Da Ji

Da Ji (onyomi: Dakki) is King Zhou's concubine who was infamously known as a vile woman who enjoyed torture. In various folklore and Fengshen Yanyi, her real form is a nine-tailed fox spirit who possessed a female human named Su Daji.

Her Warriors Orochi counterpart can be unlocked in the first game once the player has personally completed every stage (including the gaiden stages). She won tenth place in the Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate popularity poll.

Her height in Koei's Fengshen Yanyi series is 163 cm (5'4") and her human vessel is 25 years old. Da Ji is called Sheva in the English localization of Mystic Heroes.

Role in Games
"You move simply where the impulse takes you - I like it."
 * Kotarō Fūma; Warriors Orochi 2

Warriors Orochi
Based on conversations with the other Mystics, Da Ji is a runaway immortal being who was bored of her previous life. Sympathetic with the serpent king and wanting to entertain herself, she unleashed Orochi from his prison and agreed to serve him. Acting as his main strategist, she uses her schemes and sorcery to inflict confusion in battle. She coordinates their army's advances and personally orders Orochi's minions. She also doubles as the army's inventor as she created the cannons surrounding Koshi Castle. During Orochi's story, she helps plan her lord's rise to power as they defeat each of the reigning factions one by one.

During the final conflict with Orochi, she survives the assault and flees from the battlefield. Sometime after the battle, she meets Himiko and, knowing that she is the key for her lord's resurrection, fiercely guards the girl's safety. They travel together to find Kiyomori, who is interested in reviving the serpent king. By this time, Taigong Wang and his comrades have recovered from their previous defeat and join with other factions to capture her. She sacrifices her own safety to ensure that Himiko reaches her destination and escapes to serve the resurrected Orochi.

In Musou OROCHI Z, she cons Benkei into joining her group and joyfully pits Yoshitsune against his friend at Mikatagahara. She also has three dream stages in this title. In one of them, she teams with Xing Cai and Gracia to prove women's might to the men of the world. One of the new Dream Stages details her betrayal of the Mystics at the Wuhang Mountains, where she frees Orochi from his jail, and defeats the encroaching armies of Taigong Wang and the other mystics, who try to stop Orochi from merging the different worlds. She and Orochi also join the other Mystics in proving their superiority to humanity's best warriors at Chibi.

She is given another Dream Stage alongside Kiyomori, and Orochi X, where they are sieged by all the major factions that have opposed them in Warriors Orochi 2.

During the original timeline in Warriors Orochi 3, Da Ji enjoyed demolishing humanity with the serpent forces. At the battle with the Hydra, she prepares to kill the surviving generals, when Kaguya saves them. She doesn't feel threatened until the coalition from the future uses time travel to prevent the original timeline from occurring. Since Taigong Wang knows Hydra's true identity, he instructs his human companions to capture her. Although Da Ji manages to escape their clutches with her tricks, she is unable to completely evade Nezha and the mystic forces at Sekigahara. Saved by Hanbei and company, Da Ji agrees to cooperate with them upon realizing that they have Himiko in their trust.

Once the coalition reunite their separated regiments, they desire to find a way to go further back in time before Hydra appeared into the dimensional realm. But no human within their midst is viable for the feat. Also, the other immortals who are present –Taigong Wang, Zuo Ci, and Kaguya– had lived in the mystic realm until Hydra appeared. Only Da Ji remained in the dimensional world the entire time as she is the only way out of the rift created by the Hydra, meaning that the coalition has to rely on her for them to save the future. As the coalition returns to her past to prevent Hydra's appearance, they additionally have to protect her from the anti-Orochi forces or risk losing their sole chance of changing the timeline.

Using the coalition as her bodyguards, Da Ji discreetly recovers Orochi's corpse and hides it within a box for her safe keeping. She schemes to kill two birds with one stone: she wants to resurrect Orochi and restore his consciousness. A sane Orochi would have full control over his powers and thereby prevent Hydra from appearing. Da Ji even tries to defend his body from Susano'o, but her plans fail when the giant serpent inevitably emerges. Unattached to Hydra, Da Ji willingly helps humanity defeat it. Although she admits it in private, her perceptions towards human have changed thanks to the time she spent with them.

