Kaidan
Suzanoo's Diner (280,555)
Human
Alive
The Jingu Clan
Leader of the Jingu Clan
Akashi, Richard Sonnac
Gozen is the current leader of the Jingu Clan. She claims that the line stretches back to the days of Queen Himiko, which would mean that it stretches back all the way to around 200 AD. She is a mysterious figure, who does not like to reveal details about herself and simply states that she is herself when one asks her about herself.
Prior to the Tokyo incident, she resided in the mountains, seeking solitude from the world. This would not last, as she received a vision which warned her of future events, and so she returned to Tokyo to assume the leader role of the Jingu Clan.
The Jingu Clan, and Gozen, both have ties to the Templars, and of all the factions, the Templars is the only one she seems to agree with. It is also known that she has a friendship with Richard Sonnac, as she will inquire Templars who are passing by about how he is doing. Sonnac has also stated that he so misses corresponding with her.
Unlike Akashi, and other members of the Jingu Clan, Gozen seems to be calm and collected in every situation. She is also more willing to trust outsiders than the aforementioned, this is evident as she will assist any member of the secret world who passes through the diner regardless of their affiliation.
Gozen, like the Jingu Clan, still holds on to the teachings of Shinto, and she appears to believe in Kami. She takes her responsibilities seriously, and in many ways she shares the Templar's view on responsibility, honour and deliverance from evil, in particular demons towards which she seems to be particularly hostile. The Jingu serve as an unofficial line of defence against the encroachment of demonkind, a role she seems devoted to fulfilling.
It is mentioned in the Buzzing lore entry on the Jingu Clan that each Gozen looks remarkably like the previous one, which might suggest that Gozen is an immortal being, and that she simply pretends to replace the previous Gozen, when in fact it is her all along. This theory has, however, yet to be confirmed. It is, however, in the lore entry on the black signal, which was released along with issue #9, that the "matriarch" is older than she looks, this is likely a reference to Gozen, and strengthens the theory of her immortality. The Black Signal also claims that Gozen suffers from a case of myopia, or nearsightedness, as a result of her large amount of conviction. The Black Signal also speaks of some kind of personal vendetta Gozen has against the Oni, for a deed they did not commit.
My name is Gozen, I am... me. I have the honour of leading the Jingu Clan, as did my ancestors stretching back to Queen Himiko herself. I received a vision, a warning, to mobilise the Jingu Clan. And so, with much urgency and little haste, I came down from the mountain.
The explosion. It was more than a bomb. It was a defilement. The city is soul-wounded. It is a festering sore, oozing with demons, with yokai. Those who survive find themselves in Yomi-on-earth. For the few that remain, there is no civilization save for what we hide away in our hearts or carve with our blades. When this began, I told them all that we were defending ashes and embers from the hungry maw of the final days, and any man or woman among us could leave the city. I would think no less of them. They all stayed. Every last one.
We are the Jingu. We are the remains of the Samurai in a less civilized time. We hold to the teachings of Shinto. We believe in the kami. We believe in the quiet dignity of honour and responsibility. But when the time comes, we clang like a terrible bell. We are the song that reminds demons to tremble. We believe fault is what others assign you, and responsibility is what you assign yourself, and we assign ourselves much. We fight to hold what territory we have. To keep it from the loathsome grasp of those who would profit from the misery and chaos, the two remaining gangs: the House-in-Exile and the Korinto-Kai.
Demons? You wish my counsel on demons? There are no good demons! Not even dead demons. Even their corpses offend the earth. In Tokyo, there are nine clans of oni. And oh, this must be a misery time for them, with the skulls and the screams and the ashen shadows stretched out on the subway walls. How they must dance. Nine oni clans...and then there is the House-in-Exile. They are demons shunned by demons, unwelcome even in the many hells. They are led by the degenerate spirit Inbeda. He holds loathsome court in the bathhouse. Inbeda profits off the disarray, and now he looks to the outside world. I hear he is currently wooing the Illuminati.
They are what remains of the criminal underworld. These occulted gangsters. Yakuza normally at least pretend at honour, at showing a public face, but these Korinto-kai strut in the shadows. They call themselves "ninkyo dantai," a chivalrous organization...But they are boryokudan. They are bakuto - vice peddlers. They took control of gambling in Tokyo in the 1920s. But they went beyond. They found more, always more. Their connections to the occult gave them an edge against their rivals. They are led by Daimon Kiyota. He is little better than the oni demons. And perhaps...he is even more dangerous, in his own way. He knows things he should not know. He has the audacity of a man who suddenly walks on air simply because he knows it breaks an important law. He is a walking obscenity and...There is something. Something behind his eyes...
I find this term strange. There is no Secret World. There is no Normal World. There is only the World.
They move like a centipede, one hundred feet flailing in one hundred directions. It is not an easy path, but perhaps someone must walk it. Their way is not my way, but I respect the Dragon. However, I wish they would court better allies than creatures like Daimon Kiyota. They do not know him. They are not prepared for what he is capable of.
They bed with demons when it suits them and calls it good business sense. They preen like diseased peacocks until they sense danger. They build mazes that they themselves become lost in. When I speak to the blue agent, my eyes and ears feel contaminated, as though I watched one of those reality television shows or read a comment section on the inter webs.
The Templars understand the value of loyalty and responsibility. The Templars know the value of tradition, even in a changing world. The Templars know how to inspire a demon to tremble. The Templars can always count the Jingu Clan as their ally. It has been too long since I have seen Richard Sonnac. We...We have...history
The world will always need demon-slayers, but demon-slayers do not always need the world. I sought refuge in the high places, a place of great beauty and great stillness. Apart from weekend training retreats where the clan shared a facility with the Fear Nothing foundation, I was alone. Then... "Dark demons cry Gaia." Do you know this phrase? It came to me in a dream, and I knew I must return to the city. Dark demons cry Gaia. Each word a prophecy, and each prophecy a thread which trails into the unknown. The dark has come to Tokyo. So have the Demons. A cry has been heard and the Jingu Clan are returning. And Gaia...well, you know who you represent.