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Fushigi Yuugi
Miscellaneous:
Fun Facts
Fushigi Yuugi contains much
information that is important to the entire story and is very
necessary to know. However, it does have its useless information,
facts that really have nothing to do with the show, that are
nevertheless fun to know. Here is some cool yet pretty much
useless information on Fushigi Yuugi!
* * * * *
"Fushigi Yuugi", although most often translated
to English as the title "Mysterious Play", also has a few
alternative meanings. "Fushigi" can mean
"Mysterious/Wondrous/Magical" in different contexts, whereas "Yuugi"
can also mean "Play/Game/Dance". Sometimes it appears under the
title "Wondrous Dance", or sometimes "Magical Game". In order to
avoid confusion with the very Japanese sounding original name, the
show’s creators decided that on merchandise and other such
products where an English title would be used, the "official"
English name for the show would be "The Universe of the Four Gods"
(a name obviously derived from the magical book that appears in
the story, the "Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho").
* * *
"Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho", the mysterious and
magical book that appears in Fushigi Yuugi, literally breaks down
like this:
Shi - Four
Jin - Gods
Ten - Sky
Chi - Earth
Sho - Book
So, a literal translation would be "Four Gods Sky Earth Book". In
most translations, the book is called the "Four Gods’ Sky and
Earth". On most merchandise, as mentioned above, the "official"
but less accurate translation appears, "The Universe of the Four
Gods". * * *
Suzaku, the god of the south, is represented
by a peacock or a phoenix. However, Suzaku’s name literally breaks
down like this: Su - red, Zaku - sparrow. So, the word “Su-Zaku”
literally means, “Red Sparrow”. However, this combination of
kanji, in the Japanese language, refers to a peacock. In the manga,
Suzaku is described as “Fushichou”, or “bird that never dies”,
which would suggest the magical bird, the phoenix.
* * *
The other three gods’ names have meanings, too.
“Seiryuu” means “Blue Dragon”, “Genbu” means “Mysterious Warrior”
and “Byakko” means “White Tiger”.
* * *
Miaka Yuuki is the heroine of Fushigi Yuugi.
Her name is written with four separate kanji: Mi-Aka-Yuu-Ki. “Mi”
means beautiful, “Aka” means scarlet/red/crimson (along those
lines), “Yuu” means enchanted, “Ki” means castle. So, Miaka’s
name, put together, means literally something like “Beautiful red
enchanted castle”. Interestingly, the kanji for “Mi” and “Aka” can
also be read as “Bi” and “Su”, as in Suzaku, the red
peacock/phoenix.
* * *
Yui Hongo’s name has meaning, but is less
complex than Miaka’s. “Hon” is the Japanese word for “Book”,
hinting at Yui’s more brainy and scholarly approach to everything
she does, and life in general. Yes, Yui is definitely the more
studious of the two. “Yui” itself means “Alone”.
* * *
Tamahome’s real name, Kishuku Sou, also is
written with special kanji. The kanji for “Ki”, in his name, means
ogre/demon. “Shuku” means house or inn. Therefore, his name
“Ki-Shuku” means something like “Ogre-House” - the same meaning as
the kanji in his Seishi name, “Tama-Home”.
* * *
Nuriko’s real name, Ryuen Chou, literally
breaks down like this: “Ryu” - willow, “En” - beauty of face,
“Chou” - distant. Notice how the “Ryu” kanji almost puns the
“yanagi” (“Willow”) symbol that appears on Nuriko’s chest, since
it belongs in his real name also.
* * *
Fushigi Yuugi contains some cute little
references to another popular anime, called “Bishoujo Senshi
Sailor Moon” (“Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon”). This is likely
because the seiyuu for Miaka also played Chibi Usa/Sailor Chibi
Moon. For example, Fushigi Yuugi television episode #1 featured
Miaka spitting out a version (Ten ni Kawatte, Oshiokiyo!) of
Sailor Moon’s famous attack speech (Tsuki ni Kawatte, Oshiokiyo!),
before trouncing her attackers. Sailor Moon’s speech literally
means, “On behalf of the moon, I will punish you!”, whereas
Miaka’s means “On behalf of the sky, I will punish you!”.
