"Others among the Kunitsukami may lap up the Allfather's lies, but I know better. To unseal the ark is to betray the world. I will put you ignorant fools in the grave before I let you usher in ruin."
—Sukuna-Hikona, before fighting him in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Sukuna-Hikona, also known as Sukunabikona or in full, Sukuna-Hikona no Kami (少彦名神*)?, is the Japanese dwarf deity of healing and sake brewing and is associated with hot springs. Despite being born an Amatsukami, Sukuna-Hikona assisted the KunitsukamiOkuninushi in building the world and formulating protections against disease and wild animals in myths from the Izumo region.
He first arrived in Izumo in a small boat of bark and clad in goose skins. Later, he was picked up by Okuninushi, and Sukuna-Hikona promptly bit him on the cheek. The two, nevertheless, became fast friends.
Sukuna-Hikona is one of the Kunitsu who were convinced to ally themselves with the Hebrew God to confront the Amatsu, only to be betrayed and imprisoned inside a shrine in the Abyss and required to be escorted out. He holds a fragment of Masakado's corpse, in his case, the left leg.
Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE[]
Sukuna-Hikona, despite having held a placeholder role in the game's files for years, has yet to be introduced as a player demon. He does appear as an non-playable character central to the Chain of Curse storyline, where he aids the player in lifting Omoikane's curse and confronting a crazed Take-Mikazuchi in Shibuya's metro. Sukuna-Hikona is a blunt character that doesn't hesitate to insult the player if they come unprepared, such as when the player refuses him Magnetite in some parts of the storyline.
In the Basilica, he will spawn at a random location on the New Moon phase and can drop soul point vouchers. He will only be able to be damaged by one of the four elements randomly and has incredibly high critical and critical defense. If not defeated before the phase is over, he despawns.
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse[]
Sukuna-Hikona is the final guardian of the Ark in Kanda-no-yashiro, which seals away Krishna, leader of the Divine Powers who threaten everyone who lives in Tokyo and the world. He is one of the few Kunitsu to not believe the Allfather's lies. As the battle goes on, he poses a question to Nanashi, which affects the battle depending on the response:
"Why must you unseal the Ark? The one sealed here will bring evil to your world. Evil you cannot even imagine. More gods will only create more confusion and chaos? And yet, you still wish to unseal the Ark? Do you not understand the gravity of this situation?"
"We're doing this for humanity."
Assist Gauge +1 Sukuna-Hikona +Tarukaja
"We don't need deities."
Sukuna-Hikona +Tarukaja
Ignore him
No effect
During the battle, Sukuna-Hikona will attempt to inflict ailments upon the party, lower their Defense and use Physical skills to strike the party. He has no response to his own attributes being lowered. He alternates between casting one of Infernal Hailstorm or Needlestorm each turn.
Physical based characters can take advantage of his weakness using stones or a Smart Bazooka loaded with Erthys rounds that can be obtained in Ueno. The Bare Chest or Blue Marine body armors will mitigate damage from his elemental attacks. Exploiting his weakness to sickness with Cough or Pandemic Bomb will reduce his damage output and prevent him from dodging attacks despite agility reductions from Infernal Hailstorm. He may use Posumudi to cure the status ailment at the beginning of his turn.
Upon defeat, he laments that this is the price the gods of Japan pay for having kept peace through force and force alone, crumbling afterward and leaving the Ark defenseless.
Sukuna-Hikona can be fused through a special fusion of Okuninushi, Mermaid and Gu Huo Niao. He can teach Nanashi the Makajam and Concentrate skills through his Demon Whisper, but his unique skills cannot be passed on in any way. Sukuna-Hikona benefits from learning Ice, Force, ailment, Physical and support skills.
Shin Megami Tensei V[]
"One of the gods of Japanese lore. Son of Kamimusubi, he was so small he fell through her fingers at birth. Though he would normally be counted among the Amatsukami, he became blood-brothers with Okuninushi and is now considered a Kunitsukami. After building Japan with Okuninushi, he is said to have returned to Tokoyo no Kuni, the land of eternity."
—Shin Megami Tensei V lore
Sukuna-Hikona is a member of the Kunitsu race and can be obtained as an ally through a special fusion of Koropokkur, Azumi and Kaya-no-Hime.
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army[]
"My power comes not just from my own body... It is born from the accumulation of the hatred of all those oppressed since ancient times... It cannot be stopped by the likes of a Kuzunoha!"
—Sukuna-hikona, Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
Sukuna-hikona plays an important role in the events of the story. In Raidou Kuzunoha XIV's confrontation with Major General Munakata, the general is ultimately revealed to be manipulated by Sukuna-hikona within his body. Crawling out Munekata's body through his mouth, Sukuna-hikona engages Raidou in a battle.
