Finally, a story that puts my degree in Asian
Studies to use 😆
A kitsune is a fox spirit,
capable of shapeshifting into human form. Like in many cultures, kitsune are
considered tricksters, and can produce illusions in addition to their
shapeshifting. Some are considered friendly, others are malicious, but none are
totally trustworthy.
Honestly, I had such a good time working
Japanese culture, mythology and symbolism into this story; for what is honestly
kind of a short story I put a ton of research into it, mostly
because I'd start reading one thing but get caught up in something else cool.
Not to say I got everything right, and there are some things I got wrong on
purpose because it fit the story better that way.
This
story is set in the Edo period, just after the "warring states"
period which was generations of endless war. I felt the surname
"Briefs" was a little out-of-setting. So I researched kanji and named
the clan 奮努志 which
(I hope) roughly means "to flourish with diligent ambitions" and can
be pronounced "Fundoshi"...which is traditional underwear. Frieza's
clan is 冷体 "Tsumetai" which just means
"cold" (the kanji is "cold body"). You can see the
handwritten versions on the cover above.
The titles and subtitles come from the idea of
"sekki" and "kō"; subdivisions of the season of about 15 and 5 days
respectively in the traditional Japanese calendar, breaking the year into 72
"microseasons". Japan puts a lot of importance on the changing of the
season, and there are lists and lists of various words, animals, plants, foods,
etc. that are linked to each season or sometimes specific sekki. One of
the prompts for this story was "Autumn" so of course I tried to
include as many autumn-related symbols as I could. Interestingly,
"Autumn" in the traditional calendar is Aug-October, or off-set what
we consider fall by about a month. This story is of course set in the Japanese
fall season, though the first chapter is actually set in, and titled after, the
last sekki of summer.
Note: I've broken this post up into the individual sections, to make it easier to read.
Some of the bits of Japanese culture and
symbolism I have included:
Taisho, part 1: When Tokugawa Ieyasu became
Shōgun he
really did declare that clans were no longer allowed to war with one another. A
great reason for me to write an arranged marriage! As in medieval Europe,
high-ranking people were expected to marry out of political, social, and
economic benefit for their families rather than any emotional bond between the
participants, and it was not unusual for people to meet for the first time at
their own wedding. Clans, or great families, whose head had no son would
sometimes adopt an unrelated young man who would take their name and become the
heir; this is why Goku is Bulma's father's heir and why Vegeta is Frieza's.
Taisho, part 2: A sunshower is thought, in Japanese
mythology, to mean that a kitsune wedding is occurring somewhere. 😉
In a
traditional Japanese wedding, the bride and groom, and their families, will sip
sake three times each from three lacquered dishes – this tradition actually
began right around the time period this story is set so it may be a touch
anachronistic. The ceremony itself is small, with only immediate family in
attendance. After the ceremony, there is a larger reception with food and
speeches where large numbers of people attend. Brides wear several changes of
clothes during the process; at the ceremony they wear a pure white kimono with
a large hood (sometimes a hat) called a shiromuku. After the ceremony,
the bride changes into a bright-colored, elaborately decorated kimono called an
iro-uchikake, and then at the end changes again into a less formal but
still elaborate hikifurisode kimono. In some cases there are even more changes of clothing for the poor bride, each one into and out of a very elaborate outfit! Poor girl. Meanwhile, the groom gets to keep
his clothes the whole time – a black kimono with a covering haori jacket
and striped hakama pants called montsuki.
I...may like kimono.
Taisho, part 3: One of the ways the Tokugawa Shōgunate maintained its control
was by dictating that all the high-ranking samurai were required to spend part
of the year in Edo, taking them away from their lands for several months. They
therefore had two houses to maintain; one in the city and one in their lands.
Vegeta’s home is in “Yasai province” – yasai means vegetable, and is
where “Saiyan” comes from. I had to. The “alcove” described in Bulma’s room is
a common feature in Japanese houses; basically a place to display art; usually
a calligraphy scroll, beautiful pottery, and/or a flower arrangement. The items
in the alcove are carefully selected to reflect the season; in this case, we
are still in late summer, so water lilies, a symbol of summer, are presented. In
the art of flower arranging, water lilies are usually displayed in a vase like
a shallow bowl.
