Iwanagahime

Iwanagahime (岩長姫) is a secondary character in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4. She is a reputed veteran general of the Nakatsu Kuni army who acts as one of the protagonist's mentor figures.

Background Story
For as long as she can remember, Iwanagahime has served the Queen (Chihiro's mother) faithfully. She was fond of the Queen since they were children and intimately familiar with her. It's implied that Iwanaghime could be the Queen's elder sister –thereby making her Chihiro's aunt– but her family origins are not confirmed in the original script. Aizouban confirms their family relations with one another. She is one of Sainokimi's living acquaintances.

As a faithful servant to the Queen, Iwanagahime enlisted within her kingdom's military. She fought in several battles and has used her experience on the battlefield to teach young recruits strategy, swordsmanship, and other skills needed to survive in the military. Some of her many disciples include Kazahaya, Hiiragi, Michiomi, Habarihiko, and Oshihito. Her sword arm continues to be feared as one of the strongest in Nakatsu Kuni.

Iwanagahime was ordered to assist the Raja in a massacre at Takachiho seven years before the main story. She stationed her troops within the vicinity to subjugate further revolts and to ensure that the Raja's army would not return. Two years later she learned that Nakatsu Kuni's capital, Kashihara, fell and many members of the royal family lost their lives. Her position west from the capital served as a safe haven for the wounded survivors. Iwanagahime reunited with Oshihito to protect the area from the Tokoyo no Kuni army and Levanta. For years, the remaining soldiers from Nakatsu Kuni's capital rely on her wisdom to defend their dwindled supplies and numbers.

Story Events
When Chihiro returns to the parallel world, she and Nagi run into Iwanagahime within the mountain regions of Takachiho. Iwanagahime and her troops are in the midst of evading Asvin's army, but they run into a corrupted deity. She is surprised when Chihiro subdues the otherwise wild and unstoppable beast until she spots Chihiro's longbow. Due to her familiarity with the royal family's treasures, Iwanagahime is able to recognize the young princess as the last living heir of the throne. Though her troops are skeptic of Chihiro's heritage, Iwanagahime has faith in the young woman and willingly gives ownership of their base to her.

During her absence to investigate enemy movements at a nearby village, several villagers and soldiers are held captive by Levanta. Before the veteran formulates a prudent plan to rescue them, Chihiro rouses the troops to follow her lead to save the prisoners. Although the plan is at first a failure, Iwangahime is fascinated by the positive effect her zealous charisma has on the survivors and by the odd companion she gains. Therefore, she plops the responsibility of the army's commanding general on the princess's shoulders. Iwanagahime acts as her sage military advisor during the early chapters, offering realistic advice for Chihiro's plans. She insists that the young princess should reclaim Kashihara to overthrow the Tokoyo no Kuni empire.

After Takachiho is liberated from Levanta's tyranny, Iwanagahime leads the Nakatsu Kuni army towards Kashihara. Chihiro and her party intend to use their divine flying ship to head there first. Suzaku –the deity of the ship– forcibly lands the ship in the fields of Chikushi. As Iwanagahime and her company march towards the flying ship's landing site, they are intercepted by Asvin and Nasatya's army. As Chihiro and company earns Byakko's trust, Iwanagahime orders the Nakatsu Kuni survivors to erect a fortification and abandon it. When the Tokoyo no Kuni princes investigate the empty base, she leads the soldiers to attack the princes' troops and ambush them with a fire attack. Under normal circumstances, Iwanagahime's plan would have caused the princes' deaths. Nasataya's power to control flames renders it useless.

Since the flying ship moves of its own accord, Iwanagahime and company decide to put their march for Kashihara on hold. They reunite their forces when the ship lands at Izumo and continue riding it for the rest of the story. Iwanagahime guards the ship in the main party's absence and is content to watch over Chihiro's progress. She survives the war in every timeline and continues her service to the throne under Chihiro's leadership.

Personal Route
While she watches Chihiro's progress, Iwanagahime confesses to the princess that she never wanted to be a teacher. She only sought to keep the young soldiers fit as worthy warriors. Before she knew it, every soldier in their army regarded her as their only master. As she reminiscences about her years of service, Iwanagahime is reminded of the many deaths she witnessed throughout her life. Whether it be those who died by her hand or her beloved disciples, Iwanagahime feels distraught by the waste of life and by her life's longevity. She laments at how she outlived the Queen, whom in her eyes was much less fortunate than her. Chihiro swears to Iwanagahime that she won't die before her elder to brighten her spirits. The elder warrior teases the seriousness of her princess's pledge, but she appreciates them.