Furious with "the servants of the Amatsu" for driving back his own people, Sukuna-hikona hates all humans in the Capital, and agreed to use the mystery demon possessing Kaya Daidouji's plan to destroy it with the Soulless God Oumagatsu, a massive war machine, and the titular Soulless Army, a group of undead soldiers retrofitted with special armor and techniques.
Despite Sukuna-hikona's miniature size, he is a powerful foe, capable of using a special skill that seals Raidou's movement for a time being. Should the seal hit Raidou's demon allies, they are forcefully ejected back to into their tubes, forbidding Raidou to resummon them until the end of the battle. It is revealed in Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon that he was possessed by the rage of the Kunitsu, turning him into the being seen in-game.
Soul Hackers 2[]
"One of the gods of Japanese lore. Son of Kamimusubi, he was so small he fell through her fingers at birth. Though he would normally be counted among the Amatsukami, he became blood-brothers with Okuninushi and is now considered a Kunisukami sic. After building Japan with Okuninushi, he is said to have returned to Tokoyo no Kuni, the land of eternity."
—Soul Hackers 2 demon info
Sukuna-Hikona is a demon of the Kishin race and can be obtained through fusion at the Cirque du Goumaden once Ringo is level 22.
Persona 4[]
"The child-god Sukuna-Hikona was born with a body so small that he fell between his mother's divine fingers after his birth. Extremely clever despite his tiny size, he sailed to Japan in a boat made from a seed-pod, wearing a moth's skin for clothing. Sukuna-Hikona became one of the nation's guardian gods, dispensing wisdom associated with agriculture, medicine, brewing sake, and the use of hot springs. At his birth, because of his small size, he was considered worthless by the other gods."
—Sukuna-Hikona's profile in Persona 4: The Official Strategy Guide
Sukuna-Hikona appears as Naoto Shirogane's initial Persona. Even though Sukuna-Hikona is a deity of medicine, he is unable to learn healing spells, instead specializing in Light and Dark skills along with Almighty attacks. However, the Shadow he manifested from had wanted to perform a "body-altering operation" of sorts.
Sukuna-Hikona's design is reminiscent of one of Shotaro Ishinomori, the creator of Kamen Rider and the framework of the Super Sentai series,'s more obscure creations, Inazuman, having a Lepidoptera-like (particularly a butterfly, similar to Metis' Persona, Psyche) superhero motif, particularly with Sukuna-Hikona's blue face and antenna-like head crest. Sukuna-Hikona's cyan blue elementary school-themed outfit, on the other hand, is more in line with the iconic outfit worn by the protagonist of the long-standing crime/drama series, Cased Closed.
When Naoto's Social Link is maxed, Sukuna-Hikona evolves into Yamato-Takeru.
Persona 4 Arena[]
Sukuna-Hikona returns as Naoto's Persona. He utilizes Hama and Mudo skills which can either inflict Break or outright KO the enemy, and is one of only three Personas capable of using Megido skills (albeit as a hair-trigger type bomb), the others being Pallas Athena and Thanatos.
Sukuna-Hikona is also one of the Personas possessing a skill that they cannot learn in the original games, with it being able to learn Double Fangs (and is also shown as a non-Persona attack).
In Ultimax, the latest skill it receives is Blight (Venom Zapper in Japanese), a skill it can learn naturally in Persona 4.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night[]
After completing a song, Sukuna-Hikona can be summoned to play a violin.
Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2[]
An event titled The Little Kunitsukami was held in the game to coincide with Sukuna-Hikona being added to the game.[1][2]
+15% to Light damage. +20% to own affect on Battle Speed.
Innate
Invincibility Aid
Auto
Adds Light Pierce. +20% to Light damage.
When attacking first at beginning of battle: Enters a state of Might.
When a party member enters a state of Might, Charge, or Concentrate: Inflicts Light (Magic) damage (Power: 100) on a random enemy, and increases own party's ATK and EV/AC by 20%. (1 turn) This Chain Effect can only be activated once per turn per status effect.
Innate
Exorcise Evil
5 MP
Inflicts Light (Physical) damage (Power: 150) on a single enemy. The damage inflicted by this is dependent on Mag ATK, and counter effects will not work on this skill.
Innate
Mahamadyne
7 MP
Inflicts Light (Magic) damage with 120 power on All Enemies.
Aragami (Awaken)
Butcher
Auto
+20% damage to skills that target all or random enemies.
