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Kanako Yasaka
jasaka kanako (♫) Kanako Yasaka | |
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Kanako Yasaka in Mountain of Faith The Avatar of Mountains and LakesMore Character Titles | |
Species | |
Abilities |
Creating sky |
Occupation |
Moriya Shrine's Goddess |
Location |
Wind God's Lake at Moriya Shrine on top of Youkai Mountain, Underground Geyser Center[1]; Originally from the Outside World |
Relationships |
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Music Themes | |
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Appearances | |
Official Games | |
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Print Works | |
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Kanako Yasaka (八坂 神奈子 Yasaka Kanako) is the current goddess of the Moriya Shrine after defeating its previous resident goddess Suwako Moriya in the Great Suwa War. She desires to collect large amounts of faith, but since the humans of the Outside World no longer place much importance on gods, she has transported the shrine to Gensokyo. She currently lives on top of the Youkai Mountain, where she has an uneasy relationship with the leaders of the tengu.
General Information
Kanako first appeared as the Final boss of Mountain of Faith, as well as being the Extra stage midboss. She was a target on stage 11 of Double Spoiler, one of Sanae Kochiya's spell cards in Touhou Hisoutensoku and was shown in Hopeless Masquerade. She was indirectly responsible for the events of Subterranean Animism, Undefined Fantastic Object, Touhou Hisoutensoku and Ten Desires.
As the deity of the Moriya Shrine, Kanako herself is considered a god, but she also possesses a human form. She is considered to be a divine spirit in this respect. Though she is currently considered a goddess of wind and rain, she currently has plans under way to transition into a goddess of technological innovation, as divine spirits can apparently change their own natures by using myths.
Personality
Kanako is an ambitious woman who treats religion like a business, using whatever means bring her the most "profit" - that profit being instead faith. She has a natural presence that can seem intimidating or suspicious at times, but also reliable. Unusually for a god she has little respect for tradition - she demands little formality in her worship, and encourages scientific progress. It is somewhat strange for a deity to be knowledgeable and interested about science.
She has no hostility towards humans, though as is the case with all deities, she may curse them if they are disrespectful. She also seems to be rather short-tempered, but she is vulnerable to gifts.
Ability
- Ability to create sky
Kanako's ability specifically refers to the element of Qian (乾), the "sky" of Bagua in Taoist philosophy. Qian is associated with creation, leadership, overtness, reliability, and acting first rather than reacting to others. Suwako Moriya's ability to create Kun (坤, earth), refers to the opposite element.
She is at least called "wind god", so it may be a power to manipulate wind, rain, and weather. For Kanako to be a god of agriculture, to manipulate the wind and rain and make the soil plentiful would definitely be the quickest and easiest way to quickly and easily gather faith.
In Symposium of Post-mysticism, it's stated that this ability of hers is still very much a mystery. Concerning what kind of power this is, since there is nothing that seems like a portrayal of this, it is not definite, but it is probably a power unimaginable to humans. After all, perhaps wind god→climate→air=sky. She has been seen altering the terrain with Suwako's help, opening holes to the underground, and even creating large structures. She helped build the Myouren Temple, as well.
Occupation
Kanako is currently the deity of the Moriya Shrine, and lives with Suwako Moriya, the de facto ruler of the shrine, and Sanae Kochiya, a wind priestess. She generally seems to spend her time implementing new ways to gain faith from those who live outside the Youkai Mountain.
Possessions
Kanako's shimenawa represents the figure of an entwined snake, which in turn represents resurrection, rebirth, and eternity through the repeated shedding of its own skin. She also possesses onbashira, which she apparently uses in traditional festivals to toss off of cliffs.
Backstory
A god of the invading Yamato (the modern Japanese people), Kanako took over the Moriya Shrine after defeating its native goddess, Suwako Moriya, by holding out a thin vine that immediately rusted all of Suwako's iron weaponry. However, the original people of Moriya found it difficult to accept their new deity. In order to consolidate her newfound kingdom, she borrowed Suwako's powers. In reality, Suwako still ruled over the Moriya, but Kanako was their deity in name only.
After doing this, though, the Yamato began to disbelieve in the concept of eternity, which Kanako in part represented. They grew stronger and invented ways of getting around the agricultural problems posed by harsh rain and wind. As their belief in science and information grew, their faith in Kanako waned, and thus did her power.
