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Kutaka Niwatari
Kutaka Niwatari niwataɾi kɯtaka | |
|---|---|
 Kutaka Niwatari in Touhou Gouyoku Ibun Clerical God of Hell's CheckpointMore Character Titles | |
| Species |
God of chickens (Yaoyorozu no Kami) |
| Abilities |
Healing throat illnesses |
| Occupation |
Gatekeeper of Hell |
| Location | |
Music Themes | |
| |
Appearances | |
| Official Games | |
| |
| Print Works | |
|
Strange Creators of Outer World (Who's Who of Humans & Youkai in Gensokyo - Everlasting Edition) | |
"So you're already familiar with me.
Let's get straight to the point, then.
I shall hereby test whether you are capable of surviving Hell."
— Kutaka Niwatari (Wily Beast and Weakest Creature Stage 3)
Kutaka Niwatari (庭渡 久侘歌 Niwatari Kutaka) is a god of chickens and a guard of Hell. She lives in a spring atop the Youkai Mountain but goes to Higan for her job of overseeing the gateway to otherworlds such as Hell under the yama's oversight. [1]
General Information
Kutaka first appeared as the stage 3 midboss and boss in Wily Beast and Weakest Creature, attempting to dissuade the protagonist from entering Hell. She also appears as the extra stage midboss.
Personality
Kutaka has called herself birdbrained. When she was told not to put too much trust in the animal spirits, she stated she forgot the details when asked.[2] She also tells the protagonists that, to her, it wouldn't really matter what would happen to them, as she would've forgotten all about them by that point anyway. She speaks in a polite, somewhat refined manner, and despite already being authorized to let the protagonists through, she takes extra care to test their strength out of concern for their well-being.
Abilities
- Healing throat illnesses
Kutaka's stated ability. The extent or how the ability works is unknown.
Occupation
Kutaka is the guard of the checkpoint leading to various Otherworlds, such as Hell and the land of oni. Her job is to distinguish betwen humans and oni, and sort them into their respective locations.[1] If someone wants to enter Hell, they must have Kutaka's permission to do so. If they don't have it, Kutaka will ask them to return to their original world.
Character Design
Origin
Kutaka is based on Niwatarijin (ニワタリ神), a god based in rural folklore who is worshipped in many shrines throughout northeastern Japan. Niwatarijin is typically depicted as a god of agriculture, fertility, irrigation and/or safe passage, and is at times associated with chickens (niwatori) and the sacrifice thereof. One of the god's notable blessings is to cure children's whooping cough, which was associated with birds and locally referred to as tori-shabiki.
Wide variation exists in the name of the god and its shrines, both in terms of spelling and pronunciation. Variants include Niwatari/Niwatashi (庭渡, 二渡, 二羽渡, 仁和多利, 荷渡), Oniwatari/Oniwatashi (鬼渡), Newatari (根渡, 子渡), and Miwatari/Miwatashi (水渡, 新渡, 見渡, 美渡, 御渡). Various theories exist regarding which name or meaning came first, though no conclusive answer has been reached. Some shrines were originally referred to with the Buddhist terms Myoujin and Gongen, and were renamed to "jinja" in the Meiji era. Many of the shrines were also dedicated to gods from Japanese mythology at this time in addition to Niwatarijin, including water gods such as Ame no Mikumari no Kami (天水分神) or Kuni no Mikumari no Kami (国水分神).
Kutaka's role as a gatekeeper of Hell is likely drawn from the "Oniwatari" name variant. The characters "鬼渡" (oniwatari) mean "passage through oni", or "battle with oni" as in the verb "watari-au" (渡り合う, "to do combat with").
Name
Her full name is Kutaka Niwatari (庭渡 久侘歌). Kutaka is spelled with the characters ku (久), meaning "a long time", ta (侘), which means "proud" in Chinese and "lonesome" in Japanese, and ka (歌), meaning "song". The name may be derived from "kutakake", an archaic word for "chicken". Though it was originally a derisive term, with "kake" meaning "chicken" and "kuta" meaning "rotten", it eventually came to be viewed as a refined term owing to its archaic nature. (Incidentally, "kutaka" is also Swahili for "wanting".)
Niwatari is taken directly from one of several names for Niwatarijin's shrines, spelled with the characters niwa (庭), meaning "courtyard", and watari (渡), meaning "to pass through". Relatedly, the word "niwatori" (chicken) is derived from "niwatsu-torikake" (庭つ鳥かけ), meaning "domestic kake kept in the courtyard".
Design
Kutaka wears a brown dress under a short white jacket. Her jacket has an orange Puritan collar, over which she wears a red ribbon that resembles a rooster's wattle. She wears long brown boots. She has fluffy yellow wings and a bushy, feathery tail. She has red eyes and a light tan. Her hair is cut short and light yellow in color. On top of her head is a red nest-like extension, which is apparently host to a tiny chick. Her pose in her portrait art is a reference to a statue of Mekhila in the Buddhist temple Shin-Yakushi-ji of Nara, Japan. Mekhila is one of the Heavenly Generals and guardians of the Buddha Bhaisajyaguru. The Heavenly Generals representing the 12 Chinese Zodiacs and Mekhila is the Rooster, just like Kutaka is the chicken god.
Story
Games
- Wily Beast and Weakest Creature
Kutaka approaches the protagonist as she enters the gateway to Hell, claiming that she has heard of her from the Yama. Although given permission to let the outsider in, she defends the gate anyway to test whether they can really survive Hell. She relents and lets them through upon being defeated, though not without a warning about the trustworthiness of their beast spirit partner.