In one of the downloadable scenarios, "Lu Bu's Revenge", Da Ji and Achilles help Lu Bu in finding and defeating Nezha.

Da Ji and her cohorts are beckoned to a mysterious stone in Ultimate. Not wanting to be at the Coalition's mercy again, her party opposes the heroes who had tracked them. Once Da Ji and company approach the stone, it creates various doppelgängers. With Tamamo free from her prison, Da Ji joins forces with her and they use the artifact to create fake versions of the heroes. Their schemes confuse the Coalition, causing them to momentarily turn against each other in a civil conflict. The deception is lifted thanks to the other mystics' intervention.

After the conflict, she look at a shard of the Divine Mirror and continues to insist she doesn't like humanity and leaves with Himiko. After the past is changed again and the coalition corners Tamamo in Itsukushima, Da Ji shows up to teleport Tamamo to let her escape. As a result, Da Ji is captured and Fu Xi decides to send her back to the mystic realm.

Escaping into the distorted world created by her lord in Warriors Orochi 4, Da Ji recruits Lu Bu and Seimei Abe to join her in aiding Odin, who promises the revival of Orochi. Recruiting an amnesiac Himiko to her cause, they are eventually able to defeat Shuten Dōji, and have Odin revive Orochi. To her disappointment, she finds that it is only the God of Destruction in the manifestation of Orochi X that is revived, and not her actual lord.

Nonetheless, she continues to aid Odin until the God of Destruction is defeated and destroyed by the real Orochi, who was revived from Shuten Doji's remnants. Having had her fun, she briefly aids the real Orochi, before taking her troops to join the Coalition, not wishing to be destroyed until the next revival of her lord.

She later joins Hideyoshi's hunt for a beautiful yet shy goddess.

In Ultimate, she is still the de facto leader of the Demon Army, still allied with Odin, but more independent thanks to the revival of Orochi X. She continue to defy the Coalition numerous throughout their search for Odin's soul. When the Coalition near Odin's soul at the Spring of Mimir, Da Ji has noticeably distanced the demon army from Odin and has taken up camp at Kanegasaki with Orochi X. Rather than allow the God of Destruction to continuously give Odin power, the Coalition moves to attack them just before dealing with Odin. Like in the first scenario, Orochi X and the real Orochi are both slain, and the demon army joins the Coalition to stop Odin's plans of destroying all other than himself.

During the alternate scenario where the real Perseus is revived and exposes Hades's deception to the Coalition, Da Ji leads reinforcements for the Coalition at Changshan when they attempt to protect Kaguya and Gaia in order to travel back in time to rescue Odin.

In the new side stages, she is first given a new scenario early into her alliance with Odin, where they are tasked with finding the Arms of Ouroboros at Kyūshu. Although she doesn't find the desired objective, she is able to find and wage battle on her former acquaintances in the Date army during their stay in the area, as well as gaining the services of Yoshitsune and Benkei. The second stage she is given is where she and the rest of the demon army under the Coalition defend Ōsaka Castle from Odin's army. Although Odin is able to temporarily distract them with illusions of Orochi and Orochi X, the demon army are able to to push the god back. She also appears during the mock battle between the gods and the mystics, injecting the demon army into the battle in order to amuse themselves.

Fengshen Yanyi
Da Ji acts as one of the primary villains in the series. Like the novel, she is actually a fox demon who possessed Su Hu's daughter and killed the spirit of the real Da Ji. On orders from her master, Tongtian Jiaozhu, she manipulates King Zhou to do her evil bidding. She does this by constantly staying near him and maintaining a spell of obedience, which breaks during fragmented times. With her younger sisters, Hu Ximei and Wang Guiren, they cause suffering to the land. Later, it is revealed that she and her sisters were feigning loyalty to Tongtian Jiaozhu and were using his disciples as blood sacrifices for their dark orb of destruction. Using the bloodshed and this artifact, they desire to invoke their real master, Chi You, and cause eternal suffering. At the end of Fengshen Yanyi, she is slain and her soul is offered to Chi You as a final sacrifice. Her spirit is supposedly sealed away into darkness when Chi You is destroyed.

