Houzouin Inshun

, Class Name , is a Lancer-class Servant summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.
==Profile==
===Identity===
It can be a spear to thrust, a naginata to cleave, a sickle to slash; in any case, it never fails to hit the target—such is the famous cruciform spear of the Houzouin. Houzouin Inshun is the second generation master of the spearmanship, and a man whose skill is extolled as reaching the gods and buddhas.Fate/Grand Order material VI - Houzouin Inshun's profile translated by King of Padoru
Houzouin Inshun was born as . As the successor of the Houzouin, he received lectures in the ways of monks and spearmen from , founder of the Houzouin-ryuu spearmanship. At the time, the Houzouin spear was already widely known thanks to In'ei. That is because the one who improved the base spear that until then was served only for thrusting - bringing forth the ground-breaking cruciform spear that could slice, sweep and knock, in addition to thrust - was this In'ei.
However, In'ei abandoned the spear. “It is not proper for one who serves Buddha to learn spearmanship.” “If you intend to serve Buddha, you should abandon the spear.” He died at the age of 87, while leaving such words for his successor, Inshun.
However, Inshun did not give up on spearmanship. A member of the Houzouin should walk on both the path of Buddha and the path of the spear—like this, he revived the Houzouin-ryuu spearmanship.
===Appearance===
Hozoin is a young, very athletic man, who has trained his body into peak condition for spearmanship.
He first appears wearing a Hakama that conceals almost everything of his body, grayish dark blue in the torso and dull brown for the limbs, with rather long, extended sleeves. A white clothe is wrapped around his shoulders and head, showing only his dark blue, close to purplish eyes. He wears a headband with three pieces of metal sewn into it. For footwear, Hozoin uses wooden sandals. Hozoin's weapon is a spear he holds with both hands, has a black shaft, a strip of white cloth tied around it, a portion made out of black metal at the top with short, wide spikes as a part of it, and a white blade split into three tips, though the middle one is much larger than the others.
In his second Ascension, his clothing goes from brown to bright purple, and the sleeves aren't as long as before, only reaching his elbows now, revealing a black undershirt. Hozoin no longer wears the white cloth and headband, revealing his face and the fact that he does not possess hair at all, in addition to an X-shaped scar on his forehead. He now wears white socks, fingerless gloves with guards, fit for athleticism, and a large, white bead necklace.
In his third Ascension, the purple of his outfit turns yellow. His gloves and undershirt are replaced by arm guards, and his socks are swapped out for knee high footwear while still wearing his sandals. His belt goes from black to bright red, and wears a rope on his back, of the same colour of his belt. His bead necklace increases in length, and the centremost bead now has a yellow tuft of hair attached to it. Finally, Hozoin has added a piece of clothing to his head, with an ornament with a kanji written on it.
LancerHozoinStage1.jpg|Lancer Stage 1 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Matsuryu.
LancerHozoinStage2.jpg|Lancer Stage 2 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Matsuryu.
LancerHozoinStage3.jpg|Lancer Stage 3 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Matsuryu.
LancerHozoinStage4.jpg|Lancer Stage 4 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Matsuryu.
===Personality===
“I don’t need alcohol. For my mowing down becomes dull. I don’t need meat. My thrusting becomes blunt.”
Hozoin Inshun has a very pious character and sees his martial arts abilities as a means of reaching enlightenment, seeing both his role as a warrior and a monk central to his identity. While this makes him very eager, spirited and competitive, he also takes his duties protecting others seriously. His religiousity and conscience also makes him dislike unnecessary violence.
====Relationships====
;Miyamoto Musashi
:"Musashi, huh?"Fate/Grand Order Lines
:"I told you, there’s no outer space."
;Li Shuwen
:"Li Shuwen...the divine spear. As a man who serves the Buddha. I think I need to spar against him once... Never mind. It'd almost certainly be a fight to the death."
;Li Shuwen (Old Assassin)
:That aside, he gets on well with the elder Li Shuwen, and often discusses about techniques while drinking tea.
;Musashibou Benkei / Ushiwakamaru / Sasaki Kojirou
:"Benkei? Ushiwakamaru? And even Sasaki Kojirou's here too? My gosh, Chaldea is a strange place."
;Amakusa Shirou Tokisada
:"I told you. I can’t do Kamikiri-maru."
