Ancestral Guardian Sakura

The myth

The guardian sakura is a MYTHENOR creation, but reverence for ancient cherry trees is real. Many trees hundreds or even a thousand or more years old, like Yamanashi's Jindai-zakura and Miharu's Takizakura, are natural monuments and are visited as if they were venerable elders. In folklore very old trees harbor spirits. Lafcadio Hearn retold in Kwaidan the story of the Jiu-roku-zakura, the "cherry tree of the sixteenth day": an old samurai gave his life to the tree he loved, and it bloomed every year on the anniversary of his death, even in deep winter.

Why it has this power

An Uncommon level-6 Light Insect-Plant with 1500 ATK and 2000 DEF: a guardian, made to protect rather than attack. Light and Sun are the blossoming; Scarab, the bond with ancestors and the dead. One of the best defenses in the archipelago among non-fusion cards.

Did you know

The Jindai-zakura in Hokuto, Yamanashi, is considered one of Japan's oldest cherry trees, with an estimated age of about two thousand years.

Connections

• In Hanae, Wandering Miko's deck

Where to get it

• Campaign drop: Hanae, Wandering Miko (Archipelago of the Kami) — grade C: 14%
• Daily Offering: 0.45% per pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
• Welcome Pack: 1.1% per pack (Uncommon 30% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 35% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.98% of days · 400 gold
• Craft with card dust: 100 dust
• Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).

Sources

1. Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (Project Gutenberg) — Lafcadio Hearn
2. Cherry — Encyclopaedia Britannica — The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica