Who Are The Four Heavenly Kings: SMT Lore

Рет қаралды 25,147

Күн бұрын

Patreon: / tony4you
Twitter: Tony4YouYT
#mythology #smt #persona
0:00 Intro
1:07 Background
1:42 Bishamonten (North)
3:50 Jikokuten (East)
5:57 Zouchouten (South)
7:47 Koumokuten (West)
9:48 Taishakuten (Center)
11:42 Four Celestial Beasts (Chinese Myth)
13:20 Outro
The four heavenly kings are some of the most unassuming demons in the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona franchises. Despite being major bosses in a great many games or at the very least very recognizable demon partners or personas in many, they are not very well known in the wider audience. Not quite as popular as the Abrahamic demons or as powerful as the outer gods of myth, they stand as a middle ground protector or mid level players and give us a great stepping stone to the very gods. In Myth, these celestial beings are anything but unassuming, with the power to make humans see the truth and provide untold riches of the mind, they are worthy of our admiration. The four heavenly kings and their Chinese mythology counterparts, the four celestial beasts, represent all there is to strive for as a human and protect us from all manner of evil. Spanning in mythology across all of Asia, there is a lot to learn. In a great number of mythologies and religions the cardinal directions are of paramount importance. The direction of the sun, where the wind blows, the migration patterns of the animals, it has been and always will be important to humanity regardless of time. That being said, in the simpler times before modern science came in and spoiled everyone’s spiritual fun, there were gods and demons representing everything you could think of. Within the Buddhist religion exists the four heavenly kings. Throughout all of Asia these gods or Devas stand as guardians of the four cardinal directions and protectors of the world. Measuring each 1/4th the height from the earth to heaven they serve to protect humanity from all manner of evil influence and protect the Buddha’s teachings. The Kings each have different roles, colors, weapons of choice, and do so much more than just cleave demons all day. Let’s dive a little deeper into the great protectors of humanity.

Пікірлер: 140

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

Join the Discord: discord.gg/UTUg98gAaW Leave any suggestions for future videos in the comments!

@treyatkinson7564 Ай бұрын

You do great videos, man. I'm looking forward to the other ars goetia demons that have been shown in smt!

@hdnightowl4664 Ай бұрын

I think a video on the 4 regular elemental demons, like Flaemis and the Paracelsus ones like Slyph would make a good one!

@lukecheng2334 Ай бұрын

You should do a new video about the qadistu from the new games

@lucky194 27 күн бұрын

The hard to obtained Hero/famed race "demons"

@devinport. 17 күн бұрын

Love your content!

@jasonblundelldobebussing Ай бұрын

Babe, wake up! It's "Focus + Dragon's Eye + Tarukaja + Tarukaja + Tarukaja + Tarukaja + Tempest" time.

@eyalamit5120 Ай бұрын

Ooh that's a very specific reference. They're kinda pathetic in Nocturne. Until one of them destroys you for not paying attention and you have to fight them all over again.

@nicholasmorgan7609 Ай бұрын

I learned about the concept of the "four heavenly kings" from Digimon and Final Fantasy

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

Who said videogames couldn't help people learn eh?

@librathebeautifulwarmonk1283 Ай бұрын

I learned about it from Pokemon since that's the Japanese name for the Elite 4

@pn2294 Ай бұрын

@@librathebeautifulwarmonk1283I’m glad I found someone else who knows.

@leonardoferreira2372 Ай бұрын

The quartet of villains from God Hand also are referred as that

@crazymanwerido4522 Ай бұрын

I learned of it from Monster Girl Quest, with the 4 Heavenly Knights

@madambutterfly1997 Ай бұрын

the domain expansion joke was unforgivable

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

Have to slip in a few memes for those who know lol

@madambutterfly1997 Ай бұрын

@@Tony4You 🤣🤣🤣

@kazuMT Ай бұрын

BABE WAKE UP

@illuminoeye_gaming Ай бұрын

my thoughts exactly

@leonardocanela7089 Ай бұрын

Yesssss and we’re here we eating good 😊

@doublezeta2025 Ай бұрын

Once you know what to look for, you learn that these four are everywhere. G Gundam introduced the concept to me, and I later realized why Final Fantasy had the Four Fiends and Pokemon had the Elite 4. Wild stuff.

