Inaruna was a princess of a small, unnamed country in ancient Japan in the location of present-day Hirasaki City. This country was founded by members of the Hata clan from mainland Asia. It attempted to resist the unification wars of the Yamato dynasty using magic and demons, including artificial demons, and at first defeated the Yamato army, but eventually the country lost the war and Inaruna was tortured and executed. Her spirit haunted Japan, but was sealed away.[1]
Gameplay
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↑"吾妻教授： [...] この、平崎市一帯には、今まで知られていなかった、古代史上の事件があったのだ。古代日本において、大和王朝による統一が進んでいたころ、各地に存在していた国々は２つの選択を突きつけられていた。すなわち、大和王朝の強大な武力の前に戦わずして服従し、生き長らえるか。あるいは、屈することをいさぎよしとせず、最後の一人まで、戦いぬいて滅びるか。平崎の地には、戦うことを選択した小さな国があった。この国を開いたのは、大陸からやって来た秦氏の一部だとも、伝えられている。この名も知らぬ国こそ、私が説いた古代に存在した魔法の国だったのだ。その力によって、大軍を苦しめたらしい。使ったのは、魔法ばかりではなく後の世に言う、悪魔を使い戦わせていた。さらに、驚くべきことには、自分たちで悪魔を造り出していた、というのだ。 [...] さて、大軍に囲まれ、国は最後を迎える。そして、女王の娘である一人の姫がとらわれの身となった。姫は、言うもはばかられる無残な方法で処刑された。だが、姫の無念の思いが怨霊として、この地に残った。そのため、封印をほどこし怨霊をしずめた、という。私が知ったのは、ここまでだ。" Translation: "Professor Azuma: [...] In the Hirasaki City area, there was an incident from ancient history which had remained unknown until now. In ancient Japan, when unification under the Yamato dynasty was underway, the countries that existed in the various regions were presented with two choices. That is to say, would they submit in the face of the Yamato dynasty's great might and live for a long time without a fight? Or would they refuse to yield and perish fighting to the last man? In the land of Hirasaki, there was a small country which chose to fight. It is said that this country was founded by a part of the Hata clan which came from the continent. This country, whose name is unknown, was the country of magic that existed in ancient times which I had argued for. Through its great power, it seems to have tormented large armies. Not only did it use magic, but it was also said in later eras that it fought using demons. What is even more surprising is that it had created its own demons. [...] Well, encircled by a great army, the country met its end. Then, the queen's daughter, the only princess, was taken captive. The princess was executed in an unspeakably cruel manner. However, the princess's feelings of regret remained in this land as a vengeful spirit. For this reason, a seal was placed to appease the vengeful spirit. That's what I have learned up to this point." Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (Sega Saturn). Developed by Atlus. Published by Atlus. Translation by Billy Mitchell.
↑"金子■今回これをやってる時にシュメールとかに凝ってまして、シュメールの神話とかに第10何番っていう、巨大な太陽系の外側に楕円軌道をもってる惑星があるらしいんですよ。オカルティストの間では流行りでして、それからモンスターを持ってきました。イナルナっていうのも「デビルサマナー」の最後に出てくるんですけど、あれもイナンナっていうシュメールの神様からとってきています。世界中の地母神で、イシュタルとかカーリーとかもいますけど、そういった世界中の地母神の元みたいなんですよね。それが各地方に分派していって、イナンナがイシュタルになっていってというような流れがあるみたいです。そういうような意味からすると、本当は神様の起源みたいなのがシュメールなのかなっていうのはあったんで、こだわっていたんですね。" Translation: "KK: I really got into Sumerian culture while working on this, and found out that their mythology has a planet with an elliptic orbit outside the solar system, number twelve or so. It’s really popular among occultists and it is said monsters hail from there. Inaruna, who shows up in the final part of Devil Summoner, was inspired by the Sumerian goddess Inanna. There are many mother goddesses all over the world, like Ishtar or Kali, but Inanna feels like the mother of them all. They all differ from region to region though, and it seems Inanna became Ishtar at some point too. It almost feels like Sumer is the origin of God, so I paid special attention to that aspect." Sega Saturn Magazine. Published by SoftBank. p. 145. Published April 26, 1996 (cover date May 24, 1996). Translation by dijeh.
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