Yasunori Katō

Yasunori Katō is the fictional antagonist of the Japanese fantasy/historical fiction series

Origin

Katō is an evil Onmyoji who was supposedly crafted from the resentful souls of the ancient mystics who lived during the Heian era. In the original novel, Katō is supposed to be a reincarnation of Taira no Masakado himself, who (in the story) had cursed the city of Edo just before his death. Katō is the result of that curse but he is completely unaware of it—he believes that his destiny is to awaken Masakado's vengeful spirit to destroy Tokyo, when in fact HE is the incarnation of that angry spirit carrying out the action of Tokyo's destruction. Thus, he's an incarnation of Masakado's hatred for Edo joined with the power of the deceased Onmyoji from the Heian era, making him a nearly indomitable fusion of extremely powerful supernatural forces. Later on in the story, his power is also associated with Yama, the God of Death in contrast with his opponent, the shrine maiden Keiko Tatsumiya, who embodies the power of Kwannon the Goddess of Mercy.

Powers and Abilities
This dark sorcerer is possessed of enormous versitude in the art of Onmyodo, using his incredible powers to confound and almost destroy the entire Tsuchimikado Clan (descendents of Abe no Seimei, who is the most skilled and proficient Onmyoji in Japanese legend) in a single night. On the backs of his white gloves are red inscriptions of the Doman Seiman, the magic symbol associated with Abe no Seimei. He extensively employs black shikigami inscribed with the Doman Seiman against his opponents. He is also a conjurer with the ability to summon evil yokai to do his bidding (such as the stomach worm he uses on Yukari Tatsumiya).

In the original novels, Katō is portrayed differently than in the films or the anime. Being revived in the form a trained imperial officer, he is skilled in the use of a katana (a trait which, ironically enough, would become associated with Washizaki, a character from the Riki-Oh manga whose design was influenced by the 1988 film version of Katō). Katō is also incredibly proficient in the art of using kodoku (worm toxins) to control and manipulate his victims. He also can shape shift when necessary in order to commune with other officials of Japan (especially powerful executives in the Japanese military). He uses his shape shifting abilities to become a Self Defense officer in order to manipulate the young Yukio Mishima.

Katō also possesses super-human physiology and bears no distinguishable mortal weaknesses (unlike his English counterpart, Dracula). In the cinematic adaptations, he has survived being dismembered, run through with a sword, having a hole blown through his body by powerful magic, scorched by lightning, being impaled in head, shot with a revolver several times in succession, and even having his entire face blown apart. In all these cases, he is relatively unfazed by the experience and recovers extremely quickly. It could be inferred that since Katō is the result of Masakado's curse upon Tokyo, he will exist as long as the curse exists. Since the curse can only be appeased by the complete and conclusive destruction of Tokyo, Katō will exist as long as Tokyo exists or until the curse is purged or appeased in some other manner (such as through an act of self sacrifice--a solution utilized in Teito Monogatari Gaiden and Volume 8 of the main Teito Monogatari series). Thus, Katō's soul is inextricably bound to the fate of the city, and until the city is destroyed, Katō's soul will never find rest.