Notes on Starlit Reflections: Dark Quarter
When writing Starlit
Reflections: Dark Quarter, I did a lot of research. Consequently,
I occasionally reference something outside the general knowledge of the
Western fan.
When I do that, I
make notes about it. In the text version of Starlit Reflections:
Dark Quarter, these notes were placed at the end of the chapters.
Prologue: Voice Across Time - Nuriko
Although the custom among the nobility of Imperial China was to have a
group of servants waiting at the side of the dining room during the meal,
to take orders to the kitchen, clear away the used and empty dishes, fetch
articles their masters might require and perform other minor services for
their masters, I have chosen to not have this custom in the Konan of 'Starlit
Reflections'.
'Pillow books' were scrolls or books traditionally presented to brides
on their wedding night, just before they went to their husbands. They contained
detailed drawings of sexual intercourse in various forms and positions,
with instructions for the inexperienced bride.
Chapter One: In The Great Khan's Shadow - Uruki
Watase-sensei has never shown us enough of Hokkan for us to determine exactly
what its basis in the real world is, so for the purposes of this story
I have assumed that the Ming dynasty never fell and the Mongol/Manchurian
Xing dynasty never took power, remaining in the northern fourth of China
beyond the Great Wall, just north of Beijing.
In our world, the
Mongols invaded China, but a revolution led by the first Ming Emperor threw
them out. However, two hundred and forty years later, the northerners returned,
and remained in power for the next two hundred and sixty-five years, until
the revolution of 1911.
My research for this
chapter took a different form to what my usual researches do. Documentation
of the original form of the Mongol court is scanty at best; the most authoriative
account is that of Marco Polo (which is known to be highly romanticised).
The social aspects of the court of Imperial China in the first decade of
the twentieth century are better known, mainly due to the autobiographies
of Princess Der Ling (First Lady-In-Waiting to the Dowager Empress Ci Xi
[who ruled China in fact if not in name from 1862 till her death in 1908]
between 1903 and 1905), but the customs of the Manchu did not remain unchanged
by their long dominance of China. Consequently there are portions of this
chapter where historical fact is not referred to and I have instead made
informed guesses about customs and practices.
Chinese notions of beauty have changed greatly in modern times.
In the China of the
Xing dynasty, thin eyes were considered very pretty, while both sexes wore
their hair long, women in chignons under elaborate headdresses while men
and children of both sexes wore theirs tied in a braid with red fastenings.
A modest woman never let any portion of her skin below her neck show in
public, not even her hands (except when she was using them), and her robe
would have many layers and padding to prevent any hint of her figure being
seen. To display more than a hint of a figure was immodest; in fact, displaying
that hint was actually rather fast!
This explains why
Nuriko was able to get away with a boyish figure in the seraglio. Nobody
would have been asking "Why doesn't Chou Kourin have any bosom?", they
would all have been asking "How does her maid do it, and how much
will my maid have to bribe the girl with to teach her how to do it to me?"
I've taken the liberty of deciding that Okuda Einosuke and his daughter
Takiko lived in Kyoto. Kyoto in 1923 (which is when Takiko was taken by
the Book) was still a very traditional city, much more so than Tokyo, while
still being at the forefront of the Arts. It is also possessed of a high
proportion of temples and shrines, which gives the city a strong sense
of religion.
As the Mongols and
the Manchurians both had a very strong sense of the religious, for their
Priestess to be raised in a similar environment is appropriate.
Chapter Two: Finding The Path ~ Hatsui
Don't be too disgusted with Hatsui, he does have a reason for being
a drunk.
According to psychics
in our world, alcohol has one of two effects on their abilities; either
it depresses the psychic ability to the point where, when they're drunk,
it's effectively 'switched off', or it depresses the controls they have
placed on the ability, so while they are drunk they get more intense (and
frightening) visions, or they can't block out the thoughts/emotions, etc.
Consequently, most people who are psychics are either chronic alcoholics
or teetotallers.
As the only Shichiseishi
we ever see drunk is Tasuki, and he never uses his talent while inebriated,
I'm assuming that being drunk 'switches off' a Shichiseishi's special ability.
Hatsui 'hears' the
truth and the whole truth, whenever someone speaks. If you said "I love
your hat!" to someone, while secretly you hate it, he would hear both.
He doesn't like this ability and drinks to get it to stop. All the bar
fights start when he's not drunk enough to stop hearing the truth, but
too drunk to control his mouth.
Chapter Three: The People's Priestess ~ Namame
Takiko told the story of the Little Mermaid, by Hans Christian Andersen,
which was written in the nineteenth century and would have been available
in Japan by 1923.
Hatsui told the story
of the Kindly Fisherman (sometimes the Honest Fisherman), which is a classic
folktale found in various forms all over Asia; the best-known version in
the West appears in the Thousand And One Nights, but it is found in the
Far East as well.
