Relations Between Narukami and Sangonomiya, Past and Present

Authored by Lumine, First Sage of Buer

Preface

Hey everyone!! It’s Lumine, your favorite globetrotting alien life form, and as of recently bigshot at the Akademiya in Sumeru cuz I punched out a giant robot with my buddy the cabbage bunny! Dealing with all of that dumb stuff made me, like, really nostalgic for when I was an astronomy student a dozen worlds or so ago, so I thought I would try out writing a paper again. Lady Yae agreed to publish it for me since the subject was Inazuman history, so I get to skip all that annoying peer review nonsense and get the good shit to you directly!

…Uh, is what I thought, but it turns out Lady Yae is a really, really strict editor when it comes to accuracy in historical texts… I ended up having to rework it enough that it probably would have been easier to just use the power of nepotism and ask Nahida to order it be published by the Akademiya… But I’m not a quitter!!

Picking a topic for this paper was honestly kinda hard until I started hearing some of the really weird takes coming out of people who had pretty clearly only heard what went down in Inazuma third-hand and hadn’t bothered trying to learn what actually happened. Like, Watatsumi Island being colonized by the Shogunate?? What? Even leaving aside that I don’t think Ei could bring herself to colonize so much as an ant farm, that’s so totally not what happened that my eyes almost rolled out of my skull. I did fall off the lamp I was sitting on when I heard some dumbass walking by talking with a friend about how much the Shogun and Divine Priestess must hate each other… but since I landed on his head I think it hurt him more than it did me, so that was okay.

Anyway yeah time to get on with it!

I. Introduction

Outside of Inazuma, understanding of its political climate and history seems largely limited to specialists, mostly scholars of the Vahumana Darshan, who are a bunch of stuffy know-it-all nerds who wouldn’t know how to write a paper that doesn’t put you to sleep when you read it even if they spent a hundred years in how-to classes. Most of them are really rude and think they know better than the actual people they’re studying too! I kinda hate them, y’know? Tirzad was relatively okay after the stick got yanked out of his ass but man that took forever and required so much humiliation that anyone who didn’t start out as one of the world’s biggest pricks would have been a sobbing wreck. It felt like we were in those caves for years.

As a result of this lacking understanding, though, there are a variety of bizarre, misinformed ideas circulating throughout the world as to the truth of the political climate in Inazuma. Many of these are focused on the relationship between the two major traditions that make up Inazuma, Narukami and Watatsumi (also known as Sangonomiya, the name that will be primarily used throughout this paper). The history between the traditions is a pretty contentious one, but the degree and reasons are super duper misunderstood, as is the role played by the leaders of the respective sides.

In this paper, I hope to shed some light on the truth, which is a little-known history that defies the common understanding. I’ll start by briefly exploring and defining Narukami and Sangonomiya, then give an overview of some of the literature I’ve read and adventures I’ve been on that give me the context for the history I’ll be presenting. After that will come a discussion of the historical relationship between Narukami and Sangonomiya, and we’ll finish off with the present-day state.

II. Narukami

When people outside of Inazuma think of the Land of Eternity, what usually comes to mind is Narukami. Named for the Raiden Shogun, the Almighty Narukami Ogosho herself, Narukami is the most widespread tradition in Inazuma. The people of Narukami Island as well as the people of Tatarasuna and Yashiori Island are all followers of Narukami, though on Tatarasuna mixed worship remains common.

The leader of Narukami is of course the Narukami, usually called the Raiden Shogun. Her real name is Raiden Ei, formerly the kagemusha to her twin sister Raiden Makoto, the original Raiden Shogun.

Bam! Bet you didn’t expect that one, huh? I had to get permission to include it, but since the truth is already publicly available in the Treasured Tales that wasn’t too hard. Nobody reads the Treasured Tales though, its sales figures are like… super dire. I can’t blame people though, it manages to make some of the coolest history I’ve ever heard a total snoozefest.

So yeah, the Raiden Shogun we’ve got right now is Raiden Shogun II, the way more awesome sequel to Raiden Shogun I. Makoto ran off and got herself stabbed or something during the Cataclysm, I honestly still don’t really get that whole deal and I promised myself I wouldn’t ask Ei for any new information while I wrote this so it’s a giant question mark of “why did a god who wasn’t a warrior decide to fight in Khaenri’ah instead of sending the little sister who’d done all the fighting for her in her place?”

You read that right, Ei was always the Raiden Shogun who people thought of when it comes to the cool battle stuff. Makoto governed, and let her little sister do all the dirty work while pretending to be her so that nobody would know Ei existed and the ‘Raiden Shogun’ would get all the credit. Seems kinda sketch to me but whatever I’m just here to report the facts, not judge a lady I didn’t know who turned into a tree like a million years ago and also last year.

Time travel is stupid, I don’t recommend it. Also, gods are really dumb.

Point is, ‘Narukami’ and ‘the Shogunate’ are basically synonyms when used to refer to a group, though ‘Narukami’ is also one of the Raiden Shogun’s many titles.

The people of Narukami are generally characterized by their faith in the Raiden Shogun and her ideal of the Eternal Inazuma. They possess a shared pride in their god’s legendary martial might and in the endurance of their traditions, but aside from that tend to have little in the way of a unified opinion. Each of the three islands that make up the Narukami-dominated portion of Inazuma has its own distinct local culture that flavors their approach to Narukami, after all.

With the exception of Yashiori Island, where distrust towards Sangonomiya is strong,[1] opinions on the Narukami side towards Sangonomiya are generally neutral to positive, though among the nobility there are some Narukami supremacists who pull some really dumb shit sometimes. More on that when the present day is discussed later, but for now I’ll move on to describing the other main tradition that Inazuma contains.

III. Sangonomiya (Watatsumi)

Existing alongside Narukami is Sangonomiya, or Watatsumi, the tradition practiced primarily by those who live on Watatsumi Island (the island itself often being known as Sangonomiya to its people, in contrast to their ancestral land that is now known as Enkanomiya). Its names derive from the two gods around which its worship is centered, much as is the case with Narukami.

“Two gods?” I hear you ask. “Hold up, Lumine! Don’t the people of Watatsumi Island just worship that long-dead noodle Orobashi whose carcass is still stinking up Yashiori Island with smelly Tatarigami?”

Well, dear reader, I’m afraid you’re a victim of translation issues. Watatsumi Island is ruled both religiously and politically by the Divine Priestess and her shrine maidens, with the Shogunate having no actual input into how it’s run.[2] ‘Divine Priestess’ is a title inherited through the main line of the illustrious Sangonomiya Clan, but it’s an awkward translation that confuses the shit out of people. How?

In the tongue of Inazuma, the title is ‘現人神の巫女Arahitogami no Miko,’ the ‘Living-God Priestess.’ The Sangonomiya Clan are the blood descendants of Orobashi[3] (the Watatsumi Omikami), and the Divine Priestesses are the successors to his position, baby gods running around in human meat suits to take care of Orobashi’s people even after his death, a duty they were first assigned when the people of Enkanomiya were led into the light.[4] As such, they themselves are a focus of modern Sangonomiya worship, and they are believed to possess miraculous powers. Given that the current Divine Priestess, Sangonomiya Kokomi, predicted when I’d be wandering by on the beach because she expected something narratively convenient to happen, there’s gotta be some truth to that. That was just weird, and that’s coming from someone who spent a week searching through the mountains for a goat-coconut hybrid for a little zombie girl so that she would let me buy some incense without a prescription.

I’ll leave the question of whether this divine lineage means the Divine Priestess is ‘actually’ a god or whether she’s better classified as some kind of in-between spirit like a youkai or Adeptus to the religious scholars, cuz thinking about it gives me a headache, but point is: in the Sangonomiya tradition, the Divine Priestess is accorded the status of a god, regardless of the literal truth, so that’s how this paper will treat her.

