Buffy the Oni Slayer

[madimpossibledreamer]

I spent far too much time thinking about symbolism, buuuuut...  (and yeah, the others are probably coming, but I have to revamp Xander's and a couple of the other characters that haven't shown up with tattoos yet.)

 

I can’t believe it took me so long to realize what Natsukawa’s irezumi would be.  It’s an Oni Slayer.  Duh.

It’s probably even based on a new folk tale.  Let’s say based on Kofuyu (spelled with the kanji for fragrance and winter).  Daughter of an innkeeper, guy she was supposed to marry was spirited away (by oni) and she stole a katana from a samurai lady staying at the inn and chased off into the winter after him.  She wasn’t dressed for the weather and it was thought that her act would be suicide.  However, her act of courage impressed the amematsu fish (guardian diety) of the lake she was trying to cross, and it blessed the sword.  She also followed the exact path she needed to take (she had spiritual senses, but there was little use for that for an innkeeper’s daughter), crossing the lake to the cave the oni lived in.  It’s not entirely a happy ending, as her fiancé had already been eaten, but she killed the oni that had been spiriting people away from the village from years, and her bravery led to being honored by the samurai whose sword she had stolen.  The lady (let’s call her Nijika, rainbow flower) gave her the area around her village and the lake, making her eligible to become a samurai too, and she goes on to do more awesome oni-slaying deeds and find a husband after a lifetime of adventure.

So it’s got Kofuyu with the unsheathed sword, staring across the frozen lake.  Her wear is a simple, faded kimono and hakama, plum blossom-themed, but it’s thin, and it’s a little tattered, fine for working in a warmed inn, particularly if it’s got hot springs attached, but definitely not for being out in the middle of a snowstorm.  Snow is falling around her.  To her right is a pine tree.  Across that lake is the cave, bamboo grove to the left (also across the lake).  In the middle of the lake is a snow-covered red torii gate.

The yakuza are actually more important in this world than the real world, as they serve an additional function: like the Slayers, they keep the demons at bay.  In some cases, by binding them via spirit ink, but who’s counting?  Thus, the torii gate—not mentioned in the legend, but it fits so well.  She serves as the gatekeeper, just like a torii, between the living world and the spirit world.  (Also, Kofuyu’s traveling between her normal, living world across the lake to where the oni lives, so it’s also a more concrete symbol.)

It’s an echo of the stylized symbol of the Amaya-kai, too—the sword and falling petals.  Here, it’s the sword and falling snow.

I went with the winter season because that ice-skating tradition needed to be more of a thing than it was.  Also, because it’s more of Natsukawa|Buffy’s sense of humor.  Her name is spelled with the kanji for summer, as was her mother’s, so it would seem the natural season of choice would be summer, but she decides to be rebellious because that’s just who she is.

I wanted something with darkness, because the whole Slayer has a Dark Side thing, but I think I’m going with the oni and the cave for that.  The oni’s not actually pictured, but knowing the story tells you it’s there.  And death.  Death is also there.

…Actually, it would make sense to have an oni on the other shoulder, in the form of a mask.  A red oni mask.  Again, the darkness inside, plus another reference to the story.

They recommend the phoenix (hou-ou) be big, so probably from shoulder blade to over the breast.  Someone mentioned it’s another version of the Suzuki, a summer bird, which if so it wouldn’t count.  The main reason I want it is that it symbolizes a new beginning or new era, which Natsukawa|Buffy would want.  She loves her mom and respects her, but she also wants to create a new chapter in the book of the Amaya-kai.  (This ambition was present even when her mother was still alive and she was low-ranking in the clan.  She probably did serve in the Natsukawa-gumi, under whoever the Kashiwagi equivalent is.)

I wanted something that symbolizes friendship, because that’s super important to Buffy even if she often goes off on her own.  I was actually looking for winter flowers when I stumbled across the Three Friends of Winter which is perfect for the Scoobies.  Not sure which is which, though.

*Phoenix (hou-ou) wrapping around to the front: rebirth, the sun, justice, harmony, disharmony, new eras

*the sword and snow

*(started going with the petal thing but I couldn’t fit in the more specific Buffy elements, sooo) or ice and frozen pond

*symbolism for friends

*darkness

*torii-protection against evil, gateway between the normal world and the spiritual world

*Three Friends of Winter-pine, bamboo, and plum—don’t wither in winter.  Steadfastness, perseverance, resilience

*plum would be blossoming in late winter, vitality, hope, renewal, young spirit

*bamboo-purity, innocence, prosperity, flexibility and strength, ward off evil

*pine-longevity and endurance, perseverance, immortality, eternity