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"You wanna dig out my tush-crystal, Yukine?!"
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Yato ( () () Yato?), also known by his given name, Yaboku ( () (ぼく) Yaboku?), is one of the main three protagonists of Noragami. He is an obscure god who aims to become a God of Fortune.[1] In the past, he was known as a God of Calamity.[2]

Appearance[]

Yato appears to be a young man in his late teens to early twenties with a height of 173cm (5’7”).[citation needed] He has a chin-length dark black hair with bangs falling over his face, and bright blue eyes with small, round pupils that become narrow when he is serious or angry, resembling that of a cat's.

Yato is often seen wearing a black tracksuit that has a small golden crown on the right side and a pair of brown boots. He wears a faded blue scarf with tears around his neck.

In the flashbacks, he is seen with a ponytail and wears a dark-colored man's kimono.

When imagining himself becoming the wealthiest God, he has a large red cape, a crown, and holds a pink hand fan.

Personality[]

Yato can be mischievous, playful, and unpredictable in his behavior. At times, he is rather childish. He often indulges in fantasies of becoming a supremely successful god, with a large, luxurious shrine and many miko fawning over him.[3]

Yato is quite tight with his money, wanting to complete any and all of his jobs so that he wouldn't have to refund his clients[citation needed] and even feeling temptation to sell his shinki when presented with a large offer.[4] However, despite his grand aspirations, he decidedly charges only 5 yen per job,[5] which is the standard offering at shrines. He also spends his money on drinking, gambling, and good luck trinkets.[citation needed] According to Yukine, it is rare that Yato would spend his money to make someone else happy.[citation needed]

Despite his seemingly carefree personality, Yato can be very serious when the situation requires it. He has a complex moral code. He has shown himself to believe in harsh and risky teaching methods, demonstrated by his handling of Manabu's bullying situation[6] and Yukine's first ablution.[7] He believes gods to be unable to do wrong[8][9] and has low tolerance for people who he views as weak-spirited[3] or who want to commit suicide.[10] However, he also demonstrates an underlying sense of compassion; for example, empathizing with Yukine's situation[7] and wanting to raise him up,[11] or not wanting shinki to witness a human give up a chance at life.[10]

Yato has shown great determination and perseverance in pursuit of his goals, spending centuries trying to become a more popular god and break away from his past with his Father and The Stray. Because of this desire, Yato is very secretive concerning the details of his past, though he doesn't attempt to lie when confronted with it.[12]

Although Yato was taught to think that killing was a game by Father, he has consistently shown concern for people's wishes and well-being, even before seeing Sakura's horror at what he considered a "game."[13][14] Under Sakura's gentle guidance, he became more reluctant to murder, regretting being involved in killing jobs tasked by his father and wants to cut himself off from killing people in the present - although he seems less reluctant when dealing with those who have done wrong, such a criminals.[15] Even still, Yato can be a merciless person, showing great loyalty towards those he loves and cares for. He was angered when Hiyori was kidnapped to the point where he challenged Bishamon, believing she was the one responsible.[2] He was also devastated when Yukine sacrificed himself to save him during said fight.[16]

Skills & Abilities[]

  • Limited Immortality: Yato cannot be killed or lethally injured by Near Shore entities.[17]
  • Teleportation: Yato is able to teleport between locations on the Near Shore through a phone call.[18] Once he has a shrine and is officially recognized as a god, he is also able to teleport to and from Takamagahara.[19]
  • Divine Possession ( (かみ) (がか) Kami gakari?): Yato is capable of possessing a human that he has formed ties with.[19]
  • Weapon Usage: Yato is skilled in armed combat, able to quickly adapt to new weapons and use them effectively.[18][20] Notably, all of his past shinki have been weapons.[21]
    • Rend ( (ざん) Zan?): While wielding a shinki, Yato is able to use this ability to destroy ayakashi.[3] Although this technique exists in the manga, it is only named in the anime.[22]
    • Sunder ( (ぜつ) Zetsu?): While wielding a shinki, Yato has the ability to sever the ties between two or more individuals.[3] It is implied by Tenjin that this ability may be unique to Yato.[23] Although this technique exists in the manga, it is only named in the anime.[24]
    • Cloudburst ( (しゅう) () Shūu?): While wielding Rekki, Yato is able to create a scattershot of arrowheads.[25]
    • Crimson Bloom ( (せっ) () Sekka?): While wielding Rekki, Yato is able to create a series of delayed explosions, capable of effecting damage over a wide range.[26]

Known Shinki[]

Given Name Alternate Name Human Name Vessel Name Status Vessel Form
Hiiro (緋) Hi Hiiro Hiki (緋器) Released Tachi with a wooden hilt and liquefying blade[27]
Sakura (桜) Ou Sakura Ouki (桜器) Deceased Koshigatana[27]
Tomo (伴) Han Tomone (伴音) Hanki (伴器) Released Dagger[3]
Yuki (雪) Setsu Yukine (雪音) Sekki (雪器) Current Bare blade with hilt bandaged with white kasuri.[18]
As a blessed vessel, two bare blades (standard katana and wakizashi length) with no changes in hilt.[16]
Momo (百) Hyaku Momo Hyakki (百器) Released (assumed) ¥100 Scissors[20]
Kazu (暦) Reki Kazune (暦音) Rekki (暦器) Current A divine garment shaped as a tracksuit that differs slightly from his original attire, a long scarf around his neck, boots, and pair of gloves. A katana shaped shinki that can transform into bow and arrow when the katana and its scabbard are combined.[28]
Shiro (白) Haku Unconfirmed Hakki (白器) Former[29] Short blade[30]
  • Unnamed male shinki (status unclear), seen in a flashback in Aragoto Episode 8
  • Unnamed shinki (status unclear)[31]

