TV-Series
Description
Hiyori Jūjō is a fourteen-year-old third-year middle school student representing Heijou Institute, where she wields the okatana known as Kogarasumaru. She hails from Nara Prefecture, growing up in a farmhouse that also contained her family’s dojo. Her background is defined by profound loss, as both of her parents were casualties of conflicts involving the supernatural Aradama. Her mother, Kagari Jūjō, was a veteran Toji who failed to seal a powerful Aradama during an event known as the Great Disaster of Sagami Bay, an incident that ultimately led to her death. Her father, a relative of the Hiiragi Family who served in the Special Ritual Riot Squad, was killed in action when Hiyori was still in elementary school. Following her mother’s death one year before the story begins, Hiyori vowed to fulfill the duty her mother could not complete by becoming a Toji herself. She carries a deep-seated grudge against the Origami Family, holding them responsible for the tragedy that claimed her mother’s life.
Hiyori has a serious, stoic, and professional demeanor with a powerful sense of duty. She is highly determined and refuses to be swayed by the influence of others, often hiding her true feelings in a way that leads to misunderstandings with those around her. Contrary to her cool and reserved exterior, she is well-versed in household chores and is an excellent cook, a skill she developed while caring for her ailing mother. She harbors a particular fondness for mint chocolate ice cream. Her core motivation is to destroy the powerful Aradama that killed her mother and to confront Yukari Origami, the head of the Origami Family, whom she blames for the Great Disaster of Sagami Bay.
Hiyori’s role in the story begins as an avenger acting alone. She participates in the National Swordsmanship Tournament in Kamakura City, easily defeating her opponents, but abandons the final match to attempt an assassination of Yukari Origami. Her plan fails, and she is nearly captured by the Origami Family’s Elite Guard before being rescued by Kanami Etou, a fellow Toji from Minoseki Academy. Initially baffled by Kanami’s help and preferring to work alone, Hiyori finds herself unable to shake off Kanami’s persistent resolve, and the two become fugitives hiding from the authorities together. Over time, they form an alliance with members of Mokusa, an anti-Origami resistance group, including Ellen Kohagura and Kaoru Mashiko. Through Mokusa’s leader, Akane Origami (Yukari’s younger sister), Hiyori learns the full truth about the Great Disaster of Sagami Bay, discovering that her mother and Kanami’s mother worked together to end the catastrophe. This revelation strengthens her resolve, and she formally joins Mokusa alongside her newfound allies.
Throughout the story, Hiyori undergoes significant character development. While initially determined to achieve her revenge on her own terms, she gradually recognizes the need to rely on and ask for help from others. Following a devastating ambush on Mokusa’s headquarters, she relinquishes leadership duties to her ally Mai Yanase, showing her growth from a lone operative to a cooperative team member. In the final confrontation against Yukari, who transforms into the Great Aradama Tagitsuhime, Hiyori uses her mother’s sealing technique in a desperate attempt to stop the entity. The attack succeeds but begins to pull Hiyori into the netherworld, and she is only saved when Kanami intervenes and pulls her back. Four months after the battle, Hiyori returns to Nara and contemplates retiring as a Toji, having fulfilled her mother’s duty. However, she is eventually persuaded to return to active duty when a mysterious hooded Toji begins attacking others performing noro retrieval tasks, prompting her to reunite with Kanami in Kamakura City.
Hiyori is a highly skilled and capable Toji known for her speed and precision. She practices the Kashima Shinto-Ryu swordsmanship style, a traditional school whose techniques are derived from actual battlefield fighting methods from the Warring States period and can be applied to swords, spears, and naginata. Her expertise allowed her to dominate the National Swordsmanship Tournament and hold her own against powerful opponents like Maki Shidou, the two-time national champion and First Seat of the Origami Family’s Elite Guard. She also possesses the ability to use a powerful sealing technique inherited from her mother, which is potent enough to affect a Great Aradama, though at great personal risk.
Hiyori has a serious, stoic, and professional demeanor with a powerful sense of duty. She is highly determined and refuses to be swayed by the influence of others, often hiding her true feelings in a way that leads to misunderstandings with those around her. Contrary to her cool and reserved exterior, she is well-versed in household chores and is an excellent cook, a skill she developed while caring for her ailing mother. She harbors a particular fondness for mint chocolate ice cream. Her core motivation is to destroy the powerful Aradama that killed her mother and to confront Yukari Origami, the head of the Origami Family, whom she blames for the Great Disaster of Sagami Bay.
Hiyori’s role in the story begins as an avenger acting alone. She participates in the National Swordsmanship Tournament in Kamakura City, easily defeating her opponents, but abandons the final match to attempt an assassination of Yukari Origami. Her plan fails, and she is nearly captured by the Origami Family’s Elite Guard before being rescued by Kanami Etou, a fellow Toji from Minoseki Academy. Initially baffled by Kanami’s help and preferring to work alone, Hiyori finds herself unable to shake off Kanami’s persistent resolve, and the two become fugitives hiding from the authorities together. Over time, they form an alliance with members of Mokusa, an anti-Origami resistance group, including Ellen Kohagura and Kaoru Mashiko. Through Mokusa’s leader, Akane Origami (Yukari’s younger sister), Hiyori learns the full truth about the Great Disaster of Sagami Bay, discovering that her mother and Kanami’s mother worked together to end the catastrophe. This revelation strengthens her resolve, and she formally joins Mokusa alongside her newfound allies.
Throughout the story, Hiyori undergoes significant character development. While initially determined to achieve her revenge on her own terms, she gradually recognizes the need to rely on and ask for help from others. Following a devastating ambush on Mokusa’s headquarters, she relinquishes leadership duties to her ally Mai Yanase, showing her growth from a lone operative to a cooperative team member. In the final confrontation against Yukari, who transforms into the Great Aradama Tagitsuhime, Hiyori uses her mother’s sealing technique in a desperate attempt to stop the entity. The attack succeeds but begins to pull Hiyori into the netherworld, and she is only saved when Kanami intervenes and pulls her back. Four months after the battle, Hiyori returns to Nara and contemplates retiring as a Toji, having fulfilled her mother’s duty. However, she is eventually persuaded to return to active duty when a mysterious hooded Toji begins attacking others performing noro retrieval tasks, prompting her to reunite with Kanami in Kamakura City.
Hiyori is a highly skilled and capable Toji known for her speed and precision. She practices the Kashima Shinto-Ryu swordsmanship style, a traditional school whose techniques are derived from actual battlefield fighting methods from the Warring States period and can be applied to swords, spears, and naginata. Her expertise allowed her to dominate the National Swordsmanship Tournament and hold her own against powerful opponents like Maki Shidou, the two-time national champion and First Seat of the Origami Family’s Elite Guard. She also possesses the ability to use a powerful sealing technique inherited from her mother, which is potent enough to affect a Great Aradama, though at great personal risk.