@kenkamishiro / kenkamishiro.tumblr.com
A phosphene is a ring or spot of light produced by pressure on the eyeball or direct stimulation of the visual system other than by light. While the symbolic meaning of the title is not immediately apparent at first the heavy V14 parallels in the current situation, there is a parallel in Kaneki who had pressure specifically applied to his eyes by Arima.
What does this mean for Touka tough? Read under the cut below.
The mention of Touka, Hinami and the others passing through underground passageway #20 but not yet #21 raised a few alarm bells.
In the Fool’s Journey, these correspond to the tarot numbers:
20 ‘Judgement’
21 ‘The World’
In chapter 125, the moment where Touka is cradling Kaneki’s head and both are illuminated by the sunrise, we had a tarot number which many think was a 19- ‘The Sun’
Not only because popular fan theory had us at ‘18- The Moon’ stage before this but also *cough* its apparently a pun about orgasm [x] *cough*.
The ending of one tarot stage and beginning of another are never really clear cut in TG and often aren’t obvious until we’ve passed the arc and can look back on events. Touka and co. have reached the end of passageway #20 but have yet to make it fully through #21, their way possibly being blocked by the appearance of Juuzuo.
Juuzuo who has carried ‘Judgement’ since the Auction Raid, with his hair clips and stitches making ‘XX’ or ‘20′
I personally don’t think we’re through the Judgement stage yet but it’s possible that whatever Juuzuo’s actions here may lead to Kaneki (The Fool on this Journey), reaching this:
It is time for the Fool to make a deeper Judgement (20) about his life. His own personal day of reckoning has arrived. Since he now sees himself truly, he can make the necessary decisions about the future. He can choose wisely which values to cherish, and which to discard.
The angel on Card 20 is the Fool’s Higher Self calling him to rise up and fulfill his promise. He discovers his true vocation - his reason for entering this life. Doubts and hesitations vanish, and he is ready to follow his dream.
Alternatively, Juuzuo preventing Touka from passing through passageway #21 (aka halting the story from moving into the final stage of the journey- The World) may signify Kaneki faltering for a time on his journey, not ready quite yet to reach the end.
Separately from Kaneki’s Fool’s Journey, it’s been hinted that Juuzuo himself may have to pass down his own Judgement
“If you could keep one, would you pick a dog or a cat? You’d need to kill the other.”
Perplexed.
- from Juuzuo’s Birthday prose [x]
One of the Saddest things that I think came out of this chapter is the thoughts of friends this chapter. This is because Touka is experiencing the “loss” of a friend for just being who she is and Yoriko associating with her. This was something that Touka never wanted, and part of the reason she stayed away for so long. Touka wanted to protect Yoriko from ever being associated with her just in case she was ever discovered. Yet, by doing that it backfired when Yoriko decided to find her friend and unintentionally got herself in the middle of a violent jealousy.
This leads Touka into this place where she is overcome with the guilt of all of her desires for Yoriko were flushed down the drain. With the only thing she can do is deny their friendship in a last ditch effort to get her out of trouble. This in many ways parallels the relationship that Hide and Kaneki had.
Kaneki and Hide had been friends for a majority of their lives, they went through the toughest points of their lives together. So of course when Kaneki became a ghoul, he wanted to protect him from himself. The fight with Nishiki not only showed the danger of ghouls for Hide, but also how he himself is the most dangerous thing. So little by little Kaneki started to pull away, until he disappeared completely after the Aogiri Tree arc. It was because Kaneki pulled away that, Hide started to look for him joined the CCG and ultimately showed up in the sewers to let Kaneki eat him.
This parallel is in how all Touka and Kaneki wanted to do was protect their friend, but in their desire to protect them they only lead them to what they never wanted for them. Touka never wanted Yoriko to find out she was a ghoul, so she’s “arrested” for being being associated with Touka and never turning her into the CCG. Kaneki didn’t want Hide to get hurt or killed, so he ends up in the situation where for him to survive he had to eat a part of Hide. It shows that the more you try to protect someone, and in many ways losing the core of the frienship which is spending time with someone you care about someone you are supposed to be able to tell anything to. Touka and Kaneki ignored that for trying to protect their friend and it bit them in the ass because their worst fears came true.
