Mayoi Hachikuji

Mayoi Hachikuji is one of the main characters from the Monogatari anime and light novels.

Mayoi is the ghost of a fifth-grade elementary school girl who was killed in a traffic accident while trying to reach her mother's home. Since her death, she became an oddity who has haunted people that have the urge to avoid going home.

Appearance
Mayoi is a young girl with long black hair and dark red eyes. Her hair is tied into pigtails and she wears a white headband with a white swirl on each end. Her outfit resembles an elementary school uniform: a white blouse with two straps connected to a dark blue skirt; white socks; and pink shoes.

One distinguishing part of Mayoi's overall look is the large pink backpack she always carries on her back. It is an unusual piece of baggage which looks like a large chick, containing different things such as large paw and several small plush dolls. Araragi once noted that Mayoi looks different if she takes off the backpack, as if a snail was turned into a slug.

Personality
Befitting her age, Mayoi is cheerful, energetic and inquisitive. She makes a lot of spelling mistakes and has a habit of mispronouncing Koyomi's family name. In the end, it is revealed that she purposely mispronouncing it. On the other hand, she does not easily trust strangers, and will even fight back against them if they become too nosy. She also shows a timid side around people whom she finds frightening (e.g. Hitagi, who admitted her dislike for younger girls).

On the other hand, despite her 11-year-old appearance, Mayoi frequently shows moments of maturity, especially when listening to Koyomi's problems and dealing with things that are difficult for people of her age.

Trivia

 * Mayoi's first name can be read in a number of ways. Reading the original kanji of her name gives the meaning "true" and "evening". Alternatively, it can be read as which means "to lose one's way".
 * Mayoi is the only main female character to never be depicted as having short hair in the series.
 * Likewise, Mayoi's last name Hachikuji has alternate interpretations. Although the name consists of the characters for "eight", "nine" and "temple", the kanji for "eight" and "nine" can also be read as "yaku" together, which means misfortune. 89th temple could refer to a trope of Buddhism where only 88 temples are allowed to go on a procession and so being the 89th temple is a sign of misfortune.


 * Her family name before her parents got divorced was Tsunade.
 * Despite being a ghost, Mayoi cannot pass through walls, although she can restore her clothing into a pristine form if it receives any damage.
 * Her twin tail hair is meant to resemble a snail's antenna.