In order to solve this problem, Kanako decided that the most appropriate course of action would be to abandon the human world and gather faith in Gensokyo. It ended up working out quite well, and she started to be worshipped as the deity of the Youkai Mountain. She then realized that, after observing the Hakurei Shrine which, though low on faith, was frequently visited by youkai was the main reason she had been accepted so quickly.
Kanako, however, did not forsee the power of those who lived on the mountain, such as the kappa and tengu, growing greater through their worship of her. Worried about the power balance in Gensokyo, she resolved to rein in more believers from elsewhere, and thus decided to utilize the Hakurei Shrine for her own ends.
Character Design
Origin
Kanako might be named after Princess Yasakatome, one of the gods of the Suwa Grand Shrine, which, on the other hand, Suwako Moriya is named after.
Name
Her full name is Kanako Yasaka (八坂 神奈子). The ya (八) in her surname means "eight" and Saka (坂) mean "hill". Yasaka would therefore mean "Eight hills". It's referenced that because of her name, she might be seen as a mountain god; but she is really a god of wind and rain. The 神 (kan) in her first name means "god", while na (奈) is an abbreviation for Nano (奈良), a city in the Nara prefecture of Japan, and ko (子) is a common suffix in Japanese that's used in female names which literally means "child".
In the character introduction image of Mountain of Faith (just when her theme starts, and her name and title is revealed), her name was incorrectly spelled as Yasama Kanako, which the "sama" isn't a correct romaji for 坂.
Design
Kanako has an elaborate red shirt with long white sleeves and a round mirror over the center of her chest. She wears a long black skirt with a red flower print hem. Has poofy intense blue hair and dark red eyes. Behind her is a large twisting rope circle shimenawa with shide.
Story
Games
- Mountain of Faith
In the main events of Mountain of Faith, Kanako plots to take over the Hakurei Shrine and use it to collect more faith, to gain more power.
- Main article: Reimu Arc
Kanako offers to take Reimu and her shrine under her wing so that both would increase in followers and faith. Reimu refuses, on the grounds that she does not want Kanako interfering. Kanako then decides that Reimu is going to accept her help by force and a battle ensues. After she is defeated, she, Sanae, and a few other youkai visit the Hakurei Shrine, where Reimu vouches for them, telling Aya that they're not bad gods.
- Main article: Marisa Arc
Kanako gets called out by Marisa for causing strife among the residents of the mountain and the Hakurei Shrine. Kanako scoffs and tells Marisa that she has no need for people who will not give her faith. After Marisa defeats her, the magician creates a little shrine out in the middle of nowhere and, in passing, notes that she should put Kanako in it. It immediately becomes a branch shrine for Kanako, though when she appears, she isn't too happy about it.
- Subterranean Animism
Before the events of Subterranean Animism, it is hinted that she was the one who granted Utsuho Reiuji her powers (by telling her that she could swallow a god, Yatagarasu) and inadvertently caused the events of the game.
- Main article: Reimu & Yukari Arc
While Kanako was out on a shopping trip, Suwako explains to the pair about Kanako's quest to find a new energy source as part of their Mountain Industrial Revolution project. Suwako had reservations about the project (such as safety concerns for the kappa they employed). Koishi also hoped to be granted power just as Kanako did for Utsuho in the form of love, but was rebuked by Reimu.
- Main article: Reimu & Suika Arc
Kanako was out with Suwako and during that time Sanae explains to the duo why Kanako gave Utsuho her powers as a means to produce a new kind of energy in order to bring more followers to the shrine. Reimu realizes that her entire presence during the events of the game helped to advance Kanako's project.
- Main article: Reimu & Aya Arc
Reimu realizes all the fighting she's done was the cause of Kanako and asks Suwako what she was up to. Suwako explains that Kanako was looking for a high temperature for their kappa workers and decided that the Temple of the High Spirits was a suitable location and gave Utsuho her power.
- Main article: Marisa & Alice Arc
Kanako catches Marisa going through her house and gave her a scolding.
- Main article: Marisa & Patchouli Arc
Sanae tells Marisa of Kanako's plans of a kappa industrial revolution to give her followers a higher standard of living.