Television episode #5 has Miaka performing a series of hand
motions while calling out the names of her favorite foods; these
are the same motions Sailor Moon performs before fighting. Later,
in television episode #37, Tasuki (who is in a drunken stupor at
the time) refers to Miaka as “odango atama” (“dumpling head”),
making fun of her hairstyle, which reminds him of dumplings on the
sides of her head. “Odango atama” is one of Sailor Moon’s
nicknames, who also wears her hair in a dumpling-type hairstyle.
This reference was born from the obvious similarities in
hairstyle. * * *
The way Miaka sometimes wears her hair, with
two buns on the sides of her head, is how girls wore their hair
traditionally in ancient China.
* * *
Yui, once upon a time, had very long hair.
However, so many boys were pestering her and after her to date
them, that Yui cut it short to keep them away.
* * *
Before the editors got in Yuu Watase’s way, she
was about to make Nuriko’s sister, Kourin, die only a year or two
before the story begins. Kourin supposedly would have lived in the
palace, and loved the Emperor, Hotohori. When Kourin died, Nuriko
was to have gotten into his disguise and lived in the palace as
his sister Kourin, also incorporating into his life Kourin’s love
of the Emperor.
* * * Chichiri’s
clothing is traditional for what Chinese monks wore at the time
Fushigi Yuugi takes place. Most important was the triangular straw
hat (kasa), the slung-over-the-shoulder cape (kesa) with the round
symbols on it, the walking staff (shakujo), and the laced-up
leggings and boots that Chichiri wears.
* * *
Miaka and Tamahome called Chichiri "Kitsune-san"
("Mr. Fox"), at their first meeting. There are two reasons for
this. One, foxes supposedly contain the slit-eyes that stand out
also from Chichiri’s face. Two, in Japan, foxes are mischievous,
sometimes malevolent magical spirits. They can take other forms
and possess people. Since Chichiri was doing weird things like
changing sizes and disappearing into his hat, they guessed that he
must be one of those magical fox spirits.
* * *
“No da”, Chichiri’s famed little
sentence-ender, really has no meaning and is sort of incorporated
as a unique dialect that is all his own. However, one explanation
of its meaning could be that “no da” is a contraction of “no desu”
(to be). “No desu” could be used to emphasize facts that you think
the person you’re speaking to already knows. Chichiri uses this
little eccentricity to disguise his feelings, so that he seems
happy all the time. When he takes off his mask, or starts talking
seriously, he rarely uses “no da”.
* * *
Chichiri’s real name, Houjun Ri, literally
breaks down like this: “Hou” - fragrant, “Jun” - semi, “Ri” -
plum. So, “Houjun Ri” literally means something like
“Semi-fragrant plum”.
* * *
Some fans noticed that the scar over Chichiri’s
left eye looks almost exactly like the "sho" ("Well") symbol on
his knee. However, Yuu Watase says that this is quite accidental
and that she didn’t even notice it up until she was about halfway
done the manga series.
* * *
"Genrou", Tasuki’s nickname, literally means
"Phantasm Wolf". This is probably the reason why Tasuki uses
wolves in his attack during his first appearance, before he had
acquired the Tessen.
* * *
Tasuki’s real name, Shun’u Kou, literally
breaks down like this: “Shun” - excellence/genius, “U” -
heaven/house. *
* * Tasuki speaks
with an accent in his speech. This accent is known as Kansai-ben,
and it is the dialect that is used in Osaka, the area west of
Tokyo. Yuu Watase says that in the book Tasuki is born in an area
west of the capital of Konan, which is roughly analogous to the
placement of Osaka with respect to Tokyo. Kansai-ben uses slightly
different pronunciations of some of the sounds - it’s a really
thick accent, in other words. Watase is from the Osaka area, and
she speaks Kansai-ben herself. She even had to help Tasuki’s
seiyuu get the pronunciation just right, sometimes. The rest of
the uniqueness of Tasuki’s speech is that he swears an awful lot!
