Welcome to the fifth #ArcanaInPersona article~
#5: The Hierophant
< #4: The Emperor - Next Article (Soon) >
The game series Persona is overflowing with symbolism. Even the term Persona is derived from Jungian psychology which strives on symbolism. The most interesting parallel I found in Persona is its usage of Tarot cards & the Major Arcana.
In this article series I'm writing about each Arcana and its corresponding Social Links/Confidants in Persona games. Today's article is about The Hierophant, which is usually represented by someone older and wiser than the protagonist. Usually his caretaker in the town he lives in during the games.
The Hierophant in Tarot Cards
The Hirophant is the fifth trump card in Tarot deck. The card is sometimes also called The Pope or The High Priest as the male counterpart of The High Priestess. The Hierophant is the title of the chief priest in an ancient Greek Ritual.
The card usually depicts him setting on the throne raising his right hand in a benevolent way and wears a red cape contrasting with The High Priestess' blue one.
In Tarot divination, The Hierophant represents: Marriage, alliance, captivity, servitude, mercy, and goodness. While reversed it could mean over-kindness or weakness, but also represent society
The Hierophant in Persona
All the Social Links/Confidants of The Hierophant Arcana are male characters that are older than the main character and have wisdom and are are logical, and most of them have a connection/obsession with the past.
Since The Hierophant is the symbol of education and authority, most of the character of this Arcana are related to one of these in a way, like being the guardian of the main character or a mentor in some way. Since Persona 3, there's has been only one party member with Hierophant Persona. Unlike other Hierophants he's not an adult. He also isn't a Social Link in the original version of the game.
Personas of The Hierophant Arcana usually have no weaknesses, but also have no strengths. They mirror The Priestess Personas. Hierophants are male priests, gods of wisdom and the like.
Persona 3's Shinjiro Aragaki
Before the protagonists joins SEES at the start of Persona 3, Shinjiro was one of the early members of SEES and a friend of Akihiko. Two years before the story his persona went out of control and killed a bystander woman. Shinjiro quit the team and lived in guilt since then, he even quit school and lived as an outcast.
Shinjiro is a serious guy with a cold exterior that hides his gentler side. That side of his isn't apparent in the original Persona 3 game as he isn't around for most of the game. In FES/Portable other sides of him are shown, like the video recordings where he thought he was alone and the female route in P3P as the main character can romance him.
Shinjiro secretly enjoys cooking and he's good at it. But he hides this because it contradicts his though guy personality.
He represents The Moon Arcana Social Link (in P3 Portable's female route since The Hierophant Social Link is already taken by the old couple.) His Social Link story shows his caring side and explores his backstory more..
Persona 3's Bunkichi and Mitsuko
Bunkichi and Mitsuko are the old couple of the book store in Persona 3. They have a connection to the persimmon tree in the protagonist's school. Bunkichi is a kind but senile old man who often rambles to himself, and Mitsuko is his sweet wife who gets emotional sometimes.
Their Social Link revolves on their backstory and how they're related to the persimmon tree in the school. Their son attended the school as a teacher, and he was the one who planted the tree, but he died years ago in a car accident. The old couple wanted the tree to be preserved even though it's planned to be cut as a part of the school development plan.
The kind couple eventually realize that their son would prefer to the school to developed and further the education, even if it meant losing the tree. Their story is heartwarming.
Persona 4's Ryotaro Dojima
Ryotaro Dojima is the uncle of Persona 4's Protagonist and his guardiam. He's a detective in Inaba's police force. Dojima is the first person you meet in Persona 4 along with his daughter Nanako, they take the role of the protagonist's family while he's in town.
Since the crimes started happening in time at the beginning of the story, Dojima spends less and less time home. His relationship with his daughter suffered from this and it shows in his and her Social Link stories, the protagonist makes them reconnect over the course of the game.
Dojima is a competent detective, which contrasts beautifully with his assitant Adachi who's quite naive and open. Still, Dojima has a trouble holding a friendly conversation. More than once, he found himself interrogating the protagonist instead of having a family talk.
His Social Link revolves around his obsession with finding the killer of his wife, as well as mending the relationship with his daughter Nanako. Learning by the end, to not live for Nanako and and not let personal hatred affect his present. Next time he would look into the case, it will be to catch a criminal, not to take revenge for his wife.
Persona 5's Sojiro Sakura
Fan nickname: Coffee dad!
When the protagonist got his first crime on his record. Sojiro was the person was the person took him in while he's in probation. Sojiro is kind old man who hides his kindness by his harsh surface. After all he's the kind of guy who took the protagonist whom everyone wanted to get rid off, even if all he does to the protagonist at the start is to complaining.
In his youth Sojiro was in love with a woman called Wakaba, but his love didn't develop into a relationship. Wakaba had a daughter with someone else. After she died and all her relatives treated her daughter as an eyesore, Sojiro adopted the child. His adopted daughter, Futuba Sakura eventually joins The Phantom Thieves.
His Confidant Story revolves around his cafe Leblanc and his adopted daughter. Futuba's uncle lost his right for custody to Sojiro after he abused her, but after learning that she lives as a shut-in in his house her uncle decided to extort Sojiro and threaten him of taking a legal action. The confidant story revolves around this family matter from then on.
So, that's all for The Hierophant Arcana
Out of all Arcana's the Hierophant Arcana characters have the most in common to each other. All of them are older than the protagonist and have a wisdom of experience. All of them have a huge connection (even obsession) with the past.
I like comparing Dojima and Sojiro because both acts as the guardians of the main character's of their respective stories. Both have daughters that means the world to them, though in Sojiro's case, she's adopted. Both of them lost a loved one and spent years trapped in the past. Their stories revolve around them learning to let go of chasing the dead and live for the future.
Shinjiro is one of my favorite characters too! He's so adult-like, both in personality and design that I keep forgetting he's a high-schooler. His story in Persona 3 is great and shocking (I didn't spoil much in this article in case you haven't seen it yet.) He's really a young Hierophant.
So, What are your thoughts?
I just love the Hierophant characters, but this is another article I took too long writing. It seems I'll be lucky if I kept the pace of three #ArcanaInPersona a month. The next Arcana is one of my favorites: The Lovers! See you next then!
Cover image is edited from this base image and P5's Hierophant Card from the wiki. The old couple image is taken from this video. Shinjro's is taken directly from this video. Dojima's image is from this video. PS5's Sojiro Sakura's first image is from Ifrit's LP, the second one is from this guide for Persona 5.
%5 of this article rewards is going to: !
I'm rotating a %5 beneficiary of my posts rewards to people who engage with my posts/comments! Want to earn %5 of my next post's rewards? Write an insightful comment on one of my articles and you might be chosen next!