwami post, Noragami has a very unique kind of relationship dynamic, which is shinki raising their newly reincarnated gods, which we’ve seen in Ebisu and Takemikazuchi (and Arahabaki too, but there’s not enough material currently to include him at the moment).

And as with many things, balance is key. Being too “active” in making important decisions for a god veers into “appropriating” them (think helicopter parenting), and being too “passive” makes them feel neglected. 

I’ve made a separate post here on how inactive Iwami sometimes is with Ebisu to the point that both of them suffer from its effects, and @echodrops​ has written a fantastic essay on Take’s overbearing shinki as well. The details are much longer than I can discuss here, but those are stuff you can read if you’re interested in this shinki-god dynamic.

Respect for self and shinki

Both of Ebi and Take have a similar recklessness when it comes to their personal safety, albeit for different reasons. Take throws himself into danger and actively provokes others into becoming his enemies so he can attain a hafuri, solid proof of his shinki’s loyalty and ability. 

Ebisu, while not as callous as Take, has tried some less-than-thoughtful ways of gauging his shinki’s loyalty. Both of them are insecure about how much their shinki really care for them and seek assurance for it. This of course does cause a rift between their current guideposts and themselves, but over the course of Noragami’s progress, both Kiun and Kunimi have gotten the chance to be closer to their masters and affirm their bond, and now we see more personal concern going on between the gods and their shinki.

I thought it would be nice to end it here with a bookend to that first scene. 

I’m happy to see them each developing as characters and building a much friendlier dynamic with each other. Here’s to more hilarious Ebi-Take interactions in the future. 

*

If you liked this, you can check out other essays I’ve written for Noragami:

That one set of artworks by Adachitoka (a set of three artworks featuring Noragami characters with different kinds of plants: some stuff about the meanings of said plants)

Noragami Theme Analysis: Ebisu and Crying

Noragami Analysis: Ebisu and Iwami

Noragami Chapter 73/Theme Analysis: Ebisu and Kunimi, Part 1

"A villain is just a victim whose story wasn't told."

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Something doesn't add up.

The vague backstory was so chilling and depressing at the same time. So it means that Father was just a lost soul who was dragged by the monk to commit a double suicide just to be with the Buddha?

In this manga panel in Chapter 97.2, there's a legend that tells a story of an orphan boy who had lost everything in a fire. He was found by a monk, who takes care of him. The boy was so trusting to the monk, as he provided all his needs and took care of a poor orphan boy like him. But there's a catch, the monk had apparently jumped to his death to be with Buddha, dragging the poor boy with him.

I mean..who would be pissed by that one? Ending your life after surviving a tragedy...that would piss me off, that's for sure.

And by the look of the orphan boy, he looks similar to Father, only younger. That will explain how his first weapon, Chiki, was a shakujō/khakkhara (a staff topped with metal rings traditionally carried by Buddhist monks, particularly in the East Asian Buddhist tradition). In fact, during the Sakura arc, we see Father wearing a black koromo (衣) - worn only by Buddhist monks - as well state that karma ayakashi are a manifestation of a person's karma (業ごう, gou).

In addition, Father's name for Chiki's ability, Liberation, is likely a reference to liberation from the cycle of reincarnation known as samsara, the ultimate goal of Buddhism.

He really is connected to Buddhism, because of the cause of his untimely death. The fact that Chiki's Liberation can be a reflection of how he had died, to find liberation from the limits of the human body.

Is there a possibility that Father was like Tenjin, who was a human before he died and people had been deified in order to calm his spirit?

So basically, he can be classified as a god right?

Sort of.

It seems like he was worshipped by those people in the island of Tamatsuki...as the old man, Satou, had said, "It's a grave... Plus this person was cursed to be called a god...well, he was like a god to the people who worshipped this place." It describes 'The Mask-Maker' or in other terms, Father.

But the question is...how the fuck does have the power to create Yato from a wish... if he wasn't human anymore?

Also bothers me is the mystery of how he went to Yomi and got back to the surface alive... when Yato had difficulties going back until Hiyori, a living human, calls his real name. According to Amaterasu, humans can’t (mustn’t) come back to life at all, Father implies he is the only one who’s managed to return from Yomi or come back to life.

Soul-summoning is actually a real Japanese tradition, by the way.

