Himiko

Sieshinjo, also known as the Black Witch of Whirlpools, is a mysterious figure in the western regions of Kirigakure. Legends and superstitions surround her name, and many even debate the reality of her existence. Some rumors claim that she's a goddess of nature, others call her a trickster and a glutton. Wherever she goes, tales of the impossible take root and grow.

Appearance
Standing at an imposing six feet in height, Seishinjo towers above smaller women (and even most men). Her raven black hair is tied back in loose ponytails to keep it out of her eyes, and her mouth always seems to be chewing on the end of a toothpick with a bemused expression.

The Black Witch's clothes are composed of pieces of vibrant red leather and black and white silks, with an assortment of decorative frills that accentuate her varied personality. The clothes themselves are short and leave much of her body bare or exposed. Whether this is a stylistic choice or a practical decision for dealing with heavy overgrowth isn't obvious. A ceremonial white robe is tied to her waist by a golden sash, and flutters in the wind behind her as she walks. A rod with a streamer of white tags is sheathed on her lower back. Seishinjo's eyes are a light gray, almost white color, and observe the environment around her in mild interest.

Personality
Seishinjo is a jovial spirit. She enjoys meeting people, seeing new places, exploring, and has a great appreciation for the finer things in life- namely food, drink, food, entertainment, food, and good company.

Her reputation among the people of the region is mixed. She rarely takes a direct role in human affairs except when she's defending people or animals, which leads many to misunderstand her as some kind of local hero. In reality, all she cares about is maintaining the natural balance of the world. Some days this philosophy places her between those who would do evil and the innocent. Other days, between the industry of man and the balance of the environment. Most of the time, she spends her days peacefully exploring the world, meeting new people, and consuming vast quantities of food.

Spirited Away
Seishinjo was originally born into the branch family of the Hyuga clan. During the second war, she was kidnapped as a child by a group of mercenaries during an emergency evacuation of Konoha as it was attacked by an invasion force. She was covertly smuggled aboard a ship out of Ki no Kuni bound for kirigakure. During the voyage, their vessel passed nearby Uzushiogakure. To their misfortune, the island was destroyed as they passed nearby...

As the thousands of summoning seals all across whirlpool were simultaneously destroyed, a tear in reality formed between the ninja world and the animal realm. In the ensuing storm, their ship was drawn inexorably through the rift and into the vast oceans of the beyond.

The smuggling ship was adrift for days, damaged and taking on water. With no way to precisely navigate the strange realm, it was a hopeless situation as they slowly ran out of food and water. The majority of the crew mutinied against the mercenaries that were overseeing the journey, and perished in the resulting bloodbath. The massive bounty for a member of the Hyuga clan motivated her captors to keep her well fed and alive.

Eventually, the wreckage of their ship grounded on an island overgrown with massive plants. In desperation, the group set off into the wilderness in search of food and water. One by one, Seishinjo's captors perished as they succumbed to the natural hazards of the realm and the fearsome predators that stalked them. It was only thanks to her use of the byakugan that she was able to avoid a tragic death. Her expanded awareness enabled her to avoid the largest of the threats, but did not teach her how to survive. The six-year-old slowly began to starve on a diet of raw fruit and insects.

Home is Where the Heart Is


Weakened by thirst and a poor diet, she would have been consumed by one of the insatiable beasts of the animal realm, if not for the timely intervention of a pack of wolves. Banchou the Alpha and his pack took the girl in and accepted her as one of their own.

It was difficult for the young human, at first. Wolves are fiercely loyal, but they are also very independent. She was forced to learn to sleep like them, run far distances like them... and eat like them. You can thank (or more likley blame) Seishinjo's ravenous appetite on Banchou's ministrations. Of course, they taught her more than just how to eat. She became skillful at hiding, hunting and tracking, and her byakugan became an invaluable tool for overtaking prey and setting traps. Seishinjo quickly became a beloved member of the the family, and her canine foster parents became fiercely devoted to her. In a display of affection and trust, they gifted her with a summoning scroll, so that she might call on their assistance when in need.

The girl grew quickly, and in her time took to wandering the deeper reaches of the nature world. In it, she saw many strange sights and encountered many stranger creatures. One such journey changed the course of her life forever.

Where the Wild Things Are
Seishinjo was exploring the tallest peaks of the animal realm, whose craggy, snow-bound tops scrape the underbellies of the clouds. In this cold and harsh environment, a hot pool was the last thing the girl expected to find. Situated at the top of the highest mountain between three branching peaks lie a deep lake of pure, clean water.

Seishinjo resolved to rest and bathe in the heated water, and on a whim dived to see how deep the lake went. To her surprise, she discovered a dragon was sleeping on the lakebed, and his smoldering body was making the water around him boil. His golden scales glowed with an amber light, and every exhalation of his body created a great gout of steam to exit his tooth-filled jaws. Every so often, a hapless fish would wander into his mouth, which would snap shut around and swallow. His body was wrapped protectively around a brightly glowing sphere that seemed to hum and throb in tune to the great spirit's breath and heartbeat.

Undeterred by the dangerous being before her, Seishinjo recalled that dragons possessed knowledge, power and wisdom based on their age... and this beast was ancient. Surely it had something it could teach her. As carefully as she could, Seishinjo removed the orb and hid it, before awakening the serpent. Immediately, the dragon fell into a great rage at what she had done; for a mere mortal to desecrate an object so precious to him as his orb was a crime unto heaven. He would have devoured her on the spot, but her words stayed his retribution.

