blooming in the new world

navigation・・A blog providing cultural and historical info on The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles ・icon by hellostarfleet

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Hello and welcome!  Currently working through a backlog of ideas, but may take requests in the future.

My ask box is always open & anon enabled!

↬ About me: Penne・30・she/her

↬ Disclaimers - please read!

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↬ Twitter - for updates and occasional commentary

↬ Personal tumblr・may also reblog from @shooooolmes

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Every time I see you post I wish I was finished with TGAA2 already so I can read what you have to say! At some point I'm gonna finish and then just spam this whole blog in one go, probably

What a sweet thing to say!! Bring on the binge >:D How far in did you get?

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Hello world! Two things:

I'm sorry for the radio silence. In my post-TGAA fever, I set a pace for myself that I couldn't maintain. Going forward, I plan to post once a month, answering any follow-up questions as I can.

We've passed 100 followers!! Thank you all so much for reading and interacting with this blog. The feedback has been fantastic, and I'm very grateful for you all. I hope we can keep having fun together!

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I just read your post about the snake imagery in kazuma’s design and it was very cool! I always thought it was an interesting decision to make it look like he was vacuum sealed into his jacket, but the way the fit makes the lines sort of curve in and out are very reminiscent of the muscles of a snake’s belly.

Referring to this post (GAA2 spoilers within)

That's a great observation, anon! And a great explanation for the form-fittingness of it all. The horizontal straps and tight fit definitely remind me of a snake's belly too, now that I look again.

[xachyn]

DGS/DGS 2 Timeline

I made myself a timeline of the events in DGS/DGS for reference, but you can use it too. Expect ALL of the spoilers under cut

Keep reading

[torestoreamends]

Shattered

1.6k words, G rated

Kazuma corners Gregson aboard the SS Grouse, determined to extract the truth of what happened ten years ago around his father's conviction.

Note: I've always loved the connection between the breaking of Karuma and the breaking of Kazuma's spirit. This was particularly inspired by @dance-of-deduction's brilliant Kazuma meta.

Read the fic on AO3

*

The mirror above the wash basin in the Dunkirk boarding house’s cheapest room is cracked. Kazuma stares at his reflection, and a dozen fractal shards of himself stare back. It’s as if he’s looking simultaneously at every disparate identity he’s held over the past twelve months.

Student. Attorney. Partner. Corpse. Deck hand. Apprentice. Assassin.

He braces his hands against the cold porcelain of the basin edge, head bowed, teeth gritted; eyes closed so he doesn’t have to face himself anymore.

Everything was so much easier when his mind was blank. When he was guided by nothing but the anonymous voice. But now the voice is gone. Now he has to find his own path.

The seal is broken. His memories have returned. And he’ll never be whole again.

*

The cabin was functionally identical to the one in which Kazuma died. He may not have quite remembered everything, but he remembered that. The bed, the wardrobe, the shelf of books, the rules of passage. The sudden familiarity of it spiked so sharply through his mind that he froze for a moment in the doorway.

Gregson – the mark – glanced back at him. “Everythin’ alright?” As gruff as his voice was, Kazuma knew it was an earnest question. He cared, in his way. Which jarred. All these people, the people who killed his father. They were so human. Kind, even.

He nodded at Gregson. Months of not speaking had taught him that sometimes saying nothing was the safest course of action. Words, no matter how carefully crafted or delivered, could give so much away.

“Very good. Well.” Gregson folded his arms. “The mark’s not due back from dinner for another twenty minutes or so, so I suppose we should make ourselves comfortable. Just a shame there’s no tea, eh? A spot o’ tea would do just the trick after that journey.” He laughed, but it wasn’t a real laugh. It was a sound to fill what would otherwise have been a horrible silence before a horrible deed. Apparently ten years hadn’t been enough for him to become used to this.

Kazuma gave an amused hum, which seemed to be the minimum response required of him.

“These ship cabins get fancier every day,” Gregson went on. “Most of the hotels in London aren’t this nice.” He turned his back on Kazuma and wandered away across the room to inspect the wardrobe.

Kazuma’s stomach twisted.

This was it. His chance.

He clenched his fists tight to try to hide the tremble of his hands from himself. A year ago he was so good at projected confidence he could fool even himself, but somewhere along the way he must have lost that ability along with everything else.

He turned back to the closed cabin door and slid the bolt silently home. Trapping them together. Neither of them would leave until he knew the truth.

“I heard a story about a man stowing away inside one of these wardrobes,” the inspector laughed. “Must have been bloody uncomfortable. All that time at sea, trapped in— Hang on, what do you think you’re doin’?”

Kazuma drew his family’s sword. That at least he could do unwaveringly.

The inspector’s gaze flickered from the flawless, ancient blade to the bolted cabin door. He sighed. “We were never here for Jigoku, were we?”

