Mitsumo

照雲（みつも） Mitsumo mit͡sɯᵝmo̞
Mitsumo in Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle
Character Titles
Visualized Mental Scars
Information
Species	Youkai (Shouyoukyou)
Abilities	Projecting trauma
Music Themes
ナイトメアシンドローム (BPoHC)
Appearances
Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle Stage 1 Brilliant Boss Possible Stage 2+ Midboss Stage 1 Haze Boss (demo)

Mitsumo (照雲) is a mirror youkai and the stage 1 boss of the brilliant route of Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle. The little child accompanying it is a victim named Terumi (輝美), who was absorbed and serves as its current vessel.

General Information

Mitsumo is a mirror youkai which takes over humans to use as vessels in order to move and speak, which it does by projecting their biggest fear and possessing them afterwards; the human accompanying the mirror has been possessed by them and serves a vessel. Its current victim is a young child named Terumi. However, it's implied that Mitsumo's vessels don't last long.

Personality

Despite being a weak youkai, Mitsumo is powerful enough to make humans their vessels. However, their vessels don't last for long, so Mitsumo is always looking for new vessels to consume. In speech, they speak in an archaic style of Japanese, implying that they've been alive for a long time.

Abilities

Projecting trauma

Mitsumo is able to project the biggest fears of their opponents in the mirror that forms their true body. They use this ability to brainwash people and use them as vessels, since their main body is immobile. When Mitsumo successfully possesses someone, a headband with a smaller version of the Mitsumo mirror manifests on the head of the possessed. This smaller mirror may in fact be a "split self" of Mitsumo themself, although this isn't clearly established.

Producing Clouds

Mitsumo is able to produce clouds which allows them to move without the need for a vessel. However, doing so requires a large amount of youkai energy so they rarely ever use them, instead relying on their vessel to move and clean themself. Instead, they only produce the clouds when they get ready to do battle, as a form of insurance to ensure that they can move even if something should happen to their vessel.

Background Information

Origin

Mitsumo is stated to be a youkai shouyoukyou (照妖鏡, lit. "evil-illuminating mirror"), mirrors from Chinese legends that were said to be able to reveal disguised youkai and sorcery, more commonly known in Japanese as shoumakyou (照魔鏡, lit. "evil-illuminating mirror") or gouyoukyou (降妖鏡, lit. "evil-dispelling mirror"). They are likely based on the ungaikyou (雲外鏡, lit. "mirror beyond the clouds"), a youkai believed to be invented by the 18th century ukiyo-e artist Toriyama Sekien, in the book The Idle Bag of One Hundred Housewares (百器徒然袋), as can been seen from their design and Toriyama's mentioning the shoumakyou in the entry for this youkai.

While Sekien's commentary in the book does not offer much about the ungaikyou, latter interpretations of the youkai ascribe it the ability to "show humans the image of a youkai they could become" or "control other youkai whose form has been reflected in the mirror". These abilities can be said to combine to give Mitsumo's ability, showing their victim a horrible sight and taking over control of their body. It is also common for modern interpretations of the ungaikyou to describe it as a tsukumogami, a type of youkai born of an object gaining its own spirit through having existed for 100 years, though it's unclear whether Mitsumo belongs to this category or not.

Name

Their full name is Mitsumo (照雲), the two characters in the name meaning "illuminate" and "cloud" respectively. They are likely taken from the first kanji in "照妖鏡" (shouyoukyou, lit. "evil-illuminating mirror") and "雲外鏡" (ungaikyou, lit. "mirror beyond clouds") respectively.

Design

Mitsumo's is based heavily on Toriyama Sekien's illustration of the ungaikyou, as seen here. They are a big rounded mirror with purple with floating eyes within it, sitting on a tower of clouds with a horned torii shrine gate in front of the mirror. Terumi, the human accompanying Mitsumo, has short purple hair and empty purple eyes. They wear a short pink kimono and are barefooted. They wear a small mirror resembling Mitsumo as a hair accessory, which manifested because of Mitsumo's possession.

