The Kami War

It is now commonly accepted that kami and mortals once lived in harmony, but everything changed during the reign of Lord Konda.

Fueled by a reckless ambition for everlasting power, Konda, Lord of Eiganjo, stole an item from the spirit realm. That item turned out to be the "child" of Kamigawa's most powerful kami, O-Kagachi. With his prize, Lord Konda gained unnatural strength and immortality, and his kingdom thrived.

However, Konda's blasphemous act was to have more devastating consequences than he could ever have imagined. The loss of part of his being set O-Kagachi off on a chaotic rampage that spread through the spirit realm, affecting all kami on the plane. In their affliction, they manifested sporadically in the mortal realm, bringing pain and destruction wherever they appeared. Even some of the most revered and peaceful kami of this age turned on their patrons. Meanwhile Konda himself, driven by the fear of losing that which was taken, eventually descended into paranoia.

For the next 20 years, kami attacks continued and mortals wondered what they had done wrong to deserve the kami's anger, completely oblivious to the acts performed by Konda. All they knew was that Konda was their only savior, the only one able to stand against the great kami's wrath—though the source of his power was unknown.

At the height of The Kami War, O-Kagachi himself entered into the mortal realm in search of the part of him that had been torn away. Following the trail of his offspring, the giant spirit raged across the land, leaving death and destruction in his wake.

The Kami War only ended when that which was taken was shattered and the trapped kami set free. The released kami and Lord Konda's daughter, Michiko, defeated O-Kagachi, halting his destructive rampage, and killed Lord Konda as punishment for his crimes.

The art depicted here emphasizes the beauty and terror of O-Kagachi as he appears through an ethereal veil. While the dragon spirit's story came to a close at the end of The Kami War, the legend of his appearance and impact of his destruction lives on even today as the most pivotal event in all of Kamigawa's history.