Kazuma resettled his grip on the sword and shook his head.

The inspector bowed his head. “Right, I see… You’re that Asogi’s young lad, are you? I recognise the sword. He used to walk around London with that thing strapped to his hip.”

“Karuma,” Kazuma said softly. “Its name is Karuma.” It mattered, for some reason. As if somehow respect for the blade would somehow translate into respect for his father. For himself.

“And what?” The inspector eyed him. Wary, but not afraid. Almost as if he’d expected something like this. “You’re gonna cut me down with that thing, is that it?”

“That very much depends on the answers you give to my questions. I want to know what really happened ten years ago. The truth. That’s all.”

The inspector looked away from him. A long, heavy silence filled the cabin.

All Kazuma’s nerves had deserted him. From the day that letter about his father arrived from England, his whole life had led him to this moment, in this room. There was nothing left but focus. Purpose. His desire for answers. His desire for— “Before we get into it,” the inspector said, “let me make one thing clear.”

Kazuma narrowed his eyes.

“I still believe your father was the Professor. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

“But?” Kazuma prompted.

The inspector put his hands into his pockets and sighed. There was something almost… sad… about his expression. “But. Unfortunately back then… we didn’t have the evidence we needed to make the crime stick.”

Something white hot and acidic burned in Kazuma’s throat. He swallowed hard and tightened his grip on Karuma. The whole world narrowed to one fine point, darkness obscuring everything but the inspector’s face. The regret in his eyes.

“So… you admit it then?” The words were low and menacing. He had never heard himself sound quite like that before. It reminded him of the Reaper – a man with the will and capability to exact the cruellest of retribution. It disgusted him. And yet… “The evidence used in my father’s trial was fabricated?”

The inspector bowed his head. “It was for the good o’ the country. Anyway… I was just followin’ orders.”

“Orders? What exactly did you do?”

The inspector looked away, and the bubble of heat inside Kazuma exploded, sending a wave of pure fury crashing through him.

Some barely remembered part of himself screamed. A counterpoint to the rush of anger. The scream of someone lost, searching desperately for help. But Kazuma Asogi was so good at being lost after all these months that he hardly knew anymore how it felt to be found.

“Speak!” He roared.

The inspector didn’t even blink. “I’m not sayin’ another word.”

“Even if your life depends on it?”

The inspector nodded. “That’s right. Even then.”

Kazuma raised the sword high, blazing at the inspector – the mark.

All along he’d told himself he just wanted the truth; that he would never kill. But that was before. Before he forgot. Before he remembered. Before the seal was broken.

In the absence of truth, revenge would do.

Nothing remained in the world but the sword in his hand and the heart of the mark. His target.

He narrowed his eyes. Gritted his teeth. Tightened his shoulders. He was a snake preparing to strike.

Palms, clammy against Karuma’s grip. Breath, desperate, angry snatches. Ears, ringing with the same scream from earlier. Except in the instant before he struck, when it was too late to stop, he realised he’d misunderstood that scream.

It wasn’t the cry of someone lost. It was a shout of warning. Calling him back from the edge before he fell.

And it wasn’t his voice. It was Ryunosuke’s.

He swung the sword.

A scream tore through the cabin. Scorched his throat.

There was a horrible shattering grate of metal on metal. Pain jarred his wrists and arms. The delicate spiderweb of fractures that had run across his soul when his memories returned the other night cracked irreparably. And he shattered.

The soul of the Asogi clan shattered.

*

He sits on the edge of the lumpy bed in the boarding house and stares down at Karuma’s broken tip. The beautiful, storied blade handed down to him from generations of warriors, ruined. By his hand.

All its nobility is gone. It looks so much smaller now. Small and broken, just like him.

He came here with a mission. He was supposed to find the truth and avenge his father. But he’s failed utterly to do either. Inspector Gregson was right in front of him, and still he couldn’t see it through.

He is a failure. He hardly deserves to carry the Asogi name, let alone its legacy.

The Kazuma who was worthy of it; who was brave and determined and knew who he was is gone. Twice now he’s died in a tiny cabin on a steamship bound for London. All that’s left is an empty shell, haunted by the demons of a past he barely remembers.

And that’s why Karuma is broken. If he is the last remaining remnant of the Asogi clan then of course it is. Karuma is their will, their soul, their spirit. And Kazuma is nothing but a lost boy far from home. His will and spirit crushed to dust.

He sheathes the damaged sword so he doesn’t have to look at it anymore, and places it on the bed beside him. Then he sits and stares down at his hands as choking hot tears rise in his throat and prickle his eyes.

It’s been years since he cried. Even when Yujin Mikotoba told him his father had fallen ill and died on British soil. Even when he said goodbye to his mother. The only thing he felt was raw numbness. But now… All because of a stupid broken sword.

