A new Taika

[nightchaser]

Well, Eugene Woodbury has translated the chapters about Hourin and the Hou Ranka. It was interesting. There was a Shoku that swept away the Hou Ranka. After the Shoku the Kyo-ou asked Mt. Ho if the Ranka had been born and if it was a boy, but did not get any reply, and Mt. Ho had shut it's gates. The interesting part is that while searching for Taiki no evidence of the Hou Ranka was seen. Of course, it was much more urgent to find Taiki - but I just thought that was interesting. Let's see - Shoukei was 13 when Hourin was killed and 18 when the events of the book "Thousand Leagues of Wind" took place, and the book "The Shore in Twilight" is about a year later. So the new Houki/Hourin would be 5 years old (excluding the year spent as a Ranka more or less).

The way people move - if Houki/Hourin's parents moved to, say America or Australia would Mt. Ho ever find them? Makes you wonder.

[Tahki]

...or soething would draw them back to Honrai(Japan) like some homing instinct (thou visiting relatives) or something.

[Jinx999]

I'd prefer slightly if he'd been swept away to China or Korea or somewhere other than Japan. Just to be different.

[Niwashi2]

Only twelve kirin in the world, and three of them are Taika. Isn't that an awfully high percentage? Mt. Hou must be subject to Shoku pretty frequently.

[nightchaser]

Or maybe Shoku is used to give the kirin an experience outside the sheltered life of mt. Hou? I have to wonder if sending the Hou kirin to Japan or China would make him/her better suited to assist a king running a kingdom recovering from the murder of 1/6 of it's population. En-ou and Rokuta took over a kingdom that had gone through the same thing so that is what made me think that.

[beranda]

nightchaser

Let's see - Shoukei was 13 when Hourin was killed and 18 when the events of the book "Thousand Leagues of Wind" took place

Let me correct you a bit.
Shokei indeed was 13 when her parents were killed (we mean phisically, of course) but the events in "Thousand Leagues of Wind" (or Great distanse in the wind, whatever) take place 3! years after. That means Shokei is approximately 16-17 years old, just like Youko and Suzu.
Now, the last novel takes place a year-year and a half later. But Shokei now a sen-in just like Suzu and Youko, so all the girls are "stuck" in this age: 16-17 years old like...forever?
Yes, i also noticed this interesting piece of information (that is mentioned in Anime as well) - that Houki (in the book they mention it's a boy - how do they know, by the way? If i understand correctly, he still hasn't hatched from his ranka, as no palace opened his door to welcome a new kirin at all!) was apparently swept away by shoku in the direction of Hou through Kyou. And somewhere in the Shadow of the Moon the author mentions that this is the direction from which the Saykyaku come! That means he was swept to China.
That's why nobody who searched for Taiki in Japan could sense him - Houki supposed to be in other country altogether.
That may give a very interesting direction for another story - there's nothing so far about Saykyaku in the novels.
And yes, 3 taika among 12 kirins and now 2 taika among 12 emperors - pretty big percent i'd say. Maybe some big changes for the world of 12 kingdoms loom on the horizon?

[nightchaser]

Beranda - that is in the video. I was looking at the book. In the book Shokei is 18 when she leaves the Rikai. She is lamenting the fact that she still has two years left before she can escape from the horrors of the Rikai. So we're both right I gues

But you know, one thing that I always wondered was the fact that in the video Shokei is the tallest, then Youko, and Suzu is small. Perhaps the artists drew the correct "size" for an 18 year old but the writers wrote the script for a 16 year old...

[beranda]

nightchaser
Oh, i'm sorry, i misunderstood!
You ment that piece of information about Shokei age to get the homestead in the novel!
Yeh, i was puzzled a bit myself, as earlier in the same novel it's mentioned that 3 years passed after Chuutatsu downfall.
I think (perhaps i'm wrong) she talks about her age according to kazoe-doshi.
Let me quote mr. Woodbury translation - ch. 24 (when Rangyoku talks to Youko)

Becoming an adult meant reaching one's majority. At the age of twenty, you would receive a plot of land from the government and become an independent person. This plot was called a homestead. Those twenty years were calculated according to kazoe-doshi, meaning that you were one year old when born and counted a year older every New Year's day.

