November 08, 2008

Chapter 2 (Pen-pals)

正寝 [せいしん] Seishin ("true sleep"); the main buildings of the Inner Palace complex (Naiden) that house the living quarters
外殿 [がいでん] Gaiden ("outer palace")
後宮 [こうきゅう] Koukyuu ("the palace at the back")
塙果 [こうか] Kouka; the ranka bearing the next kirin of Kou

Youko first meets Rakushun in chapter 35 of Shadow of the Moon, and Shin (槙) County is first mentioned in chapter 37. Shoukei complains bitterly about being given the name "Gyokuyou" in chapter 4 of A Thousand Leagues of Wind. The coronation ceremony Youko mentions takes place in chapter 7.

Era names are still used in Japan. The current era is Heisei and dates from 1989 (year 1). The era name Youko chooses is Sekiraku (赤楽), seki meaning "red" and raku being the first character in Rakushun's name.

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