Toji (刀使, lit., "sword-user") are shrine maidens, particularly those who are officially affiliated with the Special Sword Administration Bureau, who are given the duties of responding to the threats caused by Aradama. They are known mainly for using Japanese swords with supernatural power called okatana.
Military units and Toji, as a whole, comprise the Special Ritual Riot Squad, a military service that is organized to specialize in anti-Aradama combat.
Background[]
Aspiring Toji are female students of pre-adult age—between 13 and 18 years of age. Those who are successfully admitted receive training in both academics and swordsmanship in one of five middle and high schools that specialize in educating Toji. These are Minoseki Academy, Heijou Institute, Renpu Girls' School, Osafune Girls' Academy and Ayanokouji Martial Arts School. At this stage, students are already considered Toji in their own right, and are expected to answer to Aradama sightings, although depending on the threat level of such Aradama, they are taught to defer any action for until senior Toji have arrived.
Aspiring Toji are required to enter a screening process wherein applicants are tested for their suitability in using an okatana. The process is held within the campuses of the Five Traditions, and involves a staff member witnessing an applicant as it attempts to use Utsushi using an okatana provided to them. An applicant may be enrolled as a Toji if it has successfully demonstrated sufficient compatibility with okatana use. However, those who have failed this process may still enroll at a Five Traditions school, but only as a non-Toji student.
Uniform and Equipment[]
As students and government figures, Toji present themselves through the uniforms of the school they are affiliated with. This uniform, which varies among the five schools, bears the elements of military-style attire and both the characteristics of Western-style and Japanese-style school uniforms. And the most important, their service weapon, the okatana, which are the only weapon capable to defeat Aradama. Information on the Toji and the okatana registered to them is recorded in an identification booklet.
Toji are also given several additional tools to further aid them in responding to threats. The Spectrum Finder, which replaced the archaic Spectrum Meter, acts as a communication device and a sensor that detects nearby Aradama as well as its threat level. Also, in large-scale Aradama battles and high-risk situations, Toji can gain access to the S-Equipment, which gives a massive but temporary boost to the Toji's combat capabilities.
Combat Abilities[]
In order to defeat Aradama, Toji are trained with special training methods, allow them to perform superhuman feats by using the okatana as an intermediary. A Toji's mastery of each of these abilities are assessed and assigned a level (between 1 to 5 or unassigned) depending on specific factors; Utsushi serves as an exception to this rule as it is assessed according to the maximum number of times the Toji can use, how long and focus they can maintain the abilitiy.
- Utsushi - Transforms the user's body into an energy-like state, allowing the user to take damage without direct bodily injury.
- Jin'i - Allows the user to move at superhuman speeds by slowing down the flow of time.
- Hachimanriki (八幡力) - Increases one's physical strength using divine power.
- Myougan (明眼) - Gives the user's eyes the ability to visually detect heat signatures.
- Toukaku (透覚) - Alters hearing to be able to audibly detect faint sounds.
- Kongoushin (金剛身) - Coats the user's body in a gold-colored material that momentarily dampens and nullifies the impact of incoming weapons.
Meanwhile, a Toji's overall capabilities are graded using a ten-point system for each of the following parameters: Physical Strength (身体), Mental Strength (精神), Offense (攻勢) and Defense (守勢). Using these parameters, a Toji is classified under four types:
- Type A: Offense and Physical Strength. Attacking specialists that can take on multiple opponents at once. Focuses on attacking faster than the opponent could. Sayaka Itomi is a Type A Toji.
- Type B: Defense and Physical Strength. Defensive specialists that can receive and counter parried attacks. Mai Yanase and Ellen Kohagura are Type B Toji.
- Type C: Offense and Mental Strength. Specialists in one-one-one combat. Related to the idea of hitotsu no tachi or the "one sword" technique. Hiyori Juujou, Kaoru Mashiko and Yukari Origami are all Type C Toji.
- Type D: Defense and Mental Strength. Specialists in one-on-one combat where they control their opponents. Also capable of adding feints to their attacks. Kanami Etou is a Type D Toji.