- Main article: Marisa & Nitori Arc
Koishi wanted to receive powers from Kanako for her pets as she did for Utsuho, but Marisa informs her that she will only do things that aid in her plans.
During Sanae's story, Suwako goes behind Kanako's back and helps the [kappa]] build the Hisoutensoku. Afterwards, Kanako suggests that nuclear power is too much for it, and proposes heat or electricity as an alternative power source, but is assured that it only runs on steam. She immediately turns it into an advertising tool to gather more faith.
Literature
Kanako and Suwako's "experiment" to produce nuclear energy using Utsuho Reiuji has only been creating energy inefficiently, so Sanae asks Reimu to help them out; the shrine maiden produces some palladium alloy, and Kanako hosts a public experiment, which ends in great success. Later on, Kanako orders the kappa to create a dam on a river on the Youkai Mountain for the purpose of gathering more faith.
Kanako is one of the main speakers at the symposium, along with Byakuren Hijiri and Toyosatomimi no Miko. During it, she explains the details of why she moved the Moriya Shrine into Gensokyo.
Relationships
Sanae Kochiya
Sanae is a wind priestess that worships Kanako, and was part of the shrine's move to Gensokyo. Kanako mentioned in Symposium of Post-mysticism that Sanae herself can be referred to as one of the "gods" of the Moriya Shrine, possibly indicating a respect for her abilities.
Suwako Moriya
Kanako and Suwako are the opposing gods of Moriya, but their profiles state that they share quite a few common interests and are actually pretty good friends. They do argue a lot, though, and Kanako still wears the snake-representing shimenawa to boast about the fact that she beat her.
Utsuho Reiuji
Kanako is the one who originally gave Utsuho her powers for her own end. At the moment it seems she is keeping Utsuho working to produce nuclear energy underground in Former Hell.
Gallery
Cover of Mountain of Faith, featuring Kanako's silhouette
Kanako equipped with her onbashira, as seen in Mountain of Faith
Kanako's sigil from Grimoire of Marisa
Kanako's appearance in Wild and Horned Hermit
Spell Cards
Name | Translated | Comments | Games | Stage | ||
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Total: 29 | ||||||
神祭「エクスパンデッド・オンバシラ」 | Divine Festival "Expanded Onbashira" | MoF GoM |
St. 6: E/N — | |||
奇祭「目処梃子乱舞」 | Weird Festival "Medoteko Boisterous Dance" | MoF | St. 6: H/L | |||
筒粥「神の粥」 | Rice Porridge in Tube "God's Rice Porridge" | MoF | St. 6: E/N | |||
忘殻「アンリメンバードクロップ」 | Forgotten Husk "Unremembered Crop" | MoF GoM |
St. 6: H — | |||
神殻「ディバイニングクロップ」 | Divine Husk "Divining Crop" | MoF | St. 6: L | |||
贄符「御射山御狩神事」 | Sacrifice Sign "Misayama Hunting Shrine Ritual" | MoF | St. 6: E/N | |||
神秘「葛井の清水」 | Mystery "Kuzui Clear Water" | MoF | St. 6: H | |||
神秘「ヤマトトーラス」 | Mystery "Yamato Torus" | MoF GoM |
St. 6: L — | |||
天流「お天水の奇跡」 | Heaven's Stream "Miracle of Otensui" | MoF | St. 6: E/N | |||
天竜「雨の源泉」 | Heaven's Dragon "Source of Rains" | MoF GoM |
St. 6: H/L — | |||
「マウンテン・オブ・フェイス」 | "Mountain of Faith" | MoF | St. 6: E/N | |||
「風神様の神徳」 | "Divine Virtues of Wind God" | MoF | St. 6: H/L | |||
神符「水眼の如き美しき源泉」 | God Sign "Beautiful Spring like Suiga" | MoF | St. Ex | |||
神符「杉で結ぶ古き縁」 | God Sign "Ancient Fate Linked by Cedars" | MoF | St. Ex | |||
神符「神が歩かれた御神渡り」 | God Sign "Omiwatari that God Walked" | MoF GoM |
St. Ex — | |||
蛇符「グラウンドサーペント」 | Snake Sign "Ground Serpent" | DS GoU |
St. 11 — | |||
御柱「メテオリックオンバシラ」 | Divine Pillar "Meteoric Onbashira" | DS | St. 11 | |||
儚道「御神渡りクロス」 | Fleeting Path "Omiwatari Cross" | DS | St. 11 | |||
