Asakura Family

The Asakura Family(朝倉氏, Asakura-shi) is a one of two great families in the Shaman King Universe.

About


The Asakura Family is an over one thousand year old family whose fame started with Asakura Hao, a famous buddhistic monk and a brilliant Shaman mastering many different shamanic arts including that of an Itako and not to mention the basic Shaman Abillities. He eventually went mad and decided to create a shaman only world, using the Great Spirit won in the Shaman Fights. It was then the Asakura Family allied and together killed Hao. However they would eventually learn that he would reincarnate and has ever since, seen it as their duty to kill Hao each time he was reincarnated, even if it meant that they would have to kill a newborn child.

When Hao mastered the five elements in his first life, he, as the head of the family, made the five point unity star the family symbol. However after he was killed the family tore apart the star and changed it into the seven star tree symbolizing their revival after Hao had dishonoured their name.

Also the family appear quite wealthy as they are able to pay for a 3,3 square meter house in Izumo and still rent out an entire house for Asakura Keiko when she lived in Tokyo, and later for Yoh and Anna when they moved there. They have a long line of traditions including that of finding the perfect partner for their children, a person who must be strong in both body and mind, and have an exceptional shamanic abillility such as Kyōyama Anna, a natural Itako from birth.

Past
The history of the Asakura is in the story traced back to the year of 970 with the birth of Asakura Hao who back then during his childhood went under the name of Asaha Douji and nicknamed (after his mother Asano had died) Mappa Douji.

Onmyōji Asakura Hao
The fame and wealth of the Asakura Family started when Hao began his training as Onmyōdō that would help people seal onis and other demons. He succesfully trained and mastered both Shaman and Itako arts.

During this time he sealed away Zenki and Kouki that would later become his own guardian ghosts. He also met Matamune a cat who had survived his mother and eight other siblings and who had the abillity to see spirits. He took in Matamune and saw him as his only friend. Theese feelings are still there today, even becoming sentemental when he sees Yoh's O.S. Spirit of Sword resembling Matamune's Oni Goroshi O.S.

However during this time Hao was also loosing control of his Reishi abillities and created Onis from his own dark thoughts. The greed and dark minds of the wealthy men around him went into his heart forcecully and he eventually, according to Matamune, created an Oni within his heart. Hao began seeing humans as a plague to the world and decided that they would eventually be the course of the worlds destruction. He saw it for a world to excist with only Shamans who would be able to safe nature. During this time Matamune died and returned as a Goryoushin. He saw how his master had turned mad and revealed towards the rest of the family what he would and allied with them. It was then they succesfully killed Hao however because of Hao's knowledge of the Ritual of Taizan Fukun (泰山府君祭), he could controll his own rebirth.

Patch Hao
As predicted would Asakura Hao reincarnate five hundred years after his death using the Hao's Ying-Yang jutsu, the mastery of the five elements of nature (fire, metal, wind, earth, water), prevented his permanent death as he could now control the circumstances of his reincarnation. He was able to gain the ability to control his soul using the ritual of Taizan Fukun, one of the greatest and most esoteric of Onmyodo arts, an old name for the god of the underworld. Though Taizan Fukun could only be reached by getting past the seventy five Lords of Hell, succeeding in making a contract with him gives one the ability to resurrect the dead or reincarnate themselves at will. The fact that Hao was able to perform this act as a living human being is a testament to his power, given that not even ghosts can reach Taizan Fukun.

This time he chose to be reincarnated into the Patch Tribe, the people who organized Shaman Fights, because he believe it would get him a better chance of winning. During this time he also gained one of the five great elemental spirits known as the Spirit of Fire. He starts preaching again, about a Shaman only world and tried to gain followers, including the five Seminoa warriors sent to stop him, who was in turn killed by the massive Spirit of Fire.

However The Asakura Family eventually found out and one of them, Asakura Yohken, left for the Shaman Fights to kill Hao. It is revealed that before he did this he apparantly had children, that continue the line of the Asakura Family. When Yohken came to the Shaman Fight he was given the help of Matamune of the Cats and together they eventually defeated and killed Hao. However because he killed a man Yohken felt sorrow and was eventually caught in hell, because of his sorrow, where he would stay for 500 years still thinking the Shaman Fight had just ended and fighting his way towards freedom.

Present Time
The curently now living Asakura Family started during the second world war with Asakura Yohmei. When becoming an adult he was married to the blind Itako Kino, whose power had been recognized by the Asakura Family. Later they consieved Asakura Keiko who would become the mother of the series proganist Asakura Yoh.