@yichlyichl4204 Ай бұрын

I believe the Japanese names for the Elite Four are outright "Four Heavenly Kings"

@chrisdiokno5600 Ай бұрын

Also fun fact, the term Four Heavenly Kings is also used to refer to the retainers of Minamoto-no-Raikou

@miso.1993 Ай бұрын

aaaa i love these vids. BF is currently playing SMT V: Vengeance and we are huge fans. I have binged your videos myself, at work and i really look forward to them.

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

Oh that's great to hear! Always love hearing people enjoy the backlog of videos I make! I hope he like SMTVV. So far it's amazing

@ChrisVoiceman Ай бұрын

In Pokémon, The Elite Four are called The Four Heavenly Kings in Japanese. I always found that funny because it gives them this divine grandiosity that's completely absent in English. It'd be like taking the 8 gym leaders and the Elite Four and collectively calling them The Twelve Disciples.

@archerious1972 16 күн бұрын

😮 that’s interesting indeed

@Infindox Ай бұрын

Thanks for the video! I knew about the 4 beasts but i knew less about the Kings. Good to learn new stuff

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

I always try to being some new stuff to the table, glad you enjoyed!

@luistrejo3326 Ай бұрын

Now, could you do the Qadistu of SMT V vengeance?

@eyalamit5120 Ай бұрын

I'd love that. But he already covered Lilith if I'm not mistaken.

@teeth227 Ай бұрын

always happy for a new tony4you video!! very cool to learn about how religions and mythologies are in my funny anime game

@basedturu2320 Ай бұрын

0:22 so true

@Louganda Ай бұрын

You and me, we understand life.

@itsmevita Ай бұрын

New video from Tony, let's gooo

@HannahFoll Ай бұрын

Great video!

@PelvicGaming 29 күн бұрын

first time viewer here! great video and one of my favorite things about smt is learning about mythology! And you did a great job expanding on it!! I learned a lot! Alas, how much I'll retain is a different matter haha.

@chrisdiokno5600 Ай бұрын

Love your vids Tony

@shogus0046 Ай бұрын

Tony4You? More like Tony4Me because this made my day ❤

@mysterious_alarm6044 Ай бұрын

He's back!

@MrPink-qf1xi Ай бұрын

Yay a new video

@starmaker75 Ай бұрын

It interesting to some similars motif and parallels with the four heavenly kings with the 4 arcangels.

@cronoluminara6911 25 күн бұрын

Thx so much I always liked them since smt3

@Luffy2008 Ай бұрын

Thanks for the video, excited for the heavenly beast dedicaded video in the future. The Quartet of dietys protecting a central figures is such a trope in anime, manga and videogames that I haven been long interested and knowing who popularized the concept, of course as you explain in the video they are a reference to these fout heavenly kings themselves, but who actually popularized the concept to use in media? Was it Final Fantasy? Pokemon? Maybe some manga?

@nahrubish Ай бұрын

Next. Time for qaditsu research

@gottesurteil3201 Ай бұрын

Funny enough the elite four in Pokemon are based off the idea of the four heavenly kings.

@TheStrongestLaPaz Ай бұрын

Yay another episode

@raygunner8643 Ай бұрын

Hey Tony i just wanted to let you know that stumbling on one of your videos and being immediately hooked is what convinced me to pick up SMTV and has turned me into a huge SMT fan so thanks for introducing me to a series by making the lore so fascinating. What games would you say are essential for a new comer to the series? P.S. Your lore videos teach me way more than religion class in school ever did. Keep up the great work

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

That's so amazing to hear! I always love to see people enjoy and learn from the videos. Introducing someone into the series I love warms my heart. I hope you keep enjoying the content!

@Ushi_archive Ай бұрын

Wow this one was really good

@Scout-Fanfiction Ай бұрын

Great video :). I prefer the sacred beasts, but each of these in SMT has value. It's really cool to learn how they're depicted slightly differently across cultures/religions too.

@madambutterfly1997 Ай бұрын

stand and be judged

@garxgar Ай бұрын

You should cover Feng Huang and how it differs from the western Phoenix. That would be very interesting.

