Tamamo

Tamamo no Mae is a mythological Japanese figure from the late Heian period. She is either a two or nine-tailed fox who is known for her beauty and wicked cunning. Japanese folklore may compare her to Daji or state that Tamamo is a Japanese pseudonym for her. This version is often defeated by Seimei or his descendants or by Taigong Wang.

Koei's Japanese themed games often includes the Killing Stone as a collectible item. This page seeks to include the instances when she has physically appeared in the games.

Her Warriors Orochi counterpart is designed by Akihiro Yamada. She is unlocked by finishing the final battle in Chapter 8.

Role in Games
Acting as Kyūbi's disguise, Tamamo was a mystic that mainly fed off of negative emotions and conflict. Because of this, she often created mischief in the Mystic Realm behind the backs of her fellow mystics, leading the demons that attacked the other mystics.

With her powers as Kyūbi suppressed by the Heavenly Emperor and unable to utilize copies of people, she scouts and manipulates Yinglong, and fools him into thinking that the Heavenly Emperor was responsible for the demons attacking the realm. The plan goes swimmingly as Yinglong damages the Divine Mirror, transforms into Orochi and slays the Heavenly Emperor. With her powers rejuvenated, she summons copies to attack her fellow Mystics at the Wuhang Mountains, but is repelled. She later is cornered by the other mystics after Orochi's first sealing and is deceived into accepting the aid of Sun Wukong and Seimei Abe. The duo lead Tamamo to a trap, and she is sealed within the Killing Stone by the Three Sovereigns. Because of the temporal displacement, the Killing Stone eventually found its way to Hinokawa, where the remnants of the Hydra's power beckoned Da Ji and her cohorts to come to the stone. Da Ji later learns of the stone's ability to create doppelgangers, and uses it to create havoc within the Coalition.

First appearing in Nanjun, Tamamo emerges from the Killing Stone thanks to the remnants of the Hydra's energy breaking the seal. She aids Da Ji and seals Nobunaga and his allies inside her mirror upon facing them. The pair soon seal more heroes into the mirror realm after the Oda forces, but the duo are seemingly cornered at Ueda Castle, but they are able to seal the heroes attacking them along with Shennong and Kaguya, who attempted to warn the humans of the mirror's power. The humans are still able to escape the realm thanks to the cracks of the Divine Mirror, and she is defeated at Xu Province, where the Three Sovereigns seal her once more into the Killing Stone.

Shortly afterwards, she escapes from the seal once more. Lacking the means to chase her or to create a seal strong enough to withstand the Hydra's power, Shennong decides to instead use the Divine Mirror. The Coalition proceeds back to Ueda Castle, where Tamamo is found and defeated before she can trap any of the heroes, and the Divine Mirror was relinquished during her escape attempt. As the mirror is damaged, the heroes return to Fu Xi's past, before Orochi, and learn of how Tamamo deceived Yinglong as well as impeded the mystics at the Wuhang Mountains.

Returning to the present, Tamamo forms an army alongside Da Ji and faces the Coalition at Itsukushima, where the pair are defeated, and Da Ji is captured. Tamamo appears one final time at Wan Castle by deceiving Chen Gong into attacking the Coalition as well as sending a fake Nezha to aid the Coalition. After her defeat at Wan Castle, the humans attempt to seal her into the Divine Mirror, but Tamamo shrugs off the attempt, and proceeds to transform into Kyūbi, and leaves the battlefield, vowing revenge.

Personality
Tamamo is an elegant woman who shares Da Ji's cunning and intellect. She prefers to spout soothing advice with frigid impassiveness for her manipulations, forgoing the overt playfulness of her counterpart. She also has an affinity with Seimei, Sun Wukong, and Yinglong.

Character Symbolism
The majority of her weapons are names of flowers which often use beauty and impermanency as their themes. Her first weapon refers to lush fields of unspecified flowers, while her second is an archaic name for the Japanese glorybower. The particular spelling roughly translates as "scarlet foxglove tree", which genus it was once thought to resemble. Within the Japanese flower language it means "to become happy". It often ties into the foxglove tree's meanings of loftiness and dignity, both with connotations of them being short-lived. Her second five-star weapon references cherry blossoms.

Tamamo's third weapon is a reference to the Asiatic dayflower. Her weapon uses another name, hanadagusa, to describe its vibrant appearance. Hanada was once reputed in ancient Japan as an elusive blue found only on the Asiatic dayflower. Dyers could not easily replicate the shade without heavily combining violet and red dyes together; even then, the results were randomized and temporary. The slightest bit of moisture could ruin it. Its dying process was considered so difficult that it became legendary. Heian period poetry equated the color to elusive glory since only the richest nobles dared to replicate it again on cloth.

Her fourth weapon is the golden orchid, a spring flower typically found in Eastern Asia. I Ching uses the same characters to describe forgiveness and intimate friendships. It is often characterized as an ill-fated beauty within the Japanese flower language due to its fickle reproductive phases. A single plant can sprout several eye-catching blossoms, but they will rarely be pollinated.

Voice Actors

 * Yuka Komatsu - Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate

Quotes

 * See also: Tamamo/Quotes


 * "I love seeing the helplessness in my opponent's face."
 * "I am simply unbeatable. As if a mere stone could contain my divine presence!"
 * "Urgh... You keep your filthy hands off of me, you beast!"
 * "You shall feel my wrath! I will have my vengeance against you!"
 * "You insolent fools! I am not some mere spirit that can be sealed away by the mirror!"
 * "I find your shikigami to be most fascinating. Would I also be able to control them?"
 * "No, I think you would find it to be rather difficult. Besides, why would you even need them?"
 * "Haha... You are right. All I need to do is watch them closely and I should be able to mimic them quite nicely."
 * Tamamo and Seimei; Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate

Ground Moveset

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 * R1: Twirls scroll to cast a buff spell on self, increasing attack power for thirty seconds.
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Horse Moveset

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 * Horse stampedes with a powerful aura.

