Speaking her back story, it's time for a quick crash course in Shinto beliefs (trust me, it's relevant): Shinto is a Japanese religion that worships spirits called Kami; the word sometimes is translated as god, but it can also mean divine/divinity, or just spirits in general. The kami are usually depicted as nature spirits, and they can represent nearly anything. The weather, the seasons, harvests, war, love, everything is usually tied to a kami in some way. There are over 300 different types of kami, and it's said there are over 100,000 shinto shrines within japan. It was said that your ancestors could become kami too, if they lived virtuously, they would become a guardian spirit that protected the clan. And specific locations also had kami spirits too, a certain river or forest or mountain could have a kami that was it's 'soul' in a way, or it's guardian.
As for Moriko? She used to be considered a somewhat important regional kami in the days of ancient japan. She was the protector of an entire forest, and an entire temple complex was built dedicated to her and the other spirits of the forest, along with miniature roadside shrines for travelers to pay their respects. She would give safe passage to those who were respectful, but could horribly punish those who threatened the land or people under her protection. But for whatever reason, the shrine slowly fell into disuse. People moved away, died in wars or famines, began to disbelieve, only she and history know the true reason now. Whatever happened, eventually the temple was abandonded and to this day is slowly falling into ruin in the forest.
She still lives in the woods to this day though, living within the decaying temple that was once dedicated to her. But now almost no one knows her ancient names and titles any more, and she's fallen into the ways of her trickster spirit kind, getting a form of petty revenge by pranking and scaring those who travel the forest roads. Usually it's harmless, twigs snagging your clothes, the weather acting weird, mysterious rustling in the bushes, stuff like that. But if you desecrate any of the small shrines scattered along the side of the roads, or threaten the forest, it becomes much more severe. And any travelers who find the abandoned temple she calls home and dare to harm it. . . They're lucky if they make it out of the forest still in one piece. Or still sane.
The opposite is true too though. Despite all this, she still sees herself as the guardian of the land, even if people have abandoned her. Anyone who pays their respects at the shrines will find their passage unmolested. Even a simple moment of silence and bowing will usually suffice, or taking a moment to light a stick of incense. Those who leave an offering at the shrines may even find the rest of their journey blessed with good luck, and they will find that the larger shrines in her territory, the ones large enough to enter inside, will be safe havens to rest at night. And the lucky few who find the ancient temple complex itself may even be blessed with a meeting with the goddess herself.
And please leave any comments or questions you have! She's very new so I'd like as much feedback and questions as possible!
Moriko © Ousire
Art by:
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