November 20, 2005

Chapter 13 (12 Kingdoms)


The kanji 妖 (you) shows up in words like 妖精 (fairy, elf) and 妖怪 (goblin, monster). Ono uses 妖 as a prefix to refer to the supernatural creatures that inhabit the 12 Kingdoms, commonly referred to as youma (妖魔) or youjuu (妖獣). Youma is an actual word (you + "demon"). Youjuu is you + "beast."

采王 [さいおう] Royal Sai
揖寧 [ゆうねい] Yuunei, capital of Sai
長閑宮 [ちょうかんきゅう] Choukan Palace (lit. "long tranquility")
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