What is the Meaning of Kiriko?

Kiriko is a famous Japanese character from Overwatch, but her name also carries some interesting meanings. In this article, we will delve deep into the word kiriko and its homonyms.

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Who is Kiriko in Overwatch?

Kiriko is a ninja who possesses healing abilities and is assisted by a kitsune spirit. She is capable of throwing protective suzus to shield her allies and kunais to attack her enemies. Kiriko is a friend of the Shimada family and trained with Genji and Hanzo in the past.

We also recommend reading: Curiosities and Phrases from Overwatch in Japanese

Her full name is Kiriko Kamori written with the ideograms [家守] Kamori and [霧子] Kiriko. Her family name Kamori means protector of the home, where [守] means to protect and [家] means home.

Kiriko is composed of [霧] which means "fog" or "mist," and [子], which means "child" or "daughter." Therefore, the overall meaning of [霧子] is "daughter of the fog" or "daughter of the mist." Thus representing her power to disappear and teleport.

The Meaning of Kiriko in Japanese

As it is a word with many homonyms in Kanji, the character name Kiriko may have also been chosen to reflect the following words:

• [切り粉] - Shavings or chips left after cutting wood, or metal with a saw, etc.
• [切り子] - Facet; faceted object.
• [切り込] - Verb meaning to cut deeply [切り込む].

Meaning of Kiriko's Ult

What does the phrase that Kiriko says when using her special ult against enemies mean? Now let's see the meaning of Kitsune no kagidzume o tokihanate!

狐の鉤爪を解き放て
Kitsune no kagidzume o tokihanate!

• 狐 - Fox
• 鉤爪 - Claws
  • 鉤 - Hook
  • 爪 - Claw
• 解き放て - Release; Liberate;
  • 解 - Solve; unveil; understand; respond; explain
  • 放て - Release; liberate.

The phrase can be literally translated as: Release the claws of the fox!