| “ | The objects chosen to be yorishiro are ones with the strongest feelings connected to them, after all. | ” |
— Tsuchigomori on the nature of the Yorishiros.
| ||
A divine Yorishiro (依代 Yorishiro?), or simply Yorishiro, is something belonging to a specific School Mystery. It is through having a Yorishiro, in fact, that a supernatural being can officially be considered a member of the Seven Mysteries. They are characterised by a black and white seal.
Overview[]
A Yorishiro can pretty much be any material thing on which the seal can be placed. They are described as the object or person most precious to the respective School Mystery, something they'd want to protect and normally never ruin on their own will, in order to prevent them from abandoning their duty by destroying it.[1]
The Yorishiro is described as a "battery" that provides its School Mystery with more power than a normal supernatural and, therefore, is usually kept hidden in the innermost reaches of a School Mystery's boundary. If the Yorishiro is destroyed, the School Mystery will be greatly weakened and, overall, will cease to be considered a Mystery, at least officially speaking.[2][3]
In order to destroy one, a kannagi can rip the seal off the yorishiro, leaving it mostly intact; doing so will usually allow the person to see a fragment of memory related to the yorishiro itself. To any other individual, including the Mystery themselves, the only way to destroy a yorishiro would be to completely annihilate it to beyond recognition, ultimately making it disappear in its entirety.[1]
It is rumored that, if someone manages to destroy all the yorishiros, a certain "God" will grant them a wish. According to other rumors, however, it will actually lead to the "destruction of everything". While none of these options have been confirmed yet, it's also possible for the two outcomes to be related to some extent.
Original Timeline Yorishiros[]
No. 1's Yorishiro[]
The Three Clock Keepers's Yorishiro is a golden key with the seal on it. It can be used to unlock the door leading to heart of the Clock Keepers' Boundary; Clock Keepers themeselves can also use it to travel to any point in time, as long as they stand in front of the Big Clock.[3]
The key used to be stored inside of Mirai's body, at least until the latter sacrificed herself in order to protect Akane from Tsukasa's direct attack.[3]
No. 2's Yorishiro[]
Yako's yorishiro is a pair of scissors with the seal on it. It's the same pair that was used by Misaki, Yako's past sweetheart and the only human she trusted, to cut her hair.[4]
After taking away the seal from the yorishiro, Nene saw the memory contained in it. It showed a teacher, Misaki, taking a picture with his students in front of the Misaki Shrine, along with the fox statue beside the gate. Misaki told everyone to look forward and smile; he then patted the statue and said: "You too", prompting a small Yako only he could see to join them.[4]
No. 3's Yorishiro[]
The original Number 3's yorishiro was an unspecified object placed on the ceiling of his mirror world, where the seal could be seen from a distance. Nene and Mitsuba were initially supposed to take the yorishiro off to get out of there, but they were stopped before they could even try by Tsukasa's intervention, who murdered No. 3 and forced Mitsuba to eat his heart.[5] After that, his yorishiro isn't mentioned anymore.
As the new No. 3, Mitsuba didn't retain the original No. 3's Yorishiro. However, he was unable to make his own in time, which resulted in him being weaker than an actual School Mystery.[3]
No. 4's Yoishiro[]
Shijima Mei's yorishiro is her sketchbook with the seal on it. It's the same one the original Mei used to sketch her drawings.[6]
After Nene took the seal away from the yorishiro, the Picture Perfect world shattered into glass fragments, showing glimpses of their experiences in the fake world.[7]
No. 5's Yorishiro[]
Tsuchigomori's yorishiro is a 'lunar rock' with the seal on it. It was a gift from the only person who ever managed to change their future as it was written in their book from the 4PM Bookstacks.[8]
After taking away the seal from the yorishiro, Nene saw the memory contained in it. It showed Tsuchigomori attending to an alive Amane Yugi's bruises. The boy showed his teacher a rock that fell from the sky when he was younger and claimed it to be a lunar rock, describing it as his 'most prized possession'. Despite this, he decided to give the rock to Tsuchigomori, explaining that looking at it made him feel like he could go anywhere he wanted, but that he didn't want to go anywhere anymore.[9]
No. 6's Yorishiro[]
Shinigami-sama's yorishiro is Akane Sumire, a human girl whose seal is located on the right side of the lower part of her neck.[10] Back when they were both alive, she was the girl he was ordered to take care of until the day she was going to be sacrificed to the Pit God.
Shinigami himself "destroys" Sumire by eating and consuming her whole.[11]
No. 7's Yorishiro[]
Hanako's yorishiro is Tsukasa Yugi, his twin brother whose seal is located on his right cheek.[1] He is the person Hanako killed back when they were alive, and also someone he believes he failed to protect.
New Present Yorishiros[]
With the possible absence of the Seven Mysteries in the New Present, yorishiros have a slightly different function than those of the Original Timeline. Instead of serving as the power source of a School Mystery and usually being a thing or person of significant and personal value to them, they essentially are any kind of item involved in a ritual in orderto summon supernaturals and power them, thus allowing the summoned supernatural to roam around and do whatever they want in the human realm.
According to Minamoto Kou, only the removal or destruction of said Yorishiro can remove the associated summoned supernatural from the human realm, although this means that said supernatural will now have a grudge on the person who destroyed it. More powerful supernaturals such as "Tsukasa-Kun", however, are not affected by such actions, and can continue to roam around the human realm indefinitely, even inflicting any kind of harm to another person who isn't affected by the yorishiro.
Trivia[]
- The order of appearance of the yorishiros in the series is: Yako's[4], Hanako's[12], No.3's[5], Shijima's[6], Shinigami's[10] and The Clock Keepers'[3].
- However, Tsukasa (Hanako's yorishiro) was reveald to be one only after Sumire (Shinigami's one)'s debut.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chapter 95.
- ↑ Chapter 6.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Chapter 110.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chapter 7.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chapter 32.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 43.
- ↑ Chapter 58.
- ↑ Chapter 13.
- ↑ Chapter 14.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 66.
- ↑ Chapter 94.
- ↑ Chapter 15.