Description / Lore
Main image of Yatsu-no-Kami.
Yatsu-no-Kami is a serpent god with a horn made of countless blades protuding from its forehead. These blades can be shot like arrows at the Yokai's foes. Under the influence of the Dark Realm, its snakelike arms gain sentience and spring forth from its body to join the fight. Take heed when its white body turns black, for this is a sign that it is about to call forth the Dark Realm.
While it is now called a god, Yastu-no-Kami was originally a guardian diety to humans who were in pursuit of certain goals. It is said that many Yatsu-no-Kami once thrived in the wetlands, until a man named Matachi of the Yahazu clan attempted to cultivate their land. The Yokai stood in his way, and were driven from those lands as a result. Matachi planted a stake in the ground and declared it a border between the realm of the humans and Yokai. He then built a shrine so as to appease the Yokai to avoid their wrath.
The Yatsu-no-Kami that is worshipped at Shirahebi Shrine is a great white serpent, and its cast-off skin is kept as a sacred object in a cave at the heart of the shrine. While it was once a gentle diety that protected the mountains and swamps, Saito Yoshitatsu's use of Spirit Stones transformed it into a raging being known as an aritama. It spews corruption from its body, creating poisonous swamps wherever its vile fluids land. Those who aim to defeat it must be prepared with measures to counter its noxious poison.