#i still have like four chapters of gk to read but like FUCK.

[blondeboyfriend]

thinking about Ogata

[chibivesicle]

What is your opinion of lack of awareness of imperialism in fandoms and use of the rising sun for historical accuracy in fandom context?

Hello,

Thanks for the question.  Sorry for the slow reply, work has been busy (which is pretty much the story of my blog during COVID).  This is a pretty tough question to answer.  I have to admit that I do not interact with the GK fandom that much.  Sure, I write meta, but any one who has read my meta by this point would understand that I approach the meta from an anti-imperialist viewpoint and have spent a lot of time pointing out that the manga stirs up things that might be uncomfortable for Japanese readers. 

Now, I am not a Japanese reader, but I feel that I have the ‘advantage’ of being a North American where I have specifically learned about the treatment of Native peoples by a colonizing state as well as US foreign policy and the idea of manifest destiny.  I don’t think reading a book like “Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee” is standard reading for a 14 year old, but I read it when I was 14.  Spoiler - it is incredibly depressing and it highlights the attempts by the US government to pretty much use every tool in their power to drive Native peoples close to cultural extinction.  Therefore, I feel that my own personal development as a young person was driven by parents who thought about these things.  Currently, I see first hand the impact of 400 plus years of colonial shit on Native people due to my unique location where I have taught or mentored Dine and Pueblo students.  Again, spoiler; governmental policies and racism have fucked them over. 

Okay, but what does this have to do with Japanese colonialism and imperialist symbols in the present?

My short answer to members of the fandom making artwork/cosplay content/etc would be to NOT use the rising sun flag with the sunburst stripes.

In particular it is the use of this flag which is from Wikipedia.

Above is what was the military flag of the Imperial Army and Navy.  It means that as Japan began to pursue military conquest in East Asia and the Pacific to be just like all those European countries as well as the United States during this time period.  Therefore, all of the countries that were occupied and oppressed by Japan during this time period see this flag in particular to be a symbol of the oppression and horrible acts that were enacted on their people and countries in the name of the Imperial government and military.  Therefore, it is not surprising that everyone who was under this flag against their own will would see it to be symbol of aggression, pain, and extreme nationalism.  Anyone who pays attention to national politics in Japan, would know that this flag is used by conservative nationalists and they pretty much embrace this flag and what it refers to.  To make things more complicated, the Japanese Self-Defense Force and Navy still use these versions of the flag.

As you can see the Navy pretty much flies an almost identical flag with a slightly different shade of red depending on how good your monitor is and the ground forces tried a little more to mix it up.  But really, the JSDF has flags which are pretty much the same as their older Imperial flags.

One may argue, ‘Well since the JSDF has pretty much the same flags why does anyone care if my artwork/cosplay is historically accurate?’

It has to do with context and the symbols and things associated with this symbol.  As an American, I was surprised a how hard it is to spot a Japanese flag in Japan; I’ve been to Japan twice for work and two times for holiday.  Besides a few government buildings, and the obligatory flag on school grounds, you really don’t see the flag.  The most Japanese flag action I have seen between all four of those trips was the ferry dock from Miyajima back to the mainland.

Compare that to the States where people are [almost] obsessed with flying the flag.  I lived in Canada for 5 years and I can tell you that Canadian flags aren’t as ubiquitous as American flags.  But if you head up to someplace like Cape Breton, all of a sudden you will see fishing boats flying what at first glance looks like a French flag but is actually the Acadian flag.  Or you will spot a Metis flag in the Prairies etc etc.  Thus, Canada does not have a monolithic identity that all connect with the flag in the same way (yes, I totally skipped the entire province of Quebec because that is very complicated).

What I’m getting at is that flags have an enormous power for people and what they represent.  And each person will approach the flag based on their own background and cultural context.  One of the things that has come out of the Black Lives Matter movement is the removal of Confederate flags in the States as well as the removal of it as an element of southern state flags.  An excellent example is that of the Mississippi state flag, which currently did not exist as of June 2020. [Update after 3 November 2020] - It seems on election day Mississippi voted to adopt a new flag. Since this flag is less offensive I’ve decided to plop it in here.  Though the ‘In God We Trust’ bit seems a bit - ahem - odd. 