As the Sangonomiya faith is primarily concentrated in Watatsumi Island and consists of a much smaller population than the Narukami faith, and with the Divine Priestess walking among the people and listening to their pleas directly, their beliefs are often more homogenous than those of Narukami.

Kokomi’s got a brain the size of a planet (and not, like, one of the tiny ones — a big planet, but solid and not made of gas, cuz her ideas are always really good, the one who’s full of hot air is Itto) so she opposes it as stupid and wasteful, but this homogeneity was deliberately cultivated by past Divine Priestesses in order to maintain a strongly independent faith based around maintaining an eternal grudge against Narukami for the death of Orobashi. This path was chosen due to a misreading of Orobashi’s intentions with his sacrifice. The big slithery guy had wanted them to live in peace with Narukami as devotees of the Raiden Shogun following his death (WILD right? more on that later, gotta get you all juiced up for the meaty historical overview!! foreshadowing!), but his wishes were misunderstood as a desire to give them a unifying faith focused on rage for his fate and what they lost alongside him.[5]

As a result of this unfortunate and deliberate instigation of undying hatred, resentment towards the Shogunate for the Watatsumi Omikami’s death remains strong almost two thousand years after the serpent was struck down, and the Kanjou Commission going all evil mode a few years ago and enacting shitty policies that hurt their already poor trade situation pissed everyone off to the point that the people of Sangonomiya were more than happy to go to war once stirred, even if their reasons were only partly related to the present.[6][7]

IV. Literature Review

It really sucks, but we don’t have a lotta literature examining the history between Narukami and Sangonomiya, and the people of Sangonomiya themselves are kinda dumbasses who don’t have much interest in historical accuracy.[8] We’re not entirely devoid of useful lit, though! There’s been at least a little scholarly interest in Sangonomiya, and it’s really helpful here. Sangonomiya’s folk stories are also of use, though with the aforementioned caveat that sometimes they kinda make stuff up for the sake of their goals. Still, the really old stuff is pretty reliable, given I was able to fact-check a number of parts of it when I was vacationing down in Enkanomiya! More on that in the next section though.

The earliest scholarly literature we have discussing Sangonomiya and its relationship to Narukami is Sangonomiya Chronicles, an account written a long time ago by a Shogunate historian known as Kujou Michizane.

I know, I know, Kujous should be distrusted on principle (Sara and her brothers are pretty okay even if Kamaji is a really bad boyfriend, but their clan… ew), but they weren’t always quite as bad as they are now, and while Sangonomiya Chronicles does visibly favor the Shogunate, its retelling of the actual events themselves is remarkably balanced and falls perfectly in line with Sangonomiya’s own historical account of things, even emphasizing that both Narukami and Sangonomiya suffered from the war.[9]

This in and of itself is useful to us, because it shows that Narukami and Sangonomiya align on the actual details of what happened, even if some of them might contest the emotions ascribed by Michizane. Interestingly, despite the mostly-homogenous cultural memory of Sangonomiya, there are those among the modern people of Sangonomiya whose own feelings towards Orobashi seem to be negative in nature and who acknowledge the wrongdoing of their ancestors, notably including not only the current Divine Priestess Sangonomiya Kokomi (more on this later when we discuss the present day!) but also some of her high-ranking soldiers.[10]

All of this put together makes Sangonomiya Chronicles a surprisingly accurate resource despite its origin, and I have little hesitation in leaning on it for an understanding of how the people of the Shogunate at the time viewed the situation. It’s also helpful as it’s the only text I was able to find that describes the political structure of Sangonomiya and the extent of its independence from the Shogunate. These things are self-evident if one spends time on Watatsumi Island talking to its people, but it’s always nice to be able to point to a scholarly source!

Frustratingly, volume 3 of Alice’s Teyvat Travel Guide is also a little useful here when discussing the effects of crystal marrow on those who come into contact with it and its effects as part of the lingering grudge of a god on the environment more generally if not safely disposed of. As much as I really don’t like Alice for reasons unrelated to this paper, she’s a very knowledgeable witch and her discussion of its inherently harmful nature is beyond reproach as a source.

Similarly, the Sumeru Akademiya scholar Masudi’s Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti is a work focused on Liyue and therefore mostly not applicable here, but it has a very useful section on the effects of leaving the bodies of gods to rot rather than seeking to cleanse them, as well as the method that Rex Lapis chose through which to do that (spoilers: it’s the Yaksha).

We also have Debates on the “Viceroy of the East”, a text of limited use for my purposes but one that does provide a reference for the feelings of the people of Yashiori in the present day. I honestly don’t have a lot to say about it cuz there’s not much there about Narukami-Sangonomiya relations that isn’t also present in other sources! Kinda wild that Watatsumi Island hasn’t innovated on swordsmanship in two thousand years though. They might wanna get on that, I should suggest it to Kokomi…

Anyway our only other truly scholarly source is Shihab Purbiruni’s paper A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief. This is a much more recent text (only about three years old!) by a respected scholar from Sumeru, compiled from his time living on Watatsumi Island and getting to knows its people and their beliefs. It functions not only to record the stories the people of Sangonomiya tell about their past but to give us some insight into their feelings about their situation and their relationship to Narukami only two short years before the recent civil war that’s done so much to help further misunderstandings about the Narukami-Sangonomiya relationship.

Its scholarship is remarkable, and I would love the chance to speak to the author — he somehow dug up the possibility of Celestia’s involvement in Orobashi’s death for inclusion in his paper, a story I only heard when I went to Enkanomiya and spoke with lingering echoes of its long-dead inhabitants. A great deal of our understanding of the historical feelings of the people of Sangonomiya is drawn from this work.

If A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief has one flaw, it’s that it bears a clear sympathy for Sangonomiya in much the same way that Sangonomiya Chronicles favors the Shogunate. It’s not nearly significant enough to reduce the work’s value or accuracy, but it’s worth bearing in mind when reading the text: it acknowledges Sangonomiya’s colonial motives in the first Narukami-Sangonomiya war, but also proceeds to express sympathy for their defeat and consider their loss in a war where they were the aggressors a situation where they were “forced into shameful submission.”[11] These exist in bizarre tension, and it’s hard for me to understand quite what the author was thinking! I wanna pick his brain about it.

While those are the only scholarly texts available for my purposes, there are plenty of other textual resources available. As I mentioned before, many of these come in the form of Sangonomiya legends such as Everlasting Moonglow, which is about the Divine Priestesses and the cultural memory of Sangonomiya, the Branch of a Distant Sea sequence that relates tales of Orobashi’s relationship with coral, or Oathsworn Eye which speaks of the pact between the Watatsumi Omikami and his people. All of these are readily available in the Sangonomiya Shrine collection, where in recent years they’ve been recording their oral histories and folklore under the direction of the Divine Priestess Sangonomiya Kokomi.

The people of Sangonomiya make little distinction between ‘history’ and ‘folklore’ in their retellings, as discussed in A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief. That means we’ve gotta be kinda careful about believing it outright, but like I said before, a lot of the details do line up with the stuff I heard in Enkanomiya. As such, I’ve chosen to treat Sangonomiya folklore as largely reliable except for on the matter of Orobashi’s motives and the relationship with the Shogunate, where we have clear historical evidence of misunderstanding and deliberate tampering.

Of similar nature to the Sangonomiya folklore is the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Summary from the Grand Narukami Shrine’s collection, though its content doesn’t require the same kind of scrutiny for bias. It’s a simple instruction manual primarily covering the Sacred Sakura Cleaninsing Ritual (shocking, right?), but it also contains a brief discusion of Narukami rituals more broadly and with it incontrovertible evidence of Orobashi worship as a pillar of historical Narukami religious practice alongside worship of the Raiden Shogun. It’s almost impossible to overstate how valuable a resource it is for this research, even though most of its content is unrelated!

