Feel free to ask questions about factual matters in the Saiunkoku novels in this thread. (Am doing this to add to the frequently asked questions post)
In other words, try to avoid subjective things that are a matter of interpretation; I just want this to be a facts thread.
Some things: There is no Saiunkoku novel material beyond what has already been published in the novels and in the Beans magazines. Or at least I don’t know of any.
tags>>saiunkoku
38 Responses for "Open Saiunkoku Question Thread"
wow….there are still no questions huh…. i’ll start it…
there is something i dont understand at the end of volume 12 about Kouyuu… what was the crime or eveidence Seiga is gathering to dismiss Kouyuu?? Dismiss Kouyuu for what???
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charmian reply on January 18th, 2008 11:51 pm:
It’s rather vague, something like overstepping the bounds of his authority. However, what sort of evidence it was, and what exactly he did that was supposed to be the crime, are not very clear. Probably this will be cleared up in the next book.
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shion_08 reply on January 19th, 2008 12:07 am:
thanks for the the info…..
but i thought he’s like the second in command after Reishin in their department so everything he does would be interpreted as the work of the department even if Reishin is not doing anything….?
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charmian reply on January 19th, 2008 12:08 am:
It’s totally not clear what these accusations refer to, so I’m not even sure if it specifically has to do with the department.
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MUST HAVE VOL 13!!
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I got a culture question from Gaiden 3.
When Reishin and Yuushun are “following” Yuri-hime on her date with Houju, Reishin calls it “shadowing” but Yuushun corrects him and calls it “debagame” (page 220). My dictionary basically translated it as “stalking”, but Yuushun says it comes from some tale about “The pervert Kametarou-san.” I normally pride myself on Japanese folklore, but I have NEVER heard of such a tale. Is there such a tale or did Yukino Sai make it up for story’s sake?
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charmian reply on January 19th, 2008 11:28 pm:
Actually, it doesn’t seem to be ancient folklore, but a reference to something that happened during Meiji. (…. Really I think this is kind of a breaking of the suspension of disbelief for comedic purposes.)
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%87%BA%E6%AD%AF%E4%BA%80
See this article.
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L-chan reply on January 23rd, 2008 11:08 pm:
KANJI FAIL! *ded*
But I think I managed to grasp enough of it to get it. Thanks.
Sheesh, didn’t know something like that happened in Meiji. It makes Yuushun’s comment all the . . . . . more disturbing?
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charmian reply on January 24th, 2008 2:45 am:
If you have Firefox, definitely, download Rikaichan. It takes care of those kinds of problems.
I guess it’s just kind of become a catchphrase in Japanese culture? Never had heard of it before.
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can’t read Japanese, so I’ve been following your summaries for quite some time now.
Actually, been trying to set up a SaiMono RPG board, which is a quite difficult since there aren’t much info about it in the first place (well, not in English) besides yours and Wikipedia. May I ask permission to make use of the info you’ve compiled (I just want to be as accurate as possible to the geography and bureaucracy of the series) in the board, with full credit?
I apologize if this is the wrong thread though…
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charmian reply on January 20th, 2008 12:16 pm:
Sure, as long as you a) make it clear exactly which parts were taken, and b) link to this site.
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maddie reply on January 22nd, 2008 5:26 am:
Ah, of course, of course. Thanks very much! I do have another thing to ask, if you don’t mind and when you have the time, could you please go see the board when it’s done (i’ll let you know) and check for inaccuracies or something? Just in case. XP
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charmian reply on January 22nd, 2008 7:29 am:
I think it would probably be better for you to do that…. I don’t really know anything about gaming. If you’re worried about inaccuracies maybe you could just tell them to read this site? If you read all of the summaries, you can gather out a lot of information.
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Is there any mention of the reason or hints of why Emperor Senka ordered the massacre the other noble families?
Was it implied in the novel that he killed his blood relatives to get the throne or did he do this after he was placed in the throne?
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charmian reply on January 20th, 2008 12:19 pm:
Nothing going beyond what I reported in the other summaries, or in the translation. Few concrete reasons are given.
I can’t really recall of the top of my head. It definitely says that he killed blood relatives, though. It’s not really made much of, whether he did it before or after, though.
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kyorune reply on January 21st, 2008 5:17 am:
I just hope the author sheds light on this topic in the future. I’m really curious at what motivated Senka to do it. It would be nice to compare how Ryuuki and Senka dealt with the politics in court. ^_^;;
Thanks for the summaries and translations!
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charmian reply on January 21st, 2008 5:19 am:
Huh, damn, I hope so too. Well, Senka was motivated by the desire to become king and maintain his power. That’s why he did it, because they opposed him or were interfering with him somehow.
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About how many people are aware of Shoukas’ involvment with the Black Wolfs and is there any mention of their other agents? I mean, wont any of his former enemies take notice with him being as active as he is lately? Also, do you know when the next volume is schedueled to be released?
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charmian reply on January 23rd, 2008 5:34 am:
They don’t really say “exactly X # of people knew who he was.” At least, besides Shusui, Reishin, Shou Taishi, and Kai Yu, as well as Hyou Ruka and Hyou Riou (the older one) know his identity. The other named characters who did are dead.
Besides Shusui, Hokuto (deceased) and Ki-hime (deceased) are mentioned.
Did you read the summary for volume 12? I think that was an example of that.
No, I don’t.
