About

Hata no Kokoro (秦 こころ) is a menreiki youkai. She appears in Hopeless Masquerade as the final stage boss.

Name:
Her full name is Hata no Kokoro, with Hata as the surname and Kokoro as the given name. Hata (the Japanese reading of Chinese surname 秦) clan was an eminent Chinese immigrant clan mentioned in Nihon Shoki. It's also the surname of the masks' original user — Hata no Kawakatsu, who's said to be the reincarnation of First Emperor of Qin Dynasty in Zeami's Fuushika-den.

Her given name is written entirely in hiragana and means 'Heart' (心 kokoro) in Japanese. 心 is also in the Japanese title of the game about her: Hopeless Masquerade (心綺楼 shinkirou).

Species:
Menreiki (面霊気?) is a type of yōkai in Japanese folklore, composed of Gigaku masks. It is listed within the 1781 compedium of Japanese supernatural entities, entitled Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro.

It is mentioned in folklore that during the time of Prince Shotoku, the prince created various Gigaku masks which were used by Hata no Kawakatsu, and that the Menreiki is based on those masks.[1][2]

Ability:

Manipulating emotions

Each of the masks which make up Kokoro embody powerful emotion, and will impress that emotion on the holder and those around them. When all 66 masks are together, their effects complement each other and are under Kokoro's full control. If an individual mask is separated from the group then it retains its properties, but Kokoro will also lose the ability to feel that emotion completely. Losing her Mask of Hope caused Kokoro to become unstable and leech hope from her surroundings, until she was able to compensate by developing emotions separate from her masks'.

Looks:
Kokoro has waist-length lavender hair, and blank eyes of the same colour. She wears a blue plaid blouse, adorned with buttons of various shapes (from top: red star, yellow circle, green triangle, and purple X). Her salmon skirt is pumpkin-shaped, and lined with holes in the shape of alternating smiling and frowing faces (both are the same pattern, flipped vertically). She always wears one of her 66 masks over some of her face.

Origin:
Hata no Kokoro is a menreiki, a type of tsukumogami, born from 66 masks used by Hata no Kawakatsu in the sixth century. Kawakatsu is known as the father of Sarugaku theatre (a precursor to Noh), and is the centre of a legend which would connect him to Mononobe no Futo, Toyosatomimi no Miko, Myouren Temple, and perhaps even Moriya Shrine.

In the legend, as told in Zeami's Fūshikaden, Kawakatsu was found in a jar as a baby on a river near Oomiwa Shrine during the reign of Emperor Kinmei. He grew up to be a genius, so the court made him a minister and given the surname Hata. When the country was in turmoil, Prince Shoutoku ordered Kawakatsu to perform 66 plays following Shinto and Buddhist traditions, and had 66 masks made for this purpose. These plays became the first Kagura, from which Sarugaku was later derived.

After passing down the secret of his plays, Kawakatsu rode a boat and drifted out to the sea to uphold the tradition that non-human deities and Buddhas mustn't leave physical remains. He next came ashore in monstrous form, and haunted the surrounding area until he was enshrined by the local people as Great Rage Daimyoujin (大荒大明神 Taikou Daimyoujin), who was later regarded as an avatar of Bishamonten.

Kawakatsu's spirit is also said to have provided wisdom critical to Prince Shoutoku's victory against Mononobe no Moriya's anti-Buddhist faction. In another legend, Mononobe no Moriya is said to have escaped death and fled to Suwa Province, founding the Moriya clan and Moriya Shrine.

Back Story:
Hata no Kokoro is a youkai of menreiki, and she holds a total of 66 masks. She became a youkai after a long time from these masks which were used by the the father of Sarugaku performance, Hata no Kawakatsu.

When Prince Shoutoku was in war against Soga no Moriya, Prince Shoutoku ordered that Kawakatsu perform 66 types of play for ancient ritual with 66 masks given by Prince Shoutoku. After the plays, the war ended and there came peace.

Story:
During Hopeless Masquerade, Kokoro loses her mask of hope. Losing her hope causes her power to control emotions to go berserk, causing the humans in the Human Village to lose hope as well and become enthralled in a religious popularity contest that comes to be known as the "dueling fad". Reimu Hakurei and the others participate in this contest and are eventually guided by Mamizou Futatsuiwa to the Human Village at night, where Kokoro searches in vain for her lost mask. Most of the characters who try to stop her come up with their own solutions to her hopelessness, but none of them completely work until Mamizou notices the contradictory actions Kokoro is taking and offers her own advice, which is to stop relying on the masks and discover her own, true emotions through meeting (and fighting) a variety of people. In the process of doing so she discovers her own anger at the religious leaders who are taking advantage of the situation, and Reimu, Byakuren, and Miko team up to stop her.