The night before they retake Kashihara Chihiro can't sleep, so she chats with Iwanagahime. Only then does the veteran admit her decision to don Chihiro commanding general was a passing whim. Although Chihiro is bewildered by Iwanagahime's sheer recklessness, the elder confesses that the princess has exceeded her expectations. She then accepts her as her treasured pupil who is her pride and joy. When Chihiro returns from the battle alive and victorious, Iwanagahime gladly swears her loyalty to the new Queen.

In her epilogue scenario, Iwanagahime recounts her fond past with Chihiro's mother. Her tale is cut short by a young soldier who is trying to get the elder to attend to the troop's training.

Her Aizouban extra event is a flashback during Chihiro's childhood. The Queen has left the palace and took her eldest daughter with her. The maids and aristocrats loathed the second princess's lone presence in the palace so Kazahaya takes the crying princess to his training grounds. He introduces her and her situation to Iwanagahime, who ignores her disciple and demands for the princess to stick up for herself. Chihiro manages to explain her family leaving her behind before collapsing into tears again. Childcare annoys Iwanagahime so she hollers for Michiomi and Hiiragi to join them. She instructs them to look after the princess during her stay.

Iwanagahime concocts a ploy to pass the time. Her three students must stop the princess's tears for today's training; if they should fail, they will be expelled. Michiomi remarks that Habarihiko will be better suited for the task although Iwanagahime is well aware he would be busy guarding the absent Ichinohime. Kazahaya decides to adjust the girl's hairstyle with a flower hairpin in a manner which looks like her sister's; Chihiro is pleased to look a little more mature. The teacher retorts that she is still a child if she thinks an image change can make her a grownup. Hiiragi twirls the crying princess in his arms and gives her a rainbow stone to symbolize the beauty of her heart. Iwanagahime retorts to the smiling princess that he did that trick on her before and her stone was rough mountain-like. As the cheer is sapped away from the youths, Michiomi decides to tell the princess the names of the flora and fauna around them and she decides to make a flower wreathe. When she feels sorry for the flowers she had picked, Michiomi instructs her of the moral to value all life in this world. He replies that this was the first lesson Iwanagahime taught him; the teacher scoffs that her message isn't so lofty and summarizes that living everyday is an amazing feat often taken for granted.

The princess gazes at the elder with esteem so Iwanagahime takes a shot. She tells the girl a story of two sisters. The eldest sister had a rough and sturdy body while the younger sister was born weak. The elder sister frolicked outside while the younger sister sat inside and studied everyday. One day, the elder sister thought to herself that spending all day indoors must be boring so she took her younger sister with her. Her younger sister could answer any problem in a book, but she was amazed that she couldn't name the small insect outside her home. The elder sister takes her sibling for cover from the rain; she explains she could foretell the weather since she could spot snails on the surface. She jokes with her sibling that it's possible to eat the molluscs and panics when her sister tries to eat one raw before her. The younger sister becomes obsessed with snails and wants to know more about them from her sister. In the end, the sisters were discovered when the palace attendants searched for them in the downpour.

Chihiro questions which palace she could be referring to, but the elder instead encourages the princess to go outdoors more often and to study the world around her while she still has the chance. Iwanagahime muses to herself that her niece strongly resembles her younger sister's days of lost innocence, even if they look nothing alike now. Pleased by the princess's brimming smile, Iwanagahime raises from her seat to leave. Michiomi inquires about the results of today's exercise. The elder turns once more to look at the princess's smile and gestures to it to state that they have all passed.

Development
Originally, Ruby Party members were going to make her a "yappy old man" who served as an annoyance to the plot. They changed their mind when they decided to draw more inspiration from her mythological counterpart. She was designed to be a direct contrast from the mythological Iwanagahime. The Queen represented the beautiful Konohananosakuyabime, and the Haruka Iwanagahime is instead completely supportive of her rather than holding a grudge against her. The developers consider her to be a maternal figure for Chihiro.

Personality
Unlike other elderly characters in the game, Iwanagahime is anything but conventional. She is constantly vulgar and boorish to the capital officials and scorns any flattery she receives. Customs and status often don't dent her rough nature, as she cynically speaks the truth to anyone –be they of noble or common origins. Sick of war and its effects on people, she would rather live the rest of her life in leisurely retirement tending to her much needed sleep or love for wine than leading the troops. Her bold patriotism and her love for her students stifles her complaints; if she feels it is needed, Iwanagahime can easily drop her easy-going mannerisms to be a sharp-minded general. Age hasn't dulled her senses as much as she claims.

In spite of the experiences she has had in the wars, Iwanagahime remains practical and friendly. Many of the young soldiers admire her reputation and skill, often seeking acceptance as a new apprentice. Iwanagahime finds these hopeful recruits to be a handful and she may even ditch them to get the rest she wants. Her gruff nature belies the maternal attachment she has with her comrades. While she may strictly chastise their faults in training as a form of tough love, Iwanagahime privately confesses that she enjoys celebrating their accomplishments. She therefore has a tendency to blame herself for any who die on her watch.

