#yoshitsune (smt)

[davidarievil]

[zeruzerudesu]

I challenged myself to do 30day drawing challenge, the theme is SMT demons I'll draw them based upon request or my own personal choice These 1st 3 are requests from twt followers and on Megaten FB group

[vinnigami]

Also available on Wallpaper Engine!

[dailydemonspotlight]

Yoshitsune - Day 40

Race: Wargod

Alignment: Light-Neutral

May 16th, 2024

Can you believe it guys? Twinks! Just a week away! Everyone knows Yoshitsune, everyone loves Yoshitsune- he's one of the most popular demons in the series for good reason, and in celebration of reaching 40 days of this series, I've decided to give him today's spotlight. Our resident prettyboy has a boatload of lore to get into, so without any further ado, let's get to the spotlight! Today's demon of the day is likely in everyone's top 10 list of demons, that being the ancient Japanese general of the Heian era, Minamoto no Yoshitsune!

During the late Heian era, a certain clan was incredibly prominent, one with a lot of political backing as being parts of the imperial family who weren't parts of the line of succession, instead being nobles. This clan, the Minamoto clan, commonly competed in the realm of politics with their contemporaries in the three other 'Great Clans,' those being the Fujiwara, Taira, and Tachibana (no relation to Yakuza 0) clans. Even now, the clan still persists in Japanese politics, albeit less prominent. In that clan, though, was a commander whose skill rose him to the level of a living legend- Yoshitsune no Minamoto, a man known as the epitome of the Samurai.

Yoshitsune no Minamoto, also simply known as Yoshitsune, was an incredibly powerful figure feared and respected by people all around. He was vital during the Genpei War as one of the most important figures leading the battles involved, helping his half-brother Yoritomo rise to power, though that isn't even close to the extent of the things that Yoshitsune got up to. According to legend, he managed to defeat the legendary monk-warrior Benkei, a man of equal prowess to him, whereafter Benkei offered to become his retainer. After this, he served his clan with utmost loyalty, being a leading commander throughout a power struggle with the Taira clan, who had usurped the supreme title of the emperor.

Yoshitsune's accomplishments during this war are stories and incredible, and, if anything, there are likely several anime about every little thing he achieved. Eventually, after he led the Minamoto clan to crush the Taira in the war with several historic victories, he was granted the Ōmi province to govern. Since then, he spent his days as a respected warrior-leader, though came into conflict with that same brother he helped earlier, Yoritomo. His half-brother suspected that something was up with Yoshitsune's rise, revoking all of his power in the army- however, in revenge, Yoshitsune declared war on the other Minamoto with allyship with his uncle, Yukiie no Minamoto. It didn't end that well.

Yoshitsune was forced on the run alongside his wife carrying an unborn child, but as she was captured, he couldn't make much of a move anymore as to not incur the wrath of his half-brother. He took to living a solitary life under disguise with the assistance of the son of a man leading the village, Hidehira no Fujiwara, but put under pressure by Yoritomo, he was eventually found and put to death. Yoshitsune's retainers were slaughtered in the night, including Benkei, and the samurai was put to death- wherein he took his own life via Seppuku.

I'm sure I don't need to explain why Yoshitsune is such a popular figure- his tale follows a format almost storybook-like, a man so unstoppable yet killed at last via a betrayal by his brother. It's a tale that has been retold time and time again, and for good reason, as it feels like one straight from a manga. There is a lot to his story that I couldn't cover in a short DDS, unfortunately, but overall he's a legendary figure for a reason. Some theories even purport that he faked his death and ended up becoming Genghis goddamn Khan, but these are more just people trying to come up with ways that Yoshitsune could have escaped his imminent death. His tale alone, however, is more than enough imo. Regardless, how is he portrayed in SMT?

Really well! While he's portrayed as rather skinny, his garb and face paint are very samurai adjacent, and his design is iconic for a reason. His usefulness in gameplay, too, also cannot go understated- he's one of the most powerful personas in Persona 4, per instance, as his signature move can completely obliterate almost anything. Yoshitsune is beloved, and we love Yoshitsune. It's almost impossible to point out any flaws with his design, as he would be a downright perfect main character to an SMT manga focused around demons. Shit, he already kinda is, appearing prominently in the Raidou Kuzunoha manga!

Overall, with his strong story, design brimming with that 'it' factor, prowess in gameplay, and everything inbetween, it's no wonder that Yoshitsune is one of the most popular and prominent demons in the series, and one of my favorites as well. I mean, who doesn't love this guy? The sheer flair of his design alone is enough to make him cool, even outside of the insane amounts of lore behind him. Yoshitsune is something of a creature to me, and I'm sure you can see why.

[pandorastower]

Art by 水無月ショウコ

[fuchsiamilk]

義経♥️YOSHITSUNE

[sea-startwilight]

It is current work. Yoshitsune's armor is a bit off but I will look his 3d model for better reference.

[messiahman69]

What do you think about Joan of arcs design and existence in smt?

thanks for the question!

in general i feel pretty positive about her, her design isn’t over the top crazy, i love the black armor, and i dig the french flag cape. her haircut is a bit funny, but not disrespectful to the real joan of arc. if they decide to redesign her i hope they make her hair dark brown/black like the real joan of arc — but that’s just me being nit picky

as far as her existence goes i don’t think it’s anything out of the ordinary, we already have other historical figures as smt demons (Lanling wang, yoshitsune, and masakado to name a couple off the top of my head). so i feel like she fits in, not to mention a bunch of other pieces of japanese media also feature joan of arc (im looking at you fate and also dragalia lost (rip)) so seeing her in smt isn’t a big shock

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Rpg Anon: I know this might have just been too obvious but why is Kazuichi's Persona not Hephaestus? He's probably the best known blacksmith/craftsman/technically mechanic god of media. Hephaestus even made automatons and other things that can only be described as mecha.

