The Hachijo Clan (八条家 Hachijō-ke?, Hachijo Family) is seemingly a clan of assassins that is referenced in Tekken 7. The Hachijo's most notable member is Kazumi Mishima, Heihachi Mishima's deceased wife. The clan has a lineage that has possessed the Devil Gene since ancient times, as revealed in a nursery rhyme that a journalist hears during his investigation of the Hachijo clan in Kyoto.
History
The Hachijo clan are descendants of a devil that escaped Azazel's rule long before it was sealed away. For millennia, the Hachijo clan, inheritors of demonic blood, have operated in the shadows from Kyoto, eliminating those who were deemed a threat to the world and carefully erasing any trace of the existence of Azazel's demonic powers. During the mid 20th Century, Kazumi Hachijo was sent to Jinpachi Mishima's dojo to act as an informant. Here, she met Heihachi.[2]
The Hachijo Clan foresaw that Heihachi's ambition would lead to great tragedy across the globe, which proved to be prophetic. Thus, after five years of marriage, despite her feelings of love, Kazumi resolved that she would have to kill Heihachi. The Hachijo clan appear to have also prophesied that, if Kazumi failed to kill Heihachi, their son, Kazuya Mishima, would also grow to be a threat to the world. Aware of this, Kazumi entrusted her mission to Akuma, whom she once saved, in the event that she failed to kill Heihachi.
One fateful night, Kazumi assumed her devil form and fought Heihachi, intending to kill him. She was unable to best him. She launched one final surprise attack, but Heihachi sensed her in time and stopped her, seizing her by the throat. Devil Kazumi attempted to use Heihachi's love for Kazumi to escape his grasp, telling him that, if he went ahead with the deed, he would cause a never ending cycle of hatred. Her efforts were in vain; Heihachi snapped her neck, killing her.
Furious that he had been forced to kill his own wife, Heihachi slaughtered every last member of the Hachijo household - save for a baby girl[3] whom Heihachi permitted to live.[2] Kazuya, Jin Kazama and this girl are the only known living descendants of the Hachijo clan.
Devil Gene
See main page: Devil Gene
The Hachijo clan possess the Devil Gene, a genetic mutation that allows an unspecified connection to be fostered between a human and a 'devil'. The clan have a long history of exploiting this connection and using devil forms to target and eliminate perceived threats to the peace of the world. They seem both to have some form of prophetic knowledge, as well as knowledge of how to control the gene or may have a specific pact with a single demon that possesses them. When Kazumi tried to resist her mission to kill Heihachi, she fell ill and seems to have gradually lost control to her devil self, possibly indicating that she was breaking a pre-arranged agreement between her clan and the entity within her.
It is unknown if the Hachijos had many devils that manifested within each blood member, or if a single devil entity was controlled and passed down through their clan. Tekken 8 explains that Azazel bestowed the devil gene to many of his servants, with the Hachijos presumably being one of them.[4]
The Hachijo Nursery Rhyme
The following is a traditional nursery rhyme in the Hachijo family. The Journalist believed that the "demon" represents a mysterious power, "crimson" referred to blood, and the "river" symbolized a bloodline.[5]
| Demon begone! Demon begone! | そこの鬼さん、そこのけそこのけ、 |
| Playing in the crimson river, in the mouth of which he lies. | 赤い川では水遊び、川が流れを先にも鬼さん、 |
| How long will his playing go on? | どこまで続くや、この鬼遊び。 |
Hachijo-ryu Karate
The Hachijo have their own family karate style. Kazumi is its only known practitioner. She either learned the style very young or learned it alongside her studies at the Mishima Dojo as she is also jointly a practitioner of Mishima Style Fighting Karate.
Hachijo Family Members
Trivia
- In the old Hachijo rhyme, 'devils' are referred to as 'Oni-san' (鬼さん) in the Japanese (literally: 'Mr. Demon'), rather than the more usual "Debiru" (デビル) found elsewhere in the Tekken games.
- Tekken 8 heavily implies that Reina was the baby girl that Heihachi spared during his massacre of the Hachijo clan, as she too carries the Devil Gene.
See Also
References
- ^ a b See Trivia section regarding Reina likely having been spared.
- ^ a b Tekken 8: Unforgotten Echoes Story Mode, The Hachijo Clan.
- ^ It is presumed that this baby was an infant Reina, however it is not specified in-game, nor is a specific timeline given as to when she was adopted and how long after Kazumi's betrayal Heihachi destroyed the Hachijo Clan.
- ^ Chapter 4, Tekken 8 Story Mode
- ^ Chapter 8, Tekken 7 Story Mode.