This fact also leads to the most tender part of the chapter where Touka asks for Kaneki’s advice.
About how she should be dealing with her feelings, because she just closed a bridge with Yoriko to protect her again. She cant see Yoriko for the time being because it would void her saying she didn’t know her. So she asked Kaneki what he did in a similar situation. He just tells her sincerely
He tells her that he never did anything, because if he did he would just be tempted to see him again, which he didn’t want to do. Which in many ways highlights the issue that they are having. That both Touka and Kaneki were being hypocritical in their actions to someone they care about.
Kaneki didn’t want to be alone so he left Hide alone, Touka didn’t want to be abandoned and she abandoned Yoriko. I feel like this shows how much fear can make you do things to someone that hurts them thus undermining anything you were trying to do for them. It shows that while they have grown they still have this major roadblock in front of them. I feel like one of the last pieces of development that Touka and Kaneki need, is to finally confront their fears with the humans they hurt themselves trying so hard to protect.
So this cover page was published with “134″, and at the time I thought it was rife with meaning. Which is a little strange because the caption is not something I’ve seen discussed. So let’s discuss it.
While one of the most important plot points in TG/TG:RE revolve around Kaneki’s suicidal desires and his depression – We have never seen anyone discuss Touka’s. In this fandom, Touka’s motivations are often under-analyzed, and quite a bit about her nature and personality is missed because of this.
While Touka is a character who is quite strong and decisive, she is also a character who is deathly afraid of being alone.
From a young age, Touka has lost most of the people in her life who she cared about. First her mother, then her father, who left home and never returned. From that point, she was forced to grow up quickly in order to care of both herself and her brother. Then, after finding a new family in anteiku, Touka loses her brother after he abandons her to join aogiri.
Losing loved ones – either to death or abandonment creates an intense pain within Touka, to the point that she is willing to throw her life away in order to quell it. We see our first glimpse of this after Ryouko is killed by the CCG. When she first learns of her death, Touka immediately wants revenge, even at the risk of her own life and the others at anteiku.
At this time, the pain of losing a loved one is so much that she can’t move on. She can’t move past this without trying to get revenge for Ryouko, even after being forbidden, she still makes her move. Later, in her conversation with Kaneki, we learn more about her motivation to put herself at such great risk.
Touka explains that she can’t stand the idea of kind ghouls like Ryouko or Hinami are killed without remorse or hesitation, but she also says something interesting here. “It’d be a better for a murderer like me to die.” While Touka is not actively trying to get herself killed, she also doesn’t seem to mind if she dies. She has a negative view of herself, calling herself a murderer and putting herself down. If it’s for the sake of protecting loved ones or avenging murdered loved ones, she would gladly die.
We next see this reckless nature when Kaneki is taken by aogiri.
Touka is willing to go into aogiri alone to try to get Kaneki back. Doing so would effectively be a suicide mission, but she doesn’t care – getting Kaneki back is more important than her own life. Not losing another person is more important to her, even if getting him back is nearly impossible on her own.
Next time, we see her attempt to do this again during the anteiku raid. Yomo has to stop Touka from going to anteiku, as she claims that while she doesn’t want to die – she also doesn’t want to be alone. She can’t stand the idea of losing her new family, and argues with Yomo, saying that she deserves to be punished, just like the other members of anteiku. Her fear of being alone outweighs hers desire to live.
She can’t stand the idea of going through that pain again.
She has a breakdown in this chapter, asking why everyone around her has just randomly died or left – and thinks back to all of the people in her life who she has lost, or is about to lose. She still wants to go save them, and she still want to die with them.