Except it’s not just the sword, whispers the kind, familiar voice inside him that he now recognises as belonging to Ryunosuke Naruhodo. It’s everything.

Everything.

The loss of his father, his mother, his belief in truth and justice, his memories, his dreams, his whole entire self.

It’s okay, Ryunosuke’s voice murmurs. You can let go now. You won’t fall.

Kazuma closes his eyes.

Later, he will sleep. Later, he will gather his strength to return to London and learn how to fight again. Later, he will discover that the will of the Asogi clan is still alive in haikus and secrets and scarlet ink.

But for now, he clenches his fingers in his hair, hangs his head, and sobs.

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I've been called out, so I've got to respond publicly! This weekend, take a break from history with Philippa's great writing.

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Follow-up question : I probably should've included this with the first question.

Since we talked about crests in japan and reading through your answer I remembered that British characters in the game also had the tendency to include a sort of symbol on their clothes and/or on their items, etc...So I was wondering if that was a thing at the time or if it's just the artists' choice.

(All of this talk about crests is making me consider designing one for myself for fun, you could say I've been absorbing the game's aesthetics and mood too much haha)

Thanks again!

(Referring to this ask)

For starters, I think it's very cool that you want to design your own, I say go for it!! I'd love to see it if you do. I haven't stopped thinking about the games since I beat them in February, so you're not alone there.

Second, when looking into this, my mind went to heraldry – the system of coats of arms and crests that was used in Europe - because those were symbols that showed one's heritage, like kamon (family crests). But I couldn't find any evidence to suggest that wearing a crest, coat of arms, or any other distinguishing symbol on clothing was a regular practice in Victorian England. By this era, heraldry was mostly used to decorate personal belongings and the home, paraded as a symbol of status regardless of whether a person could actually lay claim to that symbol's heritage. Someone tell me if I'm missing something, though!

(In editing this, I realized that pretty much everything after this point does nothing to answer your question...but you might find it interesting! It feels like a waste to cut, but feel free to stop reading here if you already got the answer you were looking for.)

Like kamon, heraldry was originally a way to distinguish friend from foe on the battlefield, but later evolved into a complex system that illustrated one's family history, as well as one’s place in the family. For example, a fleur-de-lis on a coat of arms meant that the bearer was the sixth son.

[All image IDs are in alt text]

[source]

Know who uses a fleur-de-lis as a cravat pin?

New headcanon acquired, lol. But more importantly, the first symbol is the van Zieks family crest, which you can also see on his shoulder patch and belt buckle. See this post for more interesting analysis on the fleur-de-lis as it relates to Barok.

Whereas the Japanese characters' outfits are very historically accurate, the British characters' outfits are more concerned with evoking a certain mood, or representing an aspect of the character themselves. Art director Kazuya Nuri said that he tried to keep the Japanese characters' designs grounded in reality, as opposed to Herlock, who was deliberately designed with non-Victorian elements:

In order to clearly express the era in which the game is set, I gave Ryunosuke and Susato looks that were typical of Japanese students from the Meiji era. (…) However, I was careful to balance the flashy characteristic flares I gave to them in order to preserve that more grounded feeling I was going for.

(...)

On top of that, I wanted to add some steampunk flavor to Sholmes and all things related to him. I gave him an outfit that is, at once, anachronistic, and a benchmark for the fantastical elements of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (it’s only one of the many fanciful things about the world in this game). [source]

And in another interview, he said this about Iris:

Her keywords were “girl genius”, which invoked images of a gothic appearance and the idea of a mad scientist. Slightly psychedelic elements. Her design might be a bit beyond her time. I made sure that the items she has with her form a pair with those of Holmes. [source]

In the in-game design notes, Nuri also mentions that Herlock's and Iris's symbols are meant to represent their relationship, with the gear (Herlock) surrounding and protecting the flower (Iris).

van Zieks’s design is an interesting combination of fantastic and realistic, inspired by vampires and werewolves, but also British military attire. And in fact, military uniforms bore the closest thing I could find to crest-like symbols. Each regiment had a unique insignia that could be found on on one’s helmet or cap, as a collar badge, on buttons, on the shoulder, or on a belt buckle. So in that sense, Barok's family crest belt buckle isn't totally fanciful; it could be a product of the military inspiration in his design.

Insignia designs varied greatly depending on division and the era, but the most recurring single visual motif was of a crown - a king's or a queen's, depending on the current monarch. Below is an example taken from the Household Cavalry uniform:

If anyone is interested in seeing more examples of insignias, or in exploring the world of British military uniforms, Uniformology is a fantastic resource. Not only is it incredibly comprehensive, but you can also contact the site owner if you have any difficult-to-answer questions. I've also included a couple links at the very end to more info on heraldry that might come in handy as you design your own symbol.