I am not sure exactly
which region or time produced "The Dance of the Winding Scarf", but I found
it in 'Lotos Blossoms' by Princess Der Ling. As it is the tale of a murderous
rivalry between two imperial concubines, it would probably have been officially
banned and unofficially popular at Court.
There is no indication of what the currency of Hokkan was in canon, and
Mongolia, before the Manchu took control of China, had a complex barter
system. So, as there are no clues to the former and it would be entirely
too complex (not to mention boring as I explain it) to use the latter,
I'm using the modern Chinese currency scheme, replacing 'yuan/kuai', 'jiao/mao'
and 'fen' with 'gold', 'silver' and 'copper', respectively.
For reference, if
you ever have occasion to encounter Chinese currency, ten jiao make one
yuan and ten fen make one jiao.
Chapter Four: On The Plains ~ Hikitsu
The Manchurians did cultivate flour-producing grains and eat bread
rather than rice; I didn't make it up. The climate of Northern China is
too dry and too cool to grow rice. After their conquest of China, the Manchu
chose to emphasise this difference. So during the later part of the Qing,
whether rice or bread was served at his table was an indicator of a noble's
ancestry and how much pride he took in it.
It was the practice in China for families to sink wells within their own
properties and fetch their water from that private source. When a man sank
a well outside an enclosed property and permitted the public to use it,
it was usual for him to charge those who drew water from it a small fee
for the privilege. However, for various reasons (varying from the goodness
of the builder's heart to the builder dying without passing guardianship
of the well on), it wasn't all that uncommon for a well to be free of charge,
either.
Snakes are not good news in Japan! They do not occur naturally there,
and what snakes there are, are brought in by collectors and are kept in
captivity. In the Japanese mindset, snakes are considered disgusting and
dirty (much like rats in the West). Their image is much more positive in
mainland Asia.
The snake part of the 'snake mating with turtle' that is Genbu's animal
form is not actually specified anywhere; it just appears to be a generic
snake. I named it here for the story, not for any other reason.
Chapter Five: In Genbu's Highlands ~ Tomite
I've always been of the opinion that Tomite looks incredibly like
the young Sean Connery. Who actually wasn't that handsome. Just very
sexy. ^_~
I've mentioned this in passing in mainstream Starlit Reflections, but homosexuality
in Imperial China does not appear to have been considered an unusual or
perjorative choice. Several Emperors are recorded as being openly bi- or
homosexual, only going to their wives for the necessary son(s) to inherit
the throne, and in classic novels (romance and otherwise) of the Ming and
Qing periods, several supporting characters are homosexual. Literature
also records that among the stylized "shrewish wife's complaints" (the
Imperial Chinese version of the famous "Men Bashing" lists) is the fact
that men often courted and formed relationships with each other rather
than women, on occasion neglecting their wives for their male lover. ("I
have that part too; all you have to do is ask!" an ignored wife complains
in one such list.) In every example, when a negative impression is drawn,
it is based on the fact that a faithful wife is being ignored, not that
the homosexual relationship itself is wrong.
Mei-Mei: in Hanyu (Mandarin), which was the language the Manchu spoke,
was in the Qing and remains today the tongue of the Chinese government,
this means "Little Sister".
Chapter Six: Towards Destiny ~ Iname
Mongolian tribes practiced a form of reverse primogeniture that remains
unique among Asian and European cultures. As each chieftain's son
attained adulthood, he would take an allotted portion of the tribe and
the tribe's herds and head off to claim his own territory - the further
away the better. Each son would do this in turn, until only the youngest
was left with his father's tribe; he remained and when his father died,
he would become the next chieftain, unless one of his brothers or uncles
returned to take it from him. This didn't happen very often.
So, while each son could look forward to leading his own tribe, the youngest
son was always the primary heir.
In Imperial China, it was considered incredibly disrespectful for a commoner
to even look upon the carriages that carried the Imperial Family as they
journeyed, and even the presence of one in the street when the procession
came by would lead to a punishment, ranging from a severe beating to beheading,
for the unfortunate peasant, if caught.
It's unclear whether
it was a Chinese or Manchurian custom, but as it seems to have been enacted
under several Chinese dynasties, I have decided to treat it as a Chinese
custom, rather than a Manchurian one, and so not include it in the Hokkan
of Dark Quarter.
Although it is generally held that an eunuch is incapable of sexual intercourse,
this is not necessarily true.
If a man who has become
an eunuch was in the later stages of puberty or had passed it when he became
an eunuch, he is physically capable of sex. The factor preventing
him from doing so is the fact that male physical arousal is dependent upon
the presence of testosterone in the bloodstream. The testicles are
the major source of this hormone, but they are not the only source.
It is also manufactured in minute amounts by the liver and spleen, and
in cases where the testicles are incapable of providing enough, this amount
may increase. It is also possible for a man to absorb testosterone
through food (such as other animals' testicles, and other testosterone-rich
substances).
