The ghastly appearance of the wicked tree.
The Human Face Tree (人面樹, Human Face Tree) is a wicked organism that grows at an incredible pace because it is fed the dead bodies of powerful individuals who relinquish their life force into the tree. Such causes what is known as Ninmenka (人面果, Human Face Fruit) to develop on the tree. Sour in taste, the fruit is packed full of life force and nutrients; a single bite can bring a man from the brink of death or prolong the existence of someone on their deathbed.
Background[]
Forbidden to even imagine, early members of the Sōzō Clan realized that they were living shorter lives than those of their relatives on their home world. Some decided upon this wicked method in order to circumvent their distress called Teinen (停年, Age Limit). The first Sōzō to walk the earth, Shimenawa, forbid the method and so it was lost to time. Daidaiwa Sozo, the former clan lord and father to Heiwa, discovered the method and used it to prolong his life. Desperate to cure the matter of this ailment, Heiwa too partook of the fruit. He has since sealed the tree away. Surprisingly and to his surprise, Heiwa awakened the Muchitsujo Naibugan after eating the fruit. He noted that the fruit was incredibly sour and gave him a bad feeling.
Trivia[]
- A Ninmenji, also known as a Jinmenju are not foreign to Japanese mythology. The Ninmenju is a strange tree which bears flowers looking like human heads. These heads cannot speak, but they do smile and can even laugh. In the autumn, they bear face-shaped fruit which tastes sweet and sour.
- This tree and its fruit take inspiration from the ones seen in InuYasha.