* * *
Although Tasuki says he hates women, he is not
inexperienced with them. In fact, one of the requirements for
joining the Mount Leikaku bandits was "earning a reputation" with
women. In order to banish the last shreds of childhood and become
fully a man worthy of being a bandit, the candidate must have
(ahem) shared intercourse with a woman. As added assurance, the
ritual had to be verified by a fellow bandit. In order to
accomplish this, Koji took Tasuki to a brothel.
* * *
"Lekka Shinen" is the incantation that Tasuki
must say in order for the Tessen to throw flames. "Lekka Shinen"
means something like "Blazing Divine Flames" or perhaps "Blazing
Holy Flames". *
* * Mitsukake’s
symbol is rather difficult to translate. Probably the best, most
accurate translation would be “Sadness”, but read differently, the
kanji contains other meanings as well. It also could mean, “Rare
cart”, “Revolve”, “Wooden bumper”, “Very much”, or perhaps
“Deeply”. * * *
The "Oh" character in Chiriko’s real name,
Dokun Oh, means "King". Interestingly, this kanji is the symbol
for Suzaku that appears on Suzaku’s, and later (after the
god-calling) Miaka’s, foreheads.
* * *
"Tama" is the most popular name for cats in
Japan. Almost every other cat, supposedly, is named "Tama" (sort
of like "Rover" for dogs in North America). No wonder Tamahome
takes offense when Nuriko constantly calls him "Tama-chan"! To
quote Tamahome: "Quit calling me ‘Tama’! I’m not a cat!" Naturally
enough, when Miaka decides to give Mitsukake’s cat a name, she
decides to name the kitty after her beloved - the cat becomes
"Tama". * * *
Yuu Watase, as the writer and creator of
Fushigi Yuugi, had a favorite character in her story. Oddly
enough, the character that Watase loved best was Nakago. In part
two of the manga, after Nakago was dead, Watase’s favorite
character was Taka.
* * *
Yuu Watase, as creator, also had favorite
scenes in her story, Fushigi Yuugi. Her favorites include:
Hotohori’s narcissistic side, Tasuki’s entrance, Tasuki and
Tamahome’s battle in Kutou, Nuriko’s death scene, and the calling
of Suzaku. * * *
Yuu Watase’s work, Fushigi Yuugi, was
interestingly enough inspired by the works of fellow manga artist
Rumiko Takahashi, of "Urusei Yatsura", "Ranma ½" and "Mermaid
Saga" fame. Takahashi’s works feature famous comedy, often mixed
with a multitude of love triangles, as well as a blend of tragedy
and violence; many excellent elements of a story that also appear
in Fushigi Yuugi.
* * *
The well-loved scene where Byakko No Miko,
Suzuno Oosugi, and her Byakko Seishi Tatara die at the same time
in separate worlds, did not appear in the original manga, only in
the anime version of the story. Supposedly Yuu Watase was greatly
impressed and astounded by the excellent idea, and wished that she
would have thought of that!
* * *
The star chart that names all twenty-eight
Seishi is split into five separate areas. Four of them are the
directional quadrants (North, West, South, and East) that are
ruled by the four gods (Genbu, Byakko, Suzaku, and Seiryuu). The
fifth area is the Center, which governs the Void elements. This
Center, on the star chart, is named "Tenkyoku". This is the area
that is dedicated to Taiitsu-kun, the overseer of the world. In
the story, the mountain where Taiitsu-kun lives is called "Taikyoku",
an obvious adaption from that area of the star chart.
* * *
In the center of the star chart, "Tenkyoku",
there are six more constellations ("Seishi")! They are Taishi, Tei,
Shoshi, Koukyuu, Kyoku, and Shiho.