Thank you for asking - I hope that decently answers your question! If not, or if you have any follow-up questions, I encourage you and anyone else to ask any time.

Sources and Further Reading

A beginner's guide to heraldry | English Heritage

Heraldry Symbols and What They Mean - Hall of Names

The Social and Cultural Significance of Victorian Heraldry

TGAA character design commentary

[hikari-kaitou]

Meta- Van Zieks and the Fleur-de-lis: Why It’s the Perfect Symbol for Him

My English major disease is acting up again, so it’s time for more meta!

**MAJOR DGS2 ENDGAME SPOILERS AHEAD**

Keep reading

[freakcliff]

At Last, the Long-Awaited Survey Results

IDK how long it’s been but i’ve got them! Finally! Graphs! Thanks so much to every person who responded and shared my survey! This will get Very Long so I’m gonna put most of it under a cut. Last thing before we start, this took me quite a while to get together so reblogs and stuff are very appreciated, and feel free to share this on whatever social media you want <3

Starting disclaimer:

please don’t take this data as 100% accurate, since forms are so very subjective. Things that possibly negatively affected my data include:

Multiple people mentioned choosing things on a whim because they couldn’t choose

People used the other options to pick more than one option (using other to answer ‘apollo and trucy’ on favorite character instead of checking one or the other)

People used the other option to give a vague answer that I either didn’t count, or tried my best to count in one of the categories (ex: people saying they joined the fandom ‘when they were a kid’ with no indication as to when it was that they were a kid)

I had responses on anonymous, so it’s entirely possible that some people answered multiple times

Sometimes my counting of data isn’t 100% exact

Among many other types of bias that affect every survey 

With that! Onto the results! In a reblog of this post (because tumblr is a Website), I will be linking a google sheet with all the charts that I’m gonna show here, but much easier to see and interact with (click on parts to see specific numbers), along with the individual results of the survey (with the free-response question at the end omitted). I’ll also have a google doc with basically everything in this post to view that way and/or share around. You can use those to do any of the data collection you want! If you do, I would love to see it :D

Sort of Demographics:

Note, this section isn’t a huge insight into the fandom as much as it is general demographics of what people in the fandom were taking this form. I’m sure that if I had surveyed mostly Reddit users, I’d have gotten very different results. However, this does give us some fun insight into what the makeup of the specific part of the fandom I surveyed is.

ID/Transcript: a bar graph titled “Content People Consume”. It shows:

750 People read fanfic

996 People look at fanart

489 People watch animatics

477 People read meta or fan theories

59 People consume some other type of AA fan content 

ID/Ta bar graph titled “Content People Create”. It shows:

692 People are not active content creators

195 People are fanartists 

168 People are fanfic writers

50 People create some other type of AA fan content

In bar graph format vs pie chart because this was a multiple choice question― a good deal of people consume or create different types of content. I myself am an artist and a maker of spreadsheets collecting large quantities of data on 20-year-old video games about lawyers. 

Possible inaccuracies in this graph include

Many people answered that they were both inactive content creators and also that they created content either on occasion or in the past, or that they made content but didn’t share it. Each person chose their own way to answer the question in regards to that dilemma, and I did my best to make the data more cohesive, but I can only do so much

About half the people who answered ‘other’ on the content people consume list mentioned that they liked reading analysis or something to that effect, which was what I meant when I said ‘meta/theories’, but the people who took this form and I don’t have a psychic link to my respondents, so it was lost in translation

Keep reading

[freakcliff]

google doc ; spreadsheet with results

[hikari-kaitou]

Ryuunosuke’s Daruma Doll (Meta)

This is a really small, fairly unimportant detail, but I noticed some things I wanted to point out... There are about 10-16 different, distinct types of Daruma doll in Japan, depending on who you ask.

Ryuunosuke’s seems to be a Takasaki Daruma produced in Gunma Prefecture (about 126 km/80 miles northwest of Tokyo). Takasaki is a city that makes about 80% of the nation's Daruma dolls. The character in the center, which in this case is the first character of Naruhodou, is usually an indication of what wish the buyer had in mind when they purchased the doll (you may remember that Susato filled in the Daruma's blank eye when Ryuunosuke became an accomplished attorney).

Incidentally, the character there, 成, can mean "to become/attain/achieve", so it could be a convenient wordplay that it also happens to be the first character of his name and not necessarily an indication that it was customized, but for what it's worth, I looked through a bunch of Google images and didn't see any with that character on it, even when I entered "だるま 成" as a specific search term. They tend to have "blessings", "victory," "passing an exam," or "happiness" on them instead.

