Yato

Yato is one of the three protagonists of the Noragami series.

Currently, Yato considers himself the God of Fortune/Happiness, although in the past he has been labeled as being a God of War, a God of Calamity, a God of Depression and the God of Depravity. His dream is to become a famous god, whom everyone worships.

Appearance
Yato appears to be an extremely handsome young man, who appears to be anywhere from eighteen to early twenties. He has sharp blue eyes and dark hair that is purple in the manga. However, it appears to be dark blue with purple streaks in the anime. He is 174cm tall, or 5"7. He is often seen wearing a weird navy tracksuit that has a small golden crown on the right side. He wears a pair of brown leather boots that go over his tracksuit. Yato also wears a faded blue scarf (nicknamed 'fluffy fluff scarf' by Yato himself) with tears along with it around his neck. It has, however, been speculated by fans that his scarf is actually a towel. Yato has blue eyes which change in appearance depending on the emotions he feels - typically, when he is serious or angry they are slit and reminiscent of a cat. In flashbacks of him "being" Yaboku, he is seen with a mini ponytail wearing a man's kimono.

Personality
There are times when Yato appears very serious and mysterious, for instance when he meets with Nora. Yato can also be crude and unpredictable, although it is hinted that he can also be a cruel and merciless person. This is strongly implied by Kofuku, who introduces the rumor that he once killed a Shinki and several humans (according to Daikoku, this happened a long time ago, where the rule was "kill or be killed"). This rumor was later strengthened by Bishamonten's anger towards Yato -- as it was her Shinki that he killed. Yato eventually confirms this himself to Yukine, adding that he did it "Because he wanted to." These actions might have been motivated by his need to at least exist in people's memories. (However, it was later revealed Yato was actually asked to kill by Bishamonten's lead Shinki.) Yato is seen to have a very low tolerance for weak-spirited people, and if they want to commit suicide he has little motivation to help them. This is mostly because Shinki, like Yukine, did not experience a fully human life, and because they died from an accident, killing them in a young state. This low tolerance usually causes those around him to become upset.

Yato also appears very materialistic when it comes to money when Hiyori mentions her job request he claims he'll definitely do it because he intends to keep her money and holds his bottle full of coins. He also tends to spend his money on drinking, gambling and buying good luck trinkets, much to Yukine's dismay, to the point where he has even stolen money from Yukine, as shown in Chapter 24. In fact, in Chapter 41, when he opted to use his money to make Hiyori happy by going to Capypaland, Yukine was so happy because Yato was using his money to make someone else happy that he shed tears, causing Hiyori to pity him.

Yato will often indulge in fantasies of himself being a very successful God with more followers than any other God and lots of shrine maidens at his fingertips. Despite his aloof and often idiotic personality, Yato is a God that is seen to be quite wise and very serious when the situation requires it.

In the past, when Yato was considered to be a God of Calamity, his nature was extremely ruthless and cruel. However, his personality seems to have altered to a more optimistic standard through Sakura's influence. Due to Sakura's influence, he becomes more reluctant to murder and even in the present when he is forced to take on less savory jobs by his father that involve murdering people (usually other murderers or sinful people) he regrets it and wants to cut himself off from killing people. He also used to be much stronger in the past, according to Rabō. In Chapter 40, Fujisaki Kouto revealed that Yato is a "God of Depression," meaning that Yato only knows how to steal and not to give and that those people around him will suffer terribly.