;Yagyuu Munenori
:"Muh…… Humans are…… The universe is……
〇〇〇〇 line is……"
;Amakusa Shirou Tokisada / Miyamoto Musashi / Yagyuu Munenori
:"Hm...Amakusa Shirou, Miyamoto Musashi, Yagyuu Munenori. Don't know what it is, but it seems like an amazing, and yet terrible lineup at the same time..."
==Role==
===Fate/Grand Order===
====Subspecies Singularity III: Shimosa====
Inshun is summoned by Amakusa Shirou Tokisada at Katori Shrine to serve as one of the Heroic Spirit Swordmasters two days before Ritsuka's arrival. However, unlike the others, he had free will. He left the shrine after having a terrifying premonition, wandering and slaying the spirits that appeared.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 2: Purgatorio (Middle)
He meets Ritsuka’s party while on their way to Onui and Tasuke’s hermitage. With a single strike of his spear, he slew the evil spirits that appeared with the darkened sky. Introducing himself, he explains circumstances. He doesn’t know who summoned him, only knowing when and where he is. He suspects someone is using the Holy Grail to summon the evil spirits.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 1: Purgatorio (Opening)
Day suddenly turns into night occupied by a blood moon. Sensing there will be greater danger than before, they hurry eastward to the hermitage. They try to cut through a bamboo forest when they encounter the Swordmasters. Inshun tries to attack one, only for Tomoe Gozen to deflect him with an arrow. Musashi slashes away Ashiya Douman’s fire, and seemingly thwarts Mochizuki Chiyome’s ambush, only for it to be an afterimage. She then attacks Minamoto-no-Raikou aided by her Heavenly Eye, but her attack is blocked. Shuten-douji unleashes a wave of her special brew said to melt bodies, but Inshun deflects it with Hazy Inverted Moon - Eleven Styles. Yagyuu Munenori then appears and demands Inshun be handed over, stating everyone will be massacred afterwards. Inshun holds the Swordmasters off while the others escape.
He fights Munenori with the aid of his Noble Phantasm. He eventually pierces his heart, but finds he cannot move his spear. Munenori reveals such attacks would kill a human or Heroic Spirit, and introduces himself by his Cursed Name: Saber of Empireo. Douman then casts the Curse of Annihilation on Inshun on Munenori’s command. Inshun realizes he should’ve cut Munenori’s karma, the realm his spear hasn’t reached. His final thought before the curse consumed him is for the others to not get caught, no matter what.
He confronts the others as they continue escaping. He reintroduces himself by his Cursed Name: Lancer of Purgatorio. Musashi fights him when he targets the children for killing. She decapitates him, but he gets up and reattaches his head. The group escape to the village, hide in a nearby haystack. Inshun tries to antagonize Musashi by massacring the village. Afterwards, he massacred the villages to the north and the west.Fate/Grand Order - Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses, Section 3: Purgatorio (Ending)
He comes to the hermitage and attacks Senji Muramasa. Muramasa dodges and destroys Inshun’s upper body with a single blow. Inshun regenerates and boasts there isn’t any technique nor blade that can reach the Spiritual Core of a Swordmaster. Regenerating from another attack, he reveals what he did before coming to the hermitage. He claims his body is now a puppet controlled by karma, so only his complete destruction will stop him. Musashi then challenges Inshun to a duel to reach the apex of her mastery. Inshun responds by casting a spell similar to a reality marble, a field of corpses where the loser’s soul will be consumed. Thanks to Myoujingiri Muramasa, Musashi was able to reach Inshun’s Spiritual Core and kill him.
== Abilities ==
Houzouin Inshun is the strongest jumonji spear wielder who ever lived and the man who reinstated the Houzouin-style Soujutsu after Lord In'ei passed on. A single thrust of his spear is able to obliterate numerous evil spirits and the power difference between them and him is so great that Miyamoto Musashi said they may very well have been kittens. Just from the way he "mowed them down", Mushashi considered the possibility of him being the powerful warrior she had been hearing about. Inshun also boasts an incredible divine aura. His Magical Energy is even on par with that of Saber of Empireo, who was empowered by the Curse of Annihilation.