The fact that it came from pretty far away and appears to be customized seems to support the possibility that Ryuu might come from a well-to-do family. It is worth noting, however, that he considers it his most important possession, which could indicate that it was a bit of a splurge. His reasoning doesn't seem to be sentimental, in any case, because he got a little defensive when Sherlock picked on him for choosing it as his most important possession.

[tcheschire]

@dance-of-deduction

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#4 - Serpents, Sparrows, and the Samurai on a Mission

Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for all of TGAA2

This one is hard to summarize without massive spoilers, but today we'll be exploring some neat symbolism. At least I think you'll think it's neat. Trust in me and take the plunge!

🌸 Reblogs appreciated! 🌸

In the TGAA2 artbook, art director Kazuya Nuri says he wanted to evoke the image of a snake with Kazuma’s new design, so I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the symbolism surrounding snakes in Japan. As for sparrows, they receive one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mention in G2-4 that nevertheless yielded some pretty interesting results once I dug in.

I'll start with a tidbit that I couldn't fit in anywhere else: Kazuma's new white outfit was meant to contrast with his black uniform. White was also the color of mourning in Japan until the Meiji Era, when Western influence introduced the custom of black funeral wear. Before this, though, both the mourners and the dead would dress in white.

Snakes

Throughout Japan’s history, snakes have been viewed as powerful beings that can bestow blessings if respected, and retaliate harshly if harmed. Snakes have been revered as kami (神, Shinto spirits), or as the messengers of kami. Snakes are one of the most common animals revered as kami, and they are associated with prosperity, health, and protection. Kazuma’s design is specifically meant to invoke a white snake, and the Buddhist goddess Benzaiten is believed to have a white serpent as a messenger. Also known as Benten, she is the patron goddess of literature, music, poetry, wealth, and in Japan, she is associated with snakes and dragons. To this day, Iwakuni is famous for its high rate of albino Japanese rat snakes, which are believed to bring good luck and protection to one’s home.

On the other hand, snakes were also believed to bring disaster if harmed. A disturbed snake might retaliate by causing harm to the offender. Disturbing a snake could even put one’s family or village at risk. This taboo extended even to venomous snakes; many would avoid killing them to avoid their wrath. 

One of the most famous noh plays, Dōjō-ji Temple, shows a snake’s capacity for vengeance. Nuri says he played with noh and kabuki elements when deciding on Kazuma’s redesign - which makes sense, because noh masks are a crucial element of portraying a character. In the play's climax, a woman who'd been betrayed transforms into a giant, venomous snake. She burns down the titular temple's bell with the flames of her rage. In some versions she escapes in the end or is exorcised, but some renditions end with the snake burning along with the temple bell, consumed by her own fury.

Sound like someone we know?

Nuri described Kazuma changing from his old school uniform to his prosecutor's suit like shedding an old skin. One word for a snake’s old skin, nukegara (抜け殻), can also refer to someone who’s become an empty shell or a shadow of their former selves.

This last tidbit isn’t quite as dramatic, but I still think it’s interesting. As seen in this post, Kazuma’s family crest (kamon, 家紋) is made of three snake’s eyes (ja no me, 蛇の目) and three swords. You can find more variations in the following crests here. The snake-eye motif is also believed to have originally represented a bowstring holder (tsurumaki, 鶴巻), and archery is one of Ryunosuke’s hobbies.

Sparrows

In case G2-4, when you inspect a corner on the right-hand side of the prosecutor’s office, you unleash a bunch of bats that made me jump, and then we get this dialogue:

Kazuma: You disturbed the bats, did you? Fitting companions of Lord van Zieks, wouldn't you say?

Ryunosuke: Actually…I've seen things flying in Lord Stronghart's office, too. Doves, I think.

Kazuma: Perhaps you have to like birds to attain rank in the judiciary here… Although bats aren't birds, of course.

Ryunosuke: …How about a sparrow for you?

Kazuma: What's that supposed to mean?

Ryunosuke: Oh! Nothing. Sorry. Just thinking out loud...

I was pretty darn surprised to see Ryunosuke’s choice of bird here. The tree sparrow (雀, suzume) is a common non-migratory bird that’s found all over Japan. They aren’t associated with any particular season in literature, and I wasn’t able to find any concrete symbolism for them. 

What I did find is that they feature a famous folk story, “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow” (舌切り雀, shita-kiri suzume). We’ve talked a bit about how, in the Meiji Era, contact with other countries prompted Japan to adopt ideas from the West. At the same time, people outside Japan now wanted to learn about it, and tourists began to visit the country. In response, Japan began to produce souvenirs for these visitors to take back home with them: photographs, paintings, woodblock print illustrations, and books of old folk tales like “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow”. This particular variety of souvenir, called chirimen-bon (縮緬紙, crepe-paper book), were translated into English and other languages, produced for the rest of the world to consume. Production of chirimen-bon was especially high in the mid-Meiji period. “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow” was translated into English and published in 1885, and you can download it here to read.

