|
This article is a stub. You can help the GeGeGe no Kitarō Wiki by expanding it. |
Shina-Yasha (
Etymology[]
Her aliases include Onna-Yasha or Nyo-Yasha (女夜叉 Onnayasha or Nyoyasha, lit. Lady Yasha), Yasha-Gami (夜叉神 Yashagami, lit. Yasha God), Kyjūketsu-Yasha (吸血夜叉 Kyjūketsuyasha, lit. Blood Sucking Yasha), or simply Yasha (夜叉).
Appearance[]
In the manga, Shina-Yasha appears as a being with a big bestial head with scaly skin, a tall forehead, pointy ears, small beady eyes, a streak of hair running down her back, and spiky-haired eyebrows and beard. He wears a black long-sleeve shirt and pants.
In the 1968 anime, Vampire Yasha lacks scales on his head, and also now has spikes on his knuckles, and curved shoes.
In the 1985 anime, Onna-Yasha resembles her manga design, and has a dark green face, darker green hair and clothes, yellow eyes, and a bright red. Shina-Yasha has a rounder, pink head with no scales, a larger, more feathery beard, red lips, a pair of small upper teeth, a more pink tongue, dark blue hair and eyebrows and a light gray shirt with red cuffs.
Personality[]
In the manga, Shina-Yasha is a fierce enemy, though he underestimates the abilities of his own enemies, causing him to retreat.
In the 1968 anime, he is skilled in putting a convincing disguise, but also invertedly made Kitarō suspicious by winking at his partners.
In Shinpen GeGeGe no Kitarō, Onna-Yasha is a power-hungry and skilled sorceress, successfully controlling and creating the Hi Clan. After being injured by the Kin-Sanchū, Onna-Yasha becomes more remorseful at the cost of becoming weak, and even helps Medama-Oyaji and his cousin Kemedama find out the cure for her spells.
History[]
Shonen Magazine[]
Shina-Yasha first appears in the Shonen Magazine story, Blood Battle Ogasawara, as one of the vampires working for Professor Dracula tasked with collecting blood from the Yōkai Blood bank in Mt. Osore, ambushing the Kitarō Family from the ground, but retreated after being attacked by Sunakake-Babaa. Shina-Yasha later reappears to face Kitarō directly, but could no longer fight and move after absorbing most of his blood and eventually collapsed with the Yōkai-men.
Shina-Yasha (as Onna-Yasha) reappears in the Shinpen GeGeGe no Kitarō story, Yōkai Crisis, as the founder and god of the Yōkai-hating Hi Clan, venerated as Yasha-Gami. Together they came to Japan to capture and cooking the local yōkai, selling them in a shop to make money. She is fought by Medama-Oyaji and Kemedama, dying to her own creation, the vengeful Kin-Sanchū, after the two released it.
1968 Anime[]
Vampire Yasha appears in episode #52 of the first anime adaptation, Vampire Yōkai Gang. In this adaptation, him and Langsuyar first appear to disguise themselves as an old couple to poison Kitarō. When stealing the blood in Mt. Osore, him and the others are now commanded by Professor Dracula to rise from the ground, and finds it difficult to pierce Konaki-Jijii's body. Him and the remaining vampires travel back to Hahajima to pour the blood on the Yōkaiju, but notices the Kitarō Family setting sail. When he attacks Kitarō, he is thrown to the sea to be cannibalized by the Yōkai-Men sponge.
1985 Anime[]
Onna-Yasha appears in episode #91 of the third anime adaptation, Yōkai Hunter Hi Clan!. In this episode, she is once again portrayed as the god of the Hi Clan, but is seen commanding them a lot more than in the original story. Her plans this time are to make a Chinese Yōkai Empire in Japan. She only meets Medama-Oyaji and Kemedama after hearing them in another room opening the Kin-Sanchū's chest, rather than meeting them after already being attacked.
Shina-Yasha appears in episode #96 of the third anime adaptation, Blood Battle!! Yōkai Vampire Corps. She has the same role and goal from the manga. She first appears under Nezumi-Otoko, and starts to chase him. After biting his butt, the Shina-Yasha falls unconscious after swallowing Nezumi's farts. Shina-Yasha, alongside her fellow vampires, run away defeated, fleeing back underground.