Luckily, Touka seems to have been able to move past this way of thinking over the years thanks to Yomo’s influence – and is later able to leave him behind in the underground, remembering the words that he told her during the anteiku raid. But, this aspect of Touka’s character is so important, tragic, and often overlooked.
Touka revealing her two-winged kagune in the chapter ‘Bestowed Wings’ was an epic moment but beyond that, it’s also rich in symbolism which has followed her throughout the entire series. Birds, bird cages and wings have been a motif consistently surrounding the Kirishimas [x] and these themes are beginning to come full circle.
Touka’s character design has always reflected her status of walking between the human and ghoul world, with one kakugan covered by her hair and one ‘injured’ wing
If you separate her two sides, one has all the appearance of a human, while the other a ghoul. Considering half-ghouls are meant to be the bridge between the human and ghoul world, this is important for Touka as a ghoul whose deepest wish is to be human. In such a way, she is one of the key characters we’ve seen who wants to breach the gap between the worlds.
This symbolism began back in her childhood with Chunta the sparrow, when the CCG came for her, and the human and ghoul world first collided in Touka’s life. Chunta had a broken wing and was unable to fly, so was kept in his cage to keep him safe and warm as he recovered.
The day the CCG came for Touka and Ayato, they went back to free Chunta and he pecked Touka’s right eye; the eye she covers with her hair
This was also the first time Touka used her kagune, much earlier than a ghoul her age was expected to
Ever since, Touka had only been able to use ‘one wing’ of her kagune and covered that eye. She also developed ornithophobia, a fear of birds. Birds are a classic symbol of freedom and Touka’s aversion to them is a reminder of that day when she lost her home, when her Father was taken from her. Fast forward years later, at Anteiku and School she has another home that she’s afraid to lose.
In the chapter ‘Caged Bird’ Kaneki checks on Touka to find her sitting in contemplative silence with Hetare [x]:
She pities Hetare trapped in his cage but … everything she says applies to herself too. Touka is also the caged bird.
“He’s being kept in a cage and he can’t fly around freely”
She was being kept safe in the bubble she built around herself at Anteiku and school but at the price of hiding her true self. As Ayato says, “that incomplete wing that isn’t able to fly”.
“It’s probably cramped in the cage but it’s definitely difficult to survive in the outside world”
Touka lived her life blending in with humans for survival. It’s difficult not being able to ‘fly around freely’ but just like Chunta and Hetare, that is whats enabling her to keep her place in the world. The stability she found at Anteiku. The imaginary cage surrounding her among humans.
“This guy is pretty pitiful”
… I think this line shows a lot about her own self-image- aka “I’m pretty pitiful”.
Yet in :re we see Touka with two wings.
The reason why?
She hasn’t seen Yoriko since the Anteiku Raid. Yoriko was Touka’s connection to the human world just as much as Hide is for Kaneki. Touka being forced to abandon Yoriko also signified her leaving behind the human world. No matter how much :re was made as a new home; a new replacement for Anteiku, it was never made with the same intent- a place for humans and ghouls to come together in harmony. :re was a place for return, for all those lost to come home to. Touka’s disconnect from the human world meant it could never really become the haven for peace between the two worlds.
Since she’s no longer walking the tightrope between humans and ghouls, her kagune reflects that. She now has two wings at the price of her place side by side with Yoriko. Yet she still hasn’t reached a place of self-acceptance.
Pitiful. Ugly. Monster.
These are all descriptions of Touka about herself, about ghouls.
Following the scene in the church, Kaneki mentions this;
What if one were only rejected by the human who they wanted a helping hand from more than anyone else
Touka has been irrevocably changed by her friendship with Yoriko and her time in the human world. And now Yoriko has whole heatedly accepted Touka after knowing the truth
The next step for Touka would be reconnecting with Yoriko and instead of wishing to be human, coming to accept herself as she is.
At the beginning of TG, she was so impulsive and seemed to not have too much value in her own life.
After the death of Hinami’s mother what did she do? Went and tried to kill the investigators on her own. No back up. No one knowing where she was. Coming back beat up. Only really considering things once Kaneki showed more interest in her being alive than she did.
