TV-Series
Description
Reiko Natsume possessed formidable spiritual power, granting her the ability to see, hear, and combat yokai. This power condemned her to severe social isolation; humans shunned her and children threw rocks, branding her a harbinger of misfortune. Driven by loneliness, she sought companionship among yokai, though her approach was frequently confrontational—challenging spirits to duels and collecting the names of the defeated within the Book of Friends to command them. Despite her reputation as a bully, she occasionally demonstrated kindness, such as returning a stolen doll to a child or keeping promises to share food with specific yokai, revealing a complex desire for connection hindered by poor social skills and past rejections.
Her appearance featured long silver hair and pale green eyes in the manga, while the anime depicted ash-blond hair and amber eyes. She wore a sailor-style school uniform, often torn or disheveled due to human hostility. Her striking resemblance to her grandson Takashi Natsume led many yokai to mistake him for her decades later. She maintained a perpetual smile, described as a coping mechanism masking her true feelings about societal rejection.
Reiko's history involved an ambiguous childhood, likely as an orphan passed among relatives, mirroring Takashi's early life. As a teenager, she befriended the sickly Sōko Morinaga, who inspired her to duel yokai for entertainment. She also formed a bond with a boy who brought her manju and expressed concern for her safety, implied to be Takashi's grandfather. Reiko never married, retaining the Natsume surname, and later raised a daughter alone after a relationship with an unidentified man. Her daughter, Takashi's mother, reportedly lacked spiritual abilities and remembered little of Reiko due to her mother's early death. Reiko died young "underneath a tree," though the exact circumstances remain unknown.
Relationships defined her fragmented existence. The yokai Madara acknowledged her strength but dismissed her as a "bully," though he later revealed genuine care. Reiko freed the yokai Kibune from a forced marriage contract and protected the Fujiwara household by banishing the disruptive yokai Karime. Her encounter with the yokai Hinoe involved bargaining for safe passage, while the powerful spirit Riou relinquished his name after losing a duel. Her most significant human interaction was with young Shigeru Fujiwara (Takashi's future adoptive father), whom she visited once but never saw again after destroying a room in his home. Many yokai, such as Santo and Gomochi, awaited her return for decades, unaware of her death and highlighting her forgetfulness or inability to fulfill promises.
Reiko's legacy centered on the Book of Friends, which she bequeathed to Takashi. The book became a target for power-seeking yokai, forcing him to address the unresolved bonds and promises she left behind. Her life symbolized isolation between two worlds, with her actions reflecting a struggle to belong—a theme that shaped Takashi's journey to reconcile her past.
Her appearance featured long silver hair and pale green eyes in the manga, while the anime depicted ash-blond hair and amber eyes. She wore a sailor-style school uniform, often torn or disheveled due to human hostility. Her striking resemblance to her grandson Takashi Natsume led many yokai to mistake him for her decades later. She maintained a perpetual smile, described as a coping mechanism masking her true feelings about societal rejection.
Reiko's history involved an ambiguous childhood, likely as an orphan passed among relatives, mirroring Takashi's early life. As a teenager, she befriended the sickly Sōko Morinaga, who inspired her to duel yokai for entertainment. She also formed a bond with a boy who brought her manju and expressed concern for her safety, implied to be Takashi's grandfather. Reiko never married, retaining the Natsume surname, and later raised a daughter alone after a relationship with an unidentified man. Her daughter, Takashi's mother, reportedly lacked spiritual abilities and remembered little of Reiko due to her mother's early death. Reiko died young "underneath a tree," though the exact circumstances remain unknown.
Relationships defined her fragmented existence. The yokai Madara acknowledged her strength but dismissed her as a "bully," though he later revealed genuine care. Reiko freed the yokai Kibune from a forced marriage contract and protected the Fujiwara household by banishing the disruptive yokai Karime. Her encounter with the yokai Hinoe involved bargaining for safe passage, while the powerful spirit Riou relinquished his name after losing a duel. Her most significant human interaction was with young Shigeru Fujiwara (Takashi's future adoptive father), whom she visited once but never saw again after destroying a room in his home. Many yokai, such as Santo and Gomochi, awaited her return for decades, unaware of her death and highlighting her forgetfulness or inability to fulfill promises.
Reiko's legacy centered on the Book of Friends, which she bequeathed to Takashi. The book became a target for power-seeking yokai, forcing him to address the unresolved bonds and promises she left behind. Her life symbolized isolation between two worlds, with her actions reflecting a struggle to belong—a theme that shaped Takashi's journey to reconcile her past.