Sakuranomori Kamakura Prefectural Girls' High School

Sakuranomori Kamakura Prefectural Girls' High School (鎌倉府立桜ノ杜女子高等学校) is a Garden in Kamakura, Japan. It is one of the "Big Five Gardens" of Kamakura. Unlike most other Gardens, which are private academies, Sakuranomori is a public school. They additionally have a strong Eastern culture motif, based on both Japanese mythology and imperial samurai. This is seen in how their school building has a historical Japanese design, including a large Shinto shrine on campus, which serves as their trademark. Combining both "valor" and "refinement," Sakuranomori's school culture is quite similar to Odaiba Girls' School.

The Garden's uniform is based on traditional Japanese clothing, primarily kimonos, and have an evident shrine priestess-like flair to them. It's quite strict about its uniform policy, to the point that most customization must be directly approved by an instructor. Moreover, students have an obligation to wear the uniform even off school time.

Sakuranomori does not have any school level other than high school, however there is a school named Ouka Private Girls' Junior High (私立櫻華義塾女子中学校) which is a subsidiary organization under Sakuranomori, and at least 90% of its students go on to enroll at Sakuranomori. (Ouka Girls' also seems to have a kindergarten and an elementary division.) Despite this, Sakuranomori is known for its very difficult entrance exams, and also for having an "unofficial" requirement that all of its students be learned in a martial art.

Educational Policy

The Garden emphasizes its unique teaching methods in the "Sakuranomori Pledge," which combines the teachings of Hagakure and Confucianism with the sexism removed, with the cultivation of a refined spirit that isn't solely consumed with battle. This provides the baseline for the Garden's teachings, which hopes to promote a sound mind within its students.

While carrying weapons to defend oneself is not unheard of even in this day and age, most Gardens prevent Lilies from carrying or using their CHARMs while on school grounds outside of specific training areas. In Sakuranomori's case however, all students are permitted to carry their CHARMs at all times, and even duels are permitted, so long as permission is obtained from instructors.

There is a massive, sacred tree on the campus, alongside a large Shinto shrine. Entrance ceremonies into Sakuranomori are held at the Shrine, so it has taken on a special significance among the students. "Let us meet before the Shrine" — to a Sakuranomori Lily, this is a phrase that signals one's preparedness for death, and a kind of final farewell before a battle.

The Oban and the Priestess

Sakuranomori has two top seats of political power. One is the Shrine Priestess, who is elected by students that are involved with the maintenance and care of the shrine on the campus grounds. The Priestess oversees all political, cultural, and ritual affairs within the Garden. The Oban meanwhile is similar to Yurigaoka's Brynhildr in that she serves as the military commander of all Lilies at the Garden. She is elected by students not involved with the shrine.

For ages, the two factions have been feuding, a natural consequence of rival power centers. However, the current Oban, Miyazaki Hikaru, and the current Priestess Okada Shiho, are childhood friends, and moreover, get along so well as to be viewed like a married couple. The feuding between the factions remains, but there may be change on the horizon.

Shell Unions

Similar to Yurigaoka's Schutzengel Oath, Sakuranomori has a sisterhood system called a Shell Union (一つ貝 hitotsu kai), symbolizing two halves of a shell making up a whole. In fact, such a pairing has a literal shell that it holds onto, and these shells have names and even decorations, for they're meant to be an inherited tradition. Shell Unions are composed of an upperclassman and her junior. The key difference from Yurigaoka's tradition however is that when the older girl enters her third year, she is expected to choose a successor for her half of the shell among the first year students, then act as her guide. The then-second year partner does not get to choose whom she is bonded with.

Katakamuna Seal

Rather than using the Neunwelt Tactic, Sakuranomori Lilies utilize a special "joint attack" tactic called the Katakamuna Seal. Eight Lilies are charged with the sequential engraving of symbols called monsho (紋傷 lit. crest scars). Monsho are placed either on a single Huge (if it's an elite Huge), or on the ground (if targeting a mass of lesser Huge). Then, one of the Lilies triggers the Final Blade (終の太刀 tsui no tatsu) by absorbing the magie imbued into the monsho into her CHARM. The amount of power is derived from the number of monsho placed, as well as where they are placed.

During the Final Blade period, the Lily enters a state called Divine Possession. She becomes surrounded in a swirling aura colored like the primary color of her CHARM, and her hair becomes a similar color. Her abilities are vastly boosted, as well. However, this state places a great deal of strain on the Lily's body and mind. Depending on the experience and skill of the Lily, it is a state that can only be maintained for a maximum of nine seconds. During that time, she must strike the target Huge (or ground, if targeting a group) and violently disperse all the magie she has absorbed, or the magie will be lost (and likely she won't survive it either).

In the past year, Sakuranomori has also started training its students in performing the Neunwelt.

The name of Katakamuna (片神名) comes from the concept of "the name of all things sacred and profane," where profane means simply "whatever is not divine" rather than meaning "sin/blasphemy." The full name of the technique is 片神名封神術式, katakamuna houshin jutsushiki, which could be something like "Katakamuna God-Binding Ritual," and could be taken to mean "sealing away the core of what makes a god divine." The way it is translated here (Katakamuna Seal) is because "katakamuna" is too difficult to bring over in a succinct fashion, and Sakuranomori is a Japanese-themed school anyway. Reducing it to merely "Seal" is in the interest of making something snappy-sounding.

Relationships

• Sagami Girls' Academy: Sakuranomori and Sagami have a rivalry that is so intense that it's nearly hostile, and it's said that Lilies from these two schools cannot be allowed on the same battlefield together.

References

Most information for this article was taken from the lore document included with Miyazaki Hikaru's doll, as found on the Assault Lily atwiki.