Trivia[]

  • It is revealed that Yato's real name is Yaboku (夜卜 (やぼく) ).[32] Yaboku contains the kanji ya ( () , meaning "night") and boku ( (ぼく) , meaning "divination"). Sakura mistakenly reads (ぼく) as the katakana ト to, producing the name that Yato currently goes by.[27]
  • In the past, Yato was known as a God of Calamity (禍津神 (まがつかみ) magatsukami?).[2] In Japanese mythology, the magatsuhi-no-kami (禍津日神 (まがつひのかみ) ) was a god (or several, depending on other versions of the myth) who was born from the god Izanagi during the purification following his trip to Yomi.[33]
  • Adachitoka's early "Noragami" sketches featured in Stray Stories Volume 1 indicate that his "scarf" is actually a hand towel from a bath house, and that Yato is "kind of a neat freak."
  • After sundering the Heavens,[34] Yato has become known as Amagiri-no-Mikoto ( (あま) (ぎりの) (みこと) Amagiri-no-Mikoto?, "August Sunderer of the Heavens,"[35] lit. "Heaven rending lord").
  • Yato's exact age is unknown. However, historical references in flashback chapters date the earliest ones to the Heian era, which would make Yato at least 1,000 years old. It can be assumed based on interpreting panels from Chapter 46 that he was born around the 960s, which would make him roughly 1,050 years old, give or take a few decades.
    • In an omake featuring the story of how he met Mayu, he states that he is around Tenjin’s age.[citation needed]
  • Yato's expressions and portrayal often mimic that of a cat.
  • Yato has rather sweaty hands, as both Tomone and Yukine have complained about it. He is shown to be rather sensitive about this topic.[3][18]
  • Yato is shown to be a skilled tailor in both Noragami Stray Stories and the main continuity. In Stray Stories, he gives Yukine a hand-made sweater and gives Hiyori a hand-made wedding dress.[36] In the main series, he works a loom to make formal attire for both himself and Yukine for the 26XXth Divine Council.[37]
    • Furthermore, he has shown talent as an artist. This seems to be true in the manga, considering he sold doujinshi in the past and was shown drawing a fairly accurate picture of Hiyori in Chapter 53, albeit with wings and naked.
  • He is shown cross-dressing in Chapter 48 and Chapter 52.
  • His character song is Tsukiyo no Fune (月夜 (つきよ) (ふね) ).
  • He was once tricked into creating a bank account, which now occasionally has mystery money transferred into it. This is how he was able to buy a cell phone.[38]
  • According to Benzaiten, Yato has the "visual qualifications" to be an idol.[39]
  • Yato is said to be "not bad-looking but [...] pathetic" by Masaomi Iki.[28]

References

  1. Chapter 40: We Not-So-Humbly Pray (Vol 11)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chapter 19: Prayer (Vol 5)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Chapter 1: The Man in the Sweatsuit (Vol 1)
  4. Chapter 26: How to Worship A God (Vol 7)
  5. Chapter 5: Borderline (Vol 2)
  6. Chapter 10: Crossing the Line (Vol 3)
  7. 7.0 7.1 Chapter 11: A Name (Vol 3)
  8. Chapter 6: Be Afraid (Vol 2)
  9. Chapter 22: What Must Be Done (Vol 6)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Chapter 4: A Few Godly Perspectives (Vol 2)
  11. Chapter 8: Strays on a Stormy Night (Vol 3)
  12. Chapter 7: Benighted (Vol 2)
  13. Chapter 45: Transpired Transgressions (Vol 12)
  14. Chapter 46: Children At Play (Vol 12)
  15. Chapter 28: God of Calamity (Vol 8)
  16. 16.0 16.1 Chapter 21: Don't Go– Stay With Me (Vol 6)
  17. Stray Stories Chapter 6: A Story of Conforming to Temporary Stereotypes (Vol 1)
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Chapter 3: Like Snow (Vol 1)
  19. 19.0 19.1 Chapter 25: When Sleeping Gods Are Provoked (Vol 7)
  20. 20.0 20.1 Chapter 78: Object of Desire (Vol 20)
  21. Chapter 50: Time of Confrontation (Vol 13)
  22. Episode 1: A Housecat, A Stray God, and a Tail
  23. Chapter 43: Secrets (Vol 11)
  24. Episode 4: Where Happiness Lies
  25. Chapter 94: Hope (Vol 24)
  26. Chapter 92: When Dawn Comes... (Vol 24)
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Chapter 46: Children At Play (Vol 12)
  28. 28.0 28.1 Chapter 82: Time to Move Forward (Vol 21)
  29. Chapter 108: Yatogami (Vol 27)
  30. Chapter 107: Shiro (Vol 27)
  31. Chapter 65: Golden Days (Vol 17)
  32. Chapter 37: The Sound of You Calling My Name (Vol 10)
  33. Japanese Wiki Corpus: Magatsuhi no kami
  34. Chapter 70: On High (Vol 18)
  35. Chapter 72: Not (Vol 19)
  36. Stray Stories Volume 2: Christmas Chapter
  37. Chapter 56: Commandment (Vol 15)
  38. Volume 15: Surprise Character Trivia Part 1 (author's notes)
  39. Stray Stories Chapter 7: A Story of a Nameless God Making his Way Up in the World (Vol 1)

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