Tools of the trade

[uninteresting_guy]

Traveling medicine case

Kusuriuri is, by trade, a medicine seller just as the translation of his title suggests. He lives a wandering lifestyle, so he carries with him all the medicines he requires for his sales and even to combat ayakashi. He can carry this case on his back like a large backpack, held on by large intertwined ropes. The weight of the case is unknown, but as Kayo, a young seamstress, is capable of carrying it, it probably weighs around 20 - 30 lbs given reports by cosplayers who have remade the case.

The case itself identifies him as a medicine seller and marks him as part of the merchant class.

In the lower drawers, he carries his stock of assorded medicines used for selling. His stock includes a wide assortment of medicines and elements used in medicines, as well as some more unusual items, including gunpowder. Among the normal items include remedies from China, lotions, and some sort of love charm (the exact nature is unknown, though it causes Kayo to squeal excitedly).

Also in the lower drawers are his mononoke scales. When inactive, they appear to just be toys.

In the upper area, tied off by the rope, is a more personal stash. When not in use, he keeps his Sword of Truth in a box wrapped in ofuda. He also keeps personal items, including a stash of ukiyo-e woodblock prints of pornography.

What is kept in the middle section is never stated, though he more than likely stores larger items like clothing and his mortar and pestle.

Kusuriuri is capable of controlling the case with whatever sort of magical ability he as to control inanimate objects. The drawers respond to movements of his fingers, opening and closing when he needs them.

Scales

Kusuriuri's scales are perhaps one of his more mysterious items. They stay in the lower drawers of his medicine case backpack and when inactive, they appear to be simple decorative toys. They're white, lightweight, and have bells tucked underneath the scales.

When active, the scales are capable of floating. Kusuriuri tells Kayo that the scales like her, given that they respond to her and choose to sit on her arms and head. The scales seem to be capable of acts on their own without Kusuriuri's input, but he seems to activate them.



When set up, the scales sit on the small point at the bottom, the bells under the scales drop down. The scales measure the distance away from the mononoke. When the mononoke is near, the scales tip to one side, the bells acting as a audial warning. Kusuriuri uses the sound to locate the mononoke and determine what side it's approaching from.

Another purpose of the scales is to help bring the truth to the light. In the umibozu story, Kusuriuri sent a scale to Genkei's fingers to help him realize the truth about the mononoke he created with his own fears. In the noppera-bo story, he uses the scales to determine what happened to Ochou to drive her to a point of breaking down.

Ofuda

Sometimes called wards or spell papers, ofuda serve as a defensive tool. The ofuda respond to Kusuriuri's hands, manifesting then unfolding out to full size.

His usual technique is to make circular motions with his arms, often spinning around to form a full circle of ofuda, before pushing the ofuda out towards the walls. The ofuda stick to the walls at his silent command to form a barrier around a room. When a room isn't available, he can multiply the ofuda to form a full wall of protection around an area.

The ofuda also respond to noncircular motions. He has summoned ofuda to his hand, often in dire situations where a full circle of protection cannot be formed, to throw them at a wall in a last line of defense. He can also place individual ofuda across a doorway to create a boundary where a mononoke cannot cross.

In ayakashi, Kusuriuri uses the ofuda to form circles around people he wished to protect from the mononoke, even though the protected were some distance away from him.

In the umibozu story, Kusuriuri uses the ofuda as a means to open an utsurubone connected to the mononoke possessing the sea.

In the noppera-bo story, he uses ofuda to bind the mask which first appeared to be the mononoke. While the mask is bound, he creates a barrier of ofuda to play out Ochou's story to learn where she had lost herself. Some of the scenes displayed out like a No play on the walls, while other scenes brought Ochou and Kusu to events in Ochou's life, allowing them to see the entire situation unfold before them. It is unclear if this is an ability of the ofuda or the mirror or a combination of both.


Once in place, the ofuda at first appear to be blank. The writing will manifest on its own for various purposes, the main of which is a ward. When the writing turns red, the mononoke is attempting to break through that specific set of ofuda. He has also placed protective wards when a mononoke is suspected, and the eyes on the ofuda seem to watch the situation before returning to blank paper.

His ofuda are not invincible. As a mononoke becomes more threatening or more vengeful, the mononoke is capable of breaking the ofuda barriers. The ofuda are merely a ward to delay the mononoke to figure out the three truths.

Sword of Exorcism

Often simply referred to as a katana, the Sword is only capable of slaying mononoke. As the story takes place during the Edo period and later the Meiji restoration, a merchant was the lowest class one could be in Japan. Only samurai were allowed to carry swords, and Kusuriuri having one was highly suspect and unusual.

Kusuriuri is capable of calling the blade to his hand, drawing it to him even from long distances. When summoned, he often keeps it in his hand or tucks it in his sash.

The sword is highly unusual in shape, the origin speculated to be Buddhist in origin. When not in use, Kusuriuri keeps the sword wrapped in ofuda in a box in the top compartment of his medicine case. The gems on the sheath glimmer in the light, and the blade cannot be unsheathed until certain conditions are met.

The head on the end is generally believed to represent the lions protecting the gates of a Buddhist temple. There are usually two, one representing beginning and the other ending. When a truth is revealed about a mononoke, the head responds, opening and shutting its mouth. When the full truth is not revealed, the mouth remains closed.

The three truths of a mononoke are its form (katachi), the truth of how it became to be (makoto), and the reason or regret (kotowari). When all three truths come to light, the gems on the sword change color and the mouth begins opening and closing repeatedly. Only then can the sword be drawn and only by Kusuriuri's other form.

Kayo once asks if the sword is alive. Kusuriuri simply answers, "I wonder." The battle in the umibozu arc seemed to imply that the sword may very well be alive, as it begins to speak, repeating what Kusuriuri says then when released, proclaims "I'm free!!!", acting on its own to help eliminate the mononoke through aid of his mirror.

Mirror

Kusuriuri wears the mirror around his neck like a pendant.
When not in use, it remains a simple seemingly innate pendant. It's true purpose is acting as a shield and revealing the truth.

In umibozu, he takes the pendant off and hands it to his other self in the battle with a mononoke which has fused itself with a monk's soul. The mirror serves as a shield from the mononoke's attack when its separated from the monk's body and also as a gateway for the sword to travel and attack the mononoke directly.

In noppera-bo, he uses the mirror to dispel an illusion created by the mononoke. The mononoke created an entire scene, causing Ochou to believe she'd attended a wedding with the masked man who came to rescue her. Throughout the entire story, Kusu plays with the mirror in his hand. While trying to reveal the truth of the Mononoke, Kusu displays scenes from Ochou's past on a wall of ofuda. It isn't entirely clear if the ofuda are capable of this or the mirror in his hand is doing the display. At the end of the story, he reveals the mononoke's true form by showing Ochou the reflection in his mirror.