V. About My Adventures

In addition to the texts I’m using, I’m gonna be drawing really heavily on the stuff I’ve learned in my adventures. I’ve gone ahead and had the Akademiya record the relevant memories from my head as canned knowledge, so it can be viewed in their collection via one of the newfangled Fontaine ‘Canned Memory Projection Devices’ they’ve got to replace the Akasha. Subtitle translations have been provided by Haravatat scholars, so you don’t need to speak the language of Inazuma to understand them! I gave all of my adventures really cool names too.

…The Akademiya is full of idiots, though, so they did kinda mess up on some of those. I’ve provided notes on that where appropriate, cuz it’s important to get it right.

Anyway, you may not know this, but I’m actually a personal friend of both the Raiden Shogun and the Divine Priestess Sangonomiya Kokomi! I’ve heard all kinds of things from them, and that stuff’s really useful here. It’s hard to get more clued in about the current sentiments on the top of both sides than ‘literally hearing it from the mouths of the leaders!’

I’ve also spent a lot of time down in Enkanomiya, the ancestral homeland of the people of Sangonomiya. There’s this super weird effect down there where echoes of the dead can linger as ‘Shades of Tokoyo,’ and I learned a bunch of neat history facts from those. A lot of the most important details about Orobashi came from them, since they actually personally knew him and had some insight into his thinking that those who have come later didn’t… especially with the deliberate decision that was made to hide the past from their descendants.

For the purposes of this paper, I’m treating all of my adventures as the kind of field research the boring old stiffs at the Akademiya can only dream of. Look forward to the kind of insights I alone can provide!

VI. Narukami and Sangonomiya: A History

Beginning at the beginning, what was the political relationship between Inazuma and Watatsumi Island in its early days? There are two possibilities, and without asking Ei there’s no source that can conclusively prove which is true:

1) Watatsumi Island was, from the start, already placed under the rule of the Shogunate by the Watatsumi Omikami himself (with Orobashi still serving as regent for the island, which had broad independence in much the way it still does today). This possibility was suggested by a Shade of Tokoyo I met named Eboshi, who claimed that Orobashi’s actions were taken in order to allow the Sangonomiya to live under the Seven’s rule.[12] As the nearest member of the Seven was the Raiden Shogun who ruled Inazuma, the only way to accomplish this goal would be to join Watatsumi Island to Inazuma. As such, this possibility seems like the stronger one.

2) Watatsumi Island was not formally under the rule of the Shogunate, but Orobashi ordered them to integrate with Inazuma’s culture anyway. We know, at the very least, that Orobashi was personally responsible for the people of Watatsumi Island tossing their earlier culture and language in the bin and taking on those of Inazuma. According to the Shades of Tokoyo I met in Enkanomiya, this was intended as a way to protect them from the danger that the inheritance of Enkanomiya’s history placed them in from Celestia (a situation I’ll discuss in just a bit, but long story short: Celestia sucks).

To be as clear as I can, for people like that idiot I landed on the other week: the people of Watatsumi Island taking on the culture of Narukami was an event that happened pre-war, at the Watatsumi Omikami’s direction,[13][14] without any input whatsoever from the Shogunate, in order to protect them from an unrelated threat he was powerless against. The elements of Narukami culture present in Sangonomiya have nothing to do with colonialist actions undertaken by Narukami and everything to do with a deliberate choice by the first god of Sangonomiya.

In point of fact, during this period of time, the Raiden Shogun was enshrined alongside Orobashi at the original Sangonomiya shrine. Orobashi was considered their primary deity and they didn’t worship the Shogun to the extent that the Shogunate did, but she was still a figure of reverence until after the first Narukami-Sangonomiya war.[15] Moreover, on the Narukami side, Orobashi was likewise recognized as an important deity. Prayers in Narukami were to be jointly offered to the Raiden Shogun and Watatsumi Omikami before any religious ceremony or act of ritual, something that continued on even after Orobashi was slain.[16] This joint worship indicates that early relations were anything but hostile and strongly aligns with the theory that early Sangonomiya was in fact considered to be a part of the nation of Inazuma.

Everything was happy and peaceful for a number of years, but then came the war between Narukami and Sangonomiya. From the perspective of the Shogunate, Orobashi had launched a war of colonization out of nowhere, and so Ei was sent to put an end to it and rescue the people of Yashiori Island, who were of Inazuma and therefore under her protection.

And yeah, I’ll say it again for you all at the back: what Sangonomiya did was a war of colonization!! The ones who engaged in colonialist behavior weren’t the people of Narukami, they were the people of Sangonomiya who, suffering from resource shortages, decided that conquering the neighboring island in order to exploit its resources was the way to go rather than seek aid through, you know, sane methods like trade. The rationale, as far as I can tell from the surviving accounts circulated on Watatsumi Island, was a desire for full control over their future and independence from influences by outside forces, which would require Sangonomiya to be in control of the resources in use even if it meant forcibly stealing them from others via conquest.[17]

This is something the people of Yashiori Island resent to this day in much the way the people of Watatsumi Island resent the Raiden Shogun for Orobashi’s death. They’re the one big exception to the people of Narukami’s pretty laidback attitude towards Sangonomiya, alongside the gross corrupt nobles.

While the motivations of the people of Sangonomiya were rooted in envy for their neighbors’ resources, the reason the Watatsumi Omikami agreed to the attempted conquest is actually a little more complicated.

See, Orobashi had actually tried to sit out the Archon War because he was kind of a wimp and knew he didn’t stand a chance against the strongest gods in his general area: Ei and Rex Lapis.[18] He fled to the bottom of the sea, where he was eventually found by the ancestors of the modern Sangonomiya people, at that point in time known as the people of Byakuyakoku (these days everyone calls it ‘Enkanomiya’ though).

He agreed to become their god and aided them in overthrowing the tyrants that had ruled them at the time, taking their place as a benevolent ruler.[19] Things were pretty great for a while, but then he came across some kind of forbidden knowledge and Celestia got spooked and decided to smite the whole place,[20] they’re assholes like that — but don’t worry, Ei’s got no ties to them, she cut those off as soon as she inherited the position of Shogun from Makoto. Anyway Orobashi was able to negotiate with the dickbags in the sky and got them to accept his death as payment for the lives of his people, and he began to prepare for his sacrifice.

He was a pretty nice god, you know? He didn’t wanna leave anything to chance and he wanted his people to be in good hands, so he had them learn the culture of Narukami so they could integrate with Inazuma above the waves and fall under the Raiden Shogun’s protection once he died. He used the coral from his own back to create Watatsumi Island for them where no island had existed before, further weakening himself in the process cuz that coral was the source of his power, but he loved his people lots and wouldn’t abandon them even if it meant his death.[21][22]

At any rate, the idea that Orobashi allowed the war due to Celestia’s edict that he had to die is a common one among the very few in the know, and honestly yeah it might have been a factor… but from A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, we know that the people of Sangonomiya themselves say that it took Orobashi years of waffling on the subject while his people begged him to let them conquer Yashiori Island to finally agree to the war.[23]

If his deal with Celestia really was what ended up forcing his hand, it must not have been a terribly urgent one… or maybe Celestia got tired of him wasting time and went “BLARGH GO DIE ALREADY YOU STUPID WIGGLY BASTARD!!!” Either way, his death in the war ended up fulfilling his pact with Celestia despite the fact that Ei had no idea that such a deal was in play: again, from the perspective of the Shogunate it was simply an unprovoked attack that needed to be repelled to protect the people of Yashiori Island. As mentioned earlier, this truth is acknowledged even by some on Watatsumi Island, who view the Shogun’s act of slaying Orobashi as having been a righteous thing, even comparing their own actions in resisting the Vision Hunt Decree to when Ei killed Orobashi.[24]

So yeah, after Orobashi’s death, the people of Sangonomiya were punished drastically and… Hahaha no, absolutely not, I actually broke my pen there cuz I squeezed it too tight when laughing.