It tells the story of an elderly couple, a kind man and a woman with a fierce temper. The man kept a sparrow as a pet and doted on it, while the woman saw it as a waste of food. One day, the sparrow ate some starch she had been planning to use on their laundry. In retaliation, the woman cut out the sparrow's tongue, and the sparrow flew away. When he found out, the old man left in search of his wounded friend.

Days later, he finally found the sparrow. To reward the old man, it offered him one of two baskets, one heavy and one light. The old man chose the lighter basket because it would be easier to carry, and said farewell to the sparrow. When he returned home and opened the basket, he found it to be filled with treasure. Thinking that the other basket must be worth even more, the old woman went off in search of the sparrow. It made her the same offer, but when she chose the heavier basket and looked inside, it was filled with demons - or in some versions of the story, snakes and other venomous creatures. In some renditions, the old woman is killed, while in others, she learns the error of her ways and goes home a changed person.

No matter the ending, though, it remains a cautionary tale about the dangers of greed and anger, as well as the rewards of loyalty and friendship. I can't say for certain if this is the message Ryunosuke was trying to convey to Kazuma, but it's interesting to think about in light of Kazuma's self-destructive mission to avenge his father, and Ryunosuke and Susato's attempts to dissuade him.

And there you have it! Questions? Comments? Feedback? Just want to say hey? Send me an ask me any time!

Sources

Endangered Traditional Beliefs in Japan: Influences on Snake Conservation

Benten | Japanese mythology | Britannica

Shitakiri Suzume, Tongue Cut Sparrow, Japanese Fairy Tale #2, Books Published by T. Hasegawa, Tokyo, Japan

Kazuma's TGAA2 character design commentary @ 8:43

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One thing that I love about DGS/TGAA is going into historical deep dives on Meiji Era Japan/Late Victorian Era London! This blog is so amazing and I'm learning so much more than searching blindly on my own! Thank you so much for sharing your hard work, you are absolutely amazing!!! :D

Thank you, you and everyone else here are the amazing ones! History is fascinating and fun and I'm glad so many of us can enjoy it through these games. I was going to make a separate post for this, but please allow me to go off on your ask a lil bit and get sappy:

I'm kinda blown away by the reception this project has gotten so far! I can't express how much every single like, reblog, tag, and ask means to me. I read and re-read them all and am just...so so appreciative that y'all have taken the time to read my silly little words at all, let alone find them helpful.

It's been a blast contributing to a fandom like this. I've dabbled in fanfic and fan translating before, but I'd always get burnt out quickly. I suppose TGAA is just so rich in loving detail that it can even inspire someone like me, hehe. Seriously though, these games are something special, and I love that so many people recognize that. I think it's part of the reason why this has been so fun and rewarding. I may or may not be brainstorming ideas for a follower milestone celebration...something interactive, mayhaps...more importantly, here, have my heartfelt appreciation one more time.

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Hello! 👋 I wanted to say that your posts are getting more and more interesting!

Thinking about it anf thanks to your research I realized how much thought really went into the game with details that many people would easily miss like the significance of family crests.

Talking about crests I actually have a small question : Historically speaking, was having your family's crest on your clothes an actual thing in Japan at the time?

Thank you so much for your efforts, looking forward to your future posts! 😁

(Spoilers for TGAA2 within!)

First of all, thank you for the kind ask!! It's really nice to hear you're enjoying all the details the game has to offer. That's part of the reason I wanted to do this - to extend my enjoyment of the game by unpacking as much detail as I can, and to hopefully do the same for others. That post I reblogged was very helpful to me too, and I'm glad I could add to it a little.

To answer your question: yes! People did indeed wear their kamon (家紋, family crests) on their clothing, most commonly on their chest, sleeves, and back. But they weren't a common part of everyday clothing, perhaps because the process required detailed work that only certain craftsmen could do. Yujin's outfit in particular is a very formal getup know as a montsuki haori hakama. Montsuki = crest-bearing, haori = jacket, and hakama = the trouser-like garment he and Susato wear.

(Photo from here)

However, I couldn't find any hakama with a crest on them like Susato's. Men's hakama are either solid or pinstriped, while women's are either solid or ombre. While they were sometimes embroidered, it doesn't look like crests were used to decorate them.

Auchi's upper-body garment, known as a kataginu, was one part of formal attire for samurai that also often featured crests. Auchi's has the kanji for the A in his name (亜) where a crest would normally go.

