Japanese History in Persona 4

I'm only 2-3 hours into Persona 4, and I'm hooked. My interest in the mythology of the personas started in Persona 3, when I began to recognize a lot of names from myths and legends of other religions, world literature, and world mythologies. I decided in Persona 4, I'd be looking more into the backgrounds of the historical figures the personas are named after and how they relate to the characters who use them.

Main character- Izanagi

The nameless main character of Persona 4 (I'll be calling him Yuu from now on) uses the Persona Izanagi. Even those who don't know much about Japanese mythology most likely know about Izanagi and Izanami. He, along with Izanami, created the islands of Japan and the deities of Japan. During the cleansing ritual after trying to save his wife Izanami from the underworld and failing, Izanami creates Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo. In Persona 4, Izanagi is able to use thunder-related abilities. 

My personal opinions on why Izanagi was given to Yuu: It's very likely that because Yuu represents "infinite possibilities" and thus is able to hold onto multiple Persona, Izanagi symbolizes how Yuu is able to 'birth' new Personas through social links and fusions (although that power belongs to another character- Yuu puts forward the Persona to be fused). 

Yousuke Hanamura- Jiraiya

Admit it, when you read "Jiraiya" you thought of the Naruto character. Honestly, that's what I thought too. I haven't watched much Naruto, but I have watched enough to notice that that character and this character share something in common: frogs. Jiraiya, in Persona 4, looks distinctly like a frog. During the boss fight when Yousuke acquires Jiraiya, he's riding a gigantic frog. I had to see what the deal was.

Jiraiya (literally "young thunder") is a toad rider and main character of Jiraiya Gouketsu Monogatari. Apparently he was able to morph into a giant toad, and fell in love with a woman named Tsunade (who mastered slug magic) and his arch-enemy was Orochimaru, who use serpent magic. The Naruto characters make so much more sense now! This Jiraiya, though, looks like a superhero. Sounds accurate for a character named "Jiraiya the Gallant." 

I can't come up with a good reason as to why Yousuke got Jiraiya other than Yousuke wants his life to be more interesting. This is mentioned during the boss fight with Jiraiya. The persona even says "I'll crush everything that bores me!" If Yousuke wants to have adventures (like Jiraiya the historical figure), Jiraiya's a good way to go. 

Chie Satonaka- Tomoe

Out of the first three teammate's personas, I had no idea where Chie's came from. The Persona wikipedia tells me that it comes from a female samurai named Tomoe Gozen, so I went looking for information on her.

Tomoe Gozen was a 12th century female samurai known for her bravery and strength. Wikipedia says that she was never proven to have existed and thus was fabricated by the author of Heike Monogatari, but real life evidence suggests that the events of Heike Monogatari (and by assumption, Tomoe) happened. Tomoe Gozen was the concubine of Yoshinaka Minamoto, and when he wanted to become head of the clan, Tomoe fought for him. Yoshinaka lost to his cousin Yoritomo, and Tomoe was told to flee. 

Chie having a figure like this as her persona makes sense. Chie's Shadow preys on Chie's need of her best friend, Yukiko, to protect her. This is what makes Chie "better" than Yukiko, because although Chie may not have the looks or femininity of Yukiko, Chie is stronger and braver than Yukiko and Yukiko depends on her. After defeating Tomoe in battle, Chie turns her bravery and strength to saving Yukiko and continues to be a strong-willed character. Until Naoto and Kanji show up later in the game, Chie's my favorite. 

Hopefully, in another two weeks time, I'll have a few more personas to delve into!