See, rather than punish the people literally at all, the Shogunate allowed them to continue living exactly as they had been, actually. They were allowed to keep worshiping Orobashi exactly as before, and worship of the Shogun wasn’t even requested, let alone enforced — remember, prior to this they had been worshiping the Shogun, and it was only after this point that the original shrine was abandoned and they transitioned exclusively to worship of Orobashi and the Divine Priestesses who inherited his blood.

From then to now, Watatsumi Island has been the sole territory of the Sangonomiya. I already mentioned their political structure, in which the Divine Priestess and the shrine maidens she appoints have sole authority and the Shogunate has exactly zero input. Honestly, it’s actually even stricter than that sounds: the Tenryou Commission, the enforcers of the Shogunate’s laws, are unable to enter Sangonomiya territory as it’s considered to be under their army’s jurisdiction (the army that they were allowed to keep, even though they’d used it to try to colonize Yashiori Island! genuinely insane on the part of the Shogunate honestly), a fact resented by some Tenryou Commission generals but that shows no signs of changing any time soon, despite one of those generals, Kujou Sara, making it a personal item of pursuit during the preliminary peace negotiations she was sent to manage.[25][26] Too bad for her it was Ei and Miko who were in charge of final negotiations and they were a lot more interested in accommodating Sangonomiya’s position, huh?[27][28]

In other words, if situation 1) is true and Watatsumi Island was always a part of Inazuma (as seems most probable), literally nothing about their lives changed except for the death of Orobashi. If situation 2) is true and they were just closely affiliated with Inazuma… uh, nothing changed except for the death of Orobashi, basically. They didn’t even pay taxes to the Shogunate except on trade, something that’s only recently changed by decree of the Divine Priestess Sangonomiya Kokomi in exchange for the guarantee that the Tenryou Commission will extend full protections to the people of Sangonomiya while they’re in Narukami territory.[29]

All of this despite the fact that they attempted to conquer Yashiori Island.

The people of Sangonomiya started a war, attempted to colonize an island belonging to the Shogunate, lost their god for it during a battle, and went all but unpunished beyond that… and yet they hate the Raiden Shogun.

It’s honestly kind of ridiculous. The people of Sangonomiya are not saints here, and whitewashing them in relation to the Shogunate is a disservice to both sides.

Even the production of Jade Steel from the crystal marrow that leaks from Orobashi’s skeleton, long a point of resentment from the people of Sangonomiya until Ei ordered it stopped as part of peace talks after the Vision Hunt Decree was repealed,[30] was not done out of disrespect or tyranny: it began during the original Raiden Shogun’s time as a way to deal with the dangerous and corruptive influence of the marrow by processing it into something safe in order to make Yashiori livable again.[31]

In Liyue, it was the task of the Yaksha to deal with the remains of fallen gods by taking on their curses to render them safe,[32] but no such equivalent exists in Inazuma: instead, Ei placed her seals to suppress the Tatarigami and the Jade Steel process was developed to safely cleanse the curses lingering in the body itself over time, though the expedited process later enabled by the Mikage Furnace was unsafe and much of this benefit was lost. The Mikage Furnace, however, was not created at the direction of the Shogun and rather due to the greed of humans.[33]

Unfortunately, even without the furnace the process itself still causes some problems due to prolonged close contact with the marrow on the part of the miners.[34] This is basically unavoidable, though, because dead god bits do bad stuff to the environment, and cleansing it somehow is necessary unless you want everything to go to hell — we can see the kind of effects that not cleansing the crystal marrow would have caused in the way Yashiori Island was ravaged by Tatarigami after Ei’s seals were broken during the war.[35]

Long story short: something had to be done about Orobashi’s remains, and while I’m sure a more sensitive method could have been found, to ascribe the initial production of Jade Steel to malice and plundering rather than performing a necessary task while generating a useful result would be in error.

VII. Narukami and Sangonomiya Today

So what about the state of things now, then? We’re barely a year out from another civil war between Narukami and Sangonomiya, this time over the Vision Hunt Decree.

It’s kind of pathetic, but Ei, uh… actually didn’t know about the war. When I confronted her at the climax of things and tried to tell her her people were being hurt, she thought I was talking about those who directly resisted having their Visions taken rather than a war in which both innocents and Visionless soldiers on both sides were suffering,[36] and I, um… I kinda didn’t realize the degree of ignorance she was exhibiting until we’d had a heart-to-heart spar and Miko had popped in and shown her the ambitions of her people and she’d decided to stand down. Whoops! Things mighta been a bit easier if I’d gone “no dummy I mean there’s a war on!” given she went and put out a statement about the war being a tragedy and all.[37]

This is notable not only because of how it necessarily influences our understanding of Ei’s nature and choices (she wasn’t just okay with letting a civil war happen, she was in the dark about it and not happy when she did find out), but because Sangonomiya Kokomi, the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, actually already thought that something was strange. The very first thing she ever said to me on the subject of the Raiden Shogun was that she couldn’t understand why the Shogun appeared not to care about the fact that there was a civil war, and that her goal was to figure out what was going on.[38]

Despite her peoples’ noted hatred for the Raiden Shogun, despite the fact that a law the Shogun allowed the Tenryou Commission to pass had led to a civil war, Kokomi said that she felt it was out of character for the Raiden Shogun to be okay with her actions causing a war. Far from hating and resenting the Shogun, Kokomi indicated a belief that the Shogun cares about her people, at least enough to not want them hurt.

The goal of the Resistance, in Kokomi’s eyes, was never to overthrow the Shogun’s rule. It was to solve the mystery of the Shogun’s out of character behavior and why the Vision Hunt Decree existed and the damage it was doing to Inazuma was allowed to continue, and use that knowledge to put a stop to it.

Again, ultimate military victory over the Shogunate was not her goal: bringing about the end of the Vision Hunt Decree and returning to peace was.

And she was right. At the time I doubted her and thought the Shogun was probably just a tyrant, but as it turned out the reason for the apparent out of character behavior was that Ei knew basically nothing about what was happening. Kokomi’s understanding of the Shogun’s personality and intentions as a ruler was correct, even though it flew in the face not only of what appeared to be happening but of the prevailing beliefs among her people.

This is further underscored by what she said to me about the Shogun in private. At that time, she talked about how she’s not interested in blame for the past and seeks only a successful future, and she wants to believe in Ei’s promise that she’ll do better moving forward. If it becomes necessary to stand up for the sake of the people again she will, but she truly hopes and wants to believe that it won’t come to that.[39]

Remember what I said back up in the Sangonomiya section about how Kokomi is opposed to her people’s ongoing grudge against the Shogunate? Yeah, she outright told me that it’s something she wanted to bring up during the peace talks and seek to resolve, because grudges can’t continue forever and old mistrust needs to be cleared away.[40]

Kokomi emphasized to me how her people once saw the Shogun as a legitimate deity before the first Narukami-Sangonomiya war, and lamented that they still hold a grudge over a two thousand year old event. She wants to work with the Shogunate to reconcile their people, because she believes in focusing on the future rather than the past.

She knows it can’t be a fast process, and expressed as much when Sara pushed for folding the Watatsumi Army into the Tenryou Commission and ending their sovereign territory status — that it’s not possible “in the short term, at least.”[41] Nonetheless, it’s one of her most important goals, and the fact that she was focused on the short-term plausibility of that request suggests that she does think it’s possible in the long term, something supported by her words to me after that event. She doubts the stability of the Kujou Clan’s Tenryou Commission, something understandable given the fact that a handful of soldiers were still colluding with the Fatui out of personal grudges, and wants to remain prepared for anything until she’s sure it’s safe.[42]

It’s somewhat common knowledge now that the negotiations are over that she also founded a secret division of the army after that first preliminary negotiation, a division that she ‘rewarded’ extremist elements of her own army who had deceptively sought to fan the flames of war again with membership in… but honestly like. Anyone who actually thinks she was rewarding them fails to understand the situation at hand and what she actually did.

