Yago Ametsukana

天目津金（あめつかな）　ヤゴ Yago Ametsukana a̠me̞t͡sɯᵝkã̠na̠ ja̠ɡ̃o̞
Yago in Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle
Character Titles
A Thousand Blades and a Thousand Arms
Information
Species	God
Abilities	Creating weapons
Music Themes
道を打つ刃金　～ Cyclops Tech (BPoHC)
Appearances
Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle Extra Stage Boss (Haze Route)

Yago Ametsukana (天目津金　ヤゴ, Ametsukana Yago) is a god able to forge any weapon and who supplied weaponry for both the Dragonfly Army and Devanagara during the war between both factions. Their ultimate wish is to create a weapon suitable for themself. They are the extra stage boss of the Haze route in Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle.

General Information

Personality

Despite being a god, their casual attitude leads Tenkai to describe them as only being "technically important". This attitude is reflected in their speech, where they speak with a rather thick accent, described as a "fake Kansai dialect" (though it is in reality a mixture of various Japanese dialects). This makes them come off as rather casual and old-fashioned. They act modest most of the time, though humble-brags at times and is willing to use force to get their way as well.

Abilities

Creating weapons

They have the ability to create any kind of weapon, but such a weapon is only completed when it finds a suitable owner for use. Presumably, the weapons that surround them in their portrait are those that they have created. In Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle they provided weapons for both factions while remaining as a neutral party.

Among their known creations are the Tasouken, Kunimitsu Ooya's Bankuruwase -DaviD- and Taira no Fumikado's personal club. Additionally, JynX also stated that it's safe to assume that weapons found in the Sanctuary are created by Yago, which would include Garaiya Ogata and Kaisen Azuma's kama-juumonji spears, Taira no Chouki's sword and possibly Adagumo no Saragimaru's sword and naginata as well.

Sugari no Ontachi

The Sugari no Ontachi (須賀利御太刀) is the sword currently used by Yago, which can be seen held by their left hand. Yago uses this sword as a substitute until they are able to make the weapon suitable for them. It is said to be the counterpart of another sword from the Outside World and has lost its original owner and purpose.

In the real world, the Sugari no Ontachi is one of the sacred treasures of the Inner Shrine of the Ise Grand Shrine and is likely named after the bee or wasp-like decorations found on it. Since the rule of Empress Jitō, the shrine has had the tradition of rebuilding every 20 years into an adjacent land with exactly the same specifications, based on the idea that new objects have greater divine power. The sword is a part of the tradition and is often paired with the Tamamaki no Ontachi (玉纏御太刀) as the most luxurious and important swords out of the 1576 sacred treasures across Japan that are renewed every 20 years. Oddly, the two swords feature designs that are characteristic of a period later than the tradition, meaning that they may either be later additions to the shrine or that the swords received a redesign later in history.

Background Information

Backstory

Sometime in the distant past, Yago was a "human-like" being who made great contributions as a blacksmith, which allowed them to be acknowledged as a god.

Origin

Yago is based on several deities and youkai, including the god Ame-no-Mahitotsu-no-Kami (天目一箇神, lit. "one-eyed god of the heavens"), the goddess Kanayago-no-Kami (金屋子神, lit. "child-god of the metalworker") and the youkai Ippon-Datara (一本踏鞴, lit. "one-legged bellows").

Ame-no-Mahitotsu-no-Kami is a god of iron making and blacksmithing, who is known by a number of other names. Most notably, they are identified as the god Amatsumara (天津麻羅), famous for helping forge the mirror (Yata no Kagami) used to lure Amaterasu out of Ama-no-Iwaya, returning sunlight to the world. They are also said to be who the hyottoko mask is based on, which Yago wears on their head.

Kanayago-no-Kami is a goddess of blacksmithing worshipped in the Chūgoku region of Japan, who is said to have taught the people of a village in the Harima Province how to smith various metal objects, in response to their pleas for rain. She is sometimes depicted as a male god instead and is treated as the same god as Ame-no-Mahitotsu-no-Kami as well.

Ippon-Datara is a youkai that has an eye on a thick trunk-like leg, which is occasionally said to be the corrupted form of Ame-no-Mahitotsu-no-Kami. The reason they both only have one eye is due to staring at the fire in their forges for a long time; while the reason they have only one leg is from working on the bellows for too long. Both of these were common occupational diseases for blacksmiths, which are reflected in Yago's design, with one of their eye's being covered, and one of their legs altered due to it going bad from an occupational disease.

Name

Their full name is Yago Ametsukana (天目津金　ヤゴ). Their first name, Yago (ヤゴ), is the Japanese word for dragonfly larvae, nymphs or naiads, which is a reference to their support of the Taira clan's efforts to bring forth the true emperor and claim the Dragonfly Castle. According to JynX, "Yago" is written as "水蠆" in Chinese, which is the Chinese for dragonfly larvae, nymphs or naiads.

In their family name, Ametsukana (天目津金), a (天) and me (目) mean "heavenly" and "eye" respectively, likely modelled off of the name of Ame-no-Mahitotsu-no-Kami; tsu (津) can be interpreted literally to mean "harbour", though is often used in Shinto deity names for its pronunciation alone as an attributive particle; kana (金), potentially taken from Kanayago-no-Kami, could mean "gold, metal or money", though likely means metal here. Taken together, the name means something along the lines of "heavenly metal of the eye" or "metal of the heavenly eye".

Interestingly, the surname "Ametsukana" may not be Yago's actual name but the title of their position as a god, as indicated by the Preschool Team's Haze Extra Scenario, where Yago wanted to recruit Sukune as the next "Ametsukana".

