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This article is about a character in Umineko When They Cry. |
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Tohya Hachijo (八城 十八 Hachijō Tōya) is a mystery novelist who fabricated stories about the Rokkenjima Mass Murders under the pen name Itouikukuro Zerogonanaroku* and is the human form of Featherine Augustus Aurora. She first appears in Dawn of the Golden Witch.
Profile[]
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A message bottle Forger. She's a mysterious novel writer, and her person is surrounded by even more mysteries than those found in her novels. She claims to have found the truth of Rokkenjima and posts new tales she has written on the web, as though giving out extra hints. However...I have no memory of meeting with her before my trip to Niijima... |
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Appearance[]
Tohya appears as a young woman with mid-back purple hair. She wears what appears to be a brown strapless dress with several ruffles and a yellow ribbon in the front with a green colored gem near the bottom. Over this she wears a light-colored jacket that reaches to her knees.
Personality[]
Tohya is an eccentric and anti-social individual who looks down on people who claim to understand the books she reads. She speaks in a condescending tone and refers to others as "child of man."
Background[]
At some point Featherine took the form of Tohya in the human world.
Tohya is a murder-mystery author who gained notoriety when she published several best-selling books under many different pen names and never appeared in public. Even when she appeared in person for a book signing, she used a male body double wearing a mask to further obfuscate her existence.
Tohya also had notoriety on the Internet as a Witch Hunter and Forger: people who wrote their own stories about the Rokkenjima Mass Murders inspired by the message bottles written by Maria Ushiromiya. Tohya has written such Forgeries like Banquet of the Golden Witch, Alliance of the Golden Witch, and End of the Golden Witch, gaining popularity because of her writing style's uncanny resemblance to the original message bottles and detailed descriptions about Rokkenjima and the Ushiromiya family.[2] Tohya believes that her Forgeries represent the truth of Beatrice's tales and claims to be an Endless Witch like her.
See Ikuko Hachijo for more information.
Relationships[]
- Ange Ushiromiya (colleague, reader)
- Featherine Augustus Aurora (witch form, anti-mystery persona)
- Ikuko Hachijo (representation of)
- Tohya Hachijo (representation of)
Role in the Story[]
Dawn of the Golden Witch[]
Tohya is first introduced when Ange and Amakusa pay a visit to her residence, having arranged a meeting with her. The two are surprised since they thought Tohya was a man judging by her recent book signing event, and the author explains that he was a body double while she acted as a helper. Tohya was impressed that Ange was the only person to figure out the meaning behind her pen name Itouikukuro Zerogonanaroku: it can be read as the numbers 11019960576, which equals 18 to the eighth power. In Japanese, 18 to the eighth means "tohya no hachijo". Ange talks with Tohya about her Forgeries and how absurd it is that she considers them to be the truth. Tohya is convinced that when the truth of the Rokkenjima Mass Murders become known in the future, everyone will realize that she knew all along.
Ange calls the events leading up to her meeting with Tohya a miracle and remembers she originally contacted her earlier but never got word back and determines that something is wrong with her memories. Tohya seems to know what Ange is thinking and compares herself to a witch. She pulls out her latest manuscript, Dawn of the Golden Witch, and encourages Ange to read it and give feedback. Ange declares that she never met Tohya before at all, and Tohya changes into Featherine Augustus Aurora before commending Ange for her insight.
Ange becomes Featherine's Reader and reads Dawn to her in the meta-world while Ange also reads to Tohya in the human world, frequently stopping the story to converse with her and Amakusa on certain scenes, including the love trial held by Zepar and Furfur. Ange begins to think that Tohya has reached the same level of Beatrice and uncovered the truth.
Ange reaches the climax of Dawn, with Tohya saying she hid the trick behind Battler's closed room behind several riddles because she wanted readers to actually give thought to what is going on.
In the Tea Party, Ange finishes reading Dawn and prepares to leave. Tohya says she plans to write Ange's tale someday, one that she'll consider a miracle. Ange asks if the Featherine who appeared in Dawn is meant to be Tohya, and she confirms it was. Ange then asks if Tohya is Featherine or the other way around, but the author has no idea what she's talking about.
Twilight of the Golden Witch[]
It is revealed that Tohya Hachijo is actually a name shared by two different people: Ikuko Hachijo and the real Tohya Hachijo.
Trivia[]
- Tohya's pen name in the official Witch Hunt translation is currently translated as "Itouikukuro Reigonamu", but it is supposed to be "Itouikukuro Zerogonanaroku" according to voice lines in console ports.
- The name of Hachijo Tohya (八城 十八), contains two wordplays.
- An alternate reading for the kanji in the name Hachijo (八城) is "yashiro". Coupled with the honorific "o-" prefix, this becomes "Oyashiro"; Oyashiro-sama is one the main focuses of Higurashi When They Cry.
- The name Tohya (十八) is composed of numerical kanji, numbering 18. Breaking down the name "Oyashiro" into syllables (o-ya-shi-ro), each syllable is one possible reading for the numbers 0, 8, 4, and 6. Adding these numbers together results in a sum of 18.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 07th Expansion All Character Settings Collection
- ↑ Dawn of the Golden Witch Chapter 1: The Witch of Theatergoing
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