Her continued revival acts as a main plot element in the following sequels. The main conflict in Magical Fengshen rotates around her sisters resurrecting her. In this title, she is quickly slain by Sora and his party when she was raised a second time. In Fengshen Yanyi 2, her and King Zhou's child, King Shou, carrying on her legacy. Mystic Heroes has King Zhou revive her -along with himself, Wen Zhong and E Lai.

Personality
Two notable characteristics of Da Ji are her skill at deception and her penchant for "reminding" Orochi's officers that they are under his control, often by taunting them. She is a very sadistic and cruel person who revels in vanity and human suffering. She is occasionally called a "vixen" or "fox" by many of the other characters. Fond of her inventions, she pouts when they're destroyed or taken by the enemy. She fondly treats Himiko as a sister, though the true sincerity of her feelings for the girl is never made clear. As such, Da Ji doesn't get along with Sun Wukong as she is suspicious of the monkey king's intentions to steal Himiko for himself. The latest installment gives her a small relationship with Yue Jin, who, much to her annoyance, often pesters and idolizes her for her speed and ability to run.

Her belittlement and spite for her rival, Taigong Wang, is emphasized in the Fengshen Yanyi‎‎ series. She acts as a low-keyed and sultry woman to hide her sadistic plans for the Shang Dynasty. Like the Warriors Orochi series, she continues to refer to the hero as "boy". Though she usually acts unfazed to anyone who insults her, she will get flustered when her rival or Wen Zhong berate her.

Character Symbolism
Da Ji's weapons are originally named to follow the concept of a beautiful woman leading to the end of a nation. Each weapon uses key characters to describe it. First, her charms catch the king's attention and she becomes his treasure. His attention to political affairs slackens as he becomes drunken with attending to her pleasures. In due time, the king's men lose their trust in him and raise their arms to revolt. Through the rebellion, the nation will fall to ruin. It summarizes her role and the fate of King Zhou in Fengshen Yanyi.

Her Dengeki Playstation exclusive weapon is still related to the above saying, its name emphasizing the aspect in which the hearts of the people will diverge if the beauty is notice. The joyful expression of the magazine's mascot on the weapon is a somewhat misleading yet comedic image for the name.

The comparison given by Motonari in Warriors Orochi 3 reflects the constant comparisons made by historians between Da Ji and Moxi. Many similarities were made such as the fact that they were the main reasons to why the final rulers of the Xia and Shang Dynasties indulged themselves and eventually were overthrown. Another notable comparison was the infamous meat forest and wine rivers that were built for them to indulge themselves.

Her usage of the Poisoned Dumpling joke weapon alludes to an old legend regarding Da Ji killing one of King Zhou's jealous concubines and using her flesh to make meat buns, sending them as 'gifts' to her rival's family.

Voice Actors

 * Stephanie Sheh - Warriors Orochi series; first and second games only (English-uncredited)
 * Mami Kingetsu - Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Shinobu Adachi - Fengshen Yanyi
 * Yumi Tōma - Fengshen Yanyi drama CD series
 * Emiko Takeuchi - Yo-kai Sangokushi: Kunitori Wars

Quotes

 * See also: Da Ji/Quotes


 * "How do you like my dance? Deadly enough?"
 * "Aim...Aim...Aim...and fire!"
 * "Lower your head and knees down to the ground!"
 * "Men, you can't live with them, you can't just have them slaughtered."


 * "Da Ji... You think your deviousness makes you a strategist?"
 * "Oh, I know it does, darling..."
 * Nobunaga and Da Ji; Warriors Orochi


 * "Are you using that big snake to hide behind while you do your mischief again? When will you learn?"
 * "Learn? Why would I want to learn when I know everything."
 * Zhu Rong and Da Ji; Warriors Orochi 2


 * "I guess we have no choice... Himiko, hurry to Kiyomori!"
 * "But what are you going to do? The bad guys are coming fast! ...And besides, that Kiyomori's really scary..."
 * "Don't worry, he won't hurt you. I won't let him."
 * Da Ji and Himiko; Warriors Orochi 2 PSP