But now look at her, standing her ground and thinking things through.
When shown the hand and told it was Yoriko’s hand, she didn’t lash out. Instead she stayed calm, acted as if she had no idea who Yoriko was, and focused on the fight at hand boo puns. She could have gotten angry and lost focus, which is probably what Mutsuki was hoping for, but she didn’t.
Also acting as if she didn’t know who Yoriko was is so smart of her. Whether or not that is in fact her hand, Touka acting as if there is no connection between them will keep Yoriko safe and unconnected to the ghoul world. This is something she would have had to think of on the spot, in the middle of a life or death battle.
Touka could have also stayed and continued to fight Mutsuki but she took the first opportunity to get her and Kaneki to safety. Touka from the start of tg would have tried to fight her way out and feel like she running away was the wrong thing to do.
She made a place for Kaneki to come home to, is ready to fight at his side, but also knows when to run away.
She has grown both smarter and stronger. I’m so proud of her.
am i the only one who thought that kaneki didn't actually want to sleep with her? :O
Hey now. So there’s a moment right before Tsukiyama barges in where Touka’s words sink into Kaneki, and he turns to look at her.
It dawns on him that Touka is not only mutually attracted to him, but cares about him the same way he cares about her.
That’s the meaningful part.
Remember back when both Arima and Kaneki finally realized that they cared about each other, but it was already too late? The two of them were so caught up in their own issues, with depression and single-minded goals, that there was no room at all for the concept of being loved by someone else.
Kaneki has been in that frame of mind despite Arima’s death. He’s been so focused on protecting everyone, that once again he fails to realize that people care about him, too.
But now Touka is handing him a space in her heart made specifically for him to fill, in a way that he can actually comprehend.
What’s more, she’s still alive, and with her whole future ahead of her.
This chapter is about the possibility of allowing someone he loves to be by his side– not behind or ahead of him– for the first time since losing Hide. Asking Touka to come with him at last is the most undeniably terrifying, but beautiful thing for him, which goes leagues beyond stupid ass ship wars and “Do They Wanna Fuck?”
Back then you said that Touka could be Kaneki's equal and tbh, I didnt understand exactly what you meant, but with today's chapter I realised that Kaneki needs someone to be by his side, not behind or ahead him and Touka just gave him that posibility, I think today's chapter is about this (alongside with the obvious "lets do it 😏 when the time comes and you feel ready") and it became clear when he asked her to go with him, once you think about it with a cold head it is really beautiful
Aww Anon…!
Yes, Touka is Kaneki’s equal because she doesn’t see the OEK when she looks at him. She’s his equal because she cares about him, romantically likes him and she’s not afraid to tell him, even though she’s aware she could lose him anytime as they both live knowing this is war.
That’s mostly why, like you, I’m happy about…
…this scene.
There is no doubt that Kaneki in fact never thought about him and Touka “together” before (even though he has Haise’s memories) and his recent depression wasn’t of help at all when it came to thinking about wanting a possible relationship. Nonetheless, he fully understood what Touka meant just before Tsukiyama barged in the room and, even though he didn’t have the time to give her any answer back then, this scene above is the beginning of his answer.
And really, I don’t think Mutsuki, Furuta and V are going to really get in the way of that. I might be biased, but really I don’t think I am, it’s not even about shipping.
If Kaneki really didn’t have any idea as to how he felt about Touka or what she meant to him, or even if he really didn’t feel the same way as her, he could have just sent her with another group. Yet, by asking her to go with him, he showed her that he heard everything that she told him and that he’ll try to act differently from now on.
Again, I don’t think I’m biased when I say that there isn’t any ambiguity in Kaneki’s feelings for Touka. What’s less obvious is whether he’s ready or not to think about being happy for once, despite the war outside, Furuta and the purpose Arima gave him. The fact he never thought about a possible “together” between Touka and him before (again, Haise aside) makes me think he’s not there yet in his head, but this chapter was the beginning of something, otherwise he would have left her behind again.