See, the position Kokomi was in was that she had just secured the upper hand in the preliminary negotiations by exposing the Tenryou Commission soldiers who had been in contact with the Fatui. This gave Kujou Sara a huge black eye and required futher preliminary negotiations to be postponed while she did her best to clean house, and would lend more weight to Sangonomiya’s concerns as to their safety in the hands of the Tenryou Commission.

If it were to be exposed that there were similar dissident extremists on the Sangonomiya side (albeit not colluding with the Fatui), that upper hand would have been lost and Sangonomiya would have found itself in a weaker negotiating position. Kokomi genuinely wanted peace, but that doesn’t mean she was going to risk her people being walked all over by thoughtless terms. So, what was she to do if she wanted to take control of the extremists on her side and prevent them from causing problems in the way that the Kujou Clan was actively failing to do with their own extremists, and do so without weakening her hand?

She created a new secret army division that she made them feel honored to join, as if she was taking their side, strengthening their loyalty to her, and also threatened them that if they ever disobeyed her again they would face execution.[43] Carrot and stick to turn a liability into an asset, all without exposing either to a negotiating partner whose knowledge of that liability would have been problematic.

Kokomi is kind of a really good leader! Like oh my god she’s so cool.

But what about the Shogunate side? How does Ei feel about Sangonomiya and the Divine Priestess?

It’s kinda unfortunate but um. A conversation I had with the ‘Shogun’ was maybe not as private as it should have been and what she said about Kokomi was overheard and spread everywhere…[44] but that wasn’t Ei, it was a puppet she created to handle the duties of the Shogun for… reasons. The puppet pretends to be Ei, but the truth is that she has none of Ei’s memories and a strikingly different personality based on what Ei thought an ideal ruler would be like, and her knowledge of the past is only from the things Ei thought to tell her.[45][46][47]

This lack of shared memory is very evident in the way that the Shogun puppet believed the Narukami Shrine on Watatsumi Island had been destroyed only recently, when we know from Kokomi that it was an event that occurred two thousand years ago, long before the puppet’s creation. It’s also been reinforced by some of my conversations with each of them, as Ei began to say basically the same thing about the Kamisatos when I asked her about Ayaka that the Shogun puppet had when I asked about Ayato, and was very surprised and flustered when I told her that.[48]

The gulf in their personalities and modes of thinking could not be clearer than in their feelings about the Resistance, though: as demonstrated, the Shogun puppet believes they need to be punished despite the righteousness of their cause, but Ei’s feelings on the matter are entirely different.

Far from being upset with the Resistance, Ei is remarkably grateful to them, even going so far as to compare them to her human allies during the Cataclysm and credit them with her new resolve to trust humanity.[49] She strongly condemns her own actions, comparing them to “the diseased wood of an old sakura tree,” and lauds the Resistance for standing up against them.

The founder and leader of the Resistance, the only reason it was able to exist and endure, was Sangonomiya Kokomi, the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island. The idea that Ei would have such enormous respect for and gratitude to the Resistance without extending that to its most important member is absurd, and the joint statement by Ei and Kokomi about their resolve to work together moving forward, as well as the friendship between Kokomi and Miko (Ei’s dearest companion, to say the least) that I observed during the Irodori Festival, really underscore that.

“But Lumine, that could have just been talk!”

Yeah but like it’s not though? Like. When I went to Watatsumi Island to drag Shikanoin Heizou, a Tenryou Commission detective, back from his unsanctioned vacation (long story that involved defrauding people via an anti-fraud play, investigating unusual mercantile activity, and ‘solving’ an old cold case that had already been secretly solved for the sake of helping a friend… Heizou is great I love that guy), I learned from General Gorou of Watatsumi Island that Ei is actively engaged in creating policy for the benefit of Sangonomiya, including the specific example that she’s pushing through a new commodity tax bill to eliminate tariffs on important goods that Watatsumi Island is experiencing shortages of.[50] This is a direct attempt to undo the harm done by the tariff policies put into place by the corrupt Kanjou Commission only a few short years ago.[51]

As Gorou admitted, Sangonomiya has no allies in the Kanjou Commission, and the bill, as well as officially-sanctioned-but-slightly-illegal commercial activity-boosting measures put into place as an interim measure while the bill was drafted, were a result of things Kokomi and Miko discussed in their meeting during the Irodori Festival, a meeting Miko was having on Ei’s behalf to learn Sangonomiya’s needs.[52][53] Given the goals of the meeting, the one Miko would have gone to with the results is Ei herself, and poor Gorou (who doesn’t like the Shogun much) reacted with resigned agreement to my emergency food Paimon describing the bill as a divine hand from the gods.[54]

I can’t say for certain whether Ei and Kokomi have been directly in touch on the matter cuz I haven’t asked them, but the fact that they put out a joint statement together and Gorou’s awareness of Ei’s direct involvement with the bill suggest that the answer is almost definitely ‘yes,’ especially given Heizou indicated to me that he himself also had awareness of Ei being directly involved in trying to help the people of Sangonomiya and that the degree of her care for them meant that Watatsumi Island couldn’t be called ‘godless’ despite Orobashi’s death.[55]

In other words, the present relationship between the Raiden Shogun and Divine Priestess is one of mutual respect and cooperation for the betterment of Inazuma as a whole, far from the antagonistic relationship so commonly envisioned by those who lack the full context of what’s going on. Even describing them as former enemies is a little much, given Kokomi never thought the situation was as simple as the Shogun being a tyrant and Ei wasn’t even aware Kokomi was leading a Resistance against the Vision Hunt Decree until she’d already repealed it. If anything, the civil war actually ended up providing an opportunity for this new relationship, one that I don’t think I’d be wrong to call a budding friendship, given the model of Kokomi and Miko having become pen pals and the way Ei is personally assisting with their plans.

The overall situation is still pretty complicated right now, but it’s getting better thanks to the hard work of the Raiden Shogun and Divine Priestess!

VIII. Conclusion

As I’ve worked hard to thoroughly demonstrate, the relationship between Narukami and Sangonomiya is a lot more complicated than the ‘Shogunate bad’ that a lot of people seem to have mistakenly internalized, and Sangonomiya is by no means the innocent victim of tyranny people so often imagine it to be. If anything, the Shogunate has historically been almost absurdly lenient to the belligerent people of Sangonomiya, though the corruption of the Tri-Commission has unquestionably contributed to worsening the situation on Watatsumi Island in the last few years.

Importantly, however, and providing a great deal of hope for the future, the relationship between the Raiden Shogun and Divine Priestess is an extremely positive one. As the two gods of Inazuma, Narukami and Watatsumi, Ei and Kokomi are allies working together for the sake of their people, just as their predecessors Makoto and Orobashi did before that fateful first Narukami-Sangonomiya war. We may well in the years to come see a day where worship of the Shogun is once more a normal thing on Watatsumi Island, and an understanding of the depth of the tragedies of the past and the way misinformation helped keep a misplaced grudge alive for thousands of years may be common. In that world, the barriers between Narukami and Sangonomiya would finally be broken down entirely, and the people of Sangonomiya would at last be able to live the life as the willing and happy citizens of Inazuma that Orobashi always wanted them to have.

Wouldn’t that be awesome? I sure can’t wait to see it!


Footnotes

1.

