| Are you prepared to handle the spoilers ahead? This whole character page contains major spoilers. Continue at your own risk. |
"Blood is without substance, and thus a thing of beauty. Even more so if it sprays forth in a crimson blizzard born of love." |
Natsuhiko Kyōgoku (京極 夏彦, Kyōgoku Natsuhiko?) was a notorious criminal instigator and had the ability Possession Drop. He adopted various personas over the years, though he most preferred that of the Sorcerer (妖術師, Yōjutsu-shi?), which he craftily used in devising his criminal cases and battles of wits against his archnemesis, Yukito Ayatsuji.[1]
Appearance
Kyōgoku was an elderly man of relatively tall stature and pale skin. He had mud-brown eyes and short, white hair with some unkempt fringes covering part of his left eye. He had dimples in his cheeks, which were described to be "childlike yet sinister."[1] Overall, he was dressed in tattered, traditional kimono and wore a pair of circular framed glasses. He occasionally carried or donned a red oni mask on his head, and he is almost never seen without a grin.
Personality
.png){kind=link}
Kyōgoku's unexpected reappearance to Ayatsuji, which forced the detective and the government to participate in the Sorcerer's "ceremony."
As a master of trickery, Kyōgoku was cunning, deceptive, and highly manipulative. He relied mostly on his genius and, unlike other gifted criminals, merely utilized his ability as a supplementary weapon. He even agreed that his ability was not particularly strong,[4] but his precision in timing events proved to be his strongest suit that stumped even the likes of Ayatsuji and the government various times. Furthermore, of all the many personas he donned, his most favored one was that of the Sorcerer who played with human life and the world using his skills and conspiracies.
With his villainous character, Kyōgoku was thoroughly disliked by his rival Ayatsuji, at whom he always laughed or sneered in return. He always used a good-natured, old-fashioned tone of voice that added to his stench. However, he possessed a mysterious charisma that attracted followers and supporters all over the country, who followed his orders and words. He also puppeteered unknowing people to do his bidding, whom he called his "familiars" or "shikigami", though Ayatsuji surmised that these people may be possessed with his ability. At the same time, Kyōgoku's transcendental aura compelled others to worship yet fear him akin to some being beyond human comprehension. Naturally, he was also vastly knowledgeable about ghosts, folklores, and the idea of the supernatural, which he incorporated in his schemes.[1]
.png){kind=link}
Kyōgoku possessing various Special Division agents at once as his hostages to make them meet his demands.
Kyōgoku's careful planning made him confident in his intellect and actions, to the extent of toying with his enemies, and especially pestered Ayatsuji. As a criminal instigator, Kyōgoku was notorious for never leaving any traces linking criminals to his name. This made him extremely elusive, unable to be caught or branded as a criminal by the government, nor judged and killed by Ayatsuji's infallible ability. Even in the face of certain death upon proving him as a criminal in a massacre, Kyōgoku had thought of a plan to evade such absolute accidental death,[3] which cemented his ultimate victory against Ayatsuji. Incidentally, Kyōgoku was dedicated to win in his games to the point of betting his own life, which Ayatsuji noted was one of his quirks. Ultimately, in his battle against his archnemesis, Kyōgoku resorted to this stratagem that required the expense of his own life all to ensure absolute victory and, by extension, Ayatsuji's indefinite loss.[1]
As such, Ayatsuji remarked that it was Kyōgoku's own demonic intellect that made him truly evil.[5] For instance, Kyōgoku considered it charity to help innocents being pressured by society to turn to crime to the extent of helping them commit perfect crimes, locked-room murders, and unsolvable cases.[1] He also "helped out" a married couple pay their daughters' hospital bills in exchange for committing double suicide in front of Ayatsuji as a way of reopening his "ceremony" following their showdown at the waterfall.[2]
This inclination of committing and helping others commit evil is because of Kyōgoku's deep-seated belief that evil—though recognizing it as a bane of society—was selfishness and thus instinctively human, and that life was inherently evil. Therefore, he believed that removing evil was removing "what made humankind human." His firm determination to reach his ultimate goal, which is to diffuse as a yōkai of evil and crime, made him create several wells all over Japan that could "turn people evil", believing that there were people whom he needed to help from getting crushed by society's pressure of purging and punishing evil—that is, of suppressing humankind's true brilliance and freedom. With this unique philosophy, Kyōgoku acted according to it and devoted his entire life to commit to this mission, in which he was considerably successful.[1]
Ability
- Main article: Possession Drop
Kyōgoku's ability, Possession Drop (憑き物落とし, Tsukimono-Otoshi?), allowed him to drop spirits (憑き物, tsukimono?) on targets, which altered their mind and spirit. Only these targets could see the spirit that possessed them, indirectly instilling them with anger and confusion.
