Asakura Kino

Asakura Kino is a fictional charater in the manga and anime series of Shaman King. She is a master Itako who trains young girls in the art, at Osorezan.

Appearance
Short and stuby like her husband, Kino constantly wears the traditional robes of her family, and uses sunshades to hide her blindness. Because of a bad back she uses a cane.

Personality
She is short-tempered and practical like her apprentice, Anna Kyōyama. Like Yoh fears Asakura Anna, Asakura Yohmei does also fear Kino. However she is mostly a calm person with the wisdom and knowledge gained from her old age.

Past
She was born on March 24, 1924.

While most itako are partially blind from an early age, Kino was not born blind at all. She lost her vision during World War II and became completely blind. With very few options left, she chose to become an itako. As the level of her spiritual ability rose, she caught the eye of the Asakura family and was later asked to marry Asakura Yohmei, Yoh's grandfather.

Living in Shimokita
Instead of living at the Asakura family home in Izumo, she chooses to live in Shimokita, in the Aomori prefecture, near Osorezan. She runs what is ostensibly a traditional Japanese inn, the "Yasui Ryokan". In reality however, she uses the inn to house her apprentices. When Kyōyama Anna was abandoned as a child, Kino sensed the amount of spiritual power Anna possessed and took her in. Training her as an Itako, Kino was impressed by Anna's potential and suggested that she should marry her grandson Asakura Yoh.

Anime/Manga Difference
Like in the manga she, in the anime barely makes and appearance. Also because the backstorry of Yoh and Anna is never mentioned it is not mentioned either where she lives nor what her specialty or her past history. Her only signifigent part in the anime is when she prepares the 1080 Prayer Beads to bind Asakura Hao.

Trivia

 * A running gag in the anime. when ever Yohmei dose something wrong Asakura Kino will hit him in the face with her cane. She may be blind but she can sill hear Yohmei.