Appart of his amazing raw power, his skill with a spear is also extremely high, and it even allowed him to step into the realm of the gods and the Buddha himself. “Unparalleled with the spear” doesn’t come close to doing justice and it would be even an insult to call him “the greatest of all time.” Every thrust of his spear, every sweep, every strike, every slash, would be ultimate finishing blows for any other fighter. Watching him fight up close gave Mushashi chills. She also claimed not only that it was so beautiful she could hardly believe it but that no one, at any point in Japan's history has ever wielded a spear with such absolute perfection. She considered that she had a great way to go in comparison.
In Houzouin Inshun's interlude, Inshun battled Lancer of Purgatorio in a simulation and defeated him. According to Inshun, Purgatorio wastes a lot of his power in his strikes, leaving him vulnerable for counter attacks. Purgatorio relies on power that already exceeded his limits, failing to understand his own body. Although Purgatorio may have fared a bit better against an opponent with swords since that had been his focus as a Heroic Spirit Swordmaster, the rest is quite sloppy. He may had gained in one area, but he had lost much in others. Although his spear may have grown sharper, as a Lancer, he had grown weaker. Thus, he lost.Fate/Grand Order - Hozoin Inshun's Interlude
===Skills===
====Class Skills====
*Magic Resistance (D+ Rank): Invalidates exercise of magecraft by one step (Single-Action). Magic Resistance on the level of an amulet that repels magical energy. Only for effects of Japanese sorcery, Magic Resistance is slightly boosted.
====Personal Skills====
*Knowledge of the Sowa (B Rank): A special ability that prevents the reduction of accuracy regardless of how many times the same technique has been used on the same foe. In other words, the ability to “render one’s attacks unreadable to the enemy”. In Hōzōin's case, it becomes impossible to see through his attacks.
*Seeking the Truth of Martial Arts (B Rank): A skill granted to those who purely, wholeheartedly refine their martial arts, ignoring social position, prestige, riches and women. So long Houzouin Inshun holds on to the cruciform spear, his combat abilities improve and resistance to mental attacks will be acquired to some extent.
*Blocking and Attacking As One (B + Rank): Grasps the opponent’s bloodthirst, fighting spirit, hostility, etc. and commences the attack 『before that』 At B rank or above, it’s possible to play the first move as long as it’s not a large-scale attack. However, the first moves against attacks from something with no fighting spirit at all like a machine, are rather weak.
===Noble Phantasm===
His Noble Phantasm is Hazy Inverted Moon - Eleven Forms, a Noble Phantasm that sublimated the cruciform spear’s martial arts that Houzouin Inshun mastered. It indicates the 11 unofficial techniques that Inshun established, which contrast with the 15 official techniques that his predecessor In'ei established. These techniques allow him to cope with any and all enemies. It is also able to cancel out disadvantage derived from fighting against opponents that he is seeing for the first time, or even against those whose weapon is too much strange.
Its power is strong enough to deflect Berserker of Saṃghāta Hell's Noble Phantasm and even though she hadn't invoked its True Name, it was made very clear that any ordinary’s Heroic Spirit’s core would have been run through by her strike, and that he shouldn't have been able to block even a single drop. It was also able to completely destroy Saber Empireo's heart, however, due to having the ability to regenerate granted by the Curse of Annihilation, Inshun was ultimately defeated. Had Saber Empireo had the body of a Heroic Spirit, Houzouin would have won.
==Development==
===Creation and Conception===
Houzouin Inshun was designed by MatsuRyuu in Fate/Grand Order. His scenario writer is Yuuichirou Higashide in Fate/Grand Order.
===Comment from Illustrator===
"A pleasant and refreshing monk. There are also specifications from Takeuchi-san, youthful and cheerful while being monk-like, and I designed him to look like a man of character. The design of the priest’s garbs is imagined with the appearance of the court rank rising with each Ascension. Also the crossed wound on his forehead was done by a master fencer with two swords he had a match with in his young days… That’s my headcanon." (MatsuRyuu)
==References==
Category:Servants
Category:Lancer-class Servants
Category:Characters in Fate/Grand Order (Part 1.5)
Category:Heroic Spirits
Category:Japanese Servants
Category:Humans
Category:True Neutral Servants
Category:Human Attribute Servants
Category:Brynhildr's Beloved
Category:Buddhists
Category:Heroic Spirit Swordmasters
Category:C rank Strength Servants
Category:D rank Endurance Servants
Category:D rank Mana Servants
Category:B rank Luck Servants
Category:A rank Agility Servants
Category:C rank Noble Phantasm Servants
Category:Introduced in 2017
Category:Voice - Daisuke Namikawa