In old Japanese tradition, tamayobi or tamayobai refers to attempts to call a deceased person's soul back to the living realm. This was done by either climbing to a roof or looking down a well and shouting the deceased person's name. Interestingly, a modern Japanese word for "revive"/"come back to life" is yomigaeru, lit: "to return from Yomi (the Underworld)".

What causes me to wonder if who is the unknown person who knows Father a lot as they can used the soul-summoning on Father. Although humans are not supposed to be able to return from the Underworld after death, Father was able to be called back through a loophole, and also giving him "godlike abilities" upon return. The exact details of the loophole are currently unknown...the question, how the fuck?

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If he was the kid in the legend... who is this woman by the way?

In the chapter where Yato and Ebisu meets Izanami, the goddess commented how Father had seen her: a freckled woman. In this panel, Father seems to be grown up, holding a woman in his arms.

Who is this woman to Father... His lover? Or his dead mother? It's still a mystery that will be solved later on.

Bishamon or Bishamonten from “Seven Gods of Fortune” in Shintoism is the typical “strong woman” trope character in a Shonen anime called Noragami: she is angry, she is beautiful and conveniently buxom for fans to drool over her. Termed by Yato as “ugly broad” Bishamon is fierce and coarse. However, she is not only that: she has a caring and nurturing side which almost caused her demise once and put her in danger over and over again. So this is my take on Bishamon and why she is the Eastern archetype of “Warrior Mother Goddess” instead of her Shinto persona.

First of all, let’s look what Bishamon actually is in the Classic Shinto religion.  In Japan, Bishamonten (毘沙門天), or just Bishamon (毘沙門) is thought of as an armor-clad god of war or warriors and a punisher of evildoers. Bishamon is portrayed holding a spear in one hand and a small pagoda in the other hand, the latter symbolizing the divine treasure house, whose contents he both guards and gives away. His (because Bishamon is a male in Shintoism) legend derives from the Hindu Demigod “Vaisravana” or “Son of Vishrava”, who is known as Kubera the God of wealth. Both Vaisravana and Bishamon are associated with material fortunes and Bishamon is really a fierce version of Vaisravana, a well-fed, content and rather gluttonous demigod. 

But how a god like Bishamon gets transferred in Noragami to a woman? It could be a design choice by Adachitoka to create a contrasting female character who could meet Yato in a more Godly plane. But I can see some clear Hindu influence in Bishamon’s design. She is inhumanly beautiful, fierce, perfect body and with rapunzel length hair. Her design is very similar to the Warrior Goddess Durga. In the “Meditation of Durga” she is described as

“the one with great length-ed dreadlocks in her head...whose face is beautiful like the full moon, whose complexion is as fair as flax seed flower...whose beautiful teeth sit on her full lips, whose full breasts hold the elixir of immortality*-- (Meditation of Durga, verse 1-3)

The physical description of Durga has uncanny similarity with Bishamon. the Goddess is also called “nabayouvana sampannang, sarbabharana bhushitang” (who is young and clad with fantastic jewels). Bishamon may be young and beautiful but she does not wear any eastern jewels: she is rather clad with her regalias posed as weapons, navigation and clothes; thus it isn’t far off.

It is not only the superficial physical appearance that are similar with Durga and Bishamon; they also share some character similarities. The traditional Bishamonten is not known to have a mount or Divine Familiar, Bishamon in the anime on the other hand does a divine familiar in the form of mount: Kuraha, who takes the shape of Lion and can travel in the air. This is an iconic similarity with Durga, whose divine mount is a lion. In “hymns of Gandhesvari” Durga (or her Gandhesvari form) is described as “Simhasta” (the one who rides a lion). Durga is also known as “Simha vahini” (she whose vehicle is a lion). The Bishamonten is known to carry only one weapon, a spear, but Bishamon in Noragami has or carries multiple weapons because she has multiple regalia. In the “Meditation of Durga” the goddess is known to carry a goad, bow and arrow, executioner’s sword, discus, conch, mace, shield, rosary and the trident. Bishamon too carries multiple weapons: whip, guns, knife long machete etc, just like Goddess Durga herself. One part of Durga’s weapon is “Aveda barma” or the “impenetrable armour” forged by the ironsmith of the Gods, Vishwakarma (the forger of the universe). Bishamon wears a full blown armour by her regalia Aiha when the Ebisu-crisis occured and she had to journey to underworld.

