I wish they would include a map of Saiunkoku in the novels. In the anime they did, but they change some things in the novels, so I don’t know how ‘accurate’ it is.
Anyway, I thought I would make some notes on Saiunkoku’s geography. There are SPOILERS here up till book 12.
Shi Province: This is the province where most of the action takes place. It seems to be ruled by the Shi clan (imperial clan), and there is a governor, but he has never appeared, oddly. The capital is Kiyou. The government is not allowed to move from Kiyou, because the city is warded against supernatural influence, meaning that it is very hard for those with supernatural powers to use them there. In the anime it seems that Shi Province is in the center of the country, and all the other provinces border on it. So far, in the books, nothing has been shown to contradict this (it is possible to go directly from Shi to Sa and Ran provinces without passing through other provinces).
Sa Province: The poorest of the eight provinces. Current governor is Kai Yu (vice governor To Eigetsu), previous governors Kou Shuurei and To Eigetsu, as well as Rou Ensei. The capital is Koren, and the second largest city is Kinka.
Between Sa province and Koku province is the Senri (Thousand Ri (ri is a type of measurement)) Range. It’s so tall that no one but the first emperor has been able to climb its highest peaks.
Koku Province: This is where Eigetsu is originally from. The capital is Enyuu. There are apparently many skilled fighters in this place. Eigetsu’s village, Seika, was in a remote location near the Senri Range, but due to the parasitic illness, it is now uninhabited, as all the villagers died, except for Eigetsu.
Ran Province: The governor is Kyou Bunchuu, and the capital is Gyokuryuu, which is a canal city (sort of like Venice?) and is said to be even more splendid than the capital. The manor of the Ran family there, Kougaijyou (Lake Sea Castle?) is famous for its beauty.
Garyuu Range (Crouching Dragon): a high mountain range located in Ran Province
Nine Colors Cove: A territory outside of the authority of the Ran province government. It seems to be under the control of the Hyou family, and the true headquarters of the Ran family is there, but neither family accepts liability for any death or injury incurred in the area. However, it’s extremely beautiful and there are cute pandas. In terms of attractions, it seems to be modeled after this place in China.
Within Nine Colors Cove:
Ryuuminzan (Sleeping dragon mountain): The location of the headquarters of the Ran clan, although this fact is not commonly known.
Houkyousan (Treasure Mirror mountain): On the top of this mountain is a shrine belonging to the the Hyou clan. It is said that a true king is capable of reaching this shrine. The shrine used to contain an ancient sacred mirror, until Shouka broke it.
A frequently asked question:
Where do the Hyou clan live?: This is very unclear. Although they have some authority over Nine Colors Cove, it doesn’t seem as though they live there. Otherwise, wouldn’t they have sent someone besides Shusui to attempt to assassinate Ryuuki?
tags>>saiunkoku
6 Responses for "The Geography of Saiunkoku: some notes"
I wonder if someone would try to come up with the map. ^_^
The Hyou clan have special abilities, right? perhaps, even if it was not mentioned, they are the guardians of the Nine Colored Cove and establish their headquarters there?
A possible reason that the Ran clan does not claim liability over the area?
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charmian reply on October 31st, 2007 4:32 am:
Honestly, I hope she just includes in in the novels sometime.
I don’t know if I can say they establish their HQ if they don’t seem to live there, though.
The Hyou clan also doesn’t accept liability claims.
(Why does this sound like we’re talking about whether the Hyou or Ran clans could be hit with a big lawsuit? XDDD)
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Hahaha, indeed. but what the heck? Shouka broke that ancient glass thing and i am pretty sure there are repercussions for that one.
there would be someone who would ask for the reason later on or maybe, the reason they won’t claim liability is because of that glass itself?
hah! i have been practically addicted to this story that even my best friend tells me the only thing i talk about these days is saiunkoku monogatari shuurei this, ryuuki that, shouka this, reishin that… now a possibility of making meself a little map!
jah ne… ehehe. keep them blogs coming. i really like them.
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ah great effort to dig out the lil morsels of information dotted throughout the 12 books. This looks about right though.
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Y’know, I just thought of something.
One of the main crops in Kou province is mikan, right? Wouldn’t that indicate that’s it’s somewhere in the south region? I can’t imagine oranges/tangerines growing in the cold north.
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charmian reply on November 8th, 2007 3:53 am:
Hmm… I wonder. There aren’t really references to different climates in Saiunkoku, IIRC.
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