Chihiro is an interesting oddity to Iwanagahime. Although she looks like the previous Queen in her youth, the princess doesn't adhere to traditional concepts within their homeland and rarely acts like royalty. Rather than force her to conform to her homeland's methods, Iwanagahime encourages the princess's independence and altruistic tendencies. By doing so, the elderly woman believes Chihiro can live a fulfilling life and freely usher in a new era of untold serenity. At times, Iwanagahime mentions the princess's headstrong determination reminds her of her younger self.

Character Symbolism
In Japanese mythology, Iwanagahime is one of Ōhoyamatsumi's daughters and is a goddess of mountains and eternity. She and her sister, Konohananosakuyabime, were once married to Ninigi. However, she stole his soul and returned to her father. Her actions angered her father and both daughters suffered his wrath. In Iwanagahime's case, he condemned his beautiful daughter to forever live with a hard rock-like body. As a consequence of her actions, her jagged internals hurt her children and shortened their lifespans. Another tale states she instead incurred the wrath of her pregnant sister, who cursed Iwanagahime and her children. At the same time, Iwanagahime is also associated with immortality in another myth of her punishment. She was instead transformed into a giant mountain and remained untouched ever since.

A traditional Japanese color called akaku-chiba-iro acts as her symbolic color. It is a dull orange-brown which is named after dying leaves in autumn. This particular shade is named after leaves which keep a strong crimson tint after the leaves have fallen. It was a popular color during the Heian period, for it was famed as an elegant shade to celebrate the changing seasons.

Her symbolic flower is the canna. It's a flower known to surround deities in both Greek mythology and Buddhism. In the latter case, it is mentioned when Devadatta tried to kill his brother, Buddha, with a boulder. Buddha's leg was hit, and the blood from his wound flowed onto the stone that was thrown. His blood transformed the earth into the crimson canna flowers. Within the flower language it represents eternity or strong memories. Yellow canna flowers can also mean respect or cheerfulness.

Quotes

 * "What're you slacking off for? You don't need me out there. Hurry up and finish this yourself."
 * "It's important to turn back the time we've got, right?"
 * "Move your ass! Get outta my way!"
 * "(yawn) These early mornings are killin' me. I thought I could sleep in when I got older."
 * "Well, you're expected to be a leader someday anyways. Stop complanin' and take your title."
 * "Festivals means there's gonna be some booze! Why else do you think I came here?"
 * "Congrats, Princess. You've done a fine job."
 * "Now I've gotta be sure these youngins win this war. I've had battles where not even half of my students came back alive. What type of student dies before their teacher!? Death is gotta be tough, but it's the ones who live with the regrets who really have it rough."
 * "It's not over yet. Don't let your guard down. Go out there tomorrow and end this war. Got it?"
 * "Sainokimi might be hard on you, but she ain't heartless. She knows you're a girl with her own desires. She just wants the best for our home is all."
 * "What is it? Don't like to chat with old timers like me?"
 * "Iwanagahime, what are you doing here?"
 * "You already know, and you're still asking me that? Today the Himuka Clan's leaving the capital, so I was told to keep an eye on you. Can't have you running away on us now."
 * "It figures... (With Iwanagahime here, I can't leave.)"
 * "Y'know, lately I haven't been as quick as I used to be. My eyes can't see as far and my hearing's going. If you've got the guts and you want to go to that Sazaki of yours, I can look the other way for you."
 * "But, Iwanagahime, I can't..."
 * "Listen up, Chihiro. You've fought for this country and you've made sure it's well on its feet. I think you've done more than enough for us. A priestess is supposed to disappear once the battle's over, remember? Now get your butt moving. If you're not fast enough, they'll leave without you."
 * "Iwanaghime, thank you..."
 * "(Be happy, Chihiro.)"
 * Chihiro and Iwanagahime


 * "That Chihiro's a real fire starter. Reminds me of the days when I was turning heads."
 * "Oh, Iwanagahime, sweetie. Please don't say that in front of the troops. If they think of you when they see Chihiro, it'll break their poor lil' hearts."
 * "... What's that supposed to mean?"
 * Iwanagahime and Yuugiri

Special Ability
When Chihiro summons her in battle, Iwanagahime can cut the turn count back a single turn. It can be used to take advantage of the 1~2 turn bonuses for select party members or to increase the rewards gained from the battle. The player can't use her skill on the battle's first turn. She also requires time to recharge her ability, needing at least a few battles or turns to regenerate within the battle menu.