Yoshimaru

Yoshimaru
Details
Race	Dog
Birthplace	Kamigawa
Lifetime	Mending Era
Colors

Yoshimaru is a dog and companion of the Emperor in Kamigawa.

History

The Imperials have long kept dogs on the palace grounds for safety and companionship. The current emperor is no exception. On her first day of training, her mentor Light-Paws gave her a puppy, telling her to raise it by hand: care for this dog now, so you can care for the kingdom in the future. The young Emperor took these words to heart, and Yoshimaru became the most intelligent, most loyal dog the court had ever seen. She loved having a friend with whom she could share her Imperial secrets and relieve the burden of responsibility. The day the emperor disappeared, Yoshimaru was devastated. He searched high and low but could not find her, so he went to the favorite place they shared. For years, he guarded her throne, awaiting her return.^[1]

After the Desparkening, the emperor was freed from her burden of uncontrollable planeswalking and returned home to Kamigawa, reuniting with Yoshimaru. He accompanied her on a tour of Kamigawa, seeing alongside her all that their home had to offer. He was later brought to Ravnica and left in the care of Aminatou while his master braved the plane of Duskmourn.^[2] After her journey, he returned to Kamigawa with her.^[3]

Planes visited

Though not a planeswalker, Yoshimaru has traveled to other worlds through Omenpaths.

• Kamigawa
• Ravnica^[2]

Trivia

• Yoshimaru is based on the akita dog Hachikō.
• Yoshimaru's name is a combination of the Japanese interjection 良し (yoshi), meaning "good!", "okay!", or "all right!" and the suffix 丸 (-maru), often added to words that represent something beloved, such as dogs, ships, and important objects.

Story appearances

In-game references

Represented in:

References