御柱「ライジングオンバシラ」 | Onbashira "Rising Onbashira" | ISC GoU |
St. 9 — | |||
「神の御威光」 | "Sacred Authority of the Gods" | ISC | St. 9 | |||
風神符「ミシャバシラ」 | Wind God Sign "Mishabashira" | Co-owner with Suwako | VD | Nightmare Monday - 2 | ||
風妖符「死蝶オンバシラ」 | Wind Ghostly Sign "Dead Butterfly Onbashira" | Co-owner with Yuyuko | VD | Nightmare Monday - 3 | ||
風花符「オンバシラ裁判」 | Wind Flower Sign "Onbashira Trial" | Co-owner with Eiki | VD | Nightmare Monday - 6 | ||
風符「神地嵐」 | Wind Sign "Sacred Land Storm" | SFW | ||||
御柱「オンバシラ揺曳弾」 | Onbashira "Onbashira Trailing Shots" | SFW | ||||
御柱「オンバシラバンカーバスター」 | Onbashira "Onbashira Bunker Buster" | SFW | ||||
風符「船上水神嵐」 | Wind Sign "On-Deck Water God Storm" | SFW | ||||
御柱「船上オンバシラ揺曳弾」 | Onbashira "On-Deck Onbashira Trailing Shots" | SFW | ||||
御柱「オンバシラトーピドゥ」 | Onbashira "Onbashira Torpedo" | SFW |
Additional Information
- The silhouette of Kanako occupies the front of Mountain of Faith's jewel case.
- It is revealed in chapter 19 of Silent Sinner in Blue that the Lunarians created and use shimenawa rope to seal away those that are a threat to them. Kanako's shimenawa at her back is confirmed to be the actual shimenawa in her Mountain of Faith profile. In addition, in Suwako's profile, it is stated that Kanako was one of several gods fighting to unify Japan, and it was implied in Silent Sinner in Blue that it was the Lunarians who were behind those wars (assuming taking away Lord Daikoku's lands referred to the actual time that happened in Shinto mythology by Amaterasu's family, whom are implied to be the Lunar Capital's founders). The Lunarians even used shimenawa to seal another god at the Moriya shrine. However, it is unknown if Kanako was connected to, in league with, or aware of any of this.
- The shrine pictured in the background image of Kanako's spellcards is The Autumn Court of the Lower Shrine (下社秋宮 Shimosha), one of the four shrines that make up the Suwa Grand Shrine.
- Oddly, Kanako's sprite changes colors in rainbow order during the time between when her theme begins and when she starts to battle. It also happens to Yumeko in the PC-98 era.
Fandom
- In humorous fanart, Kanako is often depicted as a robot, or an RX-77-2 Guncannon from Mobile Suit Gundam due to the Faith Pillars that attach to her back during the final encounter in Mountain of Faith.
- Kanako is sometimes called by the other nickname: "Misae" (みさえ), which comes from Misae Nohara in Crayon Shin-chan. This is mostly due to the fact that Kanako's hair style resembles the notable and common style of Misae's, often called as "Misae Hair" (みさえヘアー), which gave her the strong impression of it in her first appearance. There was also a specific scene seen in canon in this relation: in Marisa B's ending in Mountain of Faith, Kanako drills Marisa's head with her fists (the commonly known Misae's head drill in Japan) because she built a small shrine in the Forest of Magic, which is rarely visited by people.
- Kanako is also depicted with Yukari Yakumo and Eirin Yagokoro, whom have the same character 八 in their name. This is due to their characteristics and personalities often regarded by some fans as a sign of "elders". In this sense, they're occasionally called the "old hags" in harsh cases.
- Due to how Mountain of Faith's events appear, fans first assumed Kanako as a scheming mastermind, but as time went on (and more of Kanako's plans were shown to fail), this interpretation became less popular. Ironically, recent events have revealed her to be fond of various projects (such as the dam or the sky trolley) meant to gather faith, most of which encountering some sort of trouble.