* * *
Blood types supposedly indicate a person’s
attitude and personality in the Japanese culture. They are:
Type A - honest, introverted, nervous, loyal
Type B - outgoing, optimistic, adventurous
Type AB - proud, diplomatic, discriminating
Type O - workaholic, insecure, emotional
* * *
The costumes, especially that of Nuriko, is a
kind of common clothing that is worn in China by women, called a
cheongsam. They’re even still worn there in modern times.
* * *
Foot-binding was a Chinese custom designed to
make women more attractive, and give them a swaying walk. The
process began when girls were four to eight years old. The young
girls’ feet were wrapped in bandages that were tightened every
week until the shape of the foot was deformed into what was
described as "Lily Feet". Shoes were tiny, made of silk or satin,
and worn on the big toe only. Bound feet indicated gentility, and
many families bound their daughters’ feet to improve their chances
for upward social ability. Watase cut this out of her story,
deeming it unnecessary cruelty.
* * *
In ancient China, the Emperor would have been
an inaccessible person. In other words, the Emperor and commoners
talking to each other as equals, as in the story of Fushigi Yuugi,
would have been extremely unrealistic. Yuu Watase, however,
conveniently decided to ignore social ranks and make the
characters interact as humans. If people actually spoke to an
Emperor in such ways, they would have been beheaded.
* * *
Yuu Watase, when creating her fantasy ancient
Chinese world, liked ideas best from the Sung Dynasty (960 - 1279
AD), because she liked that time period’s court customs. It is
likely that the setting of the Fushigi Yuugi world is during this
time period. However, the characters wear Ming Dynasty (1368 -
1644 AD) clothing, because Watase liked these styles of clothing
better. Therefore, Fushigi Yuugi is not completely historically
accurate. * * *
Yuu Watase, although she loved all the
characters in her story, had the most fun drawing Tasuki and
Chichiri, especially Tasuki. On the enemy side, Watase liked to
draw Tomo best, because he was so weird. Watase describes Tomo as
having a unique personality (an understatement), and had hoped to
draw him without his face paint sometime in the story.
Unfortunately, Tomo died in the story before she got a chance.
Watase does, however, in some of her paintings, include pictures
of Tomo’s bare face, even though it never appears in the main
story. * * *
“Shin” is the name of Tomo’s clam shell that
he uses to cast his illusions through. The name “Shin” has two
meanings. It can mean “hard clam”, but can also mean “death” or
“cause of death”.
* * *
“Miko” is understood as “Priestess” or “Shrine
Maiden” in the story of Fushigi Yuugi, as is the writing of
“Genbu/Byakko/Suzaku/Seiryuu” No “Miko” (meaning, of course, one
of those specific gods’ priestesses). However, what does the “No”
in “Genbu/Byakko/ Suzaku/Seiryuu No Miko” mean? Well, the “No” is
basically a Japanese possessive pronoun, translating to something
like “of” or “ ’s”. Therefore, a complete breakdown of “Suzaku No
Miko” would be “Suzaku’s Miko” or “Miko of Suzaku”. The “No”
represents possession, so the titles of the four Miko are: Genbu’s
Miko, Byakko’s Miko, Suzaku’s Miko, and Seiryuu’s Miko. However,
the Japanese titles, Genbu No Miko, etc. are simply more fun to
say! * * *
All ancient Chinese Emperors were endowed
with harems full of the country’s most beautiful women for their
pleasure. Although the idea for Hotohori’s harem was dropped (Watase
decided it just didn’t fit his character), originally it was to be
explained that he did have one, just that he never used it or went
there. Another interesting fact is that in the original plans for
the story, supposedly Kourin (and of course, later, Nuriko) worked
in Hotohori’s harem, and this is part of the reason the "original"
Kourin was in love with Hotohori. When the story came to its final
work, however, it was decided that the harem was unnecessary to
Hotohori’s palace in Konan, although the Emperor of Kutou
obviously ended up with and enjoys his.
* * *
Long ago in China, there was supposedly a lake
called Odoniru, spelled with the same characters as Hotohori.
