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Talk:Curiosities of Lotus Asia/Chapter 06

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Kirisame, Morichika and Kourindou.

Marisa's Family name, Kirisame (霧雨) means "drizzly rain".

Rinnosuke's family name, Morichika (森近), literally means "close by the forest".

As for Kourindou (香霖堂) it means "Hall of the Incensed (or perfumed) Rain (or rainy spell)".

The kanji for rainy spell (霖, the same 'rin' from 'Rinnosuke') looks like it's a mix from forest (森) and rain (雨). (It probably is.)

--Nietz 16:57, 2 November 2007 (PDT)

Feel free to correct me, but as it was still a little unclear to figure out the points of Marisa's ramble, I decided to take a stab at deciphering. Perhaps if it's spelled out here in succession (including the points above), it could be of use to readers. Please note I haven't read this work yet and was asked to help clarify it.
  • His shop is close to the forest, hence "Morichika" his name.
  • The kanji Rin depicts a joining of the kanji of forest and rain, which are kanji from respective families Morichika and Kirisame (whose shop he left).
  • Marisa explains "Koo [incense]" is essentially "kou [god(s)]," so it basically means (shinto) shrine.
  • "Geez, he's the kinda guy that loves this sorta thing da ze" [likely, wordplay or special meanings].
  • Kirisame--humans... forest--youkai (actually youma, 2nd kanji is different, as in MAhou, magic. youma is ghost / apparition according to NihongoResources, though i doubt it's a great "resource" for this kind of thing. The Ma kanji means witch / demon / evil spirit. Mahou is the system/laws of such. Naturally, the Japanese don't usually seem to see "ma" words as definitely pure evil.)
  • The "kou" in "Kourindou" is to be a shrine of sorts, at least figuratively, between the two territories. As such, Marisa suggests it's supposed to represent the "heart" or "center" of Gensokyo, the pairing of the two kinds. I also consider it might suggest "spirit," being a "shrine," and being in the center.
The "rin" is him, Rinnosuke, of course, but also symbolizes both families, for whatever reason.
The "dou" is likely just a suffix of his choice to mean "place," like "ya" is used for "shop"... in this case it's hall or shrine/temple. It also might carry the connotation of "magnificent" since it means that when used as a prefix for a building.
He doesn't seem to just like puns, but rather is perhaps a bit obsessed with imbuing meaning into things, which is kinda what he attempts to do with the various objects he finds. He also is probably hoping to advertise well with the "undertone" of the name, as it is easy to remember once you understand it. That's my theory, anyhow.
--StrikerX22 06:24, September 14, 2010 (UTC)

Hihi'irokane

Hihi'irokane (ヒヒイロカネ or 緋々色金, meaning "crimson ore") is a metal depicted in some ancient japanese legends that allegedly possessed strange physical properties, and could be used to forge some extraordinary metal alloys. It is very similar in concept to the Orichalcum.

--Nietz 15:34, 7 November 2007 (PST)

Minus Ion

"Minus Ion" is one of those pseudo-scientific fads that takes root in Japanese media from time to time. The idea is that air pollution has an excess of positive ions ("plus ions"), and that those consume the body's negative ions ("minus ions"), so the Japanese have a lot of trinkets in the market that are supposed to spew negatively charged ions to "clean" the air. Well, considering that Gensokyo is a fantasy land, it makes sense that this should work there, because it sure as Gibbs entropy doesn't in the real world.

--Nietz 18:32, 23 November 2007 (PST)

Sword of Kusanagi

It's worth noting that the Sword of Kusanagi is one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan. They are kept secretly guarded at all times, but it's rumored that at least one of the original ones has been lost in a past age. Which is a pretty big deal because the Imperial House of Japan would theoretically lose its ruling rights if it doesn't hold possession of all the three treasures.

--Nietz 18:32, 23 November 2007 (PST)

Hmm. Speaking of the Three Sacred Treasures, given that they are pretty much "legends" today (as in, "gensou"), one wonders if all three of them have turned up in Gensokyo (despite allegedly still existing in our real world). Much like the ibises from Chapter 2. Has it ever been stated whether Keine's eponymous spellcards make use of the treasures themselves, or are merely inspired by them? One would normally think of the latter, but after reading this story...

--165.21.154.111 15:05, 1 July 2008 (UTC)

If anything, this chapter is confirmation that Keine does not use the treasures in her attacks. It is likely similar to Kaguya's five impossible requests, while she actually only owns the Hourai Jewels.

--Bliumage 4:35, 4 July 2009 (EST)

"Skirt"

Ok seriously "skirt" was a bad choice of words when you get translations like

"While putting my hands inside the skirt and feeling the hard and rough thing inside it"

How exactly is Marisa carrying this stuff? A big pocket on her skirt? It would be a lot less suggestive if it were more specific.

Yeah, it really feels weird. I'll go and change it for something less awkward. --Nietz 06:28, 28 November 2007 (PST)