Thanks for reading Anon, I’m really happy if you think I made sense about their relationship at least once before! xD Thanks for passing by and have a nice weekend :3
Kaneki's desire to die being confirmed by canon, puts a lot of context now to Yomo's line to Touka, "All you can do is live on with the sadness," and why that convinced her not to go to help with Anteiku when Kaneki, Koma and Irimi all still went. It's really grim, but I think they almost did a better job of that scene in Root A with Kaneki right there, but just out of Touka's reach, and Yomo preventing her from going to him because by that point Kaneki couldn't live on with the sadness.
Ah, yeah, I hadn’t thought about Yomo’s words to Touka, but that’s a good comparison. And, especially with Touka’s story being one where she’s escaped the cycle of violence that ruled her younger days, it’s interesting to contrast with Kaneki’s.
Touka and Ayato went through a lot when they were younger and lived by the whole “the strong get to do what they want” attitude that Ayato still has, but Touka was convinced by Yoshimura to attempt to live another life more in line with what her father originally tried to give to them. She was ultimately able to move past the painful things in her life and learn how to be happy again after losing so much. And she’s ended up in a stable and relatively peaceful life as a manager of a coffee shop, living with people she cares about.
Whereas Kaneki didn’t quite make it there. :(
Now, there are really a few possibilities as to who exactly cut off Haise’s arm, and I think we all know who the most likely culprit is. But I’d like to list a few candidates anyway just because it was left ambiguous and it’s fun to speculate.
Judging by the way his arm was cut off and that fact that they were able to do a long range Ukaku-style attack, this leaves three major candidates.
First off we have our mostly likely candidate, Kanae. The rose prince currently scaling his way up to the roof spiderman style. He was last seen heading that way specifically to find Shuu and talking to himself about bringing him home. Before that we saw Eto brainwashing him into thinking he has to take away Kanae’s most important person, who he currently still belives is Shuu, though we’ve seen that Tsukiyama feels otherwise. Even though he’s a Rinkaku, he has Eto’s Ukaku or, “bone” now, and has already been using to de-arm or decapitate people. Boy’s got good aim.
The second option here could be Touka. Ishida loves parallels, and while it was Shuu’s arm she cut off in order to save Kaneki and Co. last time, this time she’d be saving Tsukiyama. But why? Doesn’t she hate Shuu? Well, probably a little, yeah. But Touka also inherited Yoshimura’s will, and it was Anteiku’s policy to help other ghouls. Tsukiyama did a few things wrong, but everyone at :re has lost someone close to them, so I don’t think any of them believe he deserves to lose his entire family, immediate and extended, all in one night. Tsukiyama also spent a lot of time with Kaneki. Interfering also means sparing Haise of a choice she knows he may regret deeply later on.
Now maybe the last and most mysterious one, Floppy. And by floppy, I mean Amon. Amon has been mentioned a few times in this arc, and even made a little appearance to help save Saiko. In a cloak. Sort of like the ones being worn by the mystery people who were already on a roof somewhere watching over something before the Haise/Tsukiyama fight even started. If Amon is one of Kanou’s “flops” then he must also be an Ukaku, with the ability to use it, like we saw in the Shikorae right. I personally don’t think Floppy, as a whole group at least, will make a major appearance until the next arc, however the last time they showed up, though it was a minor appearance, was a major raid which involved both Aogiri Tree members and the CCG, just like this one.
So, in Part 1 I discussed the Dominant/Sadistic women in Tokyo Ghoul. Now we’ll be moving on to the next group:
The Fighters
I’ve chosen to separate these characters out from the pure sadists of the first meta because, while they may enjoy fighting (and even, sometimes, killing), they are not purely sadistic and do not simply kill for the fun of it.
1. Touka
Similarly to Rize, when Touka is introduced, she is played up as being feminine and somewhat weak. Hide hits on her in Anteiku, and later, when Kaneki sees her, she’s being harassed by an old man who clearly intends to molest her, at least.
