Episode 08

**"Day of the Disaster"** (災厄の日, *Saiyaku no Hi*) is the eighth episode of the *Toji no Miko* anime series, released on February 23, 2018. The episode was written by Tatsuya Takahashi and directed by Tooru Hamasaki, with storyboards by Koudai Kakimoto, Yuu Shigeta, and Hideyo Fudesaka and animation direction by Takahiro Mizuno, Mayumi Hidaka and Kazuya Kuroda.

The Great Disaster of Sagami Bay that happened 20 years from the present time is considered as history's worst Aradama-related calamity. With Mai and Sayaka joining the group, a joyful reunion with Kanami and the others takes place in the headquarters of Mokusa, while Akane Origami, Yukari's younger sister, informs them about the truth of events 20 years prior.

## Synopsis

Within the headquarters of Mokusa, Akane Origami retold the story of the Great Disaster of Sagami Bay, a large-scale Aradama-related calamity that caused the deaths of 1,089 people and 15,246 additional casualties. During the fourth day of the Disaster, Akane was tending to the injured units of the Special Ritual Riot Squad, while eight women (Yukari Origami, Ema Hashima, Iroha Yoshino, Yukina Sagami, Sana Arami, Yuzuki Fushimi, Kagari Hiiragi and Minato Fujiwara) were among the remaining opposing group that was able to advance deep into the territory claimed by the Great Aradama in Okutsumiya. Ema, Iroha, Yukina, Sana and Yuzuki retreated to safety, while Yukari, Kagari and Minato moved closer to the Great Aradama, with a plan to suppress it. However, only Yukari was able to return.

Sana Maniwa, a veteran of the Great Disaster and the current president of Osafune Girls' Academy, personally owed her survival to Kagari and Minato, which she revealed as the mothers of Hiyori Juujou and Kanami Etou respectively. The reveal came as a surprise to everyone, especially to Hiyori who never knew much about her companion all this time; regardless, Kanami was relieved to confirm that her mother was a Toji like her. Akane then added that the true heroes of the Great Disaster were actually Kagari and Minato, and contrary to popular history, the Great Aradama was not completely vanquished and, in fact, had been gaining more power over time. This power would be capable of causing another Great Disaster if left unchecked.

    Akane continued her story, revealing the hasty conclusion of the Great Disaster by the Special Sword Administration Bureau, as well as the concealment of the identity of the Great Aradama which is **Tagitsuhime** and the survival of both Kagari and Minato. Both the names and Kagari and Minato were removed from official records, and as Yukari Origami rose as the head of the family two years later, she assigned her five companions from the Great Disaster as the presidents of The Five Traditions; still, Kagari and Minato remained forgotten.

Akane remained in close contact with Kagari and Minato, who already formed their own families and were living peaceful lives, all while her older sister gained power within the Special Sword Administration Bureau. Thirteen years after the Great Disaster, Minato passed away, and Kagari was heartbroken by her death. This urged Akane to expose the truth behind the events of the Great Disaster. By tracking down old books, Akane found out that a calming ritual, passed down only to a few members of the Origami Family, involves dragging down Tagitsuhime into the netherworld in exchange for a person's soul; this soul was supposed to be Kagari's, who was capable of using a Jin'i so fast that she can drag an opponent to the netherworld along with her. However, Minato saved Kagari upon using this lethal Jin'i, at the cost of shortened lifespans for both of them.

    Despite this feat by both Kagari and Minato, the Great Aradama Tagitsuhime survived by somehow possessing Yukari Origami, and Akane herself was convinced that Yukari was communicating with Tagitsuhime somehow. In haste, Akane attempted to contact Kagari by sending a letter detailing her knowledge on Yukari, which was later read by Kagari's daughter Hiyori.

As the girls headed to their quarters for the night, Akane talked privately with Kanami and Hiyori about their fateful contact with Mokusa, while Sana and Richard discussed the plans for the vial of noro Ellen stole from the Elite Guards. Afterwards, following a short pep talk with Hiyori, Kanami once more found herself talking with the "Toji in her dreams", which she is now aware is her mother. This particular Minato, however, does not know anything about herself past the first 17 years of her life, and she had to rely on Kanami to tell her about Kagari's daughter. Eventually, Minato began her training with Kanami once more, although slightly curious about being the mother of the girl she has been training with for some time.

