Ruri no Tori: The Bodhisattva of Salvation

Note: This essay contains spoilers for the entire Kara no Shoujo series

Salvation comes only to those who liberate themselves from worldly desires.

Salvation comes only to those who liberate themselves from worldly desires.

The eternal quest for salvation and tranquility is one that will be ever so elusive. Many have sought it, yet few have truly attained it. The path is an arduous one, and thus, various doctrines have been written guiding those who wish for that simple ideal.

One of those doctrines is Buddhism, an East Asian religion whose doctrine centers around that very ideal of finding salvation.

The core foundations of Buddhism are epitomized by the Four Noble Truths, as outlined by Gautama Buddha.

First comes the Dukkha. Suffering and pain are an innate part of existence.

Next comes the Samudaya. The origin of all this agony stems from the many unsightly desires, obsessions and attachments of the world.

Then comes the Nirodha. However, there reveals itself a method to erase oneself of the innate pain of life.

And last comes the Magga. Purging oneself of these earthly desires and obsession and stepping towards the noble eightfold path will lead to the ultimate salvation.

And in doing so, one can become a Buddha, awakening themselves to a righteous path and opening up their spirits to a greater part of the world, essentially reborn anew.

And yet, some of those awakened souls will wish to remain on the Earth, guiding others towards that very same path. As directed by Mahayana Buddhism, these proclaimed Bodhisattva will act as a bridge to those tortured souls and that ever so desired salvation.

And for Reiji Tokisaka, that damaged and troubled soul, the awakened Touko Kuchiki acts as his Bodhisattva, guiding him towards the road of salvation, a path she has walked down herself.

The Kara no Shoujo series has many different inspirations and takes ideas from many different schools of thought, but it is remiss not to take into account the Buddhist aspect of the series, even if they are but a mere coincidence. The Kara no Shoujo series deals with the interconnectedness of obsession and salvation, with the narrative plot points acting as a bridge to connect the characters with its thematic ideologies.

The Kara no Shoujo series is known for its ideological discourse on the nature of obsession and its effects on the human mind. The Divine Comedy acts as one major source of inspiration, the parallels between suffering and finding paradise are common spread. However, in terms of Buddhist influences, many of the major characters are afflicted one way or another by some sort of obsession. Kara no Shoujo sets out to explore the dangers of holding onto these obsessions and how letting go of these worldly desires is the true way to salvation. In accordance with the Lotus Sutra, the Kara no Shoujo series outlines a way to achieve the eternal blessing, shown through the dynamic between Touko and Reiji throughout the entirety of the three entries of the series.

As with anyone else, Touko Kuchiki had her own personal grievances and obsessions, the question of her true lineage always quietly eating away at her. She felt so empty being left in the dark about her past, as she believed that it only made her a hollow husk. Her constant obsession with finding her true self led to many agonizing days for Touko, suffering silently to those demons of greed. Her constant searching only gave her more grief, as opposed to bringing her peace of mind, a telltale sign that her desires were only furthering herself from her final goal.

However, it was through Reiji that Touko was able to make peace with her inner quarrel. She embraced her emptiness and used it as a vehicle for her completion. Befriending another aimless husk in Reiji opened Touko’s eyes. Who cares that her true lineage is a mystery? Touko’s desires of wanting to know her true self were ironically holding her back from becoming her true self. Thus, once coming to this valuable realization, Touko purges herself from her obsessions and is reborn anew. Touko, finally realizing the futility of her obsessions, escapes the trenches of suffering and embraces her emptiness as a part of herself. She is not afraid anymore, having found the courage to face the world in front of her. Her painting, Ruri no Tori, is the physical representation of her catharsis, breaking free from the shell of worldly desires and flying free, unbound from her shackles. And through that, Touko was able to find salvation and inner peace. Touko had truly become a Buddha.

And yet, while Touko was able to free herself, Reiji was still stuck in his purgatory. Each entry in the series builds on his internal demons more and more, until they reach a tipping point during the climax of the last entry of the series. Whether it was his initial obsession of finding the murderer of his first fiance, his obsession of finding Touko, or his obsession of delivering retribution to Makoto, Reiji is constantly consumed by the demons of paranoia. From the onset of the first entry, Reiji is an empty husk, lingering obsessions of his fiance’s murder six years prior still haunting him. He is not able to accept the reality of his world and instead his demons accumulate over time and start wearing away at him. Reiji truly did think that retribution would be the only path to salvation. And that’s when he meets a kindred spirit in Touko, a girl who is also afflicted by those same self-imposed shackles, albeit for an entirely different reason. Regardless, they learn so much about each other and themselves as they grow that much closer. Bit by bit, their wounds start to heal up, their time together acting as a vessel to convalesce their damaged souls.