Of course, his fun doesn’t last long, because Touka is anything but weak.
Touka’s facade is employed far less than Rize’s. Later in that scene she mentions that she wasn’t even hungry. She didn’t use it to lure this man in as prey…she didn’t even want to eat him. He was just a creepy old bastard who was attacking what he assumed to be a helpless young girl. Since her meals are supplied by Anteiku, she only kills this man because he’s freaking out about Kaneki’s eye. The truth is, Touka is not a sadist, nor does she particularly enjoy the hunt. However, Touka is tough. She’s a lot stronger than Kaneki, and we get plenty of scenes of her beating him and/or saving him in tough situations, such as the fight with Tsukiyama in the church.
It isn’t until Kaneki goes through his torment at Jason’s hand that we really see him as being more powerful than Touka. It is only due to Touka’s strength and willingness to engage in violence that Kaneki makes it as far as he does.
However, Touka’s tough identity is also stripped from her over the course of the story’s events. After her fight with Ayato, she’s very much changed. Though to some extent, the changes in her personality truly begin when she see’s Mado’s wedding band. Even so, we see her becoming much more involved at school, building a friendship with a human, studying to get into Kamii. Ultimately, she’s excluded from the final Anteiku showdown, and goes on to open her own cafe. Though some of her rough edges are still intact in :RE, she’s ultimately presented in the story as being much more feminine and soft than she was in :RE. Even the ways that she’s drawn changes throughout the manga from a harder style to a still androgynous, but softer style to :RE, where she’s very soft-looking.
Beginning of Tokyo Ghoul:
End of Tokyo Ghoul:
:RE -
It remains to be seen how much Touka has changed as a character, but her dominance seems to be quite diminished. Again, I’ll allow the reader to come to their own conclusions about this evolution, but I also think it’s important to recognize that Touka’s passivity in :RE is complex; she’s allowing Kaneki more agency in that she’s giving him the opportunity to choose to return to her and the others, to the ghoul world. She no longer comes off as super rough and tough, but it remains to be seen whether her dominant/fighter side is still intact.
2. Akira Mado
One of my favorite female characters in Tokyo Ghoul, and one of the ones I was most excited to write about, is Akira Mado. Though I would firmly categorize Mado as a “fighter,” she’s undoubtedly a dominant woman, to the point of acting in ways that are considered fairly socially unacceptable. For example, she spends a great deal of time in the beginning on testing and challenging Amon, who is not only above her in rank, but is also male and directly in charge of her. With all of her male coworkers, Akira takes no shit; if they are kind to her, she is kind to them. If they are sarcastic and mean to her (lookin’ at you, Seidou), she throws it right back to them, with more sharpness and more wit. Akira is beautiful, incredibly intelligent, hardworking, and somewhat cold. She engages in stereotypically feminine behaviors (such as eating less to watch her figure) and dresses hyper-femininely, even in combat situations, but much of this comes off as a mechanism to assert her gender, despite her decidedly masculine interests and behaviors.
She is clearly very sexually unavailable to the men around her, prompting frustration from Takizawa, who describes her as an “asexual weapons fanatic.” Despite this, she is often portrayed from domineering angles (especially in fights) and uses several quinques that look and behave like whips.
(Why are you in a dress and heels right now, Akira?)
Akira’s image, in other words, recalls that of a certain kind of dominatrix…the kind that remains fully clothed while upstaging and beating men who are quite clearly her inferiors. Not that Akira is reduced to this image, quite the contrary; she’s portrayed as a very complex character, with a depth of emotion and a wealth of talent usually reserved for complex male characters. However, I do not believe that the repeated images of Akira wielding a whip and dispatching male ghouls are an accident…and neither is her ability to outsmart and stand up to the male investigators around her.