Aragami (Gacha)
Solar Downfall
Auto
Activates the following Chain Effect at the beginning of battle:
If user's party attacks first: Reduces all enemy DEF and EV/AC by 20%. (1 turn)
Protector (Awaken)
Light Amp
Auto
+25% to Light damage
Protector (Gacha)
Light Enhancement
Auto
+15% to Light damage. +10% damage when attacking the enemy's weak point
Psychic (Awaken)
Epitome of Swiftness
Auto
Increases this demon's effect on Battle Speed by 25%, +10% to Phys EV.
Psychic (Gacha)
Null Dark
Auto
Adds Dark Null.
Elementalist (Awaken)
Epitome of Aggression
Auto
+15% to Phys hit rate, -45% chance of receiving status ailments.
+15% to Ice damage. +20% to own affect on Battle Speed.
Innate
Ashihara no Nakatsukuni's Might
Auto
Adds Ice Pierce. +20% to own effect on Battle Speed. HP stops at 1 upon receiving the first 2 killing blows.
At start of own turn: Decreases the Ice Attribute Affinity of all enemies by 2 levels. (1 turn)
When a party member strikes an enemy weakness: Restores 1 MP to all party members, increases the ATK of all party members by 20% (1 turn), and decreases the DEF of all enemies by 20%. (1 turn)
Innate
Descent of Ice and Snow
Auto
The effect of normal Attacks will be changed to the following: Inflicts Ice Damage (Magic, Power: 100) with Bulwark Pierce 2 times to a single enemy (Total Power: 200), and decreases the target's Ice Attribute Affinity by 1 level. (1 turn). Gains 1 Boost Level at the start of own turn. Level 1: Damage dealt by this skill, including the Chain Effect, will now ignore death prevention skills. Level 2: Increases Power to 120. (New Total Power: 240) Level 3: Now activates the following Chain Effect when the attack is successful: Inflicts Ice damage (Magic, Power: 60) with a Bulwark Pierce to all enemies.
Innate
Everlasting Ice Dance
6 MP
Inflicts Ice damage (Magic Power: 100) with a Bulwark Pierce to all enemies.
Aragami (Awaken)
Ice Amp
Auto
+25% to Ice damage
Aragami (Gacha)
Solar Prosperity
Auto
Activates the following Chain Effect at the beginning of battle:
If user's party attacks first: Increases own party's ATK and EV/AC by 20%. (1 turn)
Protector (Awaken)
Epitome of Swiftness
Auto
Increases this demon's effect on Battle Speed by 25%, +10% to Phys EV.
Protector (Gacha)
Kushinokami's Conviction
Auto
HP stops at 300 HP upon receiving the first killing blow. +20% to Ice damage.
Psychic (Awaken)
Ice Enhancement
Auto
+15% to Ice damage. +10% damage when attacking the enemy's weak point
Psychic (Gacha)
Null Elec
Auto
Adds Elec Null.
Elementalist (Awaken)
Ice Survivor
Auto
+15% to Ice damage and HP stops at 1 HP upon receiving the first killing blow.
Elementalist (Gacha)
Gallery[]
General[]
Sukuna Hikona concept art in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
Sukuna-Hikona as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
Sukuna-Hikona's model in Shin Megami Tensei V
Sukuna-Hikona as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
Sukuna-Hikona as he appears in a cutscene with a normally sized NPC
Sukuna-Hikona, as seen in Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
Sukuna-Hikona appears in Persona 4 The Golden Animation
Concept sprite from Persona 4 Arena
Sukuna-Hikona sprite
Sukuna-Hikona sprite
Sukuna-Hikona in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
Sukuna-Hikona playing the violin in Persona 4: Dancing All Night
Sukuna Hikona in Side: P3
Sukuna Hikona in Side: P4
Trivia[]
Sukuna-Hikona's Order in Raidou Kuzunoha VS The Soulless Army is Tokyogami (東京神) in Japanese, but Tokoyogami in the English version. It's not known if this was a typo or an intentional change. Tokoyo is an archaic Shinto word for the afterlife, and depending on how it's written, it can mean "eternal world" (常世) or "eternal night" (常夜).
Sukuna-Hikona's Persona 4 design, a small child in blue suit and short pants, is a reference to the fictional detective Conan Edogawa who shrinks into a child form from his teenage body. This is further supported by Naoto's mocking introduction in Persona 4 Arena, "the body of a child-the brain of a genius," which is derived from Conan's catchphrase of "I may have the body of a child, but I have the brain of an adult."
.png "P4AU (P4 Mode, Naoto and Labrys ready for combat).png (1.49 MB)")
