Shinji Matou, a member of the Matou family.
The Matou (間桐, Matō?) family, previously known as the Makiri (マキリ, Makiri?) family, and originally known as the Zolgen (ゾォルケン, Zoruken?) family, is a Magus lineage situated in Fuyuki City, Japan. It is a lineage that dates back over 500 years ago, chased out of their homeland in Russia.[1]
Characteristics[]
They eventually took refuge in Japan, where they changed their name to Matou. Around 200 years ago, the Makiri began to decline and their offspring started to lose their capacity to manifest Magic Circuits. Although they covered up with the excuse that they were incompatible with the Spiritual Land of Fuyuki, the true reason behind this sudden fall of their bloodline was never explained.[2]
Their fall finally culminated in their last heir, Shinji Matou, having no Magic Circuits at all; Shinji's paternal uncle Kariya Matou had been the last known member of the family to be naturally born with Magic Circuits, but had expressed such disgust towards the family's practices that he left the family before learning any of the Matou's Magecraft. With the practice of passing down their Magic Crest among the family members being ceased since generations before, everything that is now left of their mystic heritage is simply knowledge in the form of books of Magecraft. Their only choice to continue with their line would be to take in pupils from other families, but because of their history of being overly prideful, nobody would willingly go to them. That in mind, Zouken went to the Tohsaka while recalling the past pact of friendship between the two families. As a result, Sakura Tohsaka was adopted into the Matou.
The Matou family's Magecraft training process.
The Magecraft of the Matou works around the concept of "absorbing" or, from another perspective, "to bind something to one's self".[3] Their method of teaching of Thaumaturgy is not by letting the mind absorb the knowledge through study, but by literally carving it into the body through the use of Crest Worms; it is the body that is taught Magecraft, not the soul. To inherit Matou Magecraft is not to study constantly, but to be tortured endlessly. Despite the torture-like aspects of the process, it seems to be remarkably efficient, and a horrified Rin Tohsaka state that, even though she's overcome many hardships to gain her impressive talent for Magecraft, if she used the Matou Crest Worms she could create much more powerful Magecraft within half-a-year.[4]
Among their accomplishments include the establishment of the Servant system of the Heaven's Feel and creation of the Command Spells for the Masters.[3] They possess a considerable amount of monetary resources, which were accumulated during the time that they researched Thaumaturgy.
In the World of Fate/Apocrypha, the Matou family was not blessed with a successor, so their future as Magi has been completely shut.[5]
Members[]
- Zouken Matou - First Head
- Kariya Matou
- Byakuya Matou
- Shinji Matou's mother (Married into the family)
- Shinji Matou
- Sakura Matou (Adopted from the Tohsaka; Lacks formal education) - Family Head in Fate/hollow ataraxia
- Other Worlds
- Kariya Matou (Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA)
- Shinji Matou (Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA)
- Sakura Matou (Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA)
- Capsule Servant World
Other uses[]
There are several other characters with the name Matou, but have no specified relation to the family:
- Sakura Matou (AI in the Moon Cell)
- Shinji Matou (Wizard from the alternative timeline of Fate/Extra)
- Sayo Matou
- Makiri Zolgen (Alter Ego AI in the Inner World of Paper Moon)
References[]
- ↑
[] Fate/complete material III: World material - FAQ with Nasu: Characters, p.134-135
Q: Where did the Makiri clan originally emigrate from?
Q: Where did the Makiri clan originally emigrate from?
A: It’s said that they came from somewhere around Russia. - ↑ Fate/stay night - Heaven's Feel route - Day 16: FINAL - Interlude 16-1: At the end of the dearest wish
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fate/stay night- Heaven's Feel route - Day 11: beautiful (II) - Tohsaka Rin (III)
- ↑ Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel (manga) - Chapter 51: Day 8 / Truth (2)
- ↑
[] Fate/Apocrypha material - Encyclopedia: The Three Families [Others], p.166 [T] The Three Families [Others]
In “Apocrypha”, the Three Families are the magi who constructed the Fuyuki Holy Grail War… in other words, the Einzberns, Tohsaka and Makiri.
Just as alluded in the light novels, Makiri (Matou) Zouken fought fiercely against Darnic during the Third Holy Grail War, but became practically crippled due to the shock of the Greater Grail being stolen. The family wasn’t blessed with a successor either, so their future as magi has been completely shut.
The Tohsaka gave up on the Greater Grail, and now seek a new path in becoming one with the universe with Chinese Kenpou while learning magecraft. The twin-tail daughter of the family might also end up becoming the founder of a “completely new martial arts that combines magecraft and Chinse Kenpou” by the time she becomes a high school student. However, she never imagined that her younger sister who was adopted by distant relatives would come visit her in Japan after becoming a pro-wrestler with unimaginably nice proportions and forming a tag team with a drill-roll-haired girl…!
The Einzberns are in the midst of struggling to make a new Greater Grail under the excuse “It was stolen, so we’ll just make a new Holy Grail”. Fortunately, in the “Apocrypha” world, a certain dead fish-eyed mercenary won’t end up becoming involved with the Einzberns, so their greatest work Illyasviel will never be born—therefore, as long as she isn’t born, the Einzberns will never despair… Is that really fortunate?御三家【その他】