Still, while Akira takes pleasure in the fight, she’s hardly a sadist, nor is she unfeeling. Perhaps the reason why Akira is always fully dressed in her moments of domination is due to the fact that she is, in fact, vulnerable. Unlike Eto or Nutcracker, we see moments of intense, almost uncomfortable vulnerability from Akira.
3. Ihei Hairu
Since she’s a newcomer, it will be interesting to see how things progress with Ihei. However, it is already quite clear that Ihei is another female character who is quite dominant, though she doesn’t appear to be at first blush.
Thought she seems cute, young, and sleepy-eyed, Ihei is a brutal and skilled fighter.
Further, Ihei knows that she’s strong, and an impressive fighter. Additionally, Ihei doesn’t take the same pains to retain a feminine appearance that Akira does; though she has pink, girlish hair, she prefers menswear, and never goes into battle in skirts.
I imagine there will be more to say about Ihei in the future, but I would certainly consider her in the ranks of dominant women in Tokyo Ghoul.
With all of these characters, the erotic/violence dichotomy is more muted than it was for the Sadists, but at the same time, sadism more often than not carries notes of the erotic in almost every form. There are other women who might fit into this category, such as Matsumae and Irimi, however, they are quite mysterious side characters and we don’t know much about them. The similarity between these characters and the Sadists is that, with the exception of :RE-Touka, they are presented as dangerous, dominant, and objectively superior to most of the men around them. Unlike the sadists, however, none of these women have been subjugated and/destroyed by the men around them. Again, I will allow the reader to come to their own conclusions regarding that observation.
Stay tuned for Pt. 3: The Abusers.
Earlier, I made a post on how Touka’s rabbit mask was based on an in-universe popular character series, and how the character’s name was Kachikachi. This would ring alarm bells for anyone who knows the Japanese folktale of the rabbit, the tanuki, and Kachikachi Mountain. Warnings for cannibalism, torture, and cute animals doing terrible things.
This is my own summary of the tale based on what I remember! There are regional differences and official English translations may exist.
The Tale of Kachikachi Mountain (かちかち山)
Once upon a time there was an old couple who lived in a farm on the mountains. Every day they would go out into the fields and plant seeds and crops, but there was a malicious Tanuki (raccoon dog) who would chant songs for bad crops and dig up and eat whatever the couple had planted.
The Old Man finally had enough, and succeeded in catching the Tanuki in a trap. He told the Old Woman to make him into a tanuki stew and went out into the fields to work again. The Tanuki knew the Old Woman was kind and begged for his life, promising he would never do bad things again and saying he would help with the housework. The Old Woman believed him and released him, but the Tanuki beat her with a mallet and made her into stew. He disguised himself as the Old Woman, and when the Old Man came back he fed him the Old Woman’s meat saying it was the Tanuki stew he had wanted. When the stew was finished he laughed at the Old Man and escaped back into the mountains. The Old Man tried to catch him but could’t keep up.
The Old Man spoke to a good friend living in a nearby mountain, the Rabbit. The Rabbit decided to take revenge on the Tanuki in place of the Old Man. The Rabbit invited the Tanuki to gather up kindling together. They gathered up lots of kindling and hoisted them on their backs. On the way back the Rabbit walked behind the Tanuki and began striking flint. “What is that kachikachi noise?” the Tanuki asked. “This is Kachikachi Mountain,” replied the Rabbit, “and it is the cry of the Kachikachi bird.” The Tanuki believed the Rabbit and walked on. (There are a few more exchanges in the full-length tale.) The Tanuki’s firewood caught fire, and the Tanuki had severe burns.
Later the Rabbit visited the Tanuki’s home with miso paste mixed with hot peppers, saying it was a medicine good for burns. The Tanuki spread the paste on himself and spent many days in agony.
(There are many more tricks the Rabbit plays on the Tanuki, but the last trick is always the fishing trip, for obvious reasons.)
