Shin Megami Tensei II

Part 24

Update 23

Okay, to the Shrines it is.

Wikipedia posted:

Sarutahiko Ōkami (猿田毘古大神, 猿田彦大神, is a kami, a deity of the Japanese religion of Shinto.

Sarutahiko Ōkami is a powerful guardian kami who is enshrined at Tsubaki Jinja in Mie Prefecture and at Sarutahiko Jinja in Ise. In the Kojiki, he is the leader of the earthly kami and the one who greets Ninigi no Mikoto, the grandson of Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, when he descends from Takamagahara. He is depicted as a towering man with a large beard, jeweled spear, ruddy face, and long nose. At first he is unwilling to yield his realm until persuaded by Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, the kami of dance and the arts, whom he later marries. Sarutahiko Ōkami is seen as a symbol of strength and guidance, which is why he is the patron of martial arts such as aikido.

His name consists of an etymologically obscure element, Saruta, which is traditionally transcribed with kanji (猿田 that suggest the meaning "monkey-field" as a sort of double entendre, followed by the Classical Japanese noun hiko "a male child of noble blood, a prince." Thus, Sarutahiko Ōkami's embellished name could be roughly translated into English as "Great Kami, Prince Saruta." Many variant pronunciations of his name exist, including Sarudabiko and Sadahiko. Although it is usually not written, the Japanese genitive case marker, -no, is often suffixed to his name in speech when it is followed immediately by one of his honorific titles, such as Ōkami or Mikoto.

Sarutahiko has the distinction of being one of only six kami to be honored with the title Ōkami (大神 or "Great Kami"; the other five are Izanagi, Izanami (in her Persephone-like role as Queen of the Underworld), Michikaeshi, Sashikuni, and Amaterasu. The special honor paid to Sarutahiko is particularly notable for the fact that he is the singular kunitsukami, or earthly kami, to be given the title; the other five are all amatsukami, i.e. heavenly kami.

Damned uneven scan. Well, it is better than just having half of the images in some demons.

Video of the battle!

One dead guy part acquired!

next.

Oh boy, exploration time.

Arachne!

Wikipedia posted:

The fable of Arachne (also Arachné) is a late addition to Greek mythology, recorded in Ovid's Metamorphoses ( (vi.5-54 and 129-145) and mentioned in Virgil's Georgics, iv, 246. The anecdote does not appear in the myth repertory of the Attic vase-painters. Arachne's name simply means "spider" (αράχνη. Arachne was the daughter of Idmon of Colophon, who was a famous dyer in Tyrian purple. She was a fine weaver in Hypaipa of Lydia who became so conceited of her skill as a weaver that she began claiming that her skill was greater than that of Athena, the goddess of weaving.

Athena was angered, but gave Arachne a chance to redeem herself. Assuming the form of an old woman, she warned Arachne not to offend the gods. Arachne scoffed and wished for a weaving contest, so she could prove her skill. Athena dropped her disguise and the contest began.

Athena wove the scene of her victory over Poseidon that had inspired the people of Athens to name their city for her. According to the Latin narrative, Arachne's tapestry featured twenty-one episodes of the infidelity of the gods: Jupiter being unfaithful with Leda, with Europa, with Danae.

Even Athena admitted that Arachne's work was flawless, but was outraged at Arachne's disrespectful choice of subjects that displayed the failings and transgressions of the gods.[1] Finally losing her temper, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom, striking it with her shuttle, and struck Arachne on the head as well. Arachne realized her folly and was crushed with shame. She ran off and hanged herself.

In Ovid's telling, Athena took pity on Arachne. Sprinkling her with the juices of aconite, Athena loosened the rope, which became a cobweb, while Arachne herself was changed into a spider. The story suggests that the origin of weaving lay in imitation of spiders and that it was considered to have been perfected first in Asia Minor.

Damned Chaotic demons.

And after exploring the very, very annoying level...

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online posted:

in full Sukunahikona No Kami, also spelled Sukunabikona (Japanese: “Small Man of Renown”, in Japanese mythology, dwarf deity who assisted Okuninushi in building the world and formulating protections against disease and wild animals.

A god of healing and of brewing sake (rice wine), Sukunahikona is associated particularly with hot springs.

Bah, I was expecting him to have Mediarahan or something, some healing god...

Yakshini!

Wikipedia posted:

Yakshinis (Sanskrit: याक्षिणि, also called yaksinis or yaksis and yakkhini in Pali) are benevolent mythical beings of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology. A yakshini is the female counterpart of the male yaksha, and they both attend on Kubera (also called Kuber), the Hindu god of wealth who rules in the mythical Himalayan kingdom of Alaka. They both look after treasure hidden in the earth and resemble that of fairies. Yakshinis are often depicted as beautiful and voluptuous, having large curves and wide hips. In the Uddamareshvara Tantra, thirty-six yakshinis are described, including their mantras and ritual prescriptions. A similar list of yakshas and yakshinis is given in the Tantraraja Tantra, where it says that these beings are givers of whatever is desired.

