Tsurugi Higashikata
Tsurugi is the child of Jobin and Mitsuba Higashikata, and the youngest of the Higashikata Family. Raised as a girl, his fear of the Rock Disease drives him to cooperate with Josuke Higashikata to find a possible cure. Tsurugi is a Stand User and his Paper Moon King confers supernatural properties to his origamis.
Appearance
Tsurugi is a 9-year-old child of average build, if not slightly chubby. Although originally introduced as the daughter of Jobin and Mitsuba, it is revealed that Tsurugi is actually a boy, and has been raised as a girl his whole life in order to ward off a "curse" that affects the first born child of each generation of the Higashikata family. As such, he wears a polka-dot dress and a pair of flats, and on top of his head is an origami frog. Additionally, he has a tattoo on his right shoulder with the kanji for life (命, Inochi) and a tattoo on his left shoulder with the kanji for princess (姫, Hime).
Personality
Like all first born sons in the Higashikata family, Tsurugi is being raised as a girl for the first 12 years of his life to ward off the stone disease.
He displays an interest in origami and has an unusual interest in the scent of Yasuho Hirose's hair. Despite his young age he regularly goes out of his way to 'hit on' or flirt with Yasuho in a perverse manner, occasionally touching her.
Like his grandfather, he is interested in the Higashikata Family's prosperity and is originally suspicious that Yasuho spends so much time with them.
Tsurugi has targeted Yasuho with his Stand, manipulating or toying with her. He explains afterwards that he simply likes her, implying he has a schoolboy crush on her.
Tsurugi also demonstrates a very deep-seated fear of dying from the stone disease, as the mere possibility of Yotsuyu being able to provide a cure is enough for him to be manipulated into complying with Yotsuyu's demands whole-heartedly. He expresses frantic dismay when confronted about his motives.
Abilities
- Main article: Paper Moon King
Tsurugi's Stand is Paper Moon King, enabling him to give a degree of life to origami of his creation. These origami display different capabilities depending on the type of animal or object they are shaped into, similar to Tubular Bells. After they touch his target, the target is subjected to the illusion that all people and/or symbols and text appear the same.
History
Tsurugi is born from the union between Jobin Higashikata and Mitsuba. As Jobin's eldest son, Tsurugi has been fated to be struck by the Rock Disease and was raised as a girl all his life. He appears to fit in quite well in the Higashikata family. He was present during the family photo and was introduced by Norisuke Higashikata IV.
Aware of his family's curse, Tsurugi is worried by his eventual fate. Soon before his introduction, Tsurugi meets the architect Yotsuyu Yagiyama, who shows him a possible cure in the form of an unknown food. Yotsuyu then persuades Tsurugi to help him kill Josuke in exchange for the cure.
Prank on Yasuho
- Main article: Paper Moon Deception
Tsurugi comes to the forefront when Yasuho encounters him after being taken to the Higashikata family's underground storeroom. After attempting to play with her and having taken her phone, she discovers that Tsurugi is male after some struggle, at which point he reveals that his family's first born always cross-dresses in order to ward off the "curse" that strikes them at age 11 where their bodies stiffen and turn to stone, similar to what happened to Rina Higashikata. Daunted, Yasuho leaves the storeroom, though not before Tsurugi activates his Stand ability on her after having touched her phone, which he transformed into an origami frog.
Tsurugi continues his prank by also affecting Josuke but eventually cancels it and apologizes to Yasuho, leaving her to rest in the bunker.
Josuke later spots him bringing food to the bunker and follows him.
When Josuke and Norisuke are attacked by Yotsuyu Yagiyama's I Am a Rock, Tsurugi begs his grandfather to leave Josuke for dead, as he is cooperating with Yotsuyu. Tsurugi eventually tells them that he is afraid of the Rock Disease which will affect him, and that Yotsuyu showed him a cure in the form of a mysterious fruit, testing it on a dog.
After Yotsuyu is defeated and killed, Josuke confirms the existence of the fruit and Tsurugi adopts the dog Yotsuyu fed the fruit to, naming it Iwasuke.
Cooperation with Josuke and Yasuho
- Main article: Every Day Is a Summer Vacation (story arc)
- Main article: Doobie Wah (story arc)
While Tsurugi is playing with his new dog, Josuke approaches him to enlist his help in interrogating Jobin, Tsurugi's father. Initially reluctant to go against a family member, Tsurugi is eventually swayed to Josuke's side by urgency and reveals to him that his father is obsessed with stag beetles, which will allow Josuke to uncover a weakness. While Josuke confronts Jobin, Tsurugi goes to Yasuho's house and asks her to help with her new Stand Paisley Park.
After Josuke wins Jobin's Lamborghini in a beetle fight and gives the key to Tsurugi, he and Yasuho secretly investigate the Lamborghini in order to discover Jobin's previous whereabouts. Paisley Park subsequently discovers that Jobin exchanged the fruit with a certain Aisho Dainenjiyama.
Tsurugi then investigates Aisho with Yasuho, eventually uncovering that the fruit is being sold by Aisho to people. However, Aisho discovers that he's being tailed and releases his Stand Doobie Wah!. Tsurugi and Yasuho are relentlessly pursued by the Stand which proves too tough for them to beat, so Tsurugi baits Aisho to them and tricks him by using his stand to make buses appear as Jobin. Aisho dies, run over by a bus.
The next day, Tsurugi and Yasuho meet with Josuke, but Tsurugi decides to leave the two alone. Although he he seen at Yasuho's home, Tsurugi lays low for a while
Ozon Baby
- Main article: Poor Tom and Ozon Baby (story arc)
Tsurugi decides to confronts his father Jobin about the latter's involvement with the Rock Humans. Before long, Tsurugi, Jobin and Iwasuke feel the attack of Ozon Baby, an enemy Stand Jobin has planted inside the family orchard. Trying to escape out of the shed they were in, Tsurugi meets Ozon Baby itself and bears the full brunt of its power, suffering a debilitating decompression sickness. He almost dies but Jobin manages to take him to safety and revive him.
Tsurugi later uses Paper Moon King to make Poor Tom see a pear-tree branch as the Rokakaka branch. After Poor Tom is killed, Norisuke talks with Tsurugi about them losing the branch, but unbeknownst to Norisuke, Tsurugi had used Paper Moon King on him to disguise Jobin. It is then revealed that Jobin and Tsurugi had taken the Rokakaka branch.
Video Games
Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Tsurugi appears in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven as a stage gimmick on the Higashikata House stage. He opens up the underground storeroom occasionally, which allows a single player to restore some of their health.
Gallery
- Tsurugi.png
Tsurugi's original appearance, being carried by his mother
Tsurugi's re-appearance in JJL Chapter 22; kidnapping Yasuho
Tsurugi without sunglasses
Tsurugi with a paper fortune teller
Tsurugi sniffing Yasuho's hair
Yasuho discovers that he's not a girl
References
- ↑ JJL Chapter 7: Josuke, Go to the Higashikata Family, p.15
- ↑ JJL Chapter 17: The Lemon and the Tangerine