* * *
While Tamahome is trapped in Kutou, he is fed a
drug called “Kodoku” in order to manipulate his personality and
memories of Suzaku No Miko and the Seishi. Kodoku accurately
breaks down like this: “Ko” - worm, “Doku” - poison. Therefore,
the drug that was forced on Tamahome was Worm Poison!
* * *
Traditionally, in the Japanese culture, a true
Miko’s duties include:
Summoning a dead person’s soul from the beyond, known as “Shinikuchi”,
or “Dead man’s mouth”. When summoning a living person’s soul from
far away, it is called “Ikikuchi”, or “Mouth of a living person”.
Prophesy of the success or failure for their clients, the popular
term for this is “Kamikuchi”, or “Mouth of god”.
Expulsion of disease and other evils and practice of religious
purification.
Asking their god the name of the medicine to be used against a
particular illness.
Giving information concerning lost objects.
The candidate is taught for three to seven years by an older Miko,
after which she is married to her tutelary god. (And Miaka thought
becoming Suzaku No Miko would be an easy way to pass entrance
exams!) * * *
“Nyan Nyan” is the name of Taiitsu-kun’s
little helper(s). This name literally means “Meow Meow”.
* * *
Often it is wondered how Miaka can communicate
with any of the people in the book world, since they are
technically supposed to be speaking ancient Chinese, yet all the
dialogue is in Japanese. The reason is this - plain and simply,
Miaka is speaking ancient Chinese, only she is unaware of it and
hears it as Japanese. In other words, the book records the Miko
and the Seishi speaking to one another, so while actually being in
the book, Miaka can understand what is being said to her, and can
speak with all of the Seishi (and other people, for that
matter)and have them understand her. Miaka hears it as Japanese,
and speaks in Japanese, but the Seishi hear what Miaka says in
Chinese, and speak to her in Chinese. Miaka receives this gift for
the language as sort of a side effect of the trip between worlds;
the gods’ magic enables the Miko to speak the language in the
book, at the same time being completely unaware that she is not
actually speaking in her native tongue. The god does not, however,
grant the ability to read the characters of the language. For
example, Miaka is unable to read the letter Tamahome leaves for
her, for the letter has the written Chinese kanji "Wo Ai Ni". "Wo
Ai Ni" is the Chinese way of saying "I Love You"; in Japanese the
same phrase is "Aishiteru". Miaka cannot read the Chinese, so she
has to have the letter translated for her.
* * *
Chiriko was studying for some exams before
actually joining the Seishi, trying to become a government
official. In ancient China, there was a series of examinations
that, if passed, allowed one to become a member of the gentry and
hold offices appointed by the government. The exams are very
difficult, so people start training for them at age five, taking
tests at an increasingly difficult level, which you have to pass
before you can move onto the next level. There are some at the
district level, some at the provincial level, and some at the
national level. The first exam, if passed, gets the person put in
the lower gentry, and passing either of the two higher ones allows
the person into the upper gentry. It can be taken repeatedly if
failed, but people generally are around 24 years old or older
before passing the first one, 30 for the next one, and 35 for the
last one - assuming any of these are passed at all. They involve
difficult work like memorizing classic texts with 430,000
characters, having beautiful calligraphy, writing eight-legged
essays (supposedly a very difficult form to master), knowing the
commentaries on Confucian philosophy made by Zhu Xi, etc. The
first level of exams takes three days to complete, and the next
level of exams takes place every three years. During this time, an
examiner will come, who is guarded carefully so that he doesn’t
give anything away or that no one comes near him. On the testing
day, all of the candidates go to one hall where they are handed a
scroll (the question papers) and locked into a tiny room that will
become their eating/sleeping/testing place for the next three
days. To prevent bribery/cheating, the candidates’ answers are
taken and copied again in red ink, and it is this copy that is
given to the examiner to mark. It sounds pretty awful, and
Hotohori said Chiriko got the highest score! |
