Tsukiyo

Tsukiyo

(Deity)

Titles

Prince of the Moon

Adjective

Tsukiyan

Realm

Heaven

Alignment

Lawful good

Areas of Concern

Jade
The moon
Spirits

Worshipers

Samsarans

Edicts

Provide aid and counsel without judgment to those who seek help, help the dead find their rest, amplify or help speak for the powerless and demonized

Anathema

Harm another out of envy, force aid on those who do not want it, inflict harmful mental effects on others as punishment, knowingly hurt the innocent, commit murder

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Darkness, Good, Law, Madness, Repose

Subdomains (1E)

Ancestors, Archon, Insanity, Moon, Night, Souls

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Delirium, moon, repose, soul
Alternate: Change

Favored Weapon

Longspear or spear

Symbol

Jade crescent moon

Sacred Animal

Hare

Images of Tsukiyo

Source: Faiths of Golarion, pg(s). 58–63 (1E)
Tian Xia World Guide, pg(s). 43 (2E)

This article covers the deity. For the mountain in Zi Ha named for the deity, see Mount Tsukiyo.

Tsukiyo (pronounced skee-yoh) is the Tian-Min deity of the moon, jade, and spirits. He is the brother of the evil Fumeiyoshi and the paramour of Shizuru. A once-slain god resurrected from death, he has since also tended to the misunderstood and lost.

History

A depiction of Tsukiyo.

Tsukiyo and Shizuru, the Ruler of Heaven, are lovers; Tsukiyo is also the brother of Fumeiyoshi. Aeons ago, Fumeiyoshi grew jealous of his brother's loving relationship with Shizuru and, on one occasion, grew so angry he murdered Tsukiyo. A legend holds that the very first stones of jade were formed at this time from the intermingling of Shizuru's tears with Tsukiyo's blood; jade is sacred within the church of the Prince of the Moon and his religious symbol is a crescent moon made of the stone

Shizuru then successfully requested the aid of Qi Zhong, the god of medicine, to resurrect her lover. She then recruited Yaezhing, the punisher of the gods and the enforcer of divine justice, to punish Fumeiyoshi by banishing him to his brother's tomb and stripping him of his position. She stated Fumeiyoshi would forever envy his betters as the undead envy the living and, indeed, Fumeiyoshi is now styled the Lord of Envy and in his portfolio are dishonour, envy, graves, and the undead. In contrast, after his rebirth, Tsukiyo added spirits to his portfolio and became the patron of the samsaran race who are associated with reincarnation.

Shizuru's relationship with the Prince of the Moon is not an easy one, however, as they never meet one another, in a symbolic representation of the separation of night and day, save for the times of a solar eclipse; those rare times are, of course, fleetingly fast.

They are known to have had at least one offspring, the star archon known as the Dusk Ronin. Although Dusk Ronin has not strayed from her original moral teachings, she has been banished from her parents' domain in Heaven due to an unknown occurrence, and now seeks to atone for her transgression.

Religious symbol and sacred animal

The religious symbol of Tsukiyo is a jade crescent moon. Tsukiyo's sacred animal is the hare.

Relationships with other deities

Tsukiyo is the lover of Shizuru and an enemy of his brother, Fumeiyoshi, who murdered him. One presumes he has good relations with Qi Zhong who resurrected him. It is unclear what Tsukiyo's relationship is today with the evil rat goddess Lao Shu Po, but it is likely not to be close or friendly: while Tsukiyo lay dead in his grave, Lao Shu Po crept in as a mortal rat, feasted on his corpse, and gained some of Tsukiyo's power. She ascended to the status of goddess, and when Fumeiyoshi was banished for killing his brother, she stole his portfolio of night and took it as her own.

Appearance

Tsukiyo is depicted as a human man of Tian-Min descent.

Church

A cleric of Tsukiyo.

On Golarion, Tsukiyo's worship is most significant on the continent of Tian Xia where he one of their most prominent deities. His faith is particularly strong in Goka (where there are impressive statues of Shizuru and Tsukiyo, some 250 feet tall, guarding the entrance to Xu Hong Bay), Jinin, Minkai, Nagajor, Tianjing, the Wall of Heaven, and Zi Ha. The ruler of Zi Ha is Gyaltho Tulku, a powerful cleric of Tsukiyo. The Prince of the Moon is also a popular god in the Forest of Spirits, which contains scattered shrines dedicated to him.

After his resurrection, Tsukiyo's views on reality changed, making him feel like an outsider among other deities. This expanded his concerns to mortals experiencing similar feelings of being lost, misunderstood, or villified. This has made him particularly esteemed among those with mental illnesses and disabilities, to whom Tsukiyo offers their communities a greater understanding on how to respect of their differences, and reserves treatment only for those who specifically request it.

Minkai

In Minkai, the links are particularly strong due to Tsukiyo's close relationship with Shizuru, the patron goddess of Minkai, and the belief that Tsukiyo created the emblematic Jade Throne on which the emperors of Minkai have ruled for over 1,000 years. In Kasai, the capital of Minkai, the massive cherry tree called the Tree of Souls is considered to be the soul of the Minkaian empire and is tended by priestesses of Tsukiyo. The earth around the tree is also considered to be sacred. As of 7212 IC, the priestesses were aiding the druid Osuzu to determine how the tree, which had become damaged, could be healed.

Inner Sea region

Tian immigrants to the Inner Sea region brought their faith of Tsukiyo with them, and he now has enclaves of faithful in Ustalav and Varisia.

Aims of the church

Tsukiyo's worshippers perform the service of brokers between the living and the spirit world. As part of this work they may tend to cemeteries, defend villages from evil spirits, or ensure the common people conquer their fears of the dark.

Holidays

In both the faith of Shizuru and that of Tsukiyo, the times of a solar eclipse are very sacred, as their worshippers understand this is the short time when these lovers are able to reunite. The links between these two faiths are further reinforced in larger temples to Shizuru by the existence of a shrine to Tsukiyo attached to these temples.

Cosmic Caravan

In places familiar with Tsukiyo, he replaces Groetus as the moon deity in the pantheon of gods associated with the Cosmic Caravan.

References

Paizo published a major article about Tsukiyo in Faiths of Golarion.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.