 * "You're such a good mommy for letting Himiko go free."
 * "Who's a mommy!? She and I are more like sisters."
 * Xiao Qiao and Da Ji; Musou OROCHI Z


 * "You are well-versed in history, right, Motonari? Then what do they say about me?"
 * "You are on record as being a stunning beauty, one who was on equal with Lady Moxi of the Xia Dynasty."
 * "They would compare me to that shrill-sounding little girl?! How dare they?!"
 * Da Ji and Motonari; Warriors Orochi 3


 * "Hey, Lady Tamamo. Don't you think we'd make a great team?"
 * "Hmm... Maybe so. I feel that you have what it takes to help me realize my dreams."
 * "I've been so bored since Lord Orochi's been gone. However, with you, I've got many more battles to enjoy!"
 * Da Ji and Tamamo; Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate


 * "Lady Da Ji, you are fast indeed! But I will not give up being first into battle, even for you!"
 * "Ah, yes, yes, whatever. Do I look like I'm interested in that? Stop chasing me around to tell me such pointless things."
 * "Your speed tells a different tale, I'm afraid! I know you're just trying to get one over on me, but I will keep up with you! No matter what!"
 * "A little gentle mockery, and look what it gets you. I'm sorry I said you're small in stature! Is that enough to make you go away?"
 * "Where would I go? No matter the training I undertake, I will never be able to match you! All I can do is keep on running, until I am finally able to overtake you! In the most literal sense of the word!"
 * "Lovely. Well, I have to be going now! Bye-bye!"
 * "How fast she makes her escape! But if I cannot defeat her, I will lose my very purpose for being!"
 * Yue Jin and Da Ji; Warriors Orochi 4

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: Erects a large dark purple pillar in front of her.
 * , undefined: Performs a back handspring. Her orbs arc around her from the sides and launches the enemy upward.
 * ,, undefined, (undefined), (undefined), (undefined): While spinning, Da Ji crouches with her orbs outward. She gradually rises to spin on one foot, leaning downwards and arching her other foot behind her in the air. She ends the move by rising to her feet and spinning her orbs in front of her.
 * ,, , undefined: Performs an exaggerated figure skating jump, spinning with her hips and sliding across the ground on her landing. Her orbs spin rapidly around her.
 * ,, , , undefined: Performs a handstand and flips forward to her feet. Her orbs spin along the ground and rise as she moves.
 * ,, , , , undefined: Levitates her orbs in front of her hands and shoots two violet lasers through them.
 * ,, , , , : Spins on one foot twice with her orbs levitating around her hands and takes two graceful leaps forward while her orbs continue spinning. Tips forward with one leg arched behind her while her orbs follow her hands to the ground, then ends it with a spin.
 * ,, , , , , , , : After the fifth blow, repeats two more ballet spins and one more leap. Ends the chain by turning her back to the enemy and lets her orbs spin upward with a back-facing gesture. Replaces the standard chain upon unlocking the full moveset.
 * Levitates high in the air and hurls fireballs from each hand towards the ground in front of her while hovering in place. After her final toss, she flips backwards to land on her feet.


 * , : Has her orbs rotate once in a horizontal clockwise arc.
 * , undefined: Dives headfirst downward with her orbs in her hands.
 * Dashing : Bends backwards and allows her orbs to rotate around her while sliding in a half-circular motion.


 * R1: Sends an unblockable dark pillar forward. Four other pillars appear in a row afterwards.
 * R1 (counter): Hops forward while spinning her orbs on both sides of her.


 * Warriors Orochi 2
 * Triple Attack 1: Immediately fills the area with strong gales rising from above the ground.
 * Triple Attack 2: Does a flip kick that unleashes a massive pillar of wind.
 * Triple Attack 3: Quickly conjures a giant column of air.


 * Warriors Orochi 3
 * R1: Kneels on the ground while swirling orbs in the air, causing nearby opponents to be thrown upwards. Finishes the attack with a petal whirlwind.
 * , R1 (Ultimate only): Conjures a rain of lasers downward while in the air before spinning around and generating a petal whirlwind upon landing.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Swings her arms backwards, sending both orbs quickly forward and behind her in one motion.
 * ,, , , , : Left and right individual swings with her orbs.
 * Quicker (and stronger) version of her string.