"I have taken your orb and hidden it in a place you cannot find or reach." This absurd declaration was a grave insult to the dragon's honor, and it retorted, "My powerful body can reach any point on land, and my mighty wings any star in heaven. There is nothing outside my reach." But Seishinjo insisted once again, "You cannot reach it, nor find it, even if you were to fly to the four corners of the world and back again."

Enthused by her ludicrous assertions, the golden dragon immediately set off to prove the arrogant mortal wrong. But time and time again, from the wind swept glades of the West to the burning deserts of the South, and to the snow-buried hills of the North to the wave-crested seas of the East, the ancient dragon could not find his orb. He returned to the mortal woman in defeat, and declared, "I could not find it. My jewel is yet hidden; my body cannot reach it, and my wings cannot take me to it. Where have you hidden my treasure?"

Seishinjo agreed to return the orb, but in return for the knowledge of the secrets of the universe. For a dragon, whose treasures have more value than anything else in existance, it was an easy deal to decide. "In return for my orb, I will teach you what you desire."

"Open your mouth, dragon spirit, so that I may retrieve it." With an expression of shock and anger, the dragon realized his error. In his sleep, the human had tricked him into eating his own orb. He was yet more amazed by the audacity of this mortal woman, who dared to walk into his jaws after tricking him. But dragons are bound by their word, and (in spite of his wishes) he did not consume her as she retrieved his orb.

Darkness and Light
The dragon's training was intense in its calmness, and exhausting in its peace. The movements of its art, even in stillness spoke of motion. The knowledge imparted upon Seishinjo was vast, incomprehensible to any human mind... and so she was taught to broach those limitations, to exceed the constraints and boundaries of identity to gain the true sight. Through philosophical meditation and physical training, she honed her mind and strengthened her body. After a period of thirty years, she was released from training by the dragon. Her kekkei genkai advanced her training to a great extent, thanks to its ability to visualize the nature and flow of chakra. Though she had mastered the art, her experiences had not yet enabled her to achieve true enlightenment.

True experience can only be experienced, not taught, and so Seishinjo undertook a journey to the ninja world. There, she intends to experience the full gamut of emotions, relationships and memories that life has to offer her. Before she departed, the dragon vowed to seek her out in ten years to see what she has learned. If she demonstrates she is worthy of the wisdom imparted to her, he will allow her to live. If she shows that she has squandered his gifts, he will devour her.

Onmyōdō
Onmyōdō (陰陽道, lit. ‘The Way of Yin and Yang’) is a traditional esoteric cosmology, based on the philosophies of Ying and Yang. Growing and receding, life and death, darkness and light; though Yin and Yang oppose one another, they are not in opposition, and each holds the seed of the other, and in time transform into one another. It's often likened to a form of shamanism, that employs divination, feng shui, astrology, and wards against spirits. Godou and Seito are the two main branches of this art, but they are not performed in isolation; by combining these two together, the true magic of Onmyodo is manifest.

Godou
Godou (悟道, lit. 'Path of the Spiritual') is a meditative and philosophical art inspired by the interactions of Yin and Yang. Godou seeks to understand the natures that govern the interactions of all things in the universe. It is a path of illumination and meditative concentration, through which the soul is able to commune with the spirits of the world.

Godou's central focus is the interactions of Yin and Yang (also known as the Supreme Ultimate), which represents the foundation of the universe. This constant shift underlies all peace and conflict. Through the use of the trigrams and hexagrams, a student of Godou can see the truth revealed; that all elements are formed from the varied balances and interactions of Yin and Yang.

Seito
Seito (世途, lit. "Path of the World') is a sequence of physical movements that emulate the states of Yin and Yang. Seito seeks to allow bodies to achieve an equilibrium within the flow and state of the world that surrounds them. It is a path of control and release, firmness and softness, by which the natural state of the body in the environment is achieved.

Seito's central focus is the state of Yin and Yang (also known as the Supreme Ultimate), which represents the foundation of the universe. The states of all things are temporary and transitory. Through the practice of specialized movements, and the influence of a person's yin and yang chakras through inhalation and exhalation, a person's motions can originate a change in their environment.

The 75 Motions
The world in its most basic form is composed of Yin and Yang. All things are derived from this nature, including the elements and combination elements. By channeling her chakra out of her tenketsu and through the surroundings, and by combining this exhalation and inhalation of energy with physical motion, Seishinjo is able to initiate changes in the environment. These external nature transformations are akin to jutsu, but lack the use of hand or written seals, instead employing the motions of the body and a sophisticated understanding of chakra interactions. Seishinjo's byakugan gives her a natural affinity for the performance of this art; she is able to visualize the flow and nature of the environment around her, to such an extent that she can pinpoint the prime meridians of a location. Through analysis of the environment, a cascade of changes can be initiated by Seishinjo by employing specific combinations of these movements.

This art is performed using 75 motions (Yin, Yang, Yin-Yang, the eight elements, and the 64 dual elements).

The Ultimate
Yin

Yang

Yin-Yang

The 8 Principles of Reality
Sky

Lake

Fire

Thunder

Wind

Water

Mountain

Earth

Equipment
Flute

Gohei

Trivia
"Seishinjo" is a nickname that was given to this character after her first encounter with a village in kirigakure. Her strange behavior caused them to liken her to a nature spirit, sprite, or goddess. After they got to know her, they just called her a pig.