Onarigami

Originally from Ryukyuan Shamanism, onarigami is the innate ability of women to be able to communicate with spirits.
Like all metaphysical properties, results may vary as you are generally 'selected' by those within the spirit realm. It is speculated you are selected because you are destined to provide assistance to those in need here on the mortal material plane. Once selected by the spirits, the individual is given the title of 'Yuta'. With that in mind, those who may either identify as female, or prefer to present themselves with female traits are also sometimes selected and able to practice these magics. In fact, on extremely rare occasions there have been those of the male persuasion who have been able to manifest these abilites albeit in much reduced form. It is speculated in certain circles that a male is sometimes given this ability by a spirit who has fallen in love with the mortal, as a cruel jest, or after the loss of a bet when mischievous spirits play several rounds of the game "What would a human do in this situation". Males may never fully achieve abilites to the extent of those otherwise selected and almost all have the ability taper only to eventually disappear after an undetermined amount of time.
The "problem" with Onarigami, is that it can be used by anyone if collected in sufficient quantities and properly stored and cared for. This material has become known as shinzui, or heart hair.
There are several ways to collect the material, the primary and most ruthless is of course the death of the Yuta. The collection of the the Yuta's blood, saliva, urine and hair can be used to create a concoction that is either consumable or can be applied to the skin. When used in this manner, it imparts 'most' of the power of the original Yuta, but as the Yuta's spirit is no longer present, the energies are reduced, and it does not last. A side effect of using shinzui is euphoria and the visual sensation (ability?) of floating between realms. Not only is the user able to communicate while there, but they are able to travel to other times, past or present, and visit ancestors.
Countless Yuta's gave their lives as many experiments have been conducted over time, the most horrendous performed by a sect of necromancers simply known as The Bloody Konoha. It was fortunately, or unfortunately for those who perished, discovered that combining materials gathered from multiple Yuta would negate the power potential, reducing the components simply to their natural state. The Bloody Konoha discovered that shinzui could be used for many necromantic ceremonies and was a powerful component when used in summoning being from darker realms. They also "accidentally" discovered that shinzui provided them with a commanding power over these entities that was not possible under a normal summoning.
The actual power of a Yuta is quite complex and cannot be summoned on a whim except by those most devoted. To explain it to you simply, we would classify it as the power of the divine. Those who are Yuta are able to heal as well as summon spirits to the Yuta's aid. These summoned spirits can do many things from the simple movement of light objects to the ability to powerfully focus magic on a level unknown by mortals in times of great need.
One such occasion is the legend of the Seven Sisters.
A fleet of fishing vessels departed and a storm quickly rose in the seas. After the ships did not return on their designated day, a group of villagers went tot he shore to pray for the vessels return, or some sign that the fishermen were still alive. The villagers called on seven sisters that lived in the village, all of whom had either a husband, fiancé, or brother aboard the vessels to see if they could sense anything. As the seven sisters stood along the shore after the prayers stopped and all focused their energy on uncovering what had happened, a great wave rose from the sea.
The sisters had inadvertently woken a powerful spirit that no one had encountered before. It claimed through them to be new to this world and while it had no interest in these people, it would return those it had claimed when the storm had come. Everyone agreed and as the fishermen appeared, walking out of the waters with much joy and having stories of adventures in foreign lands, the villagers who ran to greet them did not see the seven sisters begin to turn into stone until it was to late. Now, along the shore, the seven sisters keep watch to the west over the sea as both a guide and a warning that once death has come, it should not be bargained with for unknown consequences.
The villagers believe this creature from the sea was a spirit summoned by the Seven Sisters to bring back the villages loved ones, sacrificing themselves for the great good of the village. But not being able to hear the cries and screams of anguish from the sisters while they fought the creature, their minds being destroyed by the giant leviathan, they have no idea that not only does the leviathan still live nearby, but that it continuously consumes the seven sisters essence and has trapped them in a perpetual battle between planes, and that every generation a yuta is born in the original village, that yuta grows closer to summoning the leviathan again, and bringing back the great Seven Sisters who will eventually be known as the Seven Warrior Sisters of Light.
But, that is another story...

Type

Metaphysical