There are also various kenjutsu school for Toji to pick and learn in order to increase their combat efficiency.
Some special Tojis like Yukari Origami and Hiyori Juujou can fuse with Great Aradama, massively boost their strength and speed and gain abilities from Great Aradama, notably like Dragon Eye allow for near future predict. But at the same time put a heavy toll on user body and mind. Need intense training to maximize the power boost and abilities while minimize the drawback. It is revealed in Toji no Miko OVA that Yukari Origami and Hiyori Juujou could sense the presence of a Great Aradama, it is unknown how they have this ability, but it is possibly this is the result of fusing with a Great Aradama once.
Retirement and Dismissal[]
Upon graduating from high school, Toji can officially enter a process of retirement. In this process, the Toji would return the okatana in their possession and are removed from the roster of active Toji. However, their records remain in the database of the Special Sword Administration Bureau, and can be accessed by the authorities in certain situations. The okatana returned by retired Toji can thus be registered to a new Toji. Meanwhile, retired Toji generally enter the workplace, at times employed in occupations related to the duties of Toji and the Special Sword Administration Bureau.
The powers of a Toji enter a gradual process of diminishing as soon as a Toji reaches adulthood. For this reason, it is recommended for Toji to retire upon attaining adult age. One exception to this is Yukari Origami who, for unexplained reasons, was able to retain her Toji powers despite being at around 30 years of age at the present time.
Even after the complete loss of one's powers, a former Toji may retain some of its physical abilities (like perception of fast objects due to experience with Jin'i) as well as susceptibility to phenomena related to Toji and the Netherworld.
History[]
Originally, Toji served dual roles. As wielders of okatana, they slayed and purified Aradama, and as shrine maidens, they retrieved any noro gathered from slain Aradama, separated them and enshrined them as part of the shintai in Japanese temples. This practice, however, started declining during the Meiji Era where the number of established shrines was diminished due to economic reasons, and noro from closed shrines were processed into Spectrum Meters or transformed into Aradama.[1]
Several years later, as Japan feared for a wartime scenario, the country sought to militarize both noro and the Toji system. As defensive technology based on noro were developed with the help of the United States, back in Japan, Toji slowly lost their purpose as shrine maidens and adopted their current roles in slaying Aradama and aiding the Origami Family in stockpiling Noro.[1]
List of Known Toji[]
Note: All Toji are the current owners of their specified Okatana unless otherwise specified.
Notes[]
List of Non-Toji Active Personnel[]
Not all students of the Five Traditions are Toji. Some students chose to pursue fields outside of suppressing Aradama, including okatana craftsmanship, research, combat support, and Shinto studies due to a variety of factors, including unsuitability to use an okatana and debilitating injury.
Name | School | Occupation | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Akane Origami | Renpu Girls' School | Non-combatant | Retired |
Chika Shimoishii | Osafune Girls' Academy | Swordsmithing student | Active |
Emily Watanabe | Osafune Girls' Academy | Sword mounting researcher | Active |
Hina Aoto | Renpu Girls' School | Okatana polisher; shopkeep of Aoto-kan | Active |
Hoozuki Terashita | Minoseki Academy | Okatana lacquerer | Active |
Keiko Haji | Ayanokouji Martial Arts School | Engineering student | Active |
Kihiro Morishita | Ayanokouji Martial Arts School | Equipment researcher | Active |
Kinuka Mizushina | Ayanokouji Martial Arts School | Strategic staff officer | Active |
Kozue Nishi | Osafune Girls' Academy | Operator | Active |
Miyako Sasano | Osafune Girls' Academy | Engineering student | Active |
Momo Tatsunami | Heijou Institute | Engineering student | Active |
Rika Subara | Minoseki Academy | Shrine priestess-in-training | Active |
Saaya Koike | Heijou Institute | Student; pursuing office career (former owner of Renge Fudou Teruhiro) | Retired |
Sakura Hamazuka | Renpu Girls' School | Medical staff; Renpu classified research staff | Active |
Tsutomu Niwa | Heijou Institute | Okatana polisher; sword management specialist | Active |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Toji no Miko Episode 09, "After the Festival".