When Watatsumi Omikami set off on the eastern expedition from which there would be no return, the young man headed up the vanguard and took a place known then to the Watatsumi people as Touzan. Thus was he given the honorific of Touzannou by Watatsumi Omikami himself. However, this valiant “king of the eastern mountain” would become known as a brutal, savage “wicked king,” or Akuou, to the people of Yashiori Island.

Debates on the “Viceroy of the East”, Unknown Author

2.

On Watatsumi Island, the shrine is the seat of government, and there are no commissioners appointed by the Shogunate. All business, great and small, is conducted by the shrine maidens. The head shrine maiden, or Divine Priestess, is the head of government and ceremonial affairs.

Sangonomiya Chronicles, Kujou Michizane, Shogunate Historian

3.

Undying hope would pass from generation to generation of those descended from their god — they who dreamed the same dreams as Watatsumi.

Everlasting Moonglow, Folklore of Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya Shrine Collection

4.

In those days, the first Divine Priestess once led her brethren with wisdom as precious as pearls, And she selected clergy from amongst the people newly introduced to the sun, who aided the offspring of their god in comforting those for whom the light of day brought terror.

Everlasting Moonglow, Folklore of Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya Shrine Collection

5.

Orobashi’s true motives are not well-recorded by history. This is merely a hypothesis drawn by those who discovered the inscriptions in latter days:

Watatsumi Omikami long knew that he would not have any chance of survival this time, but accepted the prophecy’s result calmly.

If he wished to ensure the perpetuation of his people’s “faith,” there was but one path — sacrifice. Even if Watatsumi would pass away, its people would endlessly weave their memories of joy, prosperity, bitterness, and loss into a united faith. These memories, in turn, would flourish on account of the intense emotions of a vanquished people forced into shameful submission.

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

6.

The flames of these hatreds and humiliations, borne and nursed over hundreds and thousands of years, can be fanned by those with an agenda in leaner years and ultimately bring catastrophe upon the nation.

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

7.

With their recent economic exploitation at the hands of the Kanjou Commission, more and more of the young people of Watatsumi Island are discussing resistance and their complaints. It seems evident to me that these discussions are not merely about the past, but about the present and future also.

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

8.

Notably, this tendency to give little thought to the “facts” of the past and emphasize the “consciousness” of the present is a glaring flaw in Watatsumi today.

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

9.

The war was brutal, and brought great suffering to the people. The two sides fought bitterly on what is now known as Yashiori Island, with many casualties and injuries on both sides.

Sangonomiya Chronicles, Kujou Michizane, Shogunate Historian

10.

Our ancestors regarded it as a guardian deity, but during the Archon War, Orobaxi invaded Yashiori Island. [...] When Orobaxi attacked civilization, the shogun stood up and put a stop to it.

— Teppei, Captain of Herring I, Omnipresence Over Mortals: Those Who Yearn for the Gods’ Gaze, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

11.

These memories, in turn, would flourish on account of the intense emotions of a vanquished people forced into shameful submission.

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

12.

Watatsumi Omikami, due to ill-fortune, fell into this place, beyond the jurisdiction of the heavenly order. This was undoubtedly to the good fortune of us, the people of Byakuyakoku. It has done a great many things for us. Unfortunately, by making contact with us, it also grasped a truth that came before its own existence. Thus, it was forced by heaven to sacrifice itself. The truth behind this sacrifice had to remain unknown to all. Only thus could the people of Byakuyakoku be allowed to live under the rule of The Seven.

Eboshi, Shade of Tokoyo, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

13.

At Omikami’s instruction, we learned the culture of Narukami, and we established foreign relations with many different nations.

— Eboshi, Shade of Tokoyo, The Three Great Martial Trials, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

14.

The names of the people of Watatsumi were also not written in the Inazuman style then. The names and surnames used today by them came about by order of the Great Serpent, who had them learn the traditions of Narukami.

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

15.

You know, the earliest shrine on Watatsumi Island was not located in Sangonomiya. It was close to the Statue of The Seven. Back then, the people of this island recognized the Shogun’s existence, despite not venerating her as the Shogunate do. But after she struck down our protector deity, the shrine was abandoned.

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, Dracaena Somnolenta Chapter: Act I - Warriors’ Dreams Like Spring Grass Renewing: Rumors Abound, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

Addendum from Lumine, First Sage of Buer: okay I dunno what they’re paying the Haravatat scholars who handled subtitling these from Inazuman for viewers, but it’s way too much. What Kokomi actually said is that they didn’t worship the Shogun to the extent that the Shogunate did, not that they didn’t venerate her at all and only recognized that she existed. Fucking idiots.

16.

“Seek first forgiveness from Narukami in the skies above, and then from Watatsumi on the land below. Then, recite prayers to quench the gods’ anger.”

The aforementioned ritual must be carried out before any sacrifices, exorcisms, blessings or spell-rites can take place. The same holds true for this Cleansing Ritual.

Sacred Sakura Cleansing Summary, Unknown Author, Grand Narukami Shrine Collection

17.

“Permit us, great lord, to set foot upon those islands and there carve out a dominion for ourselves, that our children after us shall have a glorious past, a future in fullness, and a present without darkness.”

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

18.

“It was because I could best neither the golden god nor Narukami that I elected to flee into waters unknown.”

Oathsworn Eye, Folklore of Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya Shrine Collection

19.

Thus did they, human and serpent, go forth to face the royal authority of the Sunchild and the incursions of the Dragonheirs beyond — thus was the curtain raised on the turning of the tide.

The Serpent and Drakes of Tokoyokoku, Unknown Author, ancient Enkanomiya history text republished as a novel in Inazuma

20.

Watatsumi Omikami, due to ill-fortune, fell into this place, beyond the jurisdiction of the heavenly order. This was undoubtedly to the good fortune of us, the people of Byakuyakoku. It has done a great many things for us. Unfortunately, by making contact with us, it also grasped a truth that came before its own existence. Thus, it was forced by heaven to sacrifice itself.

Eboshi, Shade of Tokoyo, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

21.

This coral cannot be found anywhere in Teyvat, but was a gift that the great serpent obtained when it broke into the Dark Sea. For that abyssal snake, to be filled with coral was to be mighty, and its power would be shaved away as those corals were lost. In other words, those corals contain power far beyond the norm.

Jeweled Branch of a Distant Sea, Folklore of Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya Shrine Collection

22.

The meaning that lies behind the name “Watatsumi” is simply the unrequited hopes that the abandoned people who dwelt in the deep sea pinned upon the serpent god that led them.

And it was also because the serpent god now had people who worshiped it that it stayed in the world it should have long fled, breaking off the coral branches that adorned its body, treading upon land where it should not have, and facing a foe it could never hope to match — till at last, its divine form was sundered along with the mountains, its ichor turned into plasma, and its will and power became a curse that could never be extinguished: Tatarigami.

Golden Branch of a Distant Sea, Folklore of Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya Shrine Collection

23.

“Permit us, great lord, to set foot upon those islands and there carve out a dominion for ourselves, that our children after us shall have a glorious past, a future in fullness, and a present without darkness.”

The Great Serpent was silent and made no reply.

Narukami it was that dominated the eastern islands, possessing great strength in war, and those deities defeated thus were all slain to the last, in accordance with the law of the divine realm.

But in the many years that followed, the hungry and diseased people would ask time and again, at last moving the heart of their god.

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

24.

Our ancestors regarded it as a guardian deity, but during the Archon War, Orobaxi invaded Yashiori Island. The Raiden Shogun came out in person and slew Orobaxi with the Musou no Hitotachi. That same slash also formed what later became known as Musoujin Gorge. [...] When Orobaxi attacked civilization, the shogun stood up and put a stop to it. But now that the shogun is stripping people of their ambitions with the Vision Hunt Decree, it’s time for someone to stand up and stop the shogun...

— Teppei, Captain of Herring I, Omnipresence Over Mortals: Those Who Yearn for the Gods’ Gaze, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

25.

