Mashira

Mashira
Character Information
Birthday:	Unknown
Age:	Unknown
Height:	175 cm (5'9")
Bloodtype:	Unknown
Occupation:	Amami's servants
Innate Element:	Fire (Seki) Wood (Ryoku) Earth (Kou)
Weapon(s):	Claws
Hobbies:	Climbing trees, playing pranks
Voice Actor(s):	Kouichi Toochika
Live Action Actor(s):	Infini Akio Ozone (Kou stand in; December 4)
First Appearance:	Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5
Seki has red highlights, Ryoku has blue, and Kou has green

Mashira (ましら) is an umbrella name for a trio of secondary antagonists in Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5. Their individual names are Seki, Ryoku, and Kou (セキ・リョク・コウ). The trio always work in unison and are never seen apart. Kazahanaki reprises their role for a single character route.

Role in Games

The Mashira spirits inhabit monkey statues at Nikko Toshogu Shrine. They're given human forms by Amami, but use their second chance to cause chaos at Yuki's party. They guard the shrine and command undead soldiers, leading to Chinami's desertion and Ryouma's death. They later serve as Amami's protectors but awaken a vengeful spirit to harm Yuki. Yuki thwarts their plans and defeats them in the end. In Miyako's route, she cares for them alone.

Yuki and company erased the majority of her previous adventure yet Amami continues to raise the Mashira in Kazahanaki. They only appear during Takasugi's personal route. Their master hasn't given them any orders so they decide to amuse themselves by ordering an undead battalion to attack the Edo suburbs. They trap a battered Yuki within a flaming building and taunt her to plead for their help.

The player can have her be defiant or choose to go with them. If she gives them sass, they will leave her to keep continuing Takasugi's route. Accepting their offer is a bad ending, but the monkeys will stay true to their word and teleport her away from danger. In exchange, she must be their slave and puppet until the day she or the worlds dies. They keep her neck bound and drag her to where ever they desire.

Character Information

Personality

The monkeys exhibit a cruel and merciless nature towards their prey, devoid of any sense of morality or compassion. They derive amusement from mocking and taunting others at their own discretion, without any regard for the consequences. In the absence of any specific instructions, they roam freely, following their own whims and desires. However, their loyalty to Amami is primarily driven by fear, as they dare not betray the vengeful god and risk incurring his wrath.

Seki, on the other hand, possesses a keen insight and seeks to analyze his own human capabilities for his own convenience. He is the one who voices his disagreement with Ryoku's stubbornness. Disgusted by the overreliance on sight among people, Seki has chosen to blind himself, allowing him to see only what he desires.

Ryoku, in contrast, is characterized by his upbeat and crude demeanor. He often assumes the role of the trio's spokesperson, engaging in arguments with his comrades whenever they express differing opinions. His short temper frequently gets the better of him, as he believes in responding to others with the same rudeness that he perceives from humans.

Kou, the silent member of the trio, is the most composed among them. However, when provoked, he becomes the most terrifying and ruthless. Only Seki possesses the ability to understand Kou, as he vocalizes his thoughts for others to comprehend.

Character Symbolism

Mashira is an archaic pronunciation for a singular monkey. The three wise monkeys are real and are better known as the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys overseas. While it's popularly assumed that the idea originated from Japan, the three monkeys have been seen together in Ancient Egypt, India, and China prior to their earliest mentions in Japan. It's very likely that the idea was brought to Japan since they are mentioned within Kōshin texts and reliefs. The monkey statues at Nikko Toshogu Shrine were made popular by overseas visitors, thus leading to its mistaken prominence as a native Japanese concept.

Their symbolic color is mustard. A common presumption with the plant is that they are all poisonous in their organic state.

Quotes

• "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."
• "Our vision broadens without sight; our echoes resound without hearing; our words can be heard though we do not speak them. We will teach you to understand our ways, Priestess."
• "Lord Amami ordered us to never harm the Priestess. But he also ordered us not to let a single soul pass this gate. Looks like we got ourselves an impasse."
• "Hey, don't get upset at me! Get angry at them! They're the ones messing everything up!"
• "Yeah, keep screaming in agony. It's music to our ears."

Fighting Style

The monkeys have a hard-hitting group attack if they are together, so low leveled parties should take one of them down as soon as possible. Once one falls, the other two will be easier to defeat. If they are too agile for the current party to hit, use Chinami or Miyako for better accuracy.

Gallery

Battle portraits

Haruka 5 live action theater production