When the Tanuki’s burns had healed the rabbit invited the Tanuki to a fishing trip. He prepared two boats, a smaller boat made of wood and a bigger boat made of mud. As the Rabbit had expected, the Tanuki picked the bigger boat in his greed. When they had gone out into the water the Tanuki’s mud boat began to dissolve. The Tanuki begged the Rabbit for help, but the Rabbit drowned the Tanuki with his oar. And that is the tale of how the Tanuki was punished for his wrongdoings.
Image Source: Wiki - Here, have an oar to the face.
It’s a gruesome tale, and little Japanese children do grow up listening to this as their bedtime story and learning this in preschool. (And this is pretty tame compared to some other folktales.)
How does this all relate back to Touka? Kachikachi the Rabbit’s name was revealed in Ch22 for the sharp-eyed fans, during Hinami’s arc. During that arc Hinami was powerless to protect herself and Touka decided to take revenge on her behalf. After a number of encounters Touka finally kills the man responsible for Hinami’s suffering, Mado Kureo. There are a few differences, such as Hinami not wanting to take revenge and just wanting to be with her family again, or Touka feeling guilt after seeing Mado’s wedding ring. Other than that it’s easy to assign the characters with their counterparts in Kachikachi Mountain:
If you had seen the Kachikachi reference and knew the tale it means you could have essentially predicted the whole storyline of the arc. This also explains why Touka never was truly active as the Rabbit again after the events in Hinami’s arc. Ayato took her place as the Black Rabbit in all subsequent CCG reports. Touka had fulfilled her role as the avenger for Hinami, and was no longer the Rabbit in Kachikachi Mountain.
I’ve seen a few comments saying they want her to still have the phone strap, but after realizing this I hope she doesn’t have it any more. In TG Touka’s character development was about trying to ease away from the cycle of destruction and revenge between ghouls and humans. Her actions as the Rabbit - killing investigators in the 20th ward and turning the CCG’s attention towards 20th ward and ultimately Anteiku - was indirectly responsible for the Anteiku Raids, and she knows it. The last time we saw the Kachikachi strap was in Ch126, when she was watching the news on the Anteiku Raid and she has to face the consequences of her actions.
It can’t be a coincidence the rabbit strap is so prominent here, right?
In :re we see her development - Touka is no longer rash, and is able to think about the consequences her actions may have. In future chapters I hope we see her with a new animal counterpart and mask, for she has suffered enough as the Rabbit, and has moved beyond the cycle of revenge.
This is my first long meta post, so feel free to add anything! I hope it was easy to follow.
I feel like Touka represents have of the fandom in such a way where she may have wanted Kaneki to come back to being with. She may have wanted him to abandon everything and join the ghouls again. But now, with the knowledge that he’s happy with the CCG and has found a family who has finally cared for him, she doesn’t want him to come back. She wants him to be happy and stay with the ones he loves. So to her, it’s better if he doesn’t come back, because if he came he’d be sad.
But she continues on saying that if he doesn’t have a place to return to :Re will be his home. And this means that even though eh has become a dove, her most hated enemy—she hasn’t turned her back on him. She still sees him as a friend, and will welcome him back no matter what.
Maybe this is why :Re, is called :Re, because Kaneki is returning home, whether he stays with the CCG or comes back.
A list of very important canon facts about Touka:
Hi there! I want to ask about Nishio Nishiki. He has family name right? How did his sister got it? And what about Touka? If I'm not mistaking, she had it too right? So, when arata dies, how come she still able to go to school?
Yup, his family name is Nishio. I’m assuming he and his sister got it from their parents while they were still alive.
And Touka’s family name is Kirishima. And she can still go to school even without an actual parent. Yoshimura might be acting as her guardian to allow her to be able to go to school.
Hello! So, you guys know I promised I’d post this about three days ago. Thing is, my mom got sick and I had to take care of her; and then I had a huge revelation concerning Kaneki and had to edit his whole card thing; and then my Internet service decided to crash for a whole day. Anyways, here it is! Hope you can forgive me. I’ll be working now on the latest chapter’s post tomorrow and then on a post no one really asked for but I want to do (hint: is about animals and symbolism).
