National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Purpose	Monitoring Contractors; Doll Surveillance
Affiliation	Japanese Government
Headquarters	Tokyo
Additional Information
Notable Members	Kanami Ishizaki, Hoshimi
Current Status	Disbanded

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan is a government run organisation, specializing in information about Contractors.

Stargazer

The Stargazer: Hoshimi.

The building also houses the mysterious Stargazer, an old, priestess-like figure called Hoshimi who rarely speaks. When she does say anything, it is usually in the form of prophecies and riddles.

Contractor Monitoring

By observing the stars they can tell which Contractor has been involved in any recent incidents, as the Contractor's star twinkles when they use their power.

Doll Surveillance Network

Three Dolls connected to the surveillance network.

They also have a number of Dolls for tracking and surveillance purposes. These Dolls are tied in to a network and use the power lines around Tokyo as their medium to observe events and locate targets both outdoors and indoors to some extent. This network is limited, however, as cutting the power lines will block access of the observer spirits to a building or area. The Dolls are referred to by number and are kept face down in liquid filled tube-like metal capsules with glass domes around the head, emitting a green glow. Kanami Ishizaki and the other staff check their health visually as well as by monitors and make adjustments to the liquid as needed, such as increasing the sodium concentration.

Following the closure of the Observatory, the Doll Network is taken over by Section 3.

Part in the Story

While often just providing surveillance on missions, the Observatory and its staff are directly involved a handful of incidents throughout Darker than Black: The Black Contractor, namely having the observer apparitions of their Dolls captured by Itzhak, and monitoring the battle between Evening Primrose and the Syndicate, both through tracking several Contractor signatures, and through the Stargazer's prophetic speeches in the final battle.

Some time after the battle, the Observatory is closed down and the building abandoned, with the Doll Network being taken over by Section 3. The Observatory is also the site of the meeting between Misaki Kirihara and Oreille. Misaki later visits the site again, where Genma Shizume finds her and asks her to work together to find out what is going on in Section 3.

Notable Members

• Kanami Ishizaki
• Ōtsuka Mayu
• Hoshimi