@Vicnotinho 5 күн бұрын

Do u stream anywhere? I really like your content

@TheLakinessMonster Ай бұрын

I like how you started to use Twilight Princess music when talking about the 4 Heavenly Beasts as that game had the light spirits that were like the 4HB

@nightbluerose1333 Ай бұрын

Nice, the four angry guys! Do you plan on making a video on the Qadistu after you finish Vengeance?

@milk1fan552 Ай бұрын

bro i love ur videos so much, specially loving this one. gotta disable the adblock 🙏

@pn2294 Ай бұрын

12:00 nitpick: Qinglong doesn’t represent Blue. It represents a color that’s mostly green like Spring.

@namesdontmattergaming2756 10 күн бұрын

Would you do a video covering some of the Grigori/Watchers fallen angels from the Book of Enoch that have appeared in the SMT franchise?….also what osts do you use in the background of your videos?

@joshdavis8381 Ай бұрын

Different game I know, but the protagonists of Yakuza 4 are used to represent the 4 Celestial Beasts (Saejima being Byakku, Tanamura being Genbu, Akiyama being Suzuku, and Kiryu being Huang Long) as well. This was also a great watch, because I thought the 4 Devas were just Japanese based, but it actually makes more sense that you'd see variations of them in different parts of Asia. I like how they're consistently a great challenge in SMT as well :)

@sebastienbusque2312 29 күн бұрын

With the Qadistu in Shin Megami Tensei V, will you be doing a video on them?

@Mansa216 Ай бұрын

what song do you use in your videos I like to use them for my studies

@omeiga 18 күн бұрын

can't wait for the inevitable mitama video

@sketch-eee4165 29 күн бұрын

If you ever talk about the 4 celestial beasts, could you also mention the 4 perilous beasts? I know they aren't in smt, but ever since learning that they are also in Pokemon, beasts and perils, and all, it makes me wonder how smt would handle them.

@nycprince531 Ай бұрын

Can we get a lore video on masakado?

@tinybee7780 Ай бұрын

It's interesting to see Kohryu depicted in SMT numerous times, but not Taishakuten. Honestly it makes sense for the four heavenly kings to have a central figure that oversees them. I honestly love when these heavenly kings or beasts show up during my playthrough. I hope that Atlus does more mandatory fights like the Moriae sisters where you get to fight these group of beings instead of just one by one.

@MacDonellCashRicher Ай бұрын

Bishamonten, my beloved. While not in SMT, In my Persona 3 Reload Playthrough, I kept the guy until the end of the game. With Pierce and Crit Boost and Amp combined with max strength, he was easily one of my most powerful personas.

@100Servings Ай бұрын

When are we getting a Path of Exile video? I'm sure it has lore. Even Sseth did a video on it. I agree with everything you said. I think most people would.

@eclip1009 Ай бұрын

EY Tony we will ever get you're opinion about SMT v vengeance?

@OneColdRepublican Ай бұрын

OH THESE GUYS. I LOVE THESE 4 STATUE DUDES.

@robertbeisert3315 Ай бұрын

Tony, wake up! Babe just uploaded a video!

@KishinAubrey Ай бұрын

YES

@milesrodger3724 Ай бұрын

Just in time for SMT V V let’s goooo

@nikolasfaraday9934 Ай бұрын

Do the 4 Horseman next

@Miraihi Ай бұрын

Hey, I also live in the palace of correct views! I should go and greet Tashakuten when I have time.

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

Tell him I said hi!

@earthboundisawsome Ай бұрын

The 4 heavenly kings is actually a pretty popular trope in games and shows. Iirc, the elite 4 in pokemon went by this title in the original japanese version. The structure of four highly-skilled generals, lead by a central master works out pretty well in storytelling, it would seem.

@kerryvanskonsol792 Ай бұрын

Is that's reference 4 holy beast like Byakko, Seiryu, Genbu and Suzaku?

@Ramsey276one Ай бұрын

2:11 oh right... They're so huge thst pagoda is Human sized!

