Hōzōin Inshun

TIP

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Info

Bio-Data

Class: Lancer
True Name: Hōzōin Inshun
Gender: Male
Source: Historical fact
Origin: Japan
Alignment: True Neutral
Height: 177 cm
Weight: 79 kg

Meta

Character Creator: Higashide Yūichirō
Character Illustrator: Matsuryū
Character Voice: Namikawa Daisuke
Appearance in Main Works: Fate/Grand Order

Stats

Parameters	Values
Strength	C
Constitution	D
Agility	A
Magical Power	D
Luck	B
Noble Phantasm	C

Class Skills

Magic Resistance: [D+]

Invalidates exercise of magecraft by one step (Single-Action). Magic Resistance on the level of an amulet that repels magical energy.

Only for effects of Japanese sorcery, Magic Resistance is slightly boosted.

Personal Skills

Knowledge of Sōwa: [B]

A unique special technique that doesn’t reduce the accuracy of hits no matter how many times the same technique is used against the same opponent.

Attacks can’t be seen through.

Seeking for Truth in Martial Arts: [B]

One of the skills that is conferred to those who ignore status, renown, and women, and wholeheartedly polished martial arts.

As long as Hōzōin Inshun has the Cruciform Spear, his combat ability increases, and he gains some degree of resistance against mental attacks.

Two Steps Ahead: [B+]

Grasps the opponent’s bloodthirst, fighting spirit, hostility, etc.

and commences the attack 『before that』.

At B rank or above, it’s possible to play the first move

as long as it’s not a large-scale attack.

However, the first moves against attacks from something with no fighting spirit at all like a machine,

are rather weak.

Noble Phantasm(s)

Oboro Uradzuki Jūichi Shiki: Hazy Inverted Moon Eleven Styles

Rank: C
Type: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm
Range: 1~5
Maximum number of targets: 1 person

Oboro Uradzuki Jūichi Shiki.

A Noble Phantasm that sublimates the martial art of the Cruciform Spear that Hōzōin Inshun mastered.

Against the list of 15 techniques established by his predecessor In’ei, Inshun displays the 11 unofficial forms he established.

It’s the type of techniques devised by Inshun, who was praised because 「That spear reaches the gods and the Buddha」, and makes possible to deal with any enemy or technique.

Also, no matter if it’s an enemy met for the first time or how bizarre the weapons are,

and it’s possible to eliminate the disadvantages due to a first encounter.

It has a high effect against skills like『Instinct』 and 『Bravery』.

Character

Pronouns

First person pronouns: 拙僧 (sessō) / Rarely 俺 (ore)
Second person pronouns: おまえ (omae)
Third person pronouns: 彼 (kare) / 彼女 (kanojo)

Personality

Besides polishing his spear and its techniques, he’s an uninteresting seeker of the way. Speaking correctly, rather than uninteresting, it’s more like he 「doesn’t have any interest」. Things like fortune and renown lower the 「purity of the techniques」———— Inshun thinks.

Him having responded as a Servant to fight, is because his interest in 「how far will the karma of this spear I stuck to my past life reach」 has welled up.

Fundamentally, if the spear isn’t involved, he’s a calm, virtuous and harmless person.

Attitude Towards Master

He fundamentally favors being good.

He rarely kills innocent people, but shows no mercy for an opponent that challenges him to a fight.

Regarding the life and death of people he’s a human of olden days, and although he’s a bit indifferent, he doesn’t fail to mourn those who fought.

Dialogue Examples

「Hōzōin Inshun, has come. Now then, where is a place I can use my spear?」

「My lord. Hasn’t the time to use this spear come yet?」

「Alcohol is unnecessary. The mowing down becomes dull. Meat is unnecessary. The thrusts become blunt.」

「Umu umu. Cats are good just by crying meow meow.」

Historical Character and Figure

Hōzōin Inshun, family name Mitsuda Gennosuke. As the successor of Hōzōin, he received teachings as a spearman and priest from the founder of Hōzōin-ryū spearmanship, In’ei.

At that time, Hōzōin’s spearmanship was well-known to the public thanks to In’ei.

Because the one who had improved the bare spear that could only perform thrusts until then, and created the ground-breaking cruciform spear that in addition to thrusting could slash, sweep, and strike, was him, In’ei.

A spear to thrust A naginata to mow down A scythe to pull

In any case it never fails

There is such a poem praising the cruciform spear.

Hōzōin-ryū successfully prospered throughout the Edo period, but In’ei abandoned the spear. 「From the beginning there is no real purpose in learning the spear for those who serve Buddha」

「If you serve Buddha, you should abandon the spear」

He sent word to his successor Inshun, and entered nirvana(1) when he was 87 years old.

But, Inshun didn’t give up spearsmanship.

The one who is Hōzōin must walk both the way of the Buddha and the way of the spear ———— Saying that, he reconstructed Hōzōin-ryū spearsmanship after In’ei’s death.

That said, it’s not like he killed people.

Nor it was like he wanted to fight.

For the Buddhist priest Inshun, not even things like status and renown could attract him.

What Inshun thought about, was only examining closely his 「techniques」.

There are humans who surpass beasts.

There are humans who surpass oni.

There are humans who surpass humans.

In that case, there can only be 「techniques」 to confront people who surpassed people. No matter how small the stones, if piled up, they’ll eventually reach the walls of a castle.

That’s the way of being of 「humans」, Inshun thought.

In short, curiosity. How much can people do while being people by examining techniques closely.

Inshun wanted to know that.

…… There aren’t any records of Inshun having specifically fought someone.

Only his techniques were praised for 「reaching the gods and the Buddha」.

Character in FGO

The type that rather than by vigorously scrapping off with a sure-kill technique, deals damage largely with regular attacks.

Hōzōin(2)

「I told you

I won’t braid

my hair」

Amakusa Shirō Tokisada

「I told you

I can’t do

Kamikiri-maru」 (3)

Musashi Miyamoto

「I told you

there’s no

outer space」 (4)

Yagyū Tajima no Kami Munenori

「Muh…… Humans are…… The universe is……

〇〇〇〇 line is……」

That aside, he gets on well with the elder Li Shuwen (Assassin), and often discusses about techniques while drinking tea.

Comment from the Illustrator

A pleasant and refreshing monk. There are also specifications from Takeuchi-san, youthful and cheerful while being monk-like, and I designed him to look like a man of character. The design of the priest’s garbs is imagined with the appearance of the court rank rising with each Ascension. Also the crossed wound on his forehead was done by a master fencer with two swords he had a match with in his young days… That’s my headcanon. (Matsuryū)

Translation notes:

The verb used here is 入寂する rather than the usual 死ぬ for “to die”. 入寂 refers to the death of a priest, but can also mean “nirvana” or “spiritual liberty”, so I translated it as “entering nirvana”.
This is what was written, but it’s either a typo or Chaldea's Inshun talking to his Epic of Remnant self. The 'braiding his hair' thing would be connected to point 3.
Inshun's demon form in Makai Tenshō. Kamikiri is a kind of yōkai that cut people's hair from the string that tied their hair.
Reference to Makai Tenshō's manga adptation.