So this has been vexing me for a while, since Amami rabbits are the only real wild rabbits of Japan and not only are they fucking endangered but also only live on two very far away islands south-west of the mainland. But I want to mention them in my fic and I was going a little fucking insane figuring out how or if at all.
Well, now that I've figured out the handwave-y way I'm going to explain seafaring rabbits and the unpredictability of where tf they hit shore, along with a quick hit of inspiration, I found a way and I'm excited!
So, if you want to avoid spoilers for the future fic, my rant is under the cut.
I want the crew of Tharnhain (name of the impromptu Hlessi Warren) to stumble upon the island of Amami and get captured by the local warren.
Their leader? Fujirah, Queen of the Ancients.
Fujirah is not actually named after the mountain Fuji, that's not relevant to her.
No, she is named after wisterias, the Japanese name for them being, you guessed it, Fuji (藤)
Her owsla mostly contains female rabbits, though there is one male that is on par with the other female owsla, as he is of similar size and build of the females.
The male's name is Ebine (エビネ), after the local orchid species on the island.
ヒカゲヘゴ, or Hikagehego is the commander of the owsla. Most of the soldiers under her refer to her as Commander "Hikage" (日陰) , meaning "shade", as it is both faster and a bit of an affectionate nickname, since the commander is quite sharp and witty in her demeanor.
コンロンカ, or Konronka, is one of the owsla that captures the protagonists. Not sure if the kanji is correct for all of these, had a hard time finding it for her, so feel free to correct me.
Shīroo, little Shī (シイ), is a juvenile that asks them all kinds of questions from where they are and where they are going. He wants to come along, but his mother forbids him. Toying with the idea of him sneaking off to join the group anyway, but nothing concrete yet.
The Warren is named Kinsakubaru (金作原) after the forest they live in, in a similar naming scheme to the way some of the warrens are named in WD, e.g. "Watership Down" and "Sandleford Warren".
All the names are based on the Japanese names of plant life on Amami island I could find. Seems a decent number of rabbit names in Watership are based on plants, flowers, and I think there's a Lapine name is based on a dent in the grass?
Not all the names are going to be this way, not all of them are going to be in Japanese since I don't actually speak or read the language, as much as that would help. However, I wanted at least some kind of nod to the origins of the "Paradise Island", and this is what I came up with!
so viele Usakichis *-* Es war einfach einer der schönsten Tage in Japan! Ich will da wieder hin Q.Q 📷 @yasut0mo #rabbitisland #usakichi #shinkaihayato #shinkai #yowamushipedal #cosplay #japan #rabbits #Usagi #ōkunoshima (hier: Okunoshima - the Rabbit Island)
