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Hakusanbō (白山坊 Hakusanbō, lit. White Mountain Priest) is a Kitsune and a recurring adversary of Kitarō. In the GeGeGe no Kitarō: Yōkai Sōzōshu Arawaru!, he is named Hakuzōsu (白蔵主).
Appearance[]
In the 2018 anime, two Hakusanbō have appeared, the current being the sixth while his predecessor was the fifth.[1]
The fifth Hakusanbō was shown as a grey fox with a white undertone, a long snout with a black nose, and three pairs of whiskers, his mouth has sharp teeth with large spacing. His most notable feature is the scar over his missing left eye, which has eyelids with red edges, his right eye has a yellow sclera with an orange iris and a darker pupil.[1]
Personality[]
History[]
1968 Anime[]
He appears in episode #24 of the first anime adaptation, Hakusanbō.
1985 Anime[]
He appears in episode #11 of the third anime adaptation, Yōkai Fox Hakusanbō.
He appeared in several other episodes most notably the episode 86 as one of the vengeful spirits.
1996 Anime[]
He appears in episode #39 of the fourth anime adaptation, Yōko Hakusanbō's Bride.
In the short film GeGeGe no Kitarō: Kitarō's Ghost Train, he appeared one of yōkai to help Kitarō.
2007 Anime[]
He appears in episode #11 of the fifth anime adaptation, Ghost Comic Dialogue.
He later appears in GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!. Hakusanbō appears as one of the multitude of Yōkai parading through cities due to Yato-no-Kami's influence. He is later returned to where he came from after Hana agrees to follow Yato-no-Kami.[2]
2018 Anime[]
He appears in episode #33 of the sixth anime adaptation, The Fox's Wedding and Hakusanbō. In this adaptation, there have been five Hakusanbō prior to the current one. The fifth was a fabled man-eater and was defeated by their eventual successor in a deadly fight.
Pre-Series[]
After the sixth Hakusanbō had defeated his predecessor and claimed the name, he was severely wounded and collapsed sometime after. He was saved by a girl named Yayoi who nursed him back to health. Afterward, he kept watching over Yayoi from a distance. When her father was plagued by debt and wanted to commit suicide, he used his power to twist reality and gift him with good fortune, in exchange for having Yayoi as a bride. This, however, had the side-effect of making Yayoi unlucky as a result which made her suffer several near-death situations in which Hakusanbō saved her as he knew she would be in danger.[1]
Series[]
On her 18th birthday, Hakusanbō comes to reclaim his rightful bride by contract. Kitarō and his friends who were summoned by Yayoi's father to defend her from the Yokai are surprised to know that this Hakusanbō isn't malicious and Kitarō decides to leave because, despite the rather unjust situation, the girl is legitimately his bride and is bounded by the promise. However, he becomes embroiled in the Western-Japanese yōkai war when the Ring of Arcana appears in Yayoi's body, prompting Adél to teleport with the girl away to have Buer bisect her to retrieve the treasure. Together with Agnès they teleport to where she is as the bracelet she wears is made of Hakusanbō's hair, allowing him to locate her. They rescue her while he fights off against the western yōkai with Kitarō and his gang helping and are able to repel them off long enough for the Ring to disappear, forcing the western yōkai to retreat, although Hakusanbō received major injuries. He explains their past bond and asks Yayoi if she desires by her own volition to be his bride. Yayoi in tears accepts, knowing she has found the one person that she wanted to meet, her savior from long ago, and the two are soon married afterward.[1]
Powers and Abilities[]
Kitsunebi: He can produce Kitsunebi both for a delusion and a direct attack in the GeGeGe no Kitarō: Yōkai Sen Monogatari.
Transformation: He has a mastery over transformation techniques where he is even capable of fighting by transforming into weapons such as swords, hammers, and boulders. In the 2018 anime, the sixth Hakusanbō transformed into a large fox especially during combats.
Telekinesis: Hakusanbō in the 2007 anime is skilled at telekinesis and can control various objects as weapons.
Animal Controlling
Hypnosis: He in the GeGeGe no Kitarō: Yōkai Sen Monogatari is capable of casting a hypnosis over victims at will.
Mind Controlling: In the 2007 anime, he can also control minds of multiple humans at once as he can make them to laugh unreasonably at will.
Spiritual Power Granting: As he promised to Konta in the 1996 anime, he is stated to be capable of granting supernatural powers to normal organisms, and Konta turned back to a normal fox after Hakusanbō was sealed.
Luck Granting: In various adaptations, Hakusanbō granted Shōkichi Hashimoto granted lucks when the man was trying to commit a suicide, in return for demanding his daughter as a bride.
Camouflaging: In the 1996 anime, Hakusanbō and his minions are capable of becoming invisible.
Soul Taking: In the 2007 anime, he prefers to take ones' souls and turn them into ghosts if they break the deals.
Blood Sucking: Hakusanbō in the manga is a known man-eater while he in the 1968 anime prefers to suck bloods of victims as he tried to feed on Hanako Hashimoto.
Shadow Manipulation: In the 1996 anime, Hakusanbō can manipulate his own shadow and he tried to kidnap Akane with it, but was blocked by the spiritual protection casted on Akane.
Physical Capabilities: Hakusanbō in the 2018 anime performed agility and used his claws to attack.
Fate and Causality Controlling: In the 2018 anime, the sixth Hakusanbō is able to control causality to change ones' fates and can save them from misfortunes.
Spiritual Contract: Hakusanbō can cast a powerful contract with humans which even Enma-Daiō can't repel in the 2007 anime.
Tracking: In the 2018 anime, the sixth Hakusanbō can track and detect targets with a kumihimo.
Legend[]
Shigeru Mizuki created Hakusanbō based on the lore of Hakuzōsu. Depictions of Hakusanbō and his fox tribe featured in the 2018 anime adaptation were likely based on both fox's wedding and animal-human marriages that have been seen commonly in Japanese folklore.
Trivia[]
- In the 1985 anime, a blue kitsune resembling Hakusanbō is seen at the end of the GeGeGe no Kitarō: Saikyō Yōkai Gundan! Nippon Jōriku!! as a friend to Kitarō and humans.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018): Episode 33
- ↑ GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!!