Also, Hephaestus's second wife (the actual loving marriage he has) is Aglaea ("festive radiance")/Charis ("Grace"), the goddess of beauty, adornment, glory, and splendor. Algae and her 2 other sisters were the Charites or Graces whose roles were basically to attend dances and feast to liven up the place and make it a party I guess. It might be stretch since it's not always dancing, but Algaea/Charis could be Hiyoko's Persona?

Also, why is Peko's Persona not Futsunushi, Japanese God of Swords? Hell, just for the memes, why not make Peko's Persona the Overpowered Yoshitsune with his motherfucking Hassou Tobi? (I'm strangely also considering Take-Mikazuchi, god of swordsmanship, but *shrugs*)

Also, Chie already has this, but Tomoe Gozen is literally the quintessential female samurai (which Peko definitely is) who was known for being super badass and deadly (which Peko definitely is) and for really being devoted, loyal, and loving to her husband (which Peko definitely is). Side note: Tomoe and her sisterhood LOVED decapitation.

At this moment, I'm tempted to give Nekomaru the Persona of Chiron.

//Because when I google searched for Japanese gods of swordsmanship I got Mara instead.

//A fluke clearly.

//Also, the reason for Kazuichi is because Hephaestus is usually an antagonist in the SMT series. He was the main bad guy of Arena Ultimax.

-Mod

[pointedxfinger123]

yoshitsune

definitely no pun intended

[the-hidden-study]

Fanart of Raidou Kuzunoha and gang from the Devil Summoner Raidou games.

I started this fanart like... at least 2 years ago, but never got around to finishing it until now. Now that it’s finally done I feel really proud of it, but it also feels a bit like cheating since the lineart for Raidou, Yoshitune and Makami were finished so long ago. It feel like I stole from myself...

[davidarievil]

[shonocondo]

[dailydemonspotlight]

Nue - Day 153

Race: Wilder

Arcana: Death

Alignment: Dark-Neutral

January 15th, 2025 (Published Jan. 16th)

Many yōkai have been recorded throughout Japanese history, and they've made up the ranks of some of the most iconic creatures in folklore. While mostly relevant to weird history/mythology nerds like me, many yōkai have breached the cultural barriers of Japan and became mainstays throughout a lot of mythological circles. This can be seen in many places, such as how Kappa and Tanukis have become associated with Japan in general, or how you can't take 2 steps into an anime convention without seeing a Kitsune. However, the conceptions of these mythical creatures didn't all come around at the same time- they weren't all from some folkloric story or discovered huddled in a cave, and we can actually trace back some of the earliest yōkai all the way back to the earliest histories of Japan. One such yōkai is today's Demon of the Day, and a pretty recurring one at that, appearing in most SMT and Persona games- Nue.

The Nue first appears in the Kojiki, one of the most important and foundational texts of Japanese history, though in a form completely different than one might expect- the name 'Nue' essentially means Night Bird, and that's what it was described as, being a bird that crowed all night. This bird would crow mournfully in the forest at night, and during the eternal night, it was gathered alongside its fellows to sing a song to bring about day again. At least, I *think* that's what the footnote in the Kojiki is talking about when it refers to the birds? They're called the 'long-crying birds of Tökö-yö,' and given the translation to night birds, as well as the association of Tökö-yö in the text with the eternal night, it sorta makes sense in my head.

Still, you didn't ask for my translation rambles, so... whatever. The Kojiki only mentions them very briefly from what I can tell, and what we really wanna focus on today is a later (but still very early) text called Tale of the Heike. Contained within many plays and poems, the epic recounts the story of the end of the Genpei War and the struggles between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control over Japan. This text also contains all sorts of works about none other than my MAN Yoshitsune, and many of its stories surround him and his clan's conflict with the Taira, who are shown in the midst of a downfall that ends with their collapse.

Now, where does the Nue come into play here? It appears in the form we know it as today in SMT- a beast who resides within the clouds and has the head of a monkey, body of a raccoon dog, limbs of a tiger, and the tail of a snake. Within the Tale of the Heike, the Nue appears as the antagonist of a story wherein the emperor of Kyoto, a man named Emperor Konoe, begins to fall mysteriously ill. No treatments seemed to work, and as his situation grew worse, his disciples began to realize that the curse could be attributed to an evil spirit who was visiting every night, and, finally, the Nue appears! Only took the entire DDS. As the days went on, the Nue grew more and more aggressive, eventually throwing bolts of lightning down at the emperor's home, and, desperate, the man called upon one of the Minamoto clan to help him.

After summoning the legendary samurai Minamoto no Yorimasa to his quarters, the man brought along his bow and a companion, setting up for an ambush. As the Nue went to attack, descending within a black thundercloud with a harsh wind, Yorimasa opened fire and struck the Nue, hitting it out of the cloud as it screamed like a bird. *Hey, there's the night bird influence!* I no Hayata, Yorimasa's companion, landed the killing blow on the Nue and in an instant the Emperor's sickness was gone. And that's... about it, honestly. We don't have much else on the Nue, but from what we do know, it's a very strange being- curses, lightning, and much more make it an interesting being to even conceive of, alongside its mishmashed appearance. So, yeah!

[pandorastower]

Art by 水無月ショウコ

[kyarymell]

Yoshitsune’s Showtime