Yato has expressed in Chapter 52 that his greatest wish is to simply be beside Yukine and Hiyori but understands that his Father will do whatever he can to prevent that. This shows that Yato's true desire may not simply be in being remembered and a God of Fortune but also to be with the ones he loves and to make them happy. In fact, he does show a great loyalty towards those he loves and cares for. He was angered when Hiyori was kidnapped and believed Bishamon to be behind it, to the point where he challenged her and was devastated when Yukine sacrificed himself to save Yato from Bishamon (though Yukine survived and became a hafuri vessel because of his sacrifice). He also cried when Ebisu, who acknowledged him as a God capable of making others happy, died and reincarnated and apologized sincerely to the reincarnated Ebisu, despite Ebisu saying he did nothing wrong. In fact, he cares so much for Yukine and Hiyori that he refused to tell them about his past and more about himself, including his real name, for fear that if he did they would hate and abandon him, especially since he is a god that is easily forgotten by others and, as Father has stated, has always been abandoned because he is a God of Calamity. This caused some strain on his relationship with Yukine since Yukine at times felt inferior to Nora, though Yato alleviates these fears when he releases Nora and tells Yukine to be his guidepost and light the way for him.

Abilities

 * Rend (Zan): Using his Shinki, Yato is able to use this ability to exorcise and destroy Ayakashis. This ability is first seen when Yato uses Tomone to destroy the Ayakashi outside Mutsumi's school.
 * Master Swordsman: Since Yato is a God of War he is very skilled in the art of combat, such as swordsmanship.This is clearly proven when he has fought against Takemikazuchi (who is known for his amazing skills in combat), and won, as shown in chapter 67 of the manga.
 * Severance (Zetsu): Yato, using his Shinki, has the ability to sever the ties of people, be it with other humans, gods, or specific memories in general. It has been implied that he specializes in this ability.
 * Teleportation: Yato is able to teleport to any location he has an active connection to. If he is currently on the phone with someone, he is able to teleport to the caller's location. Also, once he has his own shrine, his shrine's connection to Heaven allows him to teleport there freely. This ability is used by Yato in order to get from job to job more quickly. He has also used this ability to reach Hiyori quickly when she calls him. Three notable examples of this ability are when she expresses her doubt of his godhood, when she claims to have found a Shinki for him, and when she calls during the attack on Iki General Hospital.
 * Divine Possession: Yato is capable of controlling a human body by temporarily substituting/taking over the soul. As possession is performed one could catch sight of two visual notable changes: the possessed person will have little golden crown sitting on his/her head and Yato's eyes.

Trivia

 * It is revealed that Yato's real name is actually Yaboku Yaboku contains the kanji ya (night) and boku (divination). Sakura mistakenly read as the katakana to because of the similarities, thus giving the well-known alias name Yato.
 * His English theme song is "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds.
 * Yato's expressions and portrayal often mimic that of a cat. His pupils are also shown as a slit much of the time, especially when he's angry.
 * His exact age is unknown, however historical references in flashback chapters date the earliest ones to the Heian era, which would make Yato at least 1000 years old. It can be assumed based on interpreting panels from chapter 46 that he was “born” around the 960s which would make him roughly 1,050 give or take a few decades. In a joke comic featuring the story of how he met Mayu, he states that he is around Tenjin’s age.
 * He is shown to be a skilled tailor in both Shuuishuu and the main continuity. In Shuuishuu he gives Yukine a hand-made sweater and gives Hiyori a hand-made dress. In the main series, he works a loom to make formal attire for both himself and Yukine for Kamuhakari.
 * In episode 12, he has shown talent as an artist. This seems to be true in the manga, considering he did sell doujinshi in the past and was shown drawing a fairly accurate picture of Hiyori in chapter 53, albeit with wings and naked.
 * Yato has rather sweaty hands, as both Tomone/Mayu and Yukine have complained about how sweaty his hands are. He is shown to be rather sensitive about this topic.
 * He is shown cross-dressing in chapters 48 and 52.
 * His character song is Tsukiyo no Fune.
 * Yato refers the thing around his neck as 'Fluffy Fluff Scarf'.
 * Yato seems to have athazagoraphobia which is the fear of being forgotten, ignored, or replaced. This makes sense because if he were forgotten, ignored, or replaced, he would disappear.
 * After saving Bishamon, Yato is known in Heaven as Amagiri no Mikoto which means "He who rends Heaven" (Chapter 72).