@Ramsey276one Ай бұрын

2:32 OH

@LionMagnus8 Ай бұрын

Just came back from Shitennoji 四天王寺 located in Osaka. just in time for this video

@jasonblundelldobebussing Ай бұрын

Tony, quick question: does Canada exist?

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

Yeah it does last I checked

@jasonblundelldobebussing Ай бұрын

@@Tony4You, 😰

@devilfacethedarklord 29 күн бұрын

Four kings- like m bison,vega,balrog and Sagat

@Harbluia Ай бұрын

A video on the Elite Four AND the "Bit-Beasts" from Beyblade.

@JChaosMaster Ай бұрын

Wonder why the seem to always end up on the chaos side

@Zahri8Alang Ай бұрын

They should do it like Noragami and at lrast give one of then a huge rac-

@daddabubbaj Ай бұрын

They look like they've seen me shart. I'm sorry four heavenly daddies. Forgive me for doing stinky! Happy Fathers day Tony

@ThePageofCups Ай бұрын

I can't believe you released the bogus.

@AttacMage Ай бұрын

Although I've never been a huge fan of Chinese mythology, I do always like learning about these four. Might just be the names I have a hard time with, I'm not sure why I dislike it.

@rey2103 27 күн бұрын

Toriko, Coco, Sani and Zebra of course

@sandwormleto3358 Ай бұрын

Zoucheten whooped my ass in smt3. Still got the final magatama

@SonicSol Ай бұрын

jikokuten my homie

@hiddenpowerbug Ай бұрын

12:09 so peak…

@franksturino9129 Ай бұрын

East coast for life!

@joshuariel8496 Ай бұрын

Now Fusion all them to what that look like in all region version in if scenario way

@Corrusion_ Ай бұрын

3:50 skyrim ambience; bro ran out smt

@Fermin-hw5pd Ай бұрын

When I learned about Minamoto no Raikou's heavenly kings, I thought they were these 4, I was wrong xd

@chrisalford9626 Ай бұрын

For the algorithm!!!!

@kinggeedorah3769 Ай бұрын

5:01 💀

@memezurdreamz2203 Ай бұрын

The four kings of physical

@jakx90170 Ай бұрын

HE FOUND HIS PASSWORD!

@elisnoob9198 Ай бұрын

I hate when I think of the number 4 , I think of the meme where a guy just holds up 4 fingers

@Tony4You Ай бұрын

same...

@uuu12343 Ай бұрын

Time for Debilitate + debilitate + debilitate + debilitate

@Kamino.Shimobe Ай бұрын

6:21 JUJUTSU KAISEN MENTIONED 😳😳😳

@sonamsherpa5934 Ай бұрын

The representations of Demon, with the blue colour body is not the demon actually. It’s Called Wrathful form of Buddha, “Vajrakilaya”, who is said to be super powerful. Mara is demon instead.

@hayaokakizaki4463 Ай бұрын

Four Heavenly Kings? More like the Four Heretical Kings!

@flamestorm31 Ай бұрын

The generals of the demon lord

@DerGoRaN96 Ай бұрын

yo mamas

@rdsana111 Ай бұрын

I mom

@jasonblundelldobebussing Ай бұрын

Hi, mamas, I'm - Hungry

@garryrptr 21 күн бұрын

Huang Long gaming

@drakonicaegis8868 Ай бұрын

its hot in Mckinney

@treyatkinson7564 Ай бұрын

Ah, yes. The heavenly kings. Some could call them...sky daddies lol.

@permafrostyx Ай бұрын

Huang long gaming

@CL-gi4bn Ай бұрын

Huang Long Gaming

@asneakypuddle Ай бұрын

Would just like to point out Buddhism has many offshoots that do believe in Gods, but the original teachings from the Buddha do not speak of gods.

@asneakypuddle Ай бұрын

Yeah alot of this video references Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism.

@tevinssj7609 Ай бұрын

Toriko

@joshuariel8496 Ай бұрын

He did not say persona 5

@Pduarte79 Ай бұрын

If they got deities for everything, I pity the pee and poop gods, lol.

@illuminoeye_gaming Ай бұрын

it does make me a little sad how the sanskrit depictions of buddhism are always sidelined a bit in favor of the japanese version... yeah i know atlus is japanese but still