Design

Yago Ametsukana wears a short, red kimono with brown, black, and white straps and a black dress with white stripes while various knives float around them. They have a brown eye, the other is covered by a white cloth with light blue dots. They have brown hair and wear a red hyottoko mask. In their left hand, they are carrying a sheathed sword with gold decorations; in their right, they are carrying a mallet that has a Eight Trigrams kanji kon (坤 こん) written on it, which is associated with the earth and likely references their job as a blacksmith. They also wear a knee pad and have some metal covering their calf. They wear 2 different shoes: one that is covered in metal and somewhat resembles a knight's footwear and a maroon-colored shoe. According to JynX, Yago's left foot looks the way it does as it was altered from their original foot after it had "gone bad" due to work-related reasons.

Appearances

Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle

Yago supplied weapons to both sides of the war between the Imperial Military and the Dragonfly Army

Relationships

Taira no Fumikado

Yago was entrusted by Fumikado's grandfather to look out for them on their path towards becoming the New Emperor, giving them advice through "revelations".

Taira no Iwakado

Yago assisted Iwakado in hunting oni and beasts for building a new body for Taira no Masakado. Yago is a trusted friend of Iwakado, and was entrusted with looking out for Fumikado on their path towards becoming the New Emperor.

Tenkai Zuifeng

It is implied that Tenkai and Yago know each other, but the details of their relationship remain unclear. Tenkai considers Yago only "technically" an important God, due to Yago's casual demenor. Even so, they appear to be shocked when Yago says they want to retire.

Souko Shirami

While they do not know each other on a personal level, as they are both gods, they know each other's names and faces.

Additional Information

• The Paulownia Seals that can be found on Yago's spell backgrounds are often taken by shrines that worship Ame-no-Mahitotsu-no-Kami as their shrine crest.
• "Made in Yago" is a quote JynX used to reference Yago's creations.

Gallery

• 

  An illustration featuring Medias Moritake, Yago Ametsukana, Kurohebi, Taira no Chouki, Kujiru Kesa, Para and Kaisen Azuma on Pixiv FANBOX, indicating that they would be excluded from a certain "side project" that JynX was working on at the time. The image is pixellated as the clear image was uploaded as a donors-exclusive image.

Spell Cards

Spell Cards

Name	Translated	Comments	Games	Stage
Total: 11
刃牌「斬赤竜」	Blade Card "Red Dragon Slaying"		BPoHC	St. Ex
曲剣「撓る刃」	Curved Sword "Flexible Blade"		BPoHC	St. Ex
蛇剣「ソウドバイパー」	Serpent Sword "Sword Viper"		BPoHC	St. Ex
芸技「シルエットレンジ」	Trick Art "Silhouette Range"		BPoHC	St. Ex
剣弾「ケルビムと回る炎の剣」	Sword Shot "The Cherubim and the Whirling Sword of Flame"		BPoHC	St. Ex
「皮よりも薄く、爪よりも鋭く」	"Thinner than Skin, Sharper than Nails"		BPoHC	St. Ex
「幻薙ぎ」	"Illusion-Mowing Sword"		BPoHC	St. Ex
星剣「テラブレード」	Star Sword "Terra Blade"		BPoHC	St. Ex
「天目津金の槍」	"Spear of Ametsukana"		BPoHC	St. Ex
朱鷺剣「須賀利御太刀」	Crested Ibis Sword "Sugari no Ontachi"		BPoHC	St. Ex
血漆の鞘	Blood-Varnished Scabbard		BPoHC	Upgrade

Notes

Official Profiles

Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle - Official Profiles

千の刃と千の腕 天目津金　ヤゴ Ametsukana Yago ●種族 神 ●能力 武具を創り出す 　　　　的な能力 武器や道具を創り出す神。 都から大量の武器発注を受けて、 それら全てを一人で作ったが、 蜻蛉軍の武器も手がけているので、 別にどちらかに加担してるわけじゃなく、 中立を保っている。 ・・・っというかどちらの勢力にも興味がない。 武器は使うべき者が使って初めて完成となるため、 作った傑作品に見合った人物を探すべく、 日々放浪している。 最近では武器の創造より、 それに相応しい使用者を探す旅の方に没頭している。 ただ、自分自身に合った武器はいまだ作り出せず、 それを作り出すことを生涯の目標としているが、 不老不死である神の生涯をかけるとなると・・・・・ はたして完成する日がくるのだろうか？ とりあえず間に合わせで使っている剣 【須賀利御太刀(すがりのおんたち)】は、 外界にあるもう一振りの片割れであり、 持ち主と役割を失った剣である。 ヤゴは蛇叢剣の創作者でもある。

A Thousand Blades and a Thousand Arms Yago Ametsukana ●Species: God ●Abilities: Something like creating weapons A god who creates weapons and tools. They received a large number of weapon orders from the capital and made those weapons all by themself, but they also worked on weapons for the Dragonfly Army, so it's not like they're supporting a particular side, and is just maintaining a neutral position. ...Or rather, they've got zero interest in either faction. Since their weapons are first truly completed when used by a suitable owner, they wander every day looking for people compatible with their masterpieces. Recently, they've been more immersed in travelling to look for suitable users than actually creating the weapons themself. However, they still haven't managed to produce a weapon that is suitable for themself. Creating one such weapon is their lifetime goal, but if it'll take the entire lifetime of an immortal god.... Will a day ever come when this weapon is completed? The sword they are currently using as a stand-in is called "Sugari no Ontachi". It's the counterpart of another sword from the outside, and has lost its original owner and purpose. Yago is also the creator of the Tasouken.

Official Sources

Official sources

• 2016/12/01 Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle - Official Profiles, Haze Extra Stage Boss