Asa Yamagami

Voice | Yumi Mizui (English)

**Asa Yamagami** is a blacksmith who resides in Kanezaka.

## Story

Asa mastered the blade through years of training and discipline, and is regarded (by Genji at least) as the greatest swordsmaster in the world. She believes in taking action, standing up for oneself and fighting for what is right.

### Swordmaster

Asa's mother and grandmother tended the Tetsuzan Shrine outside Kanezaka. Asa raised her daughter, Kiriko, as a "fierce ninja" of a mother. Asa wanted Kiriko to follow in her footsteps, but Kiriko chose to follow her grandmother's path as well.

Asa and her husband, Toshiro, ran Yamagami Blades in Kanezaka, both of them forging and wielding swords. She was chosen by the Shimada clan to be their swordsmaster, and she taught Genji and Hanzo Shimada in the ways of the sword. She also taught them how to wall climb. Kiriko learned alongside the brothers.

### The Hashimoto

One winter's day, the Hashimoto clan took Toshiro away, forcing him to craft blades for them. Furthermore, by keeping Toshiro interred, they had leverage over Asa, forcing her to keep the peace in Kanezaka—doing otherwise would put the people at risk.

Yamagami Blades was closed up at some point afterwards. The Hashimoto allowed some visitations (such as an autumn visit), and Toshiro was able to send their daughter a blade. Asa wrote to her husband in response, hoping that the blades that he was forced to forge for his new masters weren't as sharp.

The following spring, eight years after his abduction, Asa wrote to her husband, telling him that Yamagami Blades remained locked up, and that she and her daughter had moved to the upper level, and filled him in on the going-ons in Kazenaka. Asa missed him deeply, and reflected on the Shimada clan, and how they contrasted with the more cutthroat Hashimoto. She also reflected that over the last few months, shipments of Hashimoto contraband have gone missing, and messages had started to appear, but had been painted over. She told him that she would make an offering to the fox shrine, before returning to her forced patrol of Kanezaka's streets. Much as she loathed to do so, she had to find the vigilantes who had been bringing grief to the Hashimoto.

### Homecoming

After Asa's mother died, Kiriko returned home and got her own appartment. Asa worried about her, and made regular visits to her daughter, much to Kiriko's consternation. During the Fox Festival, Kiriko returned home with boxes of doughnuts, which was yet another reason to give Asa cause for concern, in addition to her other concerns about the apartment block her daughter was living in, her presence on Kanezaka's dangerous streets, and that she had stopped training with her. She was similarly unimpressed by Kiriko's claims that she was protected by the Fox Spirit.

Kiriko exited the appartment while Asa was making a meal, and she only realized when she heard the commotion in the outside hallway. Spying through the keyhole, she watched Kiriko fight off a group of Hashimoto enforcers. Kiriko re-entered the appartment, and Asa revealed that she'd watched everything. The two made up, and Kiriko agreed to move in with her mother, at least for a little while. Asa, overjoyed, told Kiriko that her grandmother would have been so proud of her, and tearfully exclaimed that her daughter was a superhero.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 2022-09-15, Overwatch 2: Kiriko Abilities, Backstory And Gameplay Trailer. *Forbes*, accessed on 2022-09-17
2. ↑ 2022-09-21, Blizzard Email: WELCOME KIRIKO TO OVERWATCH 2. *Sent on 21/09/2022*
3. ↑ *Overwatch 2*, *Genji Quotes*
4. ↑ 2022-09-21, Overwatch 2: Kiriko | Developer Update. *YouTube*, accessed on 2022-09-27
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 2021-01-11, CORRESPONDENCE POST FOR TOSHIRO YAMAGAMI. *Blizzard Entertainment*, accessed on 2021-01-13
6. ↑ 2022-09-15, Overwatch 2’s new hero, Kiriko, is the support character for Genji fans. *Polygon*, accessed on 2022-09-15
7. ↑ *Kiriko Origin Story*
8. ↑ 2022-09-21, Kiriko Origin Story. *YouTube*, accessed on 2022-09-27
9. ↑ 2022-09-15, Overwatch 2 Reveals New Hero Kiriko, A Ninja Support Hero And The Protector Of Kanezaka. *GameSpot*, accessed on 2022-09-15
10. ↑ *Kiriko*