Now, in the parallel of two warrior goddesses who seem to be far from society’s idea of ideal femininity, where does the nurturing part fit? According to the Hindu mythology Durga is only a fragment of the ideal femininity: the rightful rage of “Adi Shakti” (Ancient Energy), the Female mother goddess. (Excuse my jargon) in the “Durga Saptashati” of Rigveda, the Goddess is described as “mother of all creation” (verse no 3) and at the same time she is described as “creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world” (verse no 4) of which she is the Mother. Bishamon has an extensive collection of regalia: she does not discriminate who is weak or who is useful, she takes everyone in as her own according to Noragami Wiki: 

“She willingly accepts any wandering and troubled spirit, useful or not, and adds them to her family. “

She and her Shinkis live in Takamagahara which is the universe on its own, so she is the guardian and mother of her Shinkis in a way. Takamagahara is situated in a place which has golden hued galaxy as the backdrop of the sky. The form of Durga which alludes to the primeval Female Goddess is called “Bhuvaneswari” (she, whose body is the universe). The shinkis or regalias derive strength from her divine existence and they exist in a palpable form because of her. It again alludes to “Devi Suktam” (the introduction of the Goddess) where is has been mentioned:

“ I am the Queen of the Universe; I give wealth to those who worship me. I am the all-knowing one and the prime one among the worshippable deities. I enter many bodies as the Soul, taking various forms and with different manifestations, in various ways. ... That one who eats food, who sees, breathes, and hears whatever is said, he does all that only through me (my powers). Those who do not understand me, die. “ --(Devi Suktam, verse 4 & 5)

The sense of being center of the universe has brought a tremendous sense of loss and grief to the goddesses in many occassion. In the myths, when Goddess Parvati (the calm version of Durga) loses her child Ganesha, she assumes her rageful spirit again to destroy the universe that has taken her child from her. Bishamon has faced tremendous sense of loss and grief when she lost her “Ma” clan due to the malefic thoughts of the Shinkis--an action which blighted her tremendously. She too assumes a vengeful spree towards Yato, who allegedly slaughtered her “Ma” clan. 

In short Bishamon is a great representation of motherly strength in anime field: the term “mother” often evokes a sense of tenderness, security and comfort, but it has been proven in the ancient myth that bringing life into the world and the sense of protectiveness towards life is the most powerful energy of all: it can make an break everything in existence and when the motherly tenderness is challenged it can manifest in one of the most destructive forces in the world. Thus the “ugly broad” “stern powerhouse” persona is only skin deep. The essence of Bishamon is far greater and more empowering. 

* In ancient India, full breasts of a woman, which are swollen with milk was granted as a symbol of motherly power, nourishment and comfort. A woman with moderate breast size or small breast size were considered equally beautiful. In fact talking about sexuality in religious and secular discourses by scholars and sages were acceptable. It has no sexual connotation whatsoever. Please don’t perverse it in any sense.

...

wow that’s a lot, now tags (although I have no evidence that they like Noragami)

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Another obscenely long post about shinki names. This one should be more interesting than Part 1 though. At least, I think it is.

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Shinki Names, Part 1 is mostly focused on how names are integrated into the magic system of Noragami. Part 2 is more about how they influence shinki’s lives.

Shinki names & hierarchy

The importance of names in shinki’s lives manifests in the fact that their social standing depends on different events happening to those names. So far we’ve seen four “classes” of shinki: sacred treasures (imperial regalia), hafuri (blessed vessels), regular shinki (divine instruments, regalia) and noras (strays). Let’s look at them closer.

Regular shinki (divine instruments, regalia)

The majority of shinki in the manga belong to the third group – they are “divine instruments” who get a name from a god and serve them. However, there are some outstanding cases even among regular shinki – those even get a second name, or a title, which they are known for among other shinki and even gods. Two really famous examples include: thunder god Takemikazuchi’s shinki Kiun called the Thunder Blade, and the shinki of the Emishi god Arahabaki, Shiigun (椎軍), who’s known as the Plague of Locusts. These shinki are strong mostly because of the form they take – a lightning dragon and an entire army of horsemen can cause a lot of trouble for any opponent. Yukine was also very strong even before becoming a hafuri – his ability to draw a borderline from the first try is notable, considering how a lot of shinki can’t do that even after some time:

I don’t really have anything else to add about regular shinki, so I’ll move to other groups.