    The next day, the six girls were pitted with senior students of Osafune for teamwork-based training throughout the day, and by late afternoon, they saw two students of Osafune testing a pair of S-Equipment. Seeing the equipment in action made Kanami curious about whether it could have changed her mother's fate, but Richard pointed out that all Toji are girls with their own limits, even if the S-Equipment had increased the survival rate of Toji in present times. Richard then revealed that while the world would benefit well from research focused on the netherworld, he continued his research in order to determine Yukari's motivation; he would later find out that S-Equipment existed as a means to a trivial end—for Toji to more efficiently defeat Aradama and retrieve noro. Thus, he warned the girls that their enemy is not merely an Aradama, and he even likened it to a *god* instead.

Sana soon parted ways with Akane, securing the vial of noro retrieved by Ellen earlier with the intention of analyzing it at Osafune. Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Special Sword Administration Bureau, Yukari declared that she had already found Akane's whereabouts.

## Episode Gallery

Led by Yuzuki (left), Yukari's companions retreated to safety.Kagari and Minato were gravely injured after the advance further into Aradama territory.In recognition of their heroism, administrative roles in the Five Traditions were given to Sana Arami, Yukina Sagami, Iroha Yoshino, Ema Kagamishima and Yuzuki Fushimi (right to left).Minato married and had two children, with the elder daughter Kanami trained to become a Toji.Kagari also married and had an only child named Hiyori.Kanami talked to her mother for the first time as mother and daughter.Yukari ominously looks on from within her office room.
## Characters

* Akane Origami
* Yukari Origami
* Ema Hashima
* Sana Maniwa
* Yukina Takatsu
* Kagari Juujou
* Ellen Kohagura
* Mai Yanase
* Kanami Etou
* Hiyori Juujou
* Kaoru Mashiko
* Sayaka Itomi
* Richard Friedman

### New Characters

* Yuzuki Fushimi - the sixth of the Six Elites who defeated the Great Aradama and the current president of Ayanokouji Martial Arts School
* Minato Fujiwara - Kanami Etou's mother and one of two "forgotten" heroes of the Great Disaster of Sagami Bay
* Takako Yonemura (米村孝子) - One of the students of Osafune who trained the six girls in team-based combat. CV: Ayaka Shimizu
* Satomi Ogawa (小川聡美) - Another of the students of Osafune present during the team-based combat training. CV: Meiko Kawasaki

## Trivia

* **Tagitsuhime** is a sea goddess which is considered as one of the daughters of Amaterasu in Japanese folklore. Along with Ichikishimahime and Tagorihime, she was "born" from the spray Amaterasu released from her mouth after chewing the pieces of Susanoo's sword (the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi) in a trial-by-oath.

### Insights by Hisane Kannazuki

This time, on Episode 08, Minato, Kanami's mother, performed a "blade-switching" maneuver. This is a habit of Minato's, and not actually a sword technique. However, the tendency to switch one's sword from the right hand to the left in the middle of a fight and hitting using a single-handed grip is a technique from the Shinkage-Ryu school of swordsmanship.

Moving on, let's expand on the group combat training by the the senior Toji of Osafune Girls Academy. Kenjutsu practitioners being taught in many-against-many and many-against-one combat scenarios is an uncommon thing (conversely, one-to-many scenarios are relatively commonly taught). Needless to say, since practitioners of different swordsmanship schools are frequently banded together, Toji group combat usually involves teaching the specialties of each individual swordsmanship style.

**Source:** Tweet 1, Tweet 2

## Trailers

未放送予告動画とじよこ！第8話「災厄の日」（おもてVer.）"Omote" versionTVアニメ『刀使ノ巫女』未放送予告動画とじよこ！第8話「災厄の日」(うらVer.)"Ura" version