Hello, readers! It's me again — the Narrator! Your friendly, slightly unwilling, sentient plot device.
I hope you're enjoying Tsumibito so far — from the weird characters to their even weirder interactions. This is William's first novel, and he's working hard to make it as intriguing as possible. That's why things might seem to move a little slowly for now; he's still mapping out the verse.
Anyway, let's cut to the chase.
It's time for our first W.W.L "What We've Learned" — chapters designed to help you remember key worldbuilding details without dumping a dictionary's worth of exposition on your head.
You see, Tsumibito is going to be long.
Like… loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong~
So these chapters are checkpoints — quick refreshers to keep you grounded as the madness unfolds.
Now then, let's talk about the world of Tsumibito!
(And don't worry — no spoilers ahead.)
First Question: Why Can Hori Hear Me?
Yeah… I wish I knew. It's honestly uncomfortable.
For some reason, as soon as our strange little protagonist acknowledged my existence, I unfortunately became part of the story — a literal "voice in her head."
Even with my near-omniscient perspective, I can't explain why.
Let's just blame William. He's a weird writer.
The World of Tsumibito.
At its core, Tsumibito is inspired by the popular Japanese manga Chainsaw Man — where devils manifest as the embodiment of humanity's fears.
Here, however, Sins take that role. They physically manifest in random humans, growing stronger the more that particular Sin is committed across the world.
This phenomenon is known as "The Curse."
Whenever there's a global spike in the number of people committing a specific sin, the Sin of that act manifests inside a random person — regardless of age, gender, race, or anything else. The curse does not discriminate.
How Sins Are Born
Let's make this simple with an example (not canon to the main story):
Suppose the Sin of Lying first manifested in 1920 Russia, after 100 lies were told in a single day. That Sin lived until it was finally killed by a Priest in 2025.
For the next Sin of Lying to appear, the number of lies told in one day (24 hours) must surpass that previous record of 100.
We can represent it like this:
Sunday - 1 person lied globally (obviously not possible but let's just use it as an example)
Monday - 50 people lied globally in a single day.
Tuesday - 73 people lied globally in a single day.
Wednesday - 39 people lied globally in a single day.
Thursday - 99 people lied globally in a single day.
Friday - 100 people lied globally in a single day.
Now, 100 lies caused the birth of the previous Sin of lying, so now we'll need more than that.
Saturday - 101 people lied globally in a single day!
At the exact moment that 101th lie is told, the next Sin of lying will immediately manifest in a random person.
That's "The Curse." It feeds off humanity's collective corruption.
Normally, the person who becomes the Sin loses their humanity immediately — consumed by an urge for human flesh and to constantly commit their Sin, that's why Arson was burning things like an idiot.
But, well… Haruki is a special case.
Character Rundown
Hori Inori
Our protagonist — 14 years old, daughter of Japan's Prime Minister, Tabata Jiro (also known as Father Jiro).
She's muscular for her age due to her Sabbath Exam training. Her immediate goal?
To pass those exams, become a Priest, and earn enough recognition to meet her father face-to-face — to prove that she's alive.
See, the world believes she's dead. Even her father's personal number has mysteriously vanished. A fake corpse was found and confirmed as hers, so convincing him otherwise won't be easy.
But if she succeeds, the story will take an entirely new direction. Stay tuned to find out.
Haruki Maru
The self-proclaimed Sin of… well, we're not saying yet.
When a Sin manifests, it usually leaves its name written on the victim's hand before fading. But as already explained, Haruki was unconscious during his manifestation, meaning he never saw it — and thus, never acknowledged it.
For some reason, that allowed him to retain his humanity.
He tries not to think about it too much, though. It's depressing.
We'll meet his mother later in the series.
Father Jiro
Prime Minister of Japan.
Leader of SHO (Sin Hunting Organization).
And, according to everyone,
"the strongest man alive."
His ability? Still a mystery.
Mrs. Takane (Takane Akane)
Hori's pregnant friend — a 20-year-old widow.
Her husband was devoured by a Sinner of Addiction right in front of her. He had a gambling problem — not severe enough to turn him into a Sinner, but enough to attract one.
Because Mrs. Takane herself had no addictions, she was spared.
Sadly, her husband's death left her deep in debt, forcing her to live frugally.
She often shops at Tengokyu's store, where the kind old man — a distant relative — gives her discounts out of pity.
Hori's "Feelings"
Hori experiences intense goosebumps whenever she's in danger. The severity of those goosebumps depends on how lethal the threat is.
That's why she didn't dodge when a robber struck her nose — probably not deadly enough.
But when he aimed the gun at her head? Her instincts screamed danger! and she dodged instantly — despite never having seen a gun before.
Those "feelings" are more than intuition… they're something else entirely. She calls them "Hori senses"
Setting
The story takes place in Fukui, Japan, in the year 2022. Specifically starting at Katsuyama shopping district. It wasn't easy for William to find so much detail about Japan despite never being there. From looking for a small rural area, to locating SHOs main branch.
In previous drafts of Tsumibito, he even mistakingly called father Jiro the president of Japan!
Final Notes
Haruki's mother hasn't appeared yet — so we'll save her for a future WWL.
The next chapter officially begins the Sabbath Exams, and trust me — things are about to get intense.
That's all for now, folks!
If you've got any burning questions, drop them in the comments — William would love to answer them personally.
Until next time…
This has been your favorite sentient narrator, signing off.
See you in the next
"What We've Learned."