TV-Series
Description
Gyokumen Koushu is a primary antagonist in Saiyuki, known also as Princess Gyokumen or Princess Jade. Her central goal is the resurrection of her lover, the powerful youkai king Gyumaoh, and her entire existence is structured around achieving this aim.
Her background establishes her as the mistress of Gyumaoh, and she is the mother of his daughter, Lirin. In the original Chinese novel Journey to the West, her role is minor and she is quickly defeated, but in Saiyuki, the creator re-imagined her as a major figure. This change was made to position her as a core antagonist driven by self-centered desires and to create a parallel between the protagonists and antagonists, with Gyokumen serving as a mother-like figure on the enemy side. She is responsible for breaking the five-hundred-year seal of Houtou Castle, an act that freed its inhabitants and set the stage for the conflict.
Her personality is marked by a profound selfishness and a singular focus on her goal. She is described as rude and shows no genuine maternal affection for her daughter Lirin, whom she views merely as a tool to be used when needed. Her motivation is not driven by love in a nurturing sense, but by an obsessive determination to revive and marry Gyumaoh, a quest that overshadows all other considerations, including the well-being of her own child and the chaos she unleashes on the world.
Gyokumen's role in the story is that of the mastermind behind the mayhem plaguing Shangri-La. To revive Gyumaoh, whose body is kept in a special incubation chamber, she forms a crucial alliance with the twisted bioengineer Dr. Ni Jianyi. Together, they employ a forbidden fusion of youkai magic and human science. A direct consequence of their experiments is the release of the Minus Wave, a malevolent force that drives youkai throughout the land into a violent, berserk frenzy, shattering the peace between humans and youkai. Her objective is to obtain the Heaven and Earth Scripture, a set of five sutras required to complete Gyumaoh's revival, and she is known to possess two of them.
Her key relationships are defined by manipulation and a lack of genuine connection. She has a cold and transactional relationship with her daughter Lirin. Her relationship with Kougaiji, Gyumaoh's son and her stepson, is also manipulative; she promises to revive his mother, Rasetsunyo, from a stone curse in exchange for his help in retrieving the sutras, a promise whose sincerity is left in doubt. This has engendered deep hatred from Kougaiji, who considers her a rival who cursed his mother. Her partnership with Dr. Ni Jianyi is the most significant, as he is the architect of the technology used in the revival project. In the manga, it is implied that their relationship also has a sexual component. She heavily invests in his inventions, which include various creatures and devices used to track the Sanzo party and attack them.
Her background establishes her as the mistress of Gyumaoh, and she is the mother of his daughter, Lirin. In the original Chinese novel Journey to the West, her role is minor and she is quickly defeated, but in Saiyuki, the creator re-imagined her as a major figure. This change was made to position her as a core antagonist driven by self-centered desires and to create a parallel between the protagonists and antagonists, with Gyokumen serving as a mother-like figure on the enemy side. She is responsible for breaking the five-hundred-year seal of Houtou Castle, an act that freed its inhabitants and set the stage for the conflict.
Her personality is marked by a profound selfishness and a singular focus on her goal. She is described as rude and shows no genuine maternal affection for her daughter Lirin, whom she views merely as a tool to be used when needed. Her motivation is not driven by love in a nurturing sense, but by an obsessive determination to revive and marry Gyumaoh, a quest that overshadows all other considerations, including the well-being of her own child and the chaos she unleashes on the world.
Gyokumen's role in the story is that of the mastermind behind the mayhem plaguing Shangri-La. To revive Gyumaoh, whose body is kept in a special incubation chamber, she forms a crucial alliance with the twisted bioengineer Dr. Ni Jianyi. Together, they employ a forbidden fusion of youkai magic and human science. A direct consequence of their experiments is the release of the Minus Wave, a malevolent force that drives youkai throughout the land into a violent, berserk frenzy, shattering the peace between humans and youkai. Her objective is to obtain the Heaven and Earth Scripture, a set of five sutras required to complete Gyumaoh's revival, and she is known to possess two of them.
Her key relationships are defined by manipulation and a lack of genuine connection. She has a cold and transactional relationship with her daughter Lirin. Her relationship with Kougaiji, Gyumaoh's son and her stepson, is also manipulative; she promises to revive his mother, Rasetsunyo, from a stone curse in exchange for his help in retrieving the sutras, a promise whose sincerity is left in doubt. This has engendered deep hatred from Kougaiji, who considers her a rival who cursed his mother. Her partnership with Dr. Ni Jianyi is the most significant, as he is the architect of the technology used in the revival project. In the manga, it is implied that their relationship also has a sexual component. She heavily invests in his inventions, which include various creatures and devices used to track the Sanzo party and attack them.