Fighting Style
Da Ji fights primarily with the two floating orbs that follow her. She is constantly in motion, dancing in a graceful ballet-like motion while her orbs swing around her. She also uses magic for her more powerful moves. The fact that she doesn't stay still while attacking can be a challenge for beginners. This problem was alleviated in Warriors Orochi 2 by allowing players to control the direction of her attack string manually.

Weapons

 * See also: Da Ji/Weapons

Rare Weapon Acquisition

 * Stage: Azure Rule

Historical Information
Daji was the name of one of King Zhou's concubines. According to historical records, Daji was the beautiful daughter of the noble clan Ji (己)'s lineage Su (蘇), after their state of Su (蘇) or Yousu (有蘇). In 1047 BC, Zhou, the king of Shang, conquered the state of Su and took Daji as his trophy. She was known as a beautiful woman who excelled in dancing and singing. Her arrival caused a great disadvantage to the kingdom, as the state of the land worsened due to King Zhou being distracted by her. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, he would listen to any of Daji's desires and would grant them without hesitation. It is said that she invented an early version of crimson makeup by crushing the petals of a peach flower.

Eventually Daji found a brutal source of entertainment from people wailing in pain. Once, as she saw a farmer walking barefoot on the ice, she ordered his feet be cut off so that she could study it and figure out the cause of its resistance to cold temperature. In another occasion, she had a pregnant woman’s belly cut open so that she could satisfy her curiosity of finding out what happened therein. According to the Lienü zhuan, to verify the old saying that "a good man’s heart had seven openings," she had the heart of Bi Gan cut out and subjected it to her fertile scrutiny.

On top of all those atrocities, Daji was best known for her invention of a device of torture called Paolao (炮烙): a bronze cylinder heated like a furnace with charcoal until the sides were extremely hot. A large bronze cylinder covered with oil was placed on top of a pile of burning charcoal. Prisoners were made to walk on top of the slowly heating cylinder. As the cylinder became hot, the prisoners are forced to shift their feet to avoid the burning. In turn, the oil made it difficult for the prisoners to maintain their stance. If they fell into the charcoal, they would burn to death. The prisoners are thus forced to dance in agony and fear, screaming in prolonged pain, while Zhou and Daji laughed at the tortured dances. When the Shang Dynasty fell, she was charged for capital punishment and was personally killed by King Wu.

Daji is also associated with the four character compound, "jiǔ​chíròulín" (酒池肉林), due to a description of her parties in the Records of the Grand Historian. Each character literally means "wine pool, meat grove". Wine was drunk from a pool, meat was caught from the county and served to the diners' whim, and men and women drank and sang to a witless stupor. Originally used to state the livelihood and extravagance of the events, it now carries various sexual connotations due to the mesh of men and women involved.

Chinese Fiction
In the Quanxiang pinghua (全相平話), she was recognized as one of the examples of the nine-tailed fox legend. Her real name unknown, she invaded Daji's body and posed as her. This element carried over to the well known Fengshen Yanyi novel, in which she is a 1,000 year old fox spirit who possessed the real Daji "Su Daji" (蘇妲己). Her younger sisters, Hu Ximei and Wang Guiren, as well as her servitude to Nuwa were also elements introduced in this story. She continues to act as a devious schemer who ruins the king's reputation and rule. Her torture schemes are replicated and expanded in detail, since she would use them as a way to sate her appetite for human flesh. Early in the story, she also lusted for Bo Yi Kao and, when her advances failed, ordered for him to be slowly cut alive and baked the pieces of flesh into pies for his father. Several people tried to remove her from the kingdom but they all met failure.

When Grand Master Wen Zhong returned from his campaigns, the torture devices were destroyed. Unfortunately, his wish to remove her from the capital was denied. Daji would continue to stay by King Zhou's side until she fled with her sisters late in the story. She was captured by an angered Nuwa and executed by Jiang Ziya.