Mikihisa and Keiko
When Asakura Keiko grew up she was always shunned by everyone for her abillity to see spirits and was even one day dumped by her fiance` because of this. It was then when she was taking a train home that she met Mihikisa Maki, a poor muscician who was playing at the trainyard for money and who was living in an appartment with resignation and two of his friends. During this time he saw Keiko was crying about the recent breakup. She asked him to play her a number and told him her situation. During this time Mikihisa fell in love with her, even saying she was his type of girl. She once again requested a song, to which Mikihisa wondered if he knew anything good enough and even questioned why someone would break up with such a beautiful girl. She then told him about her powers and how they had made everyone leave her, and even pointed out a spirit right next to Mikihisa. Mikihisa then revealed that he could see spirits too and it had always brought him problems.

With tears in her eyes Keiko said that she would have to sleep alone again. During this time Mikihisa thinks that he is about to pass a night from which he couldn't turn back.

Somehow Keiko wounded up inviting Mikihisa to her rented hose in Tokyo. There Mikihisa was surprised to see the size of it and then even more surprised to hear about the size of the family house in Izumo. Keiko continued to invite him inside for coffee brought to her by a friend who lives outside of the country. Mikihisa was smitten and there began there relationship which in turn resulted in them getting married.

It is noteworthy that the Asakura family had no male heir in Keiko’s generation, since she was Yohmei and Kino's only child and had no brothers. Thus Mikihisa married into the family, following the Japanese muku no naru tradition; he took up the Asakura surname and allowed them to continue the family line.

Mikihisa also recieved training from Asakura Yohmei gaining the abillities of an Ascetic Monk and two mountain spirits of a fox and a tanuki.

Birth of Twins
When Keiko was found to be pregnant it was predicted by her father Yohmei that she was to give birth to Asakura Hao who was going to be reincarnated into his original bloodline for more strength. During this time Yohmei used his divinition abillities many times in hopes of a better future sight, however the outcome was the same, Hao would be reborn in the child carried by Keiko. Because of the unchangeble future it was decided to kill the baby immidietly when it was born.

However things became complicated when Keiko went to a doctor and it was revealed that she was carrying twins. With a heavy heart, Yohmei decided to have both killed just in case. It was right after the birth of the bay that Yohmei summoned his small shikigamis and attacked the baby. However he hesitated in the last moment, even saying sorry and that was enough for Hao to summon the Spirit of Fire and destroy the small leave spirits. He then tried to kill Yohmei, but Mikihisa took the attack and was badly burned. Hao then urged Keiko to lay still as she still carried his important other half within her. He then disappeared with the Spirit of Fire laughing. A little while later was Asakura Yoh born, the twin brother of Hao and the one who had the powers to stop Hao. It was then decided he was to be raised to defeat Hao.

A little while later Mikihisa started hiking, climbing the mountains to forget about the shame of letting Hao go and to become stronger so that he could one day face him.

Funbari No Uta
Six years after the events of Shaman King (2007), Asakura Hana (son of Asakura Yoh and Asakura Anna) journeys with Umemiya Ryunosuke to gather the Five Elemental Warriors. Hana is six years old and lives with Tamao Tamamura, thinking she is his mother. But as soon as his parents return, she will tell him everything. At the end of the story, two people are shown. A cloaked Anna and a man resembling both Yoh and Hao.

Onmyōdō Asakura Hao

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Asakura Hao(麻倉葉王, Asakura Hao, Zeke Asakura in the English Anime). The fame and rise of the Asakura Family began with this man who, with his great power, brough wealth and fame to the family name. However after he tried to change the world to a shaman world only, the rest of his family turned against him and killed him.

He later reincarnated into the Patch Tribe but was killed again by Asakura Yohken. However he reincarnated again, but this time was his powers split into two, sharing it with his twin Asakura Yoh

Asakura Yohken

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Asakura Yohken(麻倉葉賢 Asakura Yōken) is the ancestor of the Asakura Family 500 years ago. He was born at the time of the Shaman Fight. Togeter with Matamune, a former cat friend of Onmyōdō Asakura Hao who had turned into a nekomata, fough with and killed the Hao who had reincarnated into the Patch Tribe.

However he was filled with guilt of having killed a person, not even to mention he killed an ancestor of his own family, and was caught in hell for over 500 years ago.