It is possible
for an eunuch to be active sexually. It is only impossible for him
to sire children.
Chapter Seven: Reflection - Urumiya
I admit it - I have no idea what the Chinese or Mongolian gesture is that
negates the spoken word. Crossing fingers is very much a Western gesture.
In the real world, I'm placing Tolan in the southeastern corner of Mongolia.
The main vegetation in that area is pine- and fir-tree forest. Most of
the wooden goods made in that area are made of pine or fir - and that includes
their furniture.
Long fingernails were a sign of beauty in Ancient China. Both men and women
would grow their nails as long as they could, and fingernail protectors
were a fashionable necessity.
Arnica does grow in tundra. And, yes, making arnica tincture and ointment
the old-fashioned way does smell awful. The finished product doesn't
smell that nice either. It is, however, the best bruise ointment in the
world.
I've been saying this all along, but I just want to clarify this for everyone:
black, not green, is the colour of Genbu. The anime does portray His attributes
and His power as a green aura, but that is not accurate, and probably due
to the fact that it's hard to draw a black glow as opposed to a
green one.
This is why Uruki
describes all the Genbu Shichiseishi's symbols as 'black' or 'black fire'
or 'glowing blackly'. They are black.
Chapter Eight: Summoning ~ Takiko
Urumiya's song is a portion of "Brother My Brother", sung by Blessid Union
of Souls, from the first Pokemon movie's soundtrack.
I have absolutely no idea of the realities of building a structure like
my version of the Temple to Genbu on Mt. Black. I ask that all architects
and building workers forgive me my inaccuracies.
Bats are bearers of good luck in northern China. Also, in the worship of
the Four Gods, as it is practiced in our world, the bat is the animal associated
with the seishuku Uruki.
Jade comes in many colours and was a very precious stone to the Ancient
Chinese. It was also relatively plentiful. Mei Ling's status at Court would
very likely not allow her to wear anything as expensive as sapphires or
rubies, but she would have had a few pieces of jade.
Genbu's element is water (Suzaku's is fire, Byakko's metal and Seiryuu's
is wood, or lightning). I don't know very many water-rituals, and the ones
I do know are all Western. So this one is my own invention completely.
My chief resource for the anime version of Fushigi Yuugi is the Tomodachi
translation. In this translation, two versions of the Summoning Prayer
are offered. Because the Prayer I have used is my own adaption of these,
here are the two original texts.
From Episode Twenty-Four, 'Fiery Decision':
The four directions of the sky.
By using the way, mind and goodness,
Please tell the protector of the south,
Suzaku.
Now I will complete the words.
From the sky to the earth...
... Come to us physically.
Through the four ultimates...
... Make extinct every kind of evil.
Only I wish...
... Please listen to this...
... Please come down to us from the sky!
From Episode Fifty-One, 'Committed
To Hope':
The four directions of the sky...
The four directions of the earth...
With deep rules...
With truth and justice...
Protector of the south,
Suzaku come to me physically.
Now, I'll finish it.
Seven constellations, from the sky to
the earth...
... Fulfil
For all living things...
... In this case...
... From all evil in this world
By the power of a deity...
... Protect us.
Please listen to this...
... From the sky...
... Please come down to us!
When Seiryuu and Suzaku appeared to Yui and Miaka, they both took very
different approaches to explaining the procedure to their Priestesses.
The differences are almost certainly a reflection of their priorities.
Seiryuu, the God of War, is almost clinical, while Suzaku, the God of Love,
is very emotive about the matter. Thus, my version of Genbu's explanation
is also meant to be a reflection of His personality.
It's also unclear
whether or not the Gods can be heard by other people while being summoned,
as neither Priestess was accompanied closely during either ceremony. However,
as the incantation specifically requests the God's physical presence,
I've decided that, if you're close enough, then yes, you can.
I am aware that in canon, Hikitsu and Tomite were killed during a war with
Koutou. However, this is an Alternate Universe, so I have the right
to alter minor details to fit the story better.
Most ghosts do not
venture far from the places of their deaths; therefore, for Hikitsu and
Tomite to haunt the Temple they should have died in or near it. If one
takes the view that they're haunting the Shinzahou, they should have been
there with it, until its destruction. (Which would, incidentally, have
required them to be in the story longer.) And much the same goes for if
they were guarding Genbu's power in the world.
So I am taking the
view that they are haunting the Temple, not guarding the Shinzahou. It's
just a coincidence the Shinzahou happens to be there.
Technically, the only males permitted in the courts of the Chinese Emperors,
other than the Emperor, were eunuchs. However, as I have made mention of
male servants before in 'Starlit Reflections', I have chosen to be consistent
to myself. Male servants shall continue to appear.
But it is a
detail that is historically incorrect.
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