And here's a real kataginu for comparison. That white circle in the middle is the crest on the back:

(Source)

A super-brief summary of crests (mon, 紋): the practice started somewhere around the 12th century, used only by the aristocracy at first. Warriors soon realized that they were useful for distinguishing between clans on the battlefield, so they adopted the practice to mark their banners, tents, and clothing. The practice was restricted to samurai and aristocracy for a long time, but by the Tokugawa Era, even ordinary citizens could adopt crests. In addition to clothing, crests could also be found inside the home, on storefronts, carriages, personal belongings, and tombstones.

In terms of fashion, the Meiji Era was an interesting one. People easily switched between Western and traditional attire, wearing suits one day and and kimono the next. As more people adopted Western fashion, crest-bearing outfits became less common. I don't know how historically accurate this is, but suit!Yujin wears his crest as a tie clip, which I think is very cool of him:

To close on a nice fun angsty thought: people could also wear the crests of their employers or patrons. We know that Yujin took Kazuma in after Genshin's death, so even though Kazuma is from a samurai family with its own crest, he may have had the option to wear the Mikotoba crest.

Hit me with follow-up questions any time!

Other Sources

Enchanting Edo: Craftsmen strive to protect 'kamon' family crest for modern Japan and world

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For someone like me who loves reading about history (especially when it's tied to my latest fandom obsession, haha), this blog is a godsend!

Everything has been such an interesting and informative read so far, I can't wait to see what's next 🌸☺️

Thanks a bunch for the kind message! It makes me so happy to hear people are enjoying this. Knowing that makes it even more fun for me, too :D

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#4 - Serpents, Sparrows, and the Samurai on a Mission

Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for all of TGAA2

This one is hard to summarize without massive spoilers, but today we'll be exploring some neat symbolism. At least I think you'll think it's neat. Trust in me and take the plunge!

🌸 Reblogs appreciated! 🌸

In the TGAA2 artbook, art director Kazuya Nuri says he wanted to evoke the image of a snake with Kazuma’s new design, so I thought it would be interesting to explore some of the symbolism surrounding snakes in Japan. As for sparrows, they receive one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mention in G2-4 that nevertheless yielded some pretty interesting results once I dug in.

I'll start with a tidbit that I couldn't fit in anywhere else: Kazuma's new white outfit was meant to contrast with his black uniform. White was also the color of mourning in Japan until the Meiji Era, when Western influence introduced the custom of black funeral wear. Before this, though, both the mourners and the dead would dress in white.

Snakes

Throughout Japan’s history, snakes have been viewed as powerful beings that can bestow blessings if respected, and retaliate harshly if harmed. Snakes have been revered as kami (神, Shinto spirits), or as the messengers of kami. Snakes are one of the most common animals revered as kami, and they are associated with prosperity, health, and protection. Kazuma’s design is specifically meant to invoke a white snake, and the Buddhist goddess Benzaiten is believed to have a white serpent as a messenger. Also known as Benten, she is the patron goddess of literature, music, poetry, wealth, and in Japan, she is associated with snakes and dragons. To this day, Iwakuni is famous for its high rate of albino Japanese rat snakes, which are believed to bring good luck and protection to one’s home.

On the other hand, snakes were also believed to bring disaster if harmed. A disturbed snake might retaliate by causing harm to the offender. Disturbing a snake could even put one’s family or village at risk. This taboo extended even to venomous snakes; many would avoid killing them to avoid their wrath. 

One of the most famous noh plays, Dōjō-ji Temple, shows a snake’s capacity for vengeance. Nuri says he played with noh and kabuki elements when deciding on Kazuma’s redesign - which makes sense, because noh masks are a crucial element of portraying a character. In the play's climax, a woman who'd been betrayed transforms into a giant, venomous snake. She burns down the titular temple's bell with the flames of her rage. In some versions she escapes in the end or is exorcised, but some renditions end with the snake burning along with the temple, consumed by her own fury.

Sound like someone we know?

Nuri described Kazuma changing from his old school uniform to his prosecutor's suit like shedding an old skin. One word for a snake’s old skin, nukegara (抜け殻), can also refer to someone who’s become an empty shell or a shadow of their former selves.

This last tidbit isn’t quite as dramatic, but I still think it’s interesting. As seen in this post, Kazuma’s family crest (kamon, 家紋) is made of three snake’s eyes (ja no me, 蛇の目) and three swords. You can find more variations in the following crests here. The snake-eye motif is also believed to have originally represented a bowstring holder (tsurumaki, 鶴巻), and archery is one of Ryunosuke’s hobbies.

Sparrows

In case G2-4, when you inspect a corner on the right-hand side of the prosecutor’s office, you unleash a bunch of bats that made me jump, and then we get this dialogue:

Kazuma: You disturbed the bats, did you? Fitting companions of Lord van Zieks, wouldn't you say?

Ryunosuke: Actually…I've seen things flying in Lord Stronghart's office, too. Doves, I think.

Kazuma: Perhaps you have to like birds to attain rank in the judiciary here… Although bats aren't birds, of course.