He was first seen when Asakura Yoh came to train in hell, and fought him viciously hoping to get out of hell himself. After being defeated, he told Yoh about the family symbol and how it had changed and was later brought back as a spirit to live with the rest of the Asakura Family.

Asakura Yohmei's father

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Asakura Yohmei's father is Asakura Yoh's great-grandfather and presumably the former head of the Asakura Family. He was a Shaman even more famous than his son.

Asakura Yohmei

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Asakura Yohmei(麻倉葉明, Asakura Yōmei). He is the current head of the Asakura Family who lives in the family inn in Izumo. He is the father of Asakura Keiko and the grandfather of Asakura Yoh.

He predicted when Hao was to be born by his own daughter and decided that he should be killed. However he would eventually learn that she would carry twins and he begin to have doubt. He would however still try to kill him, but hesitated and lost his chance.

He then raised the twin Asakura Yoh to become Shaman King and later send him to live in Tokyo to finish his training on his own.

Asakura Kino

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Asakura Kino is the wife of Asakura Yohmei. She is a blind Itako and lives in the mountain, 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, girls with Itako abillities like her.

She is the sensei of Kyōyama Anna and the grandmother of Asakura Yoh. It was she who found the, back then homeless and orphaned Anna, saw her talent and decided she was to be married with Yoh.

She has the same bad temper as her apprentice, and will often hit her husband, Asakura Yohmei, with her cane, each and every time he does something wrong, or says the wrong things.

Asakura Mikihisa

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Asakura Mikihisa(真木 幹久, Asakura Mikihisa, Maki before marriage with Asakura Keiko) is the husband of Asakura Keiko and the son in law of Asakura Yohmei and Asakura Kino.

He was once living on the street playing music for money where he met Keiko after her fiance had dumped her, for her abilities to see ghosts. She payed him to play a song and Mikihisa was lovestruck in an instanze. She somehow invited him back to her rented house and there their relationship bloomed.

After beeing married into the family he was trained as an Ascetic Monk and gained two mountain spirits. When he failed to stop Asakura Hao and took severe burn scars to his face, he began wearing a wooden mask to hide the scars and began to travel and climb the mountains in order to get rid of his shame.

Asakura Keiko

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She is the daughter of Asakura Kino and Asakura Yohmei. Because of her ability to see spirits every boyfriend she has had, has dumped her, even her fiance. It was then she met Mikihisa, a poor musician, at the train yard, and payed him to play her a song.

She would eventually invite him home, to her house, that was rented by her parents, and soon their love bloomed.

She would eventually come to pregnant, and her father predicted that Asakura Hao would reincarnate into that child. It was decided that he was to be killed right at birth, however when they learned that was she was to give birth to twins, Yohmei began to hesitate, something that was enough for Hao to escape. She would then, minutes later, give birth to Asakura Yoh the twin of Hao.

Asakura Yoh

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Asakura Yoh (麻倉 葉, Asakura Yō) is the son of Asakura Mikihisa and Keiko and the current heir to the Asakura family. He is a laid back and lazy person who wants to become Shaman King in order to have an easy life.

Ever since he was young has he be shunned because of his ability to see spirits.

Matamune

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Matamune (Matamune of the cats) is a Nekomata, a type of cat spirit with two tails; he also carries around a pipe with him and wears a necklace with three bear claws. He was once a simple cat abonded by his mother and the only surviver of his eight other siblings. He was the only friend of Asakura Hao during his first life and later turned when he died, Hao turned Matamune's spirit into a Goryoushin, a special type of spirit employed by Onmyouji to guard against demons and other spirits that would seek to harm them. Hao also imbued Matamune with a portion of his own furyoku - a type of mana - using the Bear's Claw Necklace. This mana allowed Matamune to have a physical body, and so long as Matamune's furyoku was not used up, his physical body would continue to exist. He has ever since served the Asakura Family for over one thousand years and even helped them kill his mad turned master twice, even though he still has deep regrets that he could not help him instead.

He was later summoned by Asakura Yohmei to act as a guide to Asakura Yoh, when he was to meet his fiance. During this time he fought with the Onis created by Anna's Reshi abillities and winded up using up all of his furyoku in order to kill the strongest of them.

Tamamura Tamao

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Tamamura Tamao (玉村 たまお, known in the English anime as "Tamara" or "Tammy") is the apprentice of Asakura Mikihisa and is learning divination from Asakura Yohmei. She was orphaned from young age and was found by Mikihisa to the Asakura household to be tuteret by Yohmei. She has a huge crush on Yoh even though she know he loves his fiancé Anna, she even once stated that she loved him as much as Anna.