2007 Anime[]
Onna-Yasha along with other foreign yōkai in the second opening.
Although she does not appear in the anime itself, Shina-Yasha is featured with other foreign yōkai in the second opening.
Other Media[]
Obake no Mura-Chan[]
Nyo-Yasha appeared in a chapter of Obake no Mura-Chan. In this chapter, she hatched out of an ball that went bouncing to Naokazu's house and turned him into a louse and transformed herself into the boy. Since she wasn't familiar with Naokazu beforehand, she didn't get up in the morning, go to school, or know the topics of the exam.
Mura-chan noticed something was of about Naokazu and asked the small parasites Mushirō & Mushiko to check on Naokazu. The two parasites went inside the boy's body and found the real Naokazu was turned into a lice, and told the boy why they were there, and said that something bad would happen to him if they don't do anything quickly. Nyo-Yasha (as Naokazu) notices its beginning to snow outside, and the snow clings to her body and she's later absorbed into Mura-chan. Mura-chan crushes Nyo-Yasha and she gets knocked out in the process. Since Etsuko, Naokazu's younger sister, and Naokazu's mother didn't realize his body was controlled by Nyo-Yasha, the boy gets scolded.[1]
Powers and Abilities[]
Tusk Attack: In the first anime, Vampire Yasha has the ability to extend his tusks to further stab opponents.
Tunneling: Shina-Yasha is shown to be capable of tunneling underground and staying there for long periods of time, and popping out once to sneak attack on enemies.
Transformation Breath: In Obake no Mura-chan, Nyo-Yasha has the ability to fire a beam of light that can transform things. She used this ability to transform Naokazu into a lice.
Shapeshifting: In the first anime and Obake no Mura-chan, Vampire Yasha and Nyo-Yasha can transform. In the former, he showed this by transforming into an old man, while in the latter, she showed this by transforming into Naokazu. This might've been a reference to the Nyo-Yasha of legend.
Legend[]
Illustration of Nyo-Yasha by Shigeru Mizuki.
Shigeru Mizuki introduced the Nyo-Yasha as a ferocious, female yaksha from China that has the ability to see into people's minds, can transform into 8 different things and speak in 8 different voices, has a fondness for human flesh, and uses her powers to bewitch human men. He points out how her ancestors were once brutish beings that have since transformed into guardian deities protecting the Buddhist faith, a reference to how the image of Yakshas changed after being integrated into the religion. In their birthplace of India, yakshas described in Buddhist scriptures resemble lions, tigers, elephants, horses, cows, deer, and camels. Sometimes they have a large head and a small body with a red abdomen, with two, three, or four faces, and a lion-like mane, or have a single eye, with long fangs protruding from their mouths and drooping lips. Mizuki also decscribes how yakṣhas enjoy eating human flesh and even consume human fetuses. They destroy fetuses to prevent children from being born, or interfere with conception during sexual intercourse, or suck away vital energy, preventing conception. Once conception occurs, they damage the fetus within one or two weeks to hinder pregnancy. Even if the child is born, they'll eat them eventually.
Nyo-Yasha was most likely inspired by the Yakshinis of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, specifically the Buddhist Hariti, known as Guǐzǐmǔshén (鬼子母神, Demon Child Mother God) in Chinese and Kishimojin in Japanese, a well-known Buddhist deity associated with safe childbirth and the nurturing of children. Originally a yakṣha from the Magadha Kingdom in India, despite having five hundred children of her own, she frequently kidnapped human children to eat. According to legend, Hariti once received the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, repented of her past deeds, and transformed into a benevolent deity who now protected infants.
Trivia[]
A Mexican Jaguar mask
- The design of Shina-Yasha may be modeled after a Mexican Jaguar mask.
- When Medama-Oyaji is talking about the Yasha in Episode 10 of the third anime, the image shown is based on Mizuki's illustration of the Nyo-Yasha.
References[]
[]
| | |
|---|---|
| Yōkai Army | Akamata • Yashi-Otoshi • Chinpo |
| Vampire Gang | Langsuyar • Asanbosam • Penanggalan • Shina-Yasha |
| Others | Jeeta • Pii • Tubuan • Yōka |