"Thou art I... and I am thou... From the sea of thy soul, I cometh... I shall lend you my strength..."
Seimen Kongou is a Persona in the series.
History[]
Seimen Kongou, also known as Shoumen Kongou (青面金剛) is a Rakshasa of Hindu lore and a protector deity in Japanese Buddhist lore. The first record of Seimen Kongou comes from the Darani Jikkyou, a 7th-century text. He originally caused disease and suffering, but he rededicated himself to protect from the ills he once caused. He often appears as a blue deity with four arms who carries a three-pronged vajra, a staff, a wheel and a coiled rope. The four objects represent various things: the Vajra represents the indestructible power of Buddhism, the staff is a ceremonial tool, the wheel represents Buddha's teachings, and the rope is a hunting weapon that symbolizes power over evil.
Seimen Kongou began to mix with Taoism during the Kamakura period, which caused him to become a deity of the cult of Koushin. The Koushin believed that on the eve of the new year, before leading to the year of the monkey, it was very easy to have one's life cut short. To prevent this, they would gather scrolls of Seimen Kongou or Sarutahiko to hold a celebration. They remained awake all night in front of statues of the three monkeys: See no evil, Speak no evil, hear no evil.
Appearances[]
- Megami Ibunroku Persona: Emperor Arcana, as Starion in Revelations: Persona
Profile[]
Megami Ibunroku Persona[]
"A being originated from the syncretism of the Taoist Koshin and the Dosojin Sarutahiko. Originally a demon who spread disease, he and his 9,000 servants would consume the souls, flesh, and blood of humans. He later decided to redeem himself and began to heal people from sickness and epidemics. Seimen Kongou is commonly depicted with blue skin, four arms, and a sword, while grabbing the hair of an evil bug disguised as a human who shortens people's lifespans, and trampling an evil demon under his foot.
It was during the Heian period (794-1185) that Seimen Kongou was first introduced to Japan, but it wasn't until the end of the Muromachi period (1336-1573) that knowledge of him became widespread. During the Edo period (1603-1868), it became popular to portray him in stone monuments as a servant of the three wise monkeys that embody the concept of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.""
Seimen Kongou is the initial Persona of the protagonist. He can be recreated in the Velvet Room, but has Worst affinity for everyone but the protagonist. When Seimen Kongou is returned to the Velvet Room at MAX Rank, he will yield a St Incense.
Stats[]
Megami Ibunroku Persona[]
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Quotes[]
Revelations: Persona[]
- "I'm you, you're me. I have emerged from your soul. I can help you." (Upon awakening)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In Seimen Kongou's artwork, he is depicted as having three monkeys. This detail does not appear in his in-game sprite or in the manga.
- The three monkeys wear different accessories to cover certain parts of their body which follows the Japanese pictorial maxim the three wise monkeys. These include one monkey wearing a face mask that only covers the upper part of the face and its eyes ("see no evil"), one wearing a face mask that covers the mouth ("speak no evil") and one wearing headphones ("hear no evil").
- The design of Seimen Kongou was greatly inspired by Star Platinum in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, the third part of Hirohiko Araki's manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.[1]