However, Touko’s disappearance reverts all the reconciliation that Reiji experienced with Touko and pushes him further into Purgatory. It consumes him, eating away at his soul. But even so, he fell short, ultimately failing in his goal to find her. In exchange, he tracked down his fiance’s murderer, Makoto Rokushiki. Reiji was ready to enact his revenge, his tortured soul will finally be at ease. Or will it? With a pistol in tow, he prepares himself to shoot Makoto. Nonetheless, a small voice in his head tells him not to pull the trigger, that drowning himself in his paranoia is not the answer. So, Reiji puts down his pistol, committing himself to non-action. It is only through his non-action that the true end of the first entry is reached, where Reiji finally comes face to face with Touko’s final art piece. Touko was trying to communicate to Reiji that the only way he could find peace within himself was abandoning his desires. Salvation is not reached through acting on mortal desires but through liberating oneself of those demons. Only then, will the soul be at peace. Even after seeing Touko’s Ruri no Tori, Reiji could not rid himself of his demons, instead creating new ones in the process. While Touko could not have predicted what would happen to her, she did not want Reiji to obsess over finding her and her painting was supposed to be the final encapsulation of that ideal.

Unfortunately in the second entry, Reiji becomes obsessed with finding Touko, spending nearly two years looking for any trace of her. Reiji had finally found someone who understood him and she vanished just like that. Even though Reiji kept working on other cases, the question of Touko’s whereabouts still kept nagging at him, his mind refusing to rest until he finally had his answer. Yet again, Reiji falsely believed that following his desires would lead him to salvation. And despite all of that, seeing the country village Hitogata engulfed in their own paranoia was not powerful enough of a spark to wake Reiji up to quell his own raging embers. In the back of his mind, as Reiji was figuring out the web of mysteries in Hitogata, Touko stood there, her presence remaining forever engraved. And once the mystery is solved and the paranoia of the village is put to rest, the path to the true end of the second entry becomes paved in front of Reiji. But the only way to access the true ending of the second entry is to see the bad end where Reiji throws away everything and dives headfirst, his demons hijacking his sense of reason completely and chaining him down to his obsession to find Touko. One way or another, Reiji is driven to the brink of insanity. And so, Reiji marches onward, to a small shack in the woods, holding onto the last shard of hope that his obsession will pay off.

And what awaited Reiji was Hell on Earth. Staring back at him was the hollow corpse of Touko. His obsession led him to believe he could find some sort of salvation in his valiant yet fruitless search. He continued grasping at straws, thinking that his mental suffering would come to a close. Instead, he received the opposite of salvation, the ocean of agony and pain drowning Reiji in their torrent. Reiji was too caught up in his mindset and that was the clear difference between him and Touko. By her end, Touko realized that frantically grasping at any chance for life when any chance of her surviving would be a wasted effort, and so Touko resolved herself and found salvation in her newborn daughter. From the heavens above, Touko would ensure that her daughter would live a righteous and prosperous life and not be misguided by the demons of paranoia that had entranced herself and so many people around her. Reiji still clung onto the misguided ideal that Touko was still out there, that there was still a happy ending awaiting at the end of his search, the reward for his mental torture. It could not have been further from the truth. And so, the demons continue their hold on Reiji, trapping him in the seemingly inescapable cycle of paranoia. Touko’s voice from the heavens above could not reach Reiji in his most vulnerable moment, her ability to act as Reiji’s Bodhisattva seemingly all but vanished. What was left of Reiji was a husk of his former self, having finally come to terms with the futility of his desire. And yet, it was too little too late.

In the last entry, Reiji realizes the damage he has done to himself, that his supposed bravado was a result of his own foolishness. There was no way his obsession could ever save him and that revelation came too late. Trying to correct himself, Reiji tries his damnedest to live a normal life, forcing a smile and pretending that everything is alright. But inside, deep within his soul, he is hurting. The cycle of obsession starts once again, as Reiji becomes obsessed with trying to obtain any shard of normalcy. Truly, once someone is ensnared in the cycle of obsession, the chances of escape are nigh impossible. And that is why Bodhisattvas are so essential for breaking free, as they offer a helping hand. That was what Touko wanted to be for Reiji, once she realized the extent of his damage. Alas, her dream would never come to fruition. So Reiji marches forth, continuing his life as the people around him slowly become swallowed by their demons. One by one, Reiji witnesses the demons of paranoia consume those around him, whether it be those driven to insanity like Sae, Makoto and Naruko, or those closer to home like Masaki, Yaginuma and Fumiya. Each person is a lesson for Reiji to open his eyes and pull himself from the pit of despair and desperation. It is essentially a warning that someday Reiji himself could end up in the same position as the likes of Makoto, someone willing to do anything to fulfill their desires. Reiji stops wallowing in his pit of paranoia, slowly releasing all of the pain that has been building up inside of over the years. Awakened to the fact that the people around him are punished for taking the easy way out and chasing their obsessions, Reiji realizes that being trapped like them will only bring him more pain, so he cleanses himself, trying to wash away the demons that have been eating away at him. By the end of the last entry, Reiji truly is able to rid himself of his paranoia and find his own personal road to salvation that has escaped him for so long.