Appearances

Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle

Mitsumo is the first stage boss of the brilliant route of Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle. In the demo version, you'll find it and Terumi as the first stage boss on the haze route. It is wandering aimlessly around the Shrine Road, hoping to find a new human vessel.

Main article: Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle: Shrine Team's Brilliant Scenario

While wandering around the Shrine Road, Mitsumo encounters Yabusame Houlen and company. Shion realizes that the mirror youkai is evil and thus it has a disgusting soul. Tsubakura Enraku believes that the mirror is possessed, but Mitsumo corrects them and says that they are actually possessing the child who accompanies it. Tsubakura attacks Mitsumo on the belief they're the mirror of the prophecy, much to their confussion. After Mitsumo is defeated, Tsubakura realizes it's not the mirror they're looking for and leaves as Shion proceeds to eat their soul.

Main article: Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle: New Emperor Team's Brilliant Scenario

Mitsumo ambushes Taira no Fumikado and their lackeys, hoping to find a new vessel. They are disappointed when they find that they're all non-human. They realize that the mirror is a dangerous youkai that consumes humans. Mitsumo is interested in Fumikado and tries to possess them in order to become a new vessel, but the homunculus fights and becomes victorious.

Main article: Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle: Scoundrel's Brilliant Scenario

The Shitodo siblings encounter Mitsumo. Kuroji believes that if they capture Mitsumo, they'll receive a bounty so they attack the mirror. After Mitsumo is defeated, Kuroji is dissapointed that the battle was too short and loses interest in trying to capture them. But does so anyway, in order to sell Mitsumo to traffic slave.

Main article: Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle: Preschool's Brilliant Scenario

While Sukune Katano and Sese Kitsugai are tagging along with Tenkai Zuifeng, they spot Mitsumo. Sese and Sukune realize Mitsumo it's an evil youkai and beat them up.

Additional Information

• Mitsumo is the first youkai to attack and consume humans in the Len'en Project.
• Mitsumo is the first youkai in the Len'en Project to not take a humanoid form.

Spell Cards

Spell Cards

Name	Translated	Comments	Games	Stage
Total: 5
自恐「抉るは自らの傷」	Self Fear "That Which is Gouged is One's Own Wounds"		BPoHC	St. 1: E/N
無知「ヒトが恐るるは暴るる己」	Ignorance "What People Fear is Their Violent Self"		BPoHC	St. 1: H/U
心傷「トラウマタイズ」	Mental Scars "Traumatize"		BPoHC	St. 1: E/N
具現「悪夢再び」	Embodiment "Nightmare Once More"		BPoHC	St. 1: H/U
照妖鏡	Evil-Illuminating Mirror		BPoHC	Upgrade

Official Profiles

Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle - Official Profiles

可視化する心の傷跡 照雲 Mitsumo ●種族 妖怪 ●能力 トラウマを映す 　　　　　　的な能力 无現里に棲む妖怪【照妖鏡】 相手が最も恐れるものを映す力を持つ。 自らは鏡だから動くことすらできないので、 恐怖によって理性を崩壊させた者を魅了し、 自らの器として操っている。 ちなみに魅入られし現在の器の名前は 「輝美(てるみ)」というらしい。 目が死んでるけど、意識はかろうじてある。

Visualized Mental Trauma Mitsumo ●Species: Youkai ●Abilities: Something like projecting trauma A youkai known as a shouyoukyou (evil-illuminating mirror) living in Mugenri. They have the power to project whatever their opponent fears the most. Since they are a mirror, they can't move on their own, so they bewitch those who've had their sense of reason destroyed by fear, and control them as a vessel for themself. By the way, the vessel they are currently possessing is apparently named "Terumi". Their eyes are lifeless, but they are still just about conscious.

Notes

Official Sources

Official sources

• 2015/06/04 Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle - Official Profiles, Brilliant Stage 1 Boss (Haze in trial)