This one has better healing stuffs!

Two pieces!

Next.

Time for this one.

Hey, it seems like it will have rather small floors! No, it won't. It is a pain in the ass. GODDAMN INVISIBLE WALLS, I HATE YOU.

A new kind of angel!

Wikipedia posted:

The Principalities are shown wearing a crown and carrying a sceptre. They lie beyond the group of archangels. They are the guardian angels of nations and countries, and are concerned with the issues and events surrounding these, including politics, military matters, commerce and trade. One of their duties is to choose who amongst living things will rule.

They are annoying to fight.

Second floor.

Third floor.

Hooray!

Oh fuckdamnit. The floors are actually divided in two?

Awesome!

ARGH.

Current demonic roster.

FUCK YOU, DUNGEON.

O-Yamatsumi!
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/afuri.htm

That site posted:

Oyamatsumi is the god that controls mountains.

Hurr

Hms.

Getting rid of a furry.

FUCK YOU. DUNGEON.

Another part of the corpse!

Time to visit the Jakyo Manor.

http://www.themystica.com/mythical-.../narasinha.html

quote:

Narasinha, man-lion, is claimed to be the fourth avatar of Vishnu, mentioned in epic and Puranic texts, and depicted as a man-lion hybrid. According to legend, the demonic king Hiranyakasipu took of a dangerous invulnerability. To thwart this, Vishnu assumed the form of Narasinha and hid in a pillar of the king's palace from whence he sprang capturing Hiranyakasipu and tore out his entrails. Iconographically, the scene is portrayed with the victim thrown across Narasinha's lap, and the god's claws plunged into the body. Narasinha may also appear seated in a yoga position with the goddess Laksmi upon his knee.

Vishnu was a furry!

Next!

Allright!
One piece left, and there are no more shrines (seriously, spent like 1 and a half hours searching for the last shrine), then I noticed something. Only one part was missing, and it should have been obvious.
What part is missing?
THE HEAD.
Where has a head been mentioned before?
Yes, that's right.

The Holytown's Great Church.

And now THE CORPSE PARTS HAVE BEEN COLLECTED.

Time to see that old dwarf mutant thing.

Ah, so now you are not kicking Aleph and co out, eh? EH?

Oh. Okay. Just a question of teleporting to a town with a Jakyo Manor nearby.

This'll do.

Sure, go ahead.

RESURRECTION

Wikipedia posted:

Taira no Masakado (平将門 (?–940) was a member of the Kammu Taira clan of Japan. He was the son of Taira no Yoshimasa, Chinjufu-shogun. His childhood name was Souma Kojiro. Taira no Masakado was a powerful landowner in the Kanto region. He is regarded as the first bushi because he was the first to lead a self-governing party. In other words, a first daimyo.

His life is detailed in the Shomonki, a detailed book compiled in the year 1099(?) about his life by an anonymous author. Due to the religious and political nature of the account, it is most probably written by a monk or aristocrat closely connected to Masakado himself.

In 939, during the Heian Period of Japanese history, he rebelled by attacking the outpost of the central government in Hitachi Province, capturing the governor. In December of that year he conquered Shimotsuke and Kozuke provinces, and claimed the title of Shinnō (New Emperor). Masakado killed his uncle Kunika who was part of Taira. The central government in Kyoto responded by putting a bounty on his head, and fifty-nine days later his cousin Sadamori, whose father Masakado had attacked and killed, and Fujiwara no Hidesato, killed him at Battle of Kojima (Shimousa) in 940 and took his head to the capital.

The head found its way to Shibasaki, a small fishing village on the edge of the ocean and the future site of Edo, which later became Tokyo. It was buried in "Masakado Kubizuka" (Hill of Masakado's head). The Kubizuka, which is located in the present day Ōtemachi section of Tokyo, was a hill rising out of Tokyo Bay at the time. Through land reclamation over the centuries, the bay has receded some three kilometers to the south.

Over the centuries, Masakado became something of a demigod to the locals who were impressed by his stand against the central government, while at the same time felt the need to appease his malevolent spirit. The fortunes of the Edo and Tokyo seemed to wax and wane correspondingly with the respect paid to the shrine built to him at the kubizuka - neglect would be followed by natural disasters and other misfortunes. Hence, to this day, the shrine is well maintained occupying some of the most expensive land in the world in Tokyo’s financial district facing the Imperial Palace.

Other shrines which he is deity of include Kanda Myojin (located in Kanda), and Tsukudo Jinja (which has multiple locations.)

His tomb (which contains only his head) is near exit C5 of Tokyo's Ōtemachi subway station.