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Charmian,
I’ve just revcently surf this link up. Have a look at this:
http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/saiunkoku/published/index.php
The cover with Reishin (I think) wedging himself between Shuurei and the enraged Ryuuki seemed to be the latest volume published recently. In fact, yesasia.com (equivalent to ebay.com or amazon.com) is already selling this volume already. See what you can get out of it. Thanks.
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Charmian,
I’ve just recently surf this link up. Have a look at this:
http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/saiunkoku/published/index.php
The cover with Reishin (I think) wedging himself between Shuurei and the enraged Ryuuki seemed to be the latest volume published recently. In fact, yesasia.com (equivalent to ebay.com or amazon.com) is already selling this volume already. See what you can get out of it. Thanks.
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charmian reply on January 24th, 2008 8:09 pm:
That’s the Gaiden #3 cover. The summary for that is already on the site.
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Sorry, I went too fast with the ‘add comment’ button, so forgive the similiar double comments.
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“Shuurei is trying to gain access to the Civil Administration archives” in volume 10, it seems a funny scene and I’m interested in the interaction between the characters there, esp. at the end when Anju enters.
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charmian reply on January 25th, 2008 8:13 pm:
I don’t understand your question.
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Anonymous reply on January 25th, 2008 9:32 pm:
Ah, I meant what exactly does Anju say or do to Reishin?
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charmian reply on January 25th, 2008 11:03 pm:
Actually, IMHO it’s not that interesting, he’s amused at how Reishin is acting and says that Shuurei is cute, and Reishin is of course not happy about the whole situation.
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I keep wondering at who Yuushun really is. Isn’t there something mysterious about his origins as well as the nature of the accident that disabled him? Or is it all so clear and evident that I simply overlooked it, and if, where do I look for the answers?
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charmian reply on January 26th, 2008 10:10 am:
It’s repeatedly talked about in the books how mysterious both of these things are. XD They both are utter mysteries, so don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything. Actually, this is really the mystery that’s bothering me the most now, possibly because I am a Yuushun fan.
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Just a quick clarification, Ki-hime (the woman that Emperor Senka loved) was Ou Ki’s sister?
Also, do the novels indicate whether entire departments are made up of officers from one faction (noble or exam-entry) or is it more of a mixture? I just wonder, given the possible conflicts between the two faction, how day to day operations work.
I just think of the animosity between Reishin/Houju and Kouki/Anju in the one section you translated. That must carry over somewhat in other areas.
Also, thanks hugely for doing transalations and summaries! It really helps understanding the anime more. You really do need to know some of the history and background to catch some of the subtle points about character interactions.
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charmian reply on January 29th, 2008 3:18 am:
Yes, his elder sister.
It’s not really stated whether it’s the entire department, but there definitely seems to be majorities depending on the faction.
You’re welcome…
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My question involves the whole Ran triplet remaining unidentified premise.
I thought it was exaggerated because Setsuna has a wife and I assume she is only with him…so she can tell them apart.
This should imply that family was exempt from this ‘law’ regarding the trips. But then Shuuei comes in and challenges the triplets that he can tell them apart and holds their life in his hands.
So is it that this premise is totally ‘plot ratch’ or was it a public setting that Shuuei used to identify his brothers (like when he gave Ryuuki back the hana sword)
I am really confused over this it would have worked if Setsuna was not married.
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charmian reply on February 3rd, 2008 4:22 am:
She can tell that it’s him, but she can’t tell the other two apart. Which doesn’t entirely make sense, given that Setsuna is the only one able to live, but I think it might be a matter of open declaration as well.
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bootoye reply on February 3rd, 2008 4:35 am:
I thought of that but it is a weak premise though^^
I have another question, the connection between Shuurei and Bara-hime…has it been given any clarity at all? Was her mother one of the Immortals did she give her strength for Shuurei (like Yougetsu and Eigetsu)? So does Shuurei have some hidden powers or something?
(This could explain why Ryuuren attached himself to Shuurei and Eigetsu)
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charmian reply on February 3rd, 2008 4:37 am:
I hope they deal more with this later.
Nope, there is a total lack of clarity. Any of these things mayb or may not be true.
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Hmm, first of all, thanks so much for your summaries and translations! Thanks to you, us non-Japanese-speakers can still follow this fabulous story! I’m totally your fan
I was wondering if you could clarify something for me about volume 12. What really makes me wonder is Ryuuren’s powers around the shrine, as well as the whole “only Ran clan people can find the place without getting lost” deal. This all seems to point towards “supernatural powers” which are generally the Hyou’s specialty, aren’t they? So my question is: is there actually a link between the Hyou and Ran clans? I’m rather confused… is it made explicit anywhere, or is it something I completely imagined? If you can clarify this for me, it would be wonderful
In any case, thanks a lot, once again, for sharing your summaries and the rest.
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SEAMaiden reply on February 6th, 2008 12:25 pm:
Kinda thinking that perhaps the Rans are the guardians of the Hyou shrine. Nobody would wanna go near that holy shrine unless permitted by the Hyous, and the Rans got that green light. Ryuuren once hinted in the 1st season that he thought his flute is to chase away ghosts, not attract them. ‘Supernatural’ would be the right word to describe the Hyou shrine & only Ryuuren’s chasing-ghosts-away talent can live up to it.
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charmian reply on February 6th, 2008 12:29 pm:
Yeah, it is very vague. No, it’s never really made explicit. The supernatural powers stuff is just not very well explained at all.
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