Official Profiles
○6面ボス 山坂と湖の権化 八坂 神奈子(やさか かなこ)
最近、妖怪の山に神社ごと引っ越してきた神様である。
彼女は、信仰心を取り戻す方法を模索していた。
――そして、彼女の企みは成功したように見えた。
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Stage 6 Boss The Avatar of Mountains and Lakes Kanako Yasaka Species: God The goddess who, together with her shrine, recently moved to the Youkai Mountain. Because of her name 'Yasaka' (countless hills), she's been said to be a mountain deity, but she's actually a deity of wind and rain. The sequence of events that led to her being worshiped as a mountain deity are extremely complicated and the only ones who know the truth are Kanako and Suwako. Kanako's trademark 'shimenawa' (lit. enclosing rope) represents the figure of an entwined snake. The snake, which continually sheds its scales, symbolizes resurrection, rebirth and eternity. However, humans came to know mortality and started disbelieving in eternity. Yes, humans had begun to believe in science and information. Kanako searched for a way to regain faith. Although it would mean that she would lose all the faith she still had left currently and thus lose her power temporarily, this way held more potential. She chose a future with potential rather over the crumbling glories of the past. --And so, her plans seemed to be successful. Although she had her doubts now and again at the excessive smoothness, once she saw how Gensokyo worked, she believed she understood why things went so well. In Gensokyo there was a shrine called the Hakurei Shrine. For the youkai, the shrine seemed to have become a suitable playground. Along with becoming an object of worship, Kanako was also accepted as a playmate of the youkai. Actually, to play together was what gods wished for. Festivals were venues for humans and gods to play together. By forgetting about everyday life and coming together to play, gods and humans gained the feeling of solidarity within a community. Even if the humans were exchanged for youkai, it was the same. This was exactly the kind of faith Kanako was wishing for.
She didn't know that among the youkai of Gensokyo, there existed a number of powers. Nevertheless, she collected the faith of the mountain youkai, and attained great divine virtue. She did not realize that this meant that the power of the mountain youkai, in other words the tengu and the kappa, were becoming too great. With that, there was the fear that the power balance of tranquil Gensokyo would collapse. Kanako thought that to keep Gensokyo's balance, she must now acquire the faith of the youkai and humans beneath the mountain. To achieve that, she must utilize the Hakurei Shrine else things won't proceed smoothly. Much remained before she would be able to regain the same amount of faith she'd had in the outside world. |
○はた迷惑な謎の神様
八坂神奈子と洩矢諏訪子。
核融合は核分裂とは異なり反応が暴走しにくい。また、高レベル
特に危険は感じられなかったので、真相が判った後も地上の妖怪
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The Troublesome Mysterious Gods Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya. They are the start of this story. ——The Kappas' Energy Revolution The plan by this name has safely concluded its first phase and is on its way towards practical implementation. The plan involved using the now-dormant Blazing Hell as a super-high temperature furnace in an attempt to tame a power that it is said the outside world won't attain for hundreds of years: nuclear fusion energy. The first step was to find an exemplary hell raven. The geyser was proof of the plan's success. Unlike fission energy, fusion reactions are less likely to go out of control. In addition, it doesn't create such lethal waste. Kanako seems to treat this as just one part of the shrine's operations. Because they didn't feel the plan was dangerous, the above-ground youkai did nothing to stop it even once they found out the truth. However, Reimu, who was made to go underground, |
Official Sources
- 2007/08/17 Mountain of Faith - Stage 6 dialogue; キャラ設定.txt (official profile)
- 2008/02/09 Silent Sinner in Blue - Chapter 9 (cameo)
- 2008/08/22 Strange and Bright Nature Deity - Chapter 22 (cameo)
- 2009/08/15 Touhou Hisoutensoku (cameo)
- 2009/07/27 The Grimoire of Marisa - Kanako Yasaka's Spell Cards
- 2010/03/14 Double Spoiler - Stage 11 Spell Card comments
- 2010/09/25 Wild and Horned Hermit - Chapter 2
- 2011/01/25 Wild and Horned Hermit - Chapter 4
- 2012/04/27 Symposium of Post-mysticism
References
This page is part of Project Characters, a Touhou Wiki project that aims to write proper descriptions for all official characters of Touhou Project. Please keep the character page guidelines in mind when contributing. |