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larryhammerSo at the end of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, before Kaguya-hime is repatriated to the moon she leaves the Emperor, who'd been a suitor, a letter and some of the elixir of life. Declaring that if he can't have her, he doesn't want to live forever, the Emperor burns the letter and elixir -- or more precisely, has them burnt -- on a high mountain so that the smoke and vapor will rise up to reach her in heaven as a sort of lover's last message. Or at any rate, he'd be rid of it. In some versions of the story, this is the origin of the smoke rising from Mt. Fuji's caldera.
To which I can only go -- wait, what now?
Not that the emperor abjures the stuff -- that works just fine, in narrative terms. It's just, the method seems ... chancy. Even if you assume the order was carried out to the letter, can an elixir of life really be disposed of that way? Can a bonfire loft smoke all the way to the heavens? Can a mortal fire destroy an immortal elixir? If it can, would the results be non-toxic?
So, so many holes in this story.
[Poll #1760654]
---L.
To which I can only go -- wait, what now?
Not that the emperor abjures the stuff -- that works just fine, in narrative terms. It's just, the method seems ... chancy. Even if you assume the order was carried out to the letter, can an elixir of life really be disposed of that way? Can a bonfire loft smoke all the way to the heavens? Can a mortal fire destroy an immortal elixir? If it can, would the results be non-toxic?
So, so many holes in this story.
[Poll #1760654]
---L.
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no subject
Date: 10 July 2011 09:27 pm (UTC)And I don't know whether what happened is that Kagura smelled the smoke, realized the Emperor would die, and her feather-robe fell apart, or whether it was all caused by the elixir being on the earth, or both--but obviously the problem is that she remembered her love for earth and has spent centuries in IMMORTAL AGONY.
(Or she tried to kill herself but the elixir being on earth bound her somehow so it's been centuries of UNDEAD AGONY.)
So there must be some sort of moon-powered plot to reassemble the feather-robe and give her peace. And the heroine, who is Kagura reborn or Kagura given amnesia or is connected to Kagura in some other way (or is the Emperor's long-lost descendant?)--and obviously also goes to the same high school as the hottie scion of the elixir-wielding family--must complete the task for some desperate reason. With Mad!for!REVENGE! Kagura making guest appearances as a ghost/alternate personality/vision because she's been forced into eternal sleep and can only affect people through dreams.
Cue magical girl plot-coupon quest, where the sting is that if she ever completes her task, she will forget everyone she ever loved. Or she's forgetting a little more each time she finds a feather. (Like Tsubasa RC in reverse!) Cue ANGST, except for when they all go to the hot springs.
no subject
Date: 10 July 2011 09:31 pm (UTC)(Tho' I'd rather see Reiko Shimizu's take on the same plot.)
---L.
no subject
Date: 10 July 2011 09:40 pm (UTC)I've never read anything by Reiko Shimizu, so maybe I should check her out!
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Date: 10 July 2011 11:29 pm (UTC)---L.
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Date: 10 July 2011 10:13 pm (UTC)Someday I will learn to tell the difference between "Kagura" and "Kaguya," but evidently not today....
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Date: 10 July 2011 10:27 pm (UTC)---L.
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Date: 10 July 2011 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 10 July 2011 11:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 11 July 2011 04:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 11 July 2011 04:48 am (UTC)---L.
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Date: 11 July 2011 06:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 11 July 2011 01:48 pm (UTC)sometimes I am absurdly literal-minded
Date: 11 July 2011 11:51 am (UTC)I dunno, I tend to think that Kaguya-hime saw the smoke but, having been brainwashed into being an affectless immortal moon person, didn't give a damn. BUT I would be happy to read a version of the story in which the smoke convinces her to return to Earth & be badass again!
B/c it's not really 'her' elixir, it's just some elixir she obtained for the emperor.
Re: sometimes I am absurdly literal-minded
Date: 11 July 2011 01:52 pm (UTC)"Hers" from the point of view of the earthlings, though. (I was always a little vague on how she happened to have it, I admit.)
---L.
Re: sometimes I am absurdly literal-minded
Date: 11 July 2011 01:56 pm (UTC)Good to know!
In the text we read, and I have no idea about its provenance (part of the problem with TTM, as you know L, is the centuries-long gap between composition and being written down), she got it from the moon-king. The logic of why he allowed her to do so, we weren't quite clear on, since a few lines earlier, as you know L, he prevents her from sneaking some to her earth parents. There are clearly a lot of gaps in this story, you are right!
Re: sometimes I am absurdly literal-minded
Date: 11 July 2011 02:03 pm (UTC)---L.
Re: sometimes I am absurdly literal-minded
Date: 11 July 2011 02:07 pm (UTC)Apparently the textual tradition is not good (lots of mss, no clear authoritative lineage), and TTM is less popular than the Heian greatest hits, so no crackerjack editor has really undertaken to put together an authoritative recension.
Re: sometimes I am absurdly literal-minded
Date: 11 July 2011 02:37 pm (UTC):-(