True Name: Asaha Douji
Renamed: Mappa Douji (Demon Child)
Name Used: Hao Asakura
Name Meaning: Leaf King
Gender: Male
Birthday: May 12
Zodiac Sign: Taurus
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Black
Height: 5'3 (160 cm)
Weight: 85 Lbs.
Favorite Foods: Curry Bread, Soy Sauce
Likes: Nature, Hot Springs
Hobby: Writing and Composing Music
Furyoku: 1250000
Team: Hoshi-gumi (Star-group)
Spirit: Spirit of Fire
Spirit Allies: Matamune, Ohachiyo
Shamanic Medium: Air
Phrase: Chiche Na! (So Tiny)
Voice: Minami Takayama
About Hao:
Hao had the Reishi (a form of telepathy that allows the user to see the hearts of others), but he could not control the limit of the power. Because he lived in a time of war, disease, and famine (the Heian period), he attempted to help others with his powers. However, he began to see the darker side of human nature as he discovered through his reishi that those he helped were jealous and afraid of his power, and convinced themselves that he was evil.
His heart became consumed with hatred for humanity and began to plot the destruction of humanity by becoming Shaman King. He believes that by doing so, the planet and other animals that humans abused would be saved. In this time, he also allowed people to worship him as god, and appears to have developed a superiority complex, believing himself to be better to everyone; a delusion made more dangerous by his ability to back up this claim.
Connection with Abe no Seimei
There are at least two connections between Hao Asakura and the famous onmyoji, Abe no Seimei:
- Both died in the year 1005.
- Abe no Seimei wrote Senji Ryakketsu, an onmyodo primer. Hao Asakura wrote the "Chou Senji Ryakketsu," the ultimate tome of the shamans.
History
Ever since the start of his life, humans have constantly persecuted Hao. He had the ability to see demons and when he was young, his mother was murdered because people believed her to be a Yokai. Having his house burnt, Hao wandered and lived aimlessly, believing himself to be a boy with demonic powers (Since the other boys bullied him for this) and dreaming to exterminate all humans. However, one day while sitting by a gate, he met a spirit named Ohachiyo and they quickly became friends. Ohachiyo gave him the nickname mappa-douji (meaning demon boy) and convinced him to forget his vengeance towards humans and rather enjoy the aspects of life. Ohachiyo taught him things such as the skill of fishing, the sweetness of candy, the names of different song birds, and most importantly the ability of Reishi.
Hao followed his word and lived life with a smile, for a moment at least. However, when a guard apparently heard Hao conversing with himself at night, he immediately suspected Hao of being a demon, and reported to Monk Densen, a known exorcist. Densen proved to be a fraud, and was easily overpowered, however this battle also proved to be a breaking point in Hao's path to evil. Hao recognized the man to be the one who killed his mother, and with his first oversoul, performed his first murder. By over depleting his Furyoku, Hao was unable to maintain control of his powers and unintentionally consumed Ohachiyo's power. This event leads to a constant Reishi that Hao is unable to turn off, leading to his path towards destruction. Having experienced the sensation of a shaman, Hao proved to be a genius in the divine abilities and his skills flourished with time. Hao grew to possess a good nature and worked as an onmyōji that eliminated demons. Though he sometimes created Oni from his sadness and anger, Hao was able to control the demons to his will. During this period, he also came across Matamune, a cat that would prove to play a great part in Hao's life by first helping Asakura Yohken to defeat him 500 years later, as well as teaching and fighting with Yoh against the grand Oni that threatened Anna Kyōyama. Hao stated that Matamune was his only true friend, and gave it some of his spiritual energy in the hopes that Matamune would stay with him forever. Nevertheless, the curse implanted on Hao from Ohachiyo was permanent and eventually drew Hao mad. Matamune sadly left Hao as he saw his master go into madness and blames himself for not being able to help him. Hao eventually learns of the Shaman Fight, and comes to believe it is the key to cleansing the world of non-shamans, which he felt were defiling the natural world. His plans to create a shaman-only world are discovered and the Asakura clan stood against him and managed to defeat him. Afterwards, the Asakura family decided to change their family symbol from the traditional Yin-Yang five star sign (the emblem of the family's head, Hao) into a seven star tree that stated their renewal.
However, Hao's Ying-Yang jutsu, the mastery of the five elements of nature (fire, metal, wood, earth, water), prevented his permanent death as he could now control the circumstances of his reincarnation. He was able to gain the ability to control his soul using the ritual of Taizan Fukun, one of the greatest and most esoteric of Onmyodo arts, an old name for the god of the underworld. Though Taizan Fukun could only be reached by getting past the seventy five Lords of Hell, succeeding in making a contract with him gives one the ability to resurrect the dead or reincarnate themselves at will. The fact that Hao was able to perform this act as a living human being is a testament to his power, given that not even ghosts can reach Taizan Fukun. He chose to be reborn 500 years later, in time for the next Shaman Fight. His new incarnation was as one of the Patch, the clan that organizes the Shaman Fight. During this time, he obtained the Spirit of Fire, the honor and symbol of the Patch tribe. With his new ghost, Hao conquered many enemies with ease, including the five Seminoa warriors sent to stop him. He once again projected his idea of a shaman world, but was rejected by the shamans he was trying to promote. Though he was ultimately killed once more, by Asakura Yohken with the assistance of Matamune (his former loyal companion) using the Futsu no Mitama (the Antiquity in the English anime), a sword of spirits, and the Senhachijuu (only in the anime), a set of 1080 prayer beads containing powerful spirits of the Asakura family. In the manga, the 1080 beads were not used as they were created from the spirits that formed the demon that Anna summoned, and so clearly the 1080 had not existed back then. Hao came very close to winning the shaman tournament, and was able to demonstrate the capacity of his power, becoming very infamous to shamans world wide. Despite the fact he died before becoming Shaman King, he achieved his goal of capturing the legendary Spirit of Fire for use as his guardian spirit in his next life.