| Possession Drop (憑き物落とし, Tsukimono-Otoshi?) | ||
|
Manga Debut: | Gaiden Chapter 3.4 (mentioned) |
|---|---|---|
| Anime Debut: | - | |
| Ability: | Spirit Possession | |
Background
Even before his birth, Kyōgoku possessed an unnatural mind, as he already had awareness and consciousness even when he was still in his mother's womb, which he was able to describe in vivid imagery. Once he was born into the world, he instantly recognized human beings as a species similar to him. From then on, on account of self-preservation from the "titans" and the overwhelming world of light and information, Kyōgoku decided to protect himself by all means necessary, which he deemed as his "first and greatest moment of selfishness."
Not long after, Kyōgoku learned about the nature of systems, specifically how such superstructures like society, populations, organizations, families, companies, governments, and nations existed above humans. These systems also made him realize the fragility of human beings and how they feared the threat of violence.
Over the years, Kyōgoku wore various identities and acted accordingly, including an eccentric old man living in a countryside shack; a well-read, kind-hearted gentleman; a climate researcher; and a puzzle and riddle solver occasionally commissioned by the government, though his most preferred is that of the manipulative and malevolent Sorcerer who played tricks on other people. As such, he was behind innumerable cases that gravely affected society, including the Ox-Head Incident and the Suōdō Hall Incident.[1] It is also implied that Kyōgoku was a mentor to Ayatsuji, mentioning how the latter remembered "his class" during their later encounter.[2]
Prior to his first encounter with Ayatsuji at the waterfall, Kyōgoku held a record of 38 counts of instigation to murder; 29 cases of extortion; and various charges for attempted or unattempted robbery, false imprisonment, assault, and other petty and serious crimes that would reach hundreds. However, he did not directly perform these crimes but used others to commit them, not knowing they were being manipulated.[3] To cite, some cases of his instigated crimes included having 12 people kill one another in a museum, a company CEO kill their own employees, and well-known serial killers escape from jail simultaneously.
Reigo Island Seventeen-Victim Massacre
- Main article: Reigo Island Seventeen-Victim Massacre
At one point, Kyōgoku also crafted the necessary means and created his evil-turning wells throughout Japan. Five years ago, he had inspector Asukai kill his partner Yui and aided him mastermind a serial murder in Reigo Island. Under the alias "Engineer," Asukai was helped by one of Kyōgoku's wells and almost achieved near-perfect success with 17 conspirators to murder island visitors, until Ayatsuji was dispatched and solved the case, making his ability kill 17 suspects. Later on, Kyōgoku selected Kubo to possess with a satori, and he assumed the role as the Engineer in place of Asukai.[1]
Appearances
Prologue
Chapter 3
- Chapter 3.2 - Marshland / Afternoon/ Cloudy ②
- Chapter 3.4 - Wetlands / Afternoon / Cloudy ④ (mentioned)
- Chapter 3.4 - Wetlands / Afternoon / Cloudy ⑤ (cameo)
Chapter 4
- Chapter 4.2 - Justice Ministry Main Building / Morning / Sunny ② (mentioned)
- Chapter 4.3 - Justice Ministry Main Building / Morning / Sunny ③ (cameo)
- Chapter 4.8 - Justice Ministry Main Building / Morning / Sunny ⑧
- Chapter 4.9 - Justice Ministry Main Building / Morning / Sunny ⑨
Quotes
- (To Yukito Ayatsuji) "Ahh… What a fearsome ordeal. Such is the fate of anyone who confronts Detective Yukito Ayatsuji, a man more unsavory than a killer."[3]
- (To Yukito Ayatsuji) "Facing you was such a joy. What a pity. The battle up until now was simply a precursor of this ceremony.[3]
- (To Yukito Ayatsuji) "You will never defeat me, 'Homicide Detective.' This battle was doomed to fail! It's a mired retreat, with no winner in sight! Enjoy the path of the loser, Ayatsuji-kun, and watch as your final prediction fails to come true!"[3]
Trivia
- Kyōgoku's ability is among the abilities that is not derive from the real-life writer's work. Instead, it derives from the main character's exorcism technique.
- Unlike their rivalry in Gaiden, the real-life Natsuhiko Kyōgoku is close friends with Yukito Ayatsuji.
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Bungo Stray Dogs Gaiden: Ayatsuji Yukito VS. Kyōgoku Natsuhiko.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bungo Stray Dogs Gaiden Manga: Gaiden Chapter 3.2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Bungo Stray Dogs Gaiden Manga: Gaiden Prologue.
- ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Gaiden Manga: Gaiden Chapter 4.10.
- ↑ Bungo Stray Dogs Gaiden Manga: Gaiden Chapter 3.4.