Ryunosuke: …How about a sparrow for you?

Kazuma: What's that supposed to mean?

Ryunosuke: Oh! Nothing. Sorry. Just thinking out loud...

I was pretty darn surprised to see Ryunosuke’s choice of bird here. The tree sparrow (雀, suzume) is a common non-migratory bird that’s found all over Japan. They aren’t associated with any particular season in literature, and I wasn’t able to find any concrete symbolism for them. 

What I did find is that they feature a famous folk story, “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow” (舌切り雀, shita-kiri suzume). We’ve talked a bit about how, in the Meiji Era, contact with other countries prompted Japan to adopt ideas from the West. At the same time, people outside Japan now wanted to learn about it, and tourists began to visit the country. In response, Japan began to produce souvenirs for these visitors to take back home with them: photographs, paintings, woodblock print illustrations, and books of old folk tales like “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow”. This particular variety of souvenir, called chirimen-bon (縮緬紙, crepe-paper book), were translated into English and other languages, produced for the rest of the world to consume. Production of chirimen-bon was especially high in the mid-Meiji period. “The Tongue-Cut Sparrow” was translated into English and published in 1885, and you can download it here to read.

It tells the story of an elderly couple, a kind man and a woman with a fierce temper. The man kept a sparrow as a pet and doted on it, while the woman saw it as a waste of food. One day, the sparrow ate some starch she had been planning to use on their laundry. In retaliation, the woman cut out the sparrow's tongue, and the sparrow flew away. When he found out, the old man left in search of his wounded friend.

Days later, he finally found the sparrow. To reward the old man, it offered him one of two baskets, one heavy and one light. The old man chose the lighter basket because it would be easier to carry, and said farewell to the sparrow. When he returned home and opened the basket, he found it to be filled with treasure. Thinking that the other basket must be worth even more, the old woman went off in search of the sparrow. It made her the same offer, but when she chose the heavier basket and looked inside, it was filled with demons - or in some versions of the story, snakes and other venomous creatures. In some renditions, the old woman is killed, while in others, she learns the error of her ways and goes home a changed person.

No matter the ending, though, it remains a cautionary tale about the dangers of greed and anger, as well as the rewards of loyalty and friendship. I can't say for certain if this is the message Ryunosuke was trying to convey to Kazuma, but it's interesting to think about in light of Kazuma's self-destructive mission to avenge his father, and Ryunosuke and Susato's attempts to dissuade him.

And there you have it! Questions? Comments? Feedback? Just want to say hey? Send me an ask me any time!

Sources

Endangered Traditional Beliefs in Japan: Influences on Snake Conservation

Benten | Japanese mythology | Britannica

Shitakiri Suzume, Tongue Cut Sparrow, Japanese Fairy Tale #2, Books Published by T. Hasegawa, Tokyo, Japan

Kazuma's TGAA2 character design commentary @ 8:43

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Susato and Asougi’s kamon

Players may have noticed that Susato and Asougi both have recurring symbols throughout their merch and outfits; namely, these:

These are known as kamon (家紋), aka family crests, which are used to identify an individual, family, clan, and more recently, businesses. These kamon are both, somewhat surprisingly —specifically in regard to Asougi’s— taken from real life kamon.

Mikotoba - 丸に細桜

The Mikotoba kamon is a modified version of the one above, with small cherry blossoms in a circle. While it’s used as a family crest in the Great Ace Attorney, it was avoided as a samurai kamon due to the fragile and fleeting nature of sakura, along with it being used for some shrines.

Asougi - 剣三つ蛇の目

The Asougi kamon is, contrary to popular belief, not a shield. It’s actually three swords and snake eyes. Snake eyes (janome) were originally known as tsurumaki, the ring that spare bowstring is wrapped around, but has been referred to as janome since the Sengoku period.

While it’s theorized that the circles may have just been simple shapes assigned meaning over time, it’s since become a kamon associated with samurai.

Fun fact: while 剣三つ is read as けんみっつ (kenmittsu) , altering the kanji sequence gives you 三剣, pronounced みつるぎ (mitsurugi)— Edgeworth’s Japanese surname. 

Thank you to ghostchibi on Twitter for helping research this!

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hi, just wanted to point smth out— doyle actually stopped writing briefly after killing sherlock off in around 1893! he only brought him back due to the general publics outcry. sorry if you knew about this though! and thank you for your blog; seeing all the context of the history dgs has is so fun!

(Referring to this post)

Noooooo you're not dumb! I could have been clearer. You're right, Doyle stopped writing Holmes stories from 1893-1901, and during that time, he kept writing historical fiction for The Strand.

I encourage you and everyone else to gently correct me as needed (and it will be needed, lol). I appreciate your messages!