Takeru Yamato, originally known as Kousu no Mikoto, is the younger brother of Oousu no Mikoto, and second prince of the Yamato court. He is the main underlying antagonist throughout the Maken-ki! manga. Prior to the start of the series, he attacked the Himegami family, leading to the death of Oousu and Yatsuno, before being defeated by his nephew, Yabiko. However, he maintained his existence by possessing people via his special Maken. He managed to possess one of his descendants when they eventually found and opened a jar containing Takeru Yamato's lingering soul.
History[]
He originally created the Kamigari for the purpose of killing the ancients gods in order to obtain their powers. It was also during this time that he first began to refer to himself as Takeru Yamato rather than his birth name.
After physically dying in the battle with Yabiko, his spirit fled and possessed a nearby human. He then spent that human's life ensuring the continuation of the Yamato bloodline by immersing himself with his concubines, and then sealed himself in a jar, planning to possess whichever of his descendants opened it. Since no one opened it and the jar could not be destroyed, it remained buried for two millennia, until it was rediscovered and opened by Ouken Yamato.
Personality[]
Takeru Yamato has no consideration for his fellow humans, seeing all others as trash below him. He regularly killed retainers within his father's palace, even in front of the emperor himself. This was likely due to him having such power that no one but his brother could stop him.
Abilities[]
Soul Game - Allows him to see souls of others [ch.121], he can also eat the souls of others to replenish his power and health be it human or not, he can also manipulate souls, allowing him to change people's Memories, Personality, their Entire Being [ch.42] it's not just the souls of others he can manipulate but also his own, he can use this ability to place his soul into other's bodies [ch.54], by Manipulating his soul should his body be reduced to nothing, he will be capable of bringing himself back to life over and over again [ch.55], he can also absorb the soul of others to empower himself and increase his lifespan [ch.56], when absorbing the soul of others it allows him to also absorb their abilities/powers [ch.117, 118 & 119]
Trivia[]
Takeru Yamato is based on the folk hero from Japanese legend.