Abillities and Powers
Because of the long history of family have the Asakura Family trained in many shamanic arts, from the most basic shaman abillities to an Itako that can call upon or excersise spirits. They have also gained the abillities of an Onmyoudou that can gaze into the future, Asceticisme, a life style where one gains an extremly powerfull body by giving all but the most nesecarry, and Mikos, people in contact with godly spirits and able to warn people of harm.

Shamanic Spells and Techniques

 * Ko-Oni Strike(小鬼ストライク)
 * This is one of the Asakura clan's onmyôji magic. With this magic, an onmyôji can summon shikigami -- familiar spirits -- from leaves or bits of paper to do their bidding. They are most useful, from anything from household chores to assassinations. Yoh never truly mastered Shikigami magic, but displayed the capacity to use it at age 10, under tutelage of his grandfather, Asakura Yohmei. At best, he could only invoke three Shikigami from the leaves. Overall, however, this is a minuscule technique compared to Yoh's more advanced shaman magic.


 * Chō Senji Ryakketsu - Fumon Tonkou(超占事略決 - 巫門遁甲)
 * One of many spells learned from the contents of the Ultra Senji Ryakketsu that Hao wrote in his first life. Using this spell enables one to read the flow of furyoku and determine its course. Effective use can render most magical attacks ineffective.


 * Chō Senji Ryakketsu - Mikazuka no Harae(超占事略決 - 三日月ノ祓)
 * One of many spells learned from the contents of the Ultra Senji Ryakketsu that Hao wrote in his first life. This was a secret exorcist magic left to Yoh by Matamune, to help vanquish the Oni that Anna created. However this magic depleted the reserve furyoku within Matamune, and as a result, sent him to the hereafter.


 * AsakuraShikiOnmyōJutsu HyakuShikigami (Asakura Style Yin and Yang Technique - Hundred Shikigami)
 * Another unique shamanic spell of the Asakura Family, which is also Yohmei's favoured technique. It creates countless Shikigami that can surround an opponent and attack them from all directions at once.

Shikigamis
Another special abillity of the Asakura Family seems to be the abillity to capture and controll Shikigamis and create Goryoushin, a special type of spirit employed by Onmyouji to guard against demons and other spirits that would seek to harm them

Zenki and Kouki

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Zenki and Kouki are two large ogre like Shikigami demons caught and controlled by Asakura Hao during his first life and sealed within two paper parchments. Later they became the guardians of the seal on the Ultra Senji Ryakketsu written by Hao himself and would stay there for over a thousand years.

A thousand years later it was decided that Yoh was to have the book to train. However the seal was broken and the two large ogres were released and started to chase Konchi and Punchi whom they believed had broken the seal. However Anna quickly learned the related technique of the book and easily captured the two Shiikigamis with her 1080 roseta beads. However instead of excorsizing them or sealing them again, she took control of them and turned them into her guardian spirits.

Family Treasures
Because of there long history of family and various shamanic abillities have the Asakura Family also gathered some treasures.

Cho-Senjiryakketsu
This is the book written by Asakura Hao in his first life and contains the knowledge of all of his techniques and secret arts including purification spells and techniques to read the flow of furyoku. It also tells how to bind even the strongest Shikigamis and even how to control them. The book contains every single piece of Shamanic knowledge gained by Asakura Hao in his first life.

Futsu-no-Mitama no Tsurugi
The, Futsu-no-Mitama no Tsurugi(Antiquity in the English Anime) is a red knife shaped rock that has been owned by the Asakura Family ever since the time of Hao. According to Hao it was once owned by a sword god and even thought its only made of rock it is the perfect medium to create a sword oversoul. That sword which slumbers in a storage room of the Asakura Family, always creates a stir in the world when surfaced since its a national treasure. It was brought to Yoh during the current Shaman Tournament to help him out as it did, Asakura Yohken 500 years ago in the previous tournament.

The 1080 Rosary Beads
The 1080 Rosary Beads are a long necklace used by Anna for her more strongest abilities. When Yoh defeated the Oh-Oni it left behind a skeleton that Asakura Kino gathered and turned into beads for Anna. Because the beads are made out of the skeleton it is more powerfull than regular beads.

The Rosary Beads are now used by Kyōyama Anna to control Zenki and Kouki amongst others.