Acquiring Mystic Weapon

 * Stage: Chapter 7 - Escape from the Mystic Realm
 * Requirements: Defeat 300 enemies and Sagitta first, then eliminate Vulpecula and Fu Xi. All this must be done in under 5 minutes.

Big Star Weapons
Tamamo uses the following big star weapons in the game.
 * Fortuitous Scroll
 * Blossom Scroll

Japanese Folklore
Tamamo no Mae is believed to be roughly based on Fujiwara no Nariko, the Queen Consort of Emperor Toba. Both figures were highly favored by their parents and their respective emperors as "truly magnificent" of surreal quality. The Queen Consort was fabled to have plotted for her child to become the heir apparent, causing a bloody rebellion between Emperor Toba's other potential heirs. Tamamo, in her incarnation for the Killing Stone, recalled witnessing a similar massacre in one of her many lifetimes. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but it is a popular story.

Her origins and past vary based on the time era in which the tale was made. The Heian and Muromachi versions insist that she was born in Japan during the same era as her prey. These tales state that she was a former commoner of no noble origins.

The Edo period stories are famous for depicting her as one of the most villainous women in folklore and one of the three most evil spirits, sharing the right with Shuten-dōji and Emperor Sutoku. She was alive since 5th century BC in ancient India, leading to the (debunked) claim of her being the oldest malevolent fox spirit to have existed. She used her allure to be favored by a Chinese king or prince named Banzu (班足王 or 班足太子) and became his concubine, Lady Hanyang (華陽夫人). Without his knowledge, she hypnotized him to be her puppet and took the heads of thousands of innocent people to feed herself. The angry commoners led a resistance against the king and caused his downfall. Using her powers, she fled the carnage and hid for several hundred years within the mountains. When she gained the courage to descend, she became King Zhou's concubine (Daji). When the kingdom fell, she once again resumed her centuries of hiding before her next emergence. Alternatively, her true identity was immediately exposed by Taigong Wang, who then used his divine sword to split her fleeing body and spirit into three.

Her spirit was reborn –or she later assumed the name– Bao Si, the famous concubine of King You. Under this identity, she refused to smile until the signal fires to call the army to arms was lit. Captivated by the radiance of her smile, the king would continue to light the fire without reason for her. His favoritism for her caused the governing to suffer and led to discontent with his generals. She quietly slipped away from the public eye during the chaotic uprising which followed and returned to her life of hiding for many years. In 753, she assumed the identity, Wakamo (若藻), to bewitch Kibi no Makibi. Using the minister's connections with China, she boarded one of his boats and, through her discreet use of her supernatural powers, they were able to arrive in Japan without incident.

Regardless of the version, Tamamo was known for her perilous beauty and was reputed to have had no equal in the land. Her skin was so pure it illuminated, her clothes were never dirtied, and her gait had surreal elegance that no living being could ever hope to replicate. Her looks were magnified by her peerless intelligence, as she never erred when she spoke and answered anything asked of her with perfect accuracy. Her parents were marveled by her qualities and named her Mizukume (藻女), or "splendid girl".

When she turned 18, she was sent to become a servant for the imperial palace. Before long, her charms were noticed by the court and drew Emperor Konoe's attention. Falling for Mizukume at first sight, he immediately had her made as his attendant. Her new title became Tamamo no Mae (literally translated as "Splendid Gem of the Past") to reflect his feelings for her. Emperor Konoe lavished her with his affections and soon never wanted to part from her. Around the same time, he began to become very ill. Expert herbalists were powerless and could not treat him. It was an onmyouji from the Abe sect who correctly identified Tamamo to be the cause –the onmyouji changes in sources between Abe no Yasuchika, Yasunari, or Seimei. Depending on the source, she was also Seimei's biological mother. He chanted a mantra to reveal her identity as a golden nine-tailed fox spirit, and Tamamo fled before she could be struck down by guards.

She fled toward the Nasano district and an army of 8,000 was called to hunt her. Abe served as their strategist and Miuranosuke Yoshiaki, Chibanosuke Tsunetane, and Kazusanosuke Hirotsune served as the generals. Sudōgō-no-Kami Sadanobu was called for assistance. The nine-tailed fox remained in her true form so she could use her sorcery to deflect their arrows. At first, she seemed superior to them, but the Abe onmyouji countered her tactics at each turn. Mounted archers normally used for hunting dogs had the advantage over her.

During the night, the nine-tailed appeared as a beautiful girl in Sadanobu's dream to plead for forgiveness. The hunters considered it a sign of the fox's powers weakening and advanced their troops. As the fox tried to flee, Miuranosuke landed two arrows on its neck and posterior. Kazusanosuke drew his long blade to slay it. Depending on the version of the tale, the fox continued to plea for forgiveness to Miuranosuke because she considered him the strongest yet weakest willed of the lot. Emperor Konoe made a healthy recovery after the fox's death and the people rejoiced. Many valuable treasures were found within the fox's body and brought back to the palace. The hunters received high honors and were handsomely rewarded.

Edo period folklore instead states that the fox's carcass instantly transformed into a large poisonous stone. Any living being which came into contact with it perished, thus it was dubbed the "Killing Stone". It continued to exist after Emperor Konoe's death, causing many people to fear its presence. Several pious figures attempted to purify it but fell victim to the stone's strong miasma, losing their lives to it as well. It wasn't until a monk named Gennō Shinshō came to the stone and was implored by Tamamo's spirit to grant her respite. After he performed the final rites for her, her soul left the stone and it became harmless.

Gallery
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