She later returns in the Extra stage, once again trying to dissuade the protagonist from entering hell due to the coastal operations being carried out to contain Saki Kurokoma from attacking the surface.
Spin-offs
- Touhou Gouyoku Ibun
Kutaka was in the Hell of Blazing Fires investigating the incident about the Sanzu River overflowing.
If the player uses with Kanako Yasaka or Marisa Kirisame, Kutaka will think that they are the culprits and will attack them, but afterwars she will let them continue to check the reactor or to keep investigating the “black water”, respectively.
If the player uses with Joon and Shion Yorigami, the goddesses will attack her thinking they will be caugh, and after being defeated she will explain that she doesn’t care about it at all, and will let them pass.
If the player uses Flandre Scarlet, the vampire will suddenly attack her, and after defeating her she will leave using a backdoor, which leaves Kutaka really confused.
- 100th Black Market
In 100th Black Market, Kutaka appears as the one of the 3rd market bosses. Her ability card, a chicken weather vane, can be acquired.
Relationships
Kutaka mentions receiving orders from a yama, which Marisa confirms is Eiki. [3]
They are both subordinates to Eiki which makes them co-workers. It's unknown whether they know each other personally.
Gallery
Artwork
Kutaka portrait from Wily Beast and Weakest Creature
Kutaka's pre-battle portrait from Touhou Gouyoku Ibun
Illustrations
Spell Cards
| Name | Translated | Comments | Games | Stage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total: 17 | ||||||
| 水符「水配りの試練」 | Water Sign "Trial of |
WBaWC | St. 3: E/N | |||
| 水符「水配りの上級試煉」 | Water Sign "High-Level Tribulation of |
WBaWC | St. 3: H | |||
| 水符「水配りの極級試煉」 | Water Sign "Ultimate Tribulation of |
WBaWC | St. 3: L | |||
| 光符「見渡しの試練」 | Light Sign "Trial of |
WBaWC | St. 3: E/N | |||
| 光符「見渡しの上級試煉」 | Light Sign "High-Level Tribulation of |
WBaWC | St. 3: H | |||
| 光符「見渡しの極級試煉」 | Light Sign "Ultimate Tribulation of |
WBaWC | St. 3: L | |||
| 鬼符「鬼渡の試練」 | Oni Sign "Trial of |
WBaWC | St. 3: E/N | |||
| 鬼符「鬼渡の上級試煉」 | Oni Sign "High-Level Tribulation of |
WBaWC | St. 3: H | |||
| 鬼符「鬼渡の獄級試煉」 | Oni Sign "Hell-Level Tribulation of |
WBaWC | St. 3: L | |||
| 血戦「血の分水嶺」 | Bloody Battle "Watershed of Blood" | WBaWC | St. Ex | |||
| 血戦「獄界視線」 | Bloody Battle "Hell Realm Sight-Line" | WBaWC | St. Ex | |||
| 血戦「全霊鬼渡り」 | Bloody Battle "Highly Spirited |
WBaWC | St. Ex | |||
| 長鳴「目覚めよ、葬られた幽霊達よ」 | Long Cry "Awaken, O Buried Phantoms" | SFW | ||||
| 笛符「幽霊達よ、居るべき場所に還れ」 | Whistle Sign "O Phantoms, Return to Thy Proper Place" | SFW | ||||
| 庭渡「見渡しのよい旧地獄」 | Niwatari "Picturesque View of Former Hell" | SFW | ||||
| 庭渡「アルゴリズミックファントム」 | Niwatari "Algorithmic Phantom" | SFW | ||||
| 「命の分水嶺」 | "Watershed of Life" | HBM | 3rd Market | |||
Additional Information
- Kutaka's long tail would indicate that she is based on the Onagadori, a historic Japanese breed of chicken.
Fandom
Official Profiles
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○３面ボス 地獄関所の番頭神 庭渡 久侘歌（にわたり くたか） 種族：神様 地獄、鬼の国などの、異界との関所の番人。 今回は地獄に行きたいという人間の話を閻魔様に話を聞いていたが、 彼岸には彼女の仕事場があるだけで、普段から彼岸に住んでいるわけではない。 彼女の正体は家畜化される前の、野生の鶏の神様、ニワタリ神である。 密かに、人間の食料と化してしまった鶏の、地位向上の為に何か出来ることは無いかと考えている。 |
Stage 3 Boss: Clerical God of Hell's Checkpoint Kutaka Niwatari Species: God The guard of the checkpoint leading to various Otherworlds, such as Hell and the land of oni. In her appearance here, the yama have informed her of a human who wanted to enter Hell, but she was worried about how the human would fare in Hell, so she decided to test their strength. Her place of work is at Higan, but she doesn't spend most of her time there. She seems to typically reside at the top of a waterfall on the Youkai Mountain, in a spot with a beautiful view. Her true identity is that of Niwatarijin, the god of wild chickens from before they were domesticated. People tend to think of chickens as being sort of weak and cowardly, but she's a polite and just god who values equality and altruism above all. She's quietly considering what she can do to help raise the status of chickens, who've been reduced to a food source for humans. |
Official Sources
- 2019/05/05 Wily Beast and Weakest Creature trial - omake.txt (trial profile, stage 3 dialogue)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wily Beast and Weakest Creature - Kutaka's Profile
- ↑ Wily Beast and Weakest Creature - Reimu's Scenario (Eagle)
- ↑ Wily Beast and Weakest Creature - "I mean, I DID beat up the Yama that one time" (Marisa's Scenario (Wolf))
 | 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. |
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