Youshi laughed. "See, there are so many ways to count your age. What a mess."

That's why, imho, Shokei's age for getting a homestead is 2 years more then her actual age (counted by her actual birthday). She's 16 years old, but by kazoe-doshi she's 18 and will recieve her homestead 2 years after (at 20)
That's how Suzu's age is calculated at the beginning of the novel, remember?

ch.10

When she turned twenty, she would get her own homestead and could leave the orphanage. The reckoning of those "twenty years" was according to customs followed since time immemorial, but according to Shoukei's age on the census, she had two more years to go.

I think word "census" and kazoe-doshi are practically the same.

At least, that's what i think.

Yes, i noticed the same thing about their height! Shokei is the tallest, then Youko and the smallest is Suzu. I'm not sure though that it's because of the age differences. (they talk all the time how they are the same age) Maybe there're some references to it in the novel later? Or it was just an artistic choice for character designers.

[Spaova]

She 100 and still with Queen sai then when to the Kei .

[sk]

(in the book they mention it's a boy - how do they know, by the way? If i understand correctly, he still hasn't hatched from his ranka, as no palace opened his door to welcome a new kirin at all!)

The Nyokai (who are born the day the Ranka ( in this case the Houka) are formed on the tree) are the only ones that know the sex of the Kirin before it is born. It's some sort of instinct they are born with. This part was covered in the Taiki books.

There are 2 sides to the Houki story.

1. In the Anime, Shoukei says mentions there's no sign of the Kirin that has been born. (which would mean, he would have gone through a SHoku in kirin form, or he's just chillin' in the Koukai hunting down some shirei)

2. In the book it says that there's no sign that Houki was ever born. (taken when he was still a ranka)

Although I'd love to find out that Houki is in Konron (China) I think the people of Mt. Hou are just waiting for Houki to pass away (if he was taken away in a Shoku) It was mentioned in Taiki's story that it's VERY rare for a Kirin that's been taken through the Shoku in "our" world to survive past age 5 because of all the Meat they would eat ( it acts as poison to them) ((baby kirin up to around the age of 5 aren't as weak to the smell of blood and etc.)) Taiki was a rare case, and thought to have survived, partly, becuase he was a "Kokki" (Black Kirin). Apperantly it's not rare that a young Kirin passes away and another one is born @ Mt. Hou before they even start their search for a king.

AND if HOuki was missing, Gyokuyou may have asked everyone to search for him too when they were searching for Taiki.

But.... you never know :p

Only twelve kirin in the world, and three of them are Taika. Isn't that an awfully high percentage? Mt. Hou must be subject to Shoku pretty frequently.

Maybe something changing in the "kingdom" world.. Shoushou(Sourin) hints at it in the last chapter of Kasho no Yume.

[tiaopiak]

I haven't read the book version yet but from the anime version the Ranka of Hou's kirin (Houka) has yet to be born, which is very surprising.

If what you say is correct and the Ranka did went to China during a shoku. It will be very disturbing why people never mentioned it at all or try to search for him/her in china. Isn't it a good idea to search for Hou's Kirin together with Taiki (which later they found)?

[mindstalk]

My impression had been that no ranka for the Hou kirin had even formed, not that it had been swept away.

[carlanox]

nightchaser

And yes, 3 taika among 12 kirins and now 2 taika among 12 emperors - pretty big percent i'd say. Maybe some big changes for the world of 12 kingdoms loom on the horizon?

Hmm, maybe Tentei is experimenting whether ppl from our world could manage as king/queen by using different system. And HE might change our world to become the second 12 kingdoms too if it is succesful...=p