The Tenryou Commission is unable to enter territory controlled by Sangonomiya troops.

— Sango, Owner of Bantan Sango Detective Agency, Rise Up, Golden Soul: The Oni’s Evil, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

26.

Kujou Sara: On to the military question: Watatsumi Island’s forces will need to come back under the jurisdiction of the Tenryou Commission.

Sangonomiya Kokomi: That just isn’t feasible. Not in the short term, at least.

Kujou Sara: With all due respect, feasibility doesn’t come into it. The Tenryou Commission alone has ultimate responsibility for Inazuma’s national security. We cannot allow Watatsumi Island to be the sole exception to this rule indefinitely...

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, and Kujou Sara, Tenryou Commission General, Dracaena Somnolenta Chapter: Act I - Warriors’ Dreams Like Spring Grass Renewing: New Beginning, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

27.

Sangonomiya Kokomi: Hehe, Watatsumi Island will soon hold formal talks with the Shogunate on Inazuma’s future development. It’s essential to have an informal meeting like this one before the formal talks begin.

Yae Miko: Right. Especially with someone outside of the Shogunate like myself, who is in a good position to test out where each party draws the lines.

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, and Yae Miko, Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, Pen Pals, Book Reviews, and the Super Lucky General, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

28.

Their Excellencies, the Almighty Ogosho and Watatsumi’s Divine Priestess, both express their deep grief at the many tragedies that occurred at Tatarasuna and on Yashiori Island.

From this day forth, the Shogunate and Sangonomiya will begin reconstruction and redevelopment work in these lands in partnership with one another.

Together, we will pacify this war-torn land, bring the guilty to justice, and restore Inazuma’s prosperity.

— Joint Statement by Raiden Ei, the Raiden Shogun, and Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, placed on bulletin boards in Hanamizaka, Ritou, and Ritou Harbor.

29.

Kujou Sara: The first item is the maritime administration issue. During wartime, we restricted fishing rights for Watatsumi vessels in Narukami waters... We intend to remove these restrictions. But going forward, any of your vessels that fish in our waters will have to pay taxes in accordance with Narukami legislation in order to bring their catch back to Watatsumi.

Sangonomiya Kokomi: That’s fine. But if they’re paying taxes, they should also be entitled to protection from the Tenryou Commission while in your waters.

Sangonomiya Kokomi: Any losses they sustain due to issues of public security will need to be compensated by the Tenryou Commission.

Kujou Sara: Accepted. Let’s add that to the peace treaty. I can assure you that your vessels will be quite safe in our hands.

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, and Kujou Sara, Tenryou Commission General, Dracaena Somnolenta Chapter: Act I - Warriors’ Dreams Like Spring Grass Renewing: New Beginning, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

30.

Due to revisions in relations with Sangonomiya, Tatarasuna has temporarily ceased production of Jade Steel.

All smiths, please take note that logistics and transportation departments will not carry Jade Steel or any products derived from it.

— Shogunate Announcement placed on a bulletin board on Inazuma Commercial Street

31.

As for Tatarasuna, it was originally established as a means of safely disposing Crystal Marrow.

— Niwa Hisahide, Isshin Art Successor, Inversion of Genesis: The Night-Bird Falls at the Curtain’s Call, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

32.

“Rex Lapis summoned yakshas to help him destroy the monsters. The yakshas were illuminated beasts of Liyue. Ferocious and intimidating to behold, they were violent by nature and formidable in battle, ready to kill mercilessly to defend Rex Lapis’ rule. Among the yakshas, five were known as the strongest: Bosacius, Indarias, Bonanus, Menogias, and Alatus. The five followed Rex Lapis into battle countless times, finally wiping out the evil at its source. They became known throughout the world simply as ‘The Yakshas’.”

Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti, Masudi, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

33.

After all, the Tenryou Commission feels that having the ability to forge powerful weapons is something they should flaunt.

A few years ago, for the purpose of expanding production capacity, they hired a team of consultants from Fontaine. They built the Mikage Furnace, a machine that can fully harvest the powers of the Tatarigami.

We’ve warned them countless times not to let their guard down when it comes to the Tatarigami, but they decided to go ahead with the project anyway.

After the Mikage Furnace started production, most of the consultant team returned to Fontaine. Only Xavier, who we just mentioned, stayed behind in Inazuma.

But during one of the previous battles, something went wrong with the furnace. The part that stored the corrupt Tatarigami energy became extremely unstable...

Work was halted in Tatarasuna and everyone was evacuated shortly after.

— Miyuki, Shrine Maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine, Tatara Tales, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

34.

Even though the Shogun put all those wards down, blocking off most of the Tatarigami’s spread, many miners have still contracted chronic illnesses from prolonged exposure to the influence of those snake-bone crystals.

Teyvat Travel Guide Vol. 3, Alice, Adventuring Witch

35.

“Liyue suffered many outbreaks of disease in ancient times. Some say this was caused by the chaos of the relentless warring between gods. The defeated were squashed beneath the rocks of the earth, where they decomposed and became soil, and finally re-entered the everlasting elemental cycle. Some of the gods’ souls were filled with bitterness at their fate, and refused to suffer it any longer. Their bitterness materialized and became evil monsters. The monsters’ rage manifested itself in the form of diseases, monster infestations, and all kinds of other strange occurrences. The monsters ravaged the land and turned it into a wilderness, and unleashed all manner of evil upon the rivers and seas. They inflicted untold suffering on the people. Hence, what we call monsters are in fact physical manifestations of the resentment of gods defeated in war.”

Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti, Masudi, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

36.

Lumine: But the Vision Hunt Decree is damaging. It comes at a great cost to the people of Inazuma.

Ei: Consider this — no one will lose their life on account of having their Vision taken away... Rather, those who have lost their lives are the ones who insisted on pursuing their own aspirations, are they not?

— Lumine (that’s me!), Awesome Adventurer, and Raiden Ei, the Raiden Shogun, Omnipresence Over Mortals: The Omnipresent God, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

Addendum from Lumine, First Sage of Buer: I really can’t emphasize enough how clearly Ei’s answer here demonstrates she had no clue about the war. Unrelated civilians died in the war, as did Shogunate soldiers who were attempting to enforce the decree... and Ei is no stranger to war, she knows the damage it does. Her answer considers only the case of people who attempted to resist having their Visions taken forcefully enough to die in the process.

37.

Their Excellencies, the Almighty Ogosho and Watatsumi’s Divine Priestess, both express their deep grief at the many tragedies that occurred at Tatarasuna and on Yashiori Island.

From this day forth, the Shogunate and Sangonomiya will begin reconstruction and redevelopment work in these lands in partnership with one another.

Together, we will pacify this war-torn land, bring the guilty to justice, and restore Inazuma’s prosperity.

— Joint Statement by Raiden Ei, the Raiden Shogun, and Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, placed on bulletin boards in Hanamizaka, Ritou, and Ritou Harbor.

38.

The mere existence of the Vision Hunt Decree is baffling. The Tenryou Commission’s attitude just doesn’t seem to add up, and neither does the Shogun’s. The Tenryou Commission’s zealous support for the decree seemed to come out of nowhere. And the Shogun seems completely indifferent to the fact that it has effectively caused a civil war... I suspect the Vision Hunt Decree won’t end until these mysteries are solved. All I can say for certain is that as long as the Vision Hunt Decree remains in force, we will never give up our fight.

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, Omnipresence Over Mortals: Sword, Fish, Resistance, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

39.

Now that the Vision Hunt Decree is over, Watatsumi Island has once again returned to normal life. It has never been my intent to scrutinize the rights and wrongs of the Shogun’s actions, even to this day. What I do care about is the future of our island. It is my hope that the Shogun will fulfill her promise and that we can live with the Shogunate in peace. However, if there comes a day when she once again casts aside the aspirations of the people, I can assure you that we won’t sit by and watch.