It isn’t just Reiji suffering, so many other characters are stuck in the cycle of obsession, as it slowly eats away at their humanity. By falling into the pit of paranoia, these characters risk their well-being for a vain effort. And many of these characters do not necessarily have a helping hand guiding them, a Bodhisattva of salvation to correct their path. Whether it be Makoto grasping for Misa, Fumiya’s daunting obsession with Touko, the Hinagami’s of old trying to preserve ancient tradition, Shinji Mamiya’s desire to replicate the Kara no Shoujo, Ryouichi Yaginuma’s desire to revive his sister, these obsessions consume these characters until it leads to their downfall and they become shells of their former selves. Makoto ends up being arrested again, yearning for Misa, Fumiya ends up letting his desires override his logical reasoning twice by helping Makoto initially and seizing hold of Iroha later. The Hinagami family tradition collapses, Shinji ends up a murderer and Yaginuma betrays the police force’s trust by allowing Makoto to escape. And even the minor squabbles that seem trivial such as Yukari’s paranoia over her future or Uozumi’s desire for Kyouko, will weigh on the characters’ minds and impede them. Each character has a yearning for something greater, but it ultimately fails them. This unsightly greed leads to yet more suffering, a never ending purgatory for these tortured souls. Every character in the Kara no Shoujo series seeks some sort of salvation, closure to their problems or a yearning for something greater. However, at the same time, these characters still have attachments, desires, and obsessions that they can not free themselves off. This duality ultimately becomes their downfall, as the incongruity of the two makes them more miserable. Ultimately, greed and desire will beget only more greed and desire, creating a never ending cycle. As outlined in Buddhist scriptures, these two things can not coexist, and thus, these characters are forever stuck in a cycle of torment unless they break free whether of their own accord or if a Bodhisattva guides them along the right path for salvation, teaching them to release themselves of the burden of paranoia. Whether it being Reiji pulling Yaginuma from his suicidal rut, Masaki and Yukari mutually guiding each other through their worries or Kyouko giving Uozumi that peace of mind he desperately deserves, there is a way to find salvation. Showing to the other character it is possible to escape their demons, Reiji finds his salvation in that mischievous girl, the one who already made her ascension to the Heavens above as an awakened Buddha.

Touko is an exemplar to the other characters, showing that the characters have the potential to escape the seemingly inescapable cycle and find salvation. And while she can ascend to the Heavens above as an azure bird, she resolves herself to stay on Earth and guide Reiji posthumously in order to complete the work she started when she was alive. And while she is not present physically, her presence is felt, the memory of the living keeping her intact on Earth. She serves as a reminder, primarily to Reiji, to never fall to paranoia. By the end of his journey, Reiji is confronted with the ideals he has learned over the years. Sometimes it is easier to take the easy way out, to continue looping through that cycle of obsession. Purging desires and striving towards a righteous path has its thorns. But Reiji has Touko. The remainder of her existence and the struggles she has gone through in order to find salvation is enough for Reiji to walk that very same path. And while there are obstacles along the way, with the help of his Bodhisattva, Reiji is able to strive forward with dignity. She is that silent Bodhisattva of salvation, guiding Reiji towards a life of salvation. Even in death, she is a constant, helping Reiji fight his demons. For his true ending, Reiji is silently guided by Touko, as he purges his desire to know of Iroha’s true lineage and his obsession for revenge against Makoto. Finally, he acts as a Bodhisattva to Masaki, helping someone else with their own personal paranoia. Only then will Reiji break the cycle of paranoia, finding his path to true salvation. At long last, the shackles have finally been released from Reiji.

And after all those years, when the dust finally settles, Reiji heads to that park once again, overwhelmed with nostalgia. Not letting himself become washed over in paranoia and guiding others along the right path, Reiji has finally released himself of the demons, finally destroying them once and for all. And because of his willingness to finally purge his desires, Reiji is at long last rewarded for his actions, the demons no longer haunting him. His reward for his perseverance and effort is a reunion with Touko’s daughter, the final salvation he has been seeking since the beginning, having truly found the answer. And when Iroha asks Reiji about her true origins, that is when the cycle of rebirth is finally complete. Finally able to carry out the request he was never able to complete all those years ago, Reiji continues his work on Earth as a true and awakened Bodhisattva. Using what he learned from Touko, Reiji will pass down his knowledge and experience to her daughter, saving her from the cycle that had taken so many. The azure bird watches below, the cycle of obsession finally put to rest. By the tail end of the series, the Buddhist nature of rebirth is finally complete, as Touko is reborn anew in her daughter Iroha, as she at long last regains that physical presence back on Earth by manifesting in her daughter. Her rebirth is the ultimate salvation for Reiji when he finally liberates himself of the demons of paranoia.