Genbu

Genbu
ゲンブ
Character Data
AKA		Black Tortoise of the North, Xuánwǔ, Hyeonmu, Huyền Vũ, Black Warrior, Black Turtle
Romaji		Genbu
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Cryptid Data
Classification		Legendary Creature
Origin		Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese
F.R.A.		Unknown
Based On		Tortoise and snake entwined
Read More		Black Tortoise
Conservation

Genbu​

Festival​

Pavilion​

KF3​

Nexon Game​

Gallery

Genbu is a goddess Friend that first appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game. She is one of the Four Gods guarding Japari Park.

Appearance

Genbu has white hair with a long ponytail of the back of her head surrounded by the tail of a little black snake with red eyes also representative a bow that attached her hair. She also wears the shell of a black tortoise on top of her head that looks like a hat. She owns a black leather jacket with full-length sleeves and a fur surrounds her neck as the same colour, as the others goddesses a little badge is attached on the left of her torso with the symbol of Japari Park on it.

She holds gradient gloves with black fur cuffs. She wears a skirt similar to a black tortoise shell and knee high boots. She bears a long, reptilian tail resembling of one's Snapping Turtle by the upper black platings, and under them a soft, grayish-white scaled segments similar of a serpent's belly, reflecting her entity nature of being a tortoise and a snake simultaneously.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role

Origins

A statue of the Chinese constellation Black Tortoise of the North

The Black Tortoise or Black Turtle is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is known as Xuan wu (玄武) in Chinese and Genbu in Japanese, it is associated with water and it represents the north and the winter season. the tortoise has black back, and is said to have the ability to enter the nether world to inquire forthcoming things. After getting the answer, it would come back showing the answer with some certain signs. Later on, it is usually depicted as both a tortoise and a snake, specifically with the snake coiling around the tortoise. As the tortoise lives in water, it becomes the water god; and the tortoise enjoys a long life, so Xuan wu becomes the symbol of longevity.

A shrine dedicated to the guardian animal is located north of the Imperial palace in Kyoto and was one of the 4 shrines protection of the palace. It was built in the ninth century and originally enshrined a favorite sword of Prince Koretaka, a son of Emperor Montoku.

Trivia

• Its seven mansions are the Dipper, Ox, Girl, Emptiness, Rooftop, Encampment and Wall.

• The creature's name is identical to that of the important Taoist god Xuanwu, who is sometimes (as in Journey to the West) portrayed in the company of a turtle and snake.

References

1. Archived from the original on 2016-11-06.

2. de Groot, Jan Jakob Maria (1892), The Religious System of China, III, Brill Archive, pp. 1082–1083

3. "The Chinese Sky"

4. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Culture. Kluwer Academic Publishers.