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, About Raiden Shogun, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

40.

You know, the earliest shrine on Watatsumi Island was not located in Sangonomiya. It was close to the Statue of The Seven. Back then, the people of this island recognized the Shogun’s existence, despite not venerating her as the Shogunate do. But after she struck down our protector deity, the shrine was abandoned. Relations between Watatsumi Island and the Shogunate have soured ever since. Mistrust has become deep-rooted over time. I’ve been hoping to raise all this at the peace talks and discuss it properly. Grievances have to be let go eventually…

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, Dracaena Somnolenta Chapter: Act I - Warriors’ Dreams Like Spring Grass Renewing: Rumors Abound, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

41.

Kujou Sara: On to the military question: Watatsumi Island’s forces will need to come back under the jurisdiction of the Tenryou Commission.

Sangonomiya Kokomi: That just isn’t feasible. Not in the short term, at least.

Kujou Sara: With all due respect, feasibility doesn’t come into it. The Tenryou Commission alone has ultimate responsibility for Inazuma’s national security. We cannot allow Watatsumi Island to be the sole exception to this rule indefinitely...

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, and Kujou Sara, Tenryou Commission General, Dracaena Somnolenta Chapter: Act I - Warriors’ Dreams Like Spring Grass Renewing: New Beginning, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

42.

I have concluded from today’s peace talks that the Kujou Clan cannot achieve absolute peace and stability in the near future. Many seek peace, but there are still those who pursue war. It is right that Watatsumi Island moves towards peace, but we must still retain a defensive capacity.

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, Dracaena Somnolenta Chapter: Act I - Warriors’ Dreams Like Spring Grass Renewing: New Beginning, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

43.

Very well. Then I hereby declare... that as of today, I am founding a new Secret Corps of the army. This division will be responsible for keeping Watatsumi Island safe and secure, neutralizing any and all threats to the peace of our island. You and your comrades will all be welcome to join — but be warned, the training will be grueling. Perseverance and grit will be in high demand.

[...]

Those whose warrior’s will is alive and well, I invite you to embark on the most challenging training regimen of your lives. Alright, dismissed. Go and report to General Gorou. And remember... there can be no more insubordination. And if there is... there will be no more leniency from me. Whatever reasons you may have.

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, Dracaena Somnolenta Chapter: Act I - Warriors’ Dreams Like Spring Grass Renewing: New Beginning, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

44.

Now, Sangonomiya has destroyed the local Narukami Shrine and rebels against the Shogunate. As the Divine Priestess representing the Watatsumi Omikami, she must be held accountable.

— Shogun Puppet, About Sangonomiya Kokomi, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

45.

Raiden Shogun: My form is a symbol of supreme majesty, in which has been vested power over all the realm. It is the cohesive embodiment of all that constitutes the “Raiden Shogun.” It inherits Ei’s pain — the pain of inevitable loss that comes as she moves forward. So too does it inherit her determination to reach eternity. Every action undertaken is for the sake of resisting erosion. Determination, courage, love, hatred... All of these will be degraded and distorted by the incessant flow of time. Only rules shall remain constant for eternity.

Ei: Those were my thoughts when I created you. Now they are towering obstacles that I have no choice but to overcome.

— Shogun Puppet and Raiden Ei, Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II — Transient Dreams: Farewell to the Past, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

Addendum from Lumine, First Sage of Buer: Ei was not emotionless during her time as Makoto’s kagemusha, just bad at expressing it. When she was seeking to create a puppet to take her place, she wanted it to be entirely resistant to erosion, and that meant it needed to be devoid of the things that erosion could seize on and be a simple rules engine — she demonstrably failed to achieve this, as the Shogun puppet does have likes and dislikes and feelings (albeit perhaps somewhat muted), but her goal was to create a ruler who was emotionless in a way that she herself never was.

The puppet considers herself as an inheritor of Ei’s pain, but that very ‘inheritance’ underscores that the pain is not her own and is yet another example of the common thread I’ve noticed in Inazumans to consider themselves to have inherited the suffering of their parents and/or more distant ancestors.

46.

She once heard about how Ei had shouldered a similar duty when Makoto was also present, suffering much agonizing loss in the process.

Magatsu Mitake Narukami no Mikoto, Archive

Addendum from Lumine, First Sage of Buer: as the fact that the puppet ‘heard’ about this demonstrates, the Shogun puppet has no personal memories of these losses. They were described to her by Ei upon her creation, but they are to her simply an inheritance rather than her own suffering.

47.

The newborn Raiden Shogun sat there silently, listening to Ei speak all about her, “her,” and even about them. The future of Inazuma was here, inscribed upon a gorgeous blueprint.

— Raiden Shogun, Character Story 2, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

48.

Raiden Shogun: Kamisato... One of the most distinguished clans in all of Inazuma. Despite Ayato’s trickery in regard to the Tri-Commission’s affairs, he is nevertheless a loyal subject. His past misdeeds shall be excused.

Ei: Kamisato... One of the most distinguished clans in all of Inazuma. Eh? That’s exactly what the Shogun said? Well, A—Ayaka’s also well-versed in the art of the sword.

Shogun Puppet, About Kamisato Ayato, and Raiden Ei, About Kamisato Ayaka, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

49.

Five hundred years ago, humanity proved their strength in battle. Here in the present, they rely on their ambition to challenge wayward practices, tear them out like the diseased wood of an old sakura tree, so that new, healthy branches might spring to life in their place. It is about time that I learned to trust them.

— Raiden Ei, Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II - Transient Dreams: Farewell to the Past, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

50.

It’s a new commodity tax bill currently being drafted by the Kanjou Commission. The bill exempts taxes on goods that are in short supply on Watatsumi Island. Once the bill is introduced, we’ll be able to buy commodities that we need from regular marketplaces...

— Gorou, Watatsumi Island General, Trap ’Em by Storm: The Missing Thing, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

51.

With their recent economic exploitation at the hands of the Kanjou Commission, more and more of the young people of Watatsumi Island are discussing resistance and their complaints.

A Preliminary Study of Sangonomiya Folk Belief, Shihab Purbiruni, Sumeru Akademiya Scholar

52.

She went to the Kanjou Commission to see Lady Yae — purportedly for a book review, but there were other items on the agenda, too. The meeting wasn’t made public. Following her return, we began our attempts at boosting commercial activity, and it wasn’t long before there was a push for a new commodity bill on Narukami Island...

— Gorou, Watatsumi Island General, Trap ’Em by Storm: The Missing Thing, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

53.

Sangonomiya Kokomi: Hehe, Watatsumi Island will soon hold formal talks with the Shogunate on Inazuma’s future development. It’s essential to have an informal meeting like this one before the formal talks begin.

Yae Miko: Right. Especially with someone outside of the Shogunate like myself, who is in a good position to test out where each party draws the lines.

— Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, and Yae Miko, Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, Pen Pals, Book Reviews, and the Super Lucky General, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

54.

Gorou: Well, ahem... aren’t you curious about who’s been pushing for the new commodity bill? It certainly isn’t the Kanjou Commission, because it doesn’t immediately benefit them, and we don’t have any connections there.

Paimon: Yeah... it’s kinda as if the gods suddenly appeared to offer you a divine hand.

Gorou: Haha, yeah, the gods...

— Gorou, Watatsumi Island General, and Paimon, Emergency Food, Trap ’Em by Storm: The Missing Thing, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer

55.

You mean the Great Serpent? Well, that’s an interesting answer, but the Electro Archon hasn’t abandoned this place.

— Shikanoin Heizou, Tenryou Commission Detective, Trap ’Em by Storm: The Missing Person, Canned Knowledge Recording from Lumine, First Sage of Buer