Shikashi is a recurring character from the Legend of Zelda series. An old and wise man, Shikashi often shares important information with Link.
Appearances[]
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time[]
- "A long time ago... There was a man in this very village who had an eye they said could see the truth! Now usually, you have to train your mind's eye most strenuously to actually see the truth... But this fella, no, they say he had a different way of doing things... His house stood where the well is now..."
- — Shikashi
Although his name is never mentioned, Shikashi can be found wandering around Hyrule Castle Town when Link is a child, and in Kakariko Village when Link is an adult. When Link is a child, Shikashi will tell him about the legendary Sheikah, and comment on Impa's resemblance to one after her escape from the castle with Princess Zelda. When Link is an adult, Shikashi wanders around Kakariko in the daytime and tells him a story about a man who could "see the truth". During the night, he resides in the house of the generous woman and tells Link the story of the Fabulously Rich Family.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask[]
- "Well, yours is a face I'm not used to seeing... Are you here to do something for me? I am Shikashi, professor of astronomy! I have been enamored with the moon since I was a child. Now, I spend my days gazing at it from here. The moon has long been considered a mystical body, which people have worshipped and feared. That alone shows how the moon has a cosmic influence that affects our daily lives. But lately, there is something quite strange with the moon. Strange, indeed... It seems as though the moon is being pulled down by something and is slowly drawing closer."
- — Shikashi
Shikashi is a professor of astronomy who owns the Astral Observatory located on the outskirts of Clock Town. He has been enamored with the Moon since he was a child and he spends his days gazing at it through his telescope. If Link talks to him while wearing different transformation masks, he gives Link different responses to each shape.
He also has a Moon's Tear on display in his observatory. He explains that they have lately been blazing from the Moon's eye, causing him to call them Moon's Tears. He also says they are rare stones and are valued by many all over Clock Town.
When Link has been turned into a Deku Scrub by the Skull Kid, he befriends the Bombers Secret Society of Justice and is given the password to the Bombers' Hideout which leads to the Astral Observatory. Shikashi lets him use his telescope to gaze up at the Moon, at which point a Moon's Tear will fall from the Moon's eye. He explains to Deku Link that the Skull Kid threatened that he would break all of Shikashi's instruments if he was not given Shikashi's Moon's Tear. If Link looks at the Skull Kid using Shikashi's telescope, a Moon's Tear will fall from the Moon's eye and land outside the Observatory's door. This Moon's Tear can be traded to the Deku Scrub in South Clock Town for his Deku Flower.
If Link talks to him wearing Kafei's Mask, Shikashi will inform him that Kafei was once a member of the Bombers' as a young boy and that he hasn't seen Kafei since he was a boy. However he does tell Link that he should talk to the Bombers' as they know a great deal about what goes on in Clock Town.
Shikashi at first seems merely interested by the looming Moon, but on the Final Day he deduces that it will crash into Termina. However, he does not flee as he realizes it is futile to flee as he knows the Moon will wipe out everything when it hits not just Clock Town, and in the last moments of the day, he states that he is happy with the life he has lived.
Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.
Etymology[]
The Japanese word "shikashi" means "however," which may be a reference to the character's tendency to ramble in conversation.