Doman is the main antagonist and final boss of the 2004 survival horror game Kuon. He is an exorcist and sorcerer from feudal Japan formerly employed at the Fujiwara manor, but later exiled to the nearby mountain shrine where he lives with his daughters, Utsuki and Kureha. An ambitious and power-hungry manipulator, Doman sought to use the unique magic of the region to become immortal and crush his rivals so that he could be the greatest mage in all of Japan.
Biography[]
Doman was a mage and royal exorcist employed at the Fujiwara manor and adjacent Buddhist temple, but due to his questionable behavior he was exiled from the grounds and became a civilian exorcist, moving to the remote shrine atop a nearby mountain with his daughters Utsuki and Kureha. At some point, possibly thanks to the Mulberry Twins, he learned of the Kuon spell that could be performed thanks to the unique silkworms linked to the magical mulberry trees on the shrine and manor grounds. Not long after, Doman's daughter Kureha was fatally injured in an accident, giving him the chance he desired to initiate the spell and revive her. The reanimated Kureha was led to believe that Utsuki had killed her on purpose, when in reality she had been startled by the twins.
Years later, Doman set out for the Fujiwara manor and murdered a large amount of the servants as well as Lord Fujiwara and Lady Fujiwara, in order to experiment on them, creating a presence of undead monsters on the grounds, as well as preparing victims to progress the Kuon spell, which required Kureha to merge with other living beings within silkworm cocoons a total of nine times. When this led to rumors about a demonic presence in the manor, Doman sent his four disciples Sakuya, Doryo, Dochin and Dokai to investigate the manor, secretly meaning to victimize them and turn them into more test subjects to ensure the success of the Kuon spell. He followed them shortly afterwards, leaving behind a note which similarly lured his daughters to the manor.
Yin & Yang Phases[]
Doman hid in his laboratory in the caverns beneath the manor, encountering Utsuki and Sakuya, to whom he revealed his manipulations and his true intentions. Sakuya tried to attack him in retaliation, but Doman easily countered her attack and cast her aside.
Kuon Phase[]
Following the earlier events the manor, the Imperial Exorcist Abe no Seimei arrived to investigate the grounds with her loyal summoned oni, Zenki and Goki. After examining the mulberry tree on the manor grounds and divining its true demonic nature, Seimei headed underground and confronted Doman, who wished to use her as the final sacrificial vessel to perfect the Kuon spell and attacked her with magic. However, Seimei was able to overcome Doman's assault and defeat him, killing the mad mage before using magical spikes on the remaining mulberry tree, sealing off the evil spirit of the twin that dwelt inside it.
Seimei intended to exterminate Utsuki and Kureha as well to remove any trace of the evil magic that had taken place there but was stopped by Sakuya, who pleaded with her to instead allow Utsuki to be the final sacrifice for the spell, saying that the sisters had been innocent victims of Doman's manipulations. Seimei accepted to leave the sisters alone, but left Sakuya to bear the responsibility for whatever happened next. In the end, it is shown that the being born of the completed spell appeared to be an ordinary human girl under Sakuya's care who was told that she could live however she chose, showing that Doman's evil ambitions never came to fruition.
Trivia[]
- Doman was based on the legendary figure of the onmyōji Ashiya Dōman, depicted in literature as a rival to Abe no Seimei, the founder of Onmyōdō. Legend states that Fujiwara no Akimitsu commissioned Dōman to curse his rival Fujiwara no Michinaga (who also served as Seimei's patron) in retaliation for Prince Atsuakira abandoning Akimitsu's daughter Enshi for Michinaga's daughter, which caused Enshi to die of grief. Dōman's curse caused all of Michinaga's daughters to die in quick succession.
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Doman |
Mulberry Twins |
Kureha
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