Asakura Kino

Asakura Kino (麻倉木乃) is a fictional character 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 stubby 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. Like her grandson, Yoh fears Anna, Asakura Yohmei does also fear Kino. However, she is mostly a calm person with the wisdom and knowledge gained from her old age.

Abilities and Powers
She is a master Itako and, despite being blind, has learned to clearly see things around her. She has also developed a keen sense of hearing.

Shamanic Spells and Techniques
The ability to summon a spirit anytime and anywhere, given that she knows something about who she is summoning.
 * Kuchiyose (口寄せ-Invocation)

This is a prayer used by Kino to banish spirits to heaven. Yoh even used this prayer against the Silver Arms but it didn't affect them because, as Silva said, those who don't understand the language used are unaffected.
 * The Prayer

Past
Kino originates from Aomori in Japan and was born on March 24, 1924. She lost her vision during World War II and became completely blind. With 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.

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.

Shaman Fights Second Round
Near the end of the second rounds, Keiko and the rest of her family, including the returned spirit of Asakura Yohken have a final meeting with the Tao Family. Mentioning the incident at the beach earlier, Mikihisa presented the badly hurt Brocken Meyer to the Tao Family and explained his connection to Hao. They also hoped that they could learn something important by making him talk.

Anime/Manga Difference
Like in the manga series however in the anime series she barely makes a few appearances. Also because the backstory 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 significant part of the anime series is when she prepares the 1080 Prayer Beads to bind Asakura Hao.

Etymology

 * Kino means "tree, wood" (木) (ki) and "from" (乃) (no).

Trivia

 * A running gag in the anime is whenever Yohmei does something wrong, Kino will hit him in the face with her cane. She may be blind but she can still hear Yohmei.