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6/26/2025, 3:43:16 PM
>>49623442
On the topic of "Utopia" - while most of what's described in the linked archived post looks to be intentional kanji-play, your observations with 郷 are basically just drawing parallels between a cluster of worlds with similar meanings. To a japanese native, those similarities are too obvious and straightforward to make it any sort of wordplay - the 郷 at the end is just "-land" with these terms, really. Though 理想郷 really does go well as a foil to 幻想郷, doesn't it? It puts more emphasis on the "ideal" rather than the illusionary and fantastical. It's almost surprising ZUN's never played with those two words.
On the topic of the future blondie - true, they're either fulu talismans or ofuda. I presume they're ofuda, because she's a shrine maiden, haha. Both can be yellow with red writing. By the way, all three seem to have the same writing - compare the top part of each one. Parsing them yourself from the ground up with no specialized knowledge is a tall order, especially if you assume they're fulu papers - they vary from sect to sect, often contain non-hanzi and are best to just compare to well-known existing patterns, like here http://www.gujicanglan.com/895.html. If they're ofuda, which they most likely are, ZUN may have invented his own. I doubt that, and also doubt that he drew up something random to resemble a talisman, but I wouldn't really be discounting that either. Tough.
As for the writing on the stone, the first one looks a lot like stylized 神, doesn't it? Though the only 神〇川 I can think of is Kanagawa, which... Would that make any sense? Seems random.
By the way, the talisman isn't going to have kana on it. The stone might, though.
On the topic of "Utopia" - while most of what's described in the linked archived post looks to be intentional kanji-play, your observations with 郷 are basically just drawing parallels between a cluster of worlds with similar meanings. To a japanese native, those similarities are too obvious and straightforward to make it any sort of wordplay - the 郷 at the end is just "-land" with these terms, really. Though 理想郷 really does go well as a foil to 幻想郷, doesn't it? It puts more emphasis on the "ideal" rather than the illusionary and fantastical. It's almost surprising ZUN's never played with those two words.
On the topic of the future blondie - true, they're either fulu talismans or ofuda. I presume they're ofuda, because she's a shrine maiden, haha. Both can be yellow with red writing. By the way, all three seem to have the same writing - compare the top part of each one. Parsing them yourself from the ground up with no specialized knowledge is a tall order, especially if you assume they're fulu papers - they vary from sect to sect, often contain non-hanzi and are best to just compare to well-known existing patterns, like here http://www.gujicanglan.com/895.html. If they're ofuda, which they most likely are, ZUN may have invented his own. I doubt that, and also doubt that he drew up something random to resemble a talisman, but I wouldn't really be discounting that either. Tough.
As for the writing on the stone, the first one looks a lot like stylized 神, doesn't it? Though the only 神〇川 I can think of is Kanagawa, which... Would that make any sense? Seems random.
By the way, the talisman isn't going to have kana on it. The stone might, though.
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