Someone clearly did not watch the TED talk about flags and how to design a good flag.  NO TEXT ON FLAGS!  Anyhoo . . .

If someone were to cosplay/reenact a Confederate solider, sure that person would be historically accurate having a Confederate flag, but it would be seen as in poor taste for a large portion the public.  Seeing that it took until 2020 to change the Mississippi flag (126 years, the flag was adopted post-reconstruction in 1894), I’d say we have about another 50 years before Japan may consider updating their military flags.  A subset of Americans will see having a Confederate flag is the symbol of a rebel, but others will see it as the oppression of their ancestors, endemic racism and lack of respect for the federal government and states’ rights; thus all of these things make it a polarizing and political act to fly or wear Confederate flag things.

Getting back to Golden Kamuy, I would like to really highlight that throughout the manga, the flag has rarely appeared.  The Imperial flag is most prominent in chapter 165, flag bearer.  However, nothing about Yuusaku’s role as the flag bearer is shown to glorify the flag.  Instead, it sets up this idea of Yuusaku becoming a ‘pure idol’ in the name of a military cause.  Which a major point of the manga is to question this devotion to the state and the military and how one should sacrifice for the nation.  In the case of Yuusaku, it is to imply that he’s sacrificing his own life for the nation.

I think that Noda purposely has kept the flag use to a minimum, we do see it occasionally on navy vessels but it is barely noticeable and this is a historical manga.

The scene where Tsurumi plants the flag on 203 meter hill is the standard flag, not the military flag.  I’m curious if Noda did this on purpose or if the idea was that the smaller flag was all Tsurumi had on himself? 

The whole point of Golden Kamuy is to get the readers to think about all of these uncomfortable ideas and historical events that challenge long standing cultural beliefs.  This includes the idea of modern Japan being a single ethnic group (Ainu and Ryukyuans would question that since they have Japanese citizenship), and the idea that all countries tell themselves that their military was doing the ‘right’ thing.  Modern nation states are built by creating their own mythology and unifying their people. 

Most of the cast of GK are Japanese soldiers but we rarely see them as rank and file members of the military and as such have not been associated with either of the Imperialist military flags.  The overall theme of GK is that military conflict hurts the army you are fighting, it hurts those who fight directly in it and it hurts civilians and innocents.  There is a central theme of conflict and how various cultural and ethnic groups act in ways that they think suit them best; the Japanese are seeking to become a regional power, Wilk, Kiroranke and Sofia were fighting Russian power and later Wilk and Kiro were fighting for a state for all the indigenous peoples to protect their identity. Therefore, getting back to my answer - if I were compelled to cosplay as Yuusaku, I would not use an Imperial style army flag as a prop.  Would I be historically accurate if I had that flag?  Yes.  Would I be taking the context of that flag in our current context?  Totally not, I would be tone-deaf to the current feelings surrounding that object and I’d be going against the known fact that flags carry an enormous power and weight.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 58

Happy October, everyone! I managed to get the plot timed just right for this chapter to land on the first day of my favorite spooky month!

To make sure no one is caught off guard, this chapter is slightly scary.  There is a nightmare involved, and slight body horror.  To skip the body horror, when you see the sentence “No. Your face,” skip all of the remaining passage of italics.

”Ughhhhh, why is it so hard to get people to just agree.”  I sat up from my desk, listening to the pops of my back as I stretched. Since leaving Xiomara’s office earlier that day, I had been going through more teaching candidates for the Galactic education program, but it was starting to feel like I was doing it all for nothing.  I had discovered when I reached my office that the Council had yet to even approve the program in the first place.

Grumbling, I got up to get more coffee. “Because of course we don’t need to learn about the Hujylsogox, or any other people out here.  Makes perfect sense.  Not like learning about other people had caused thousands of years of grief on Earth. Nope. No wars over that,” I ranted at the empty room. Alistair had given up after an hour of my complaints and took off for who-knew-where-but-not-here, and Tyche was holed up in her office reviewing the current progress with the vocational training program.

No one had raised a single objection to that.

Growling in frustration, I threw myself across the closest chair.  Draped haphazardly, I flicked my datapad back into existence and tried to focus.  Taking a break from educator profiles, I switched over to the proposal for naming the colony. We were still compiling the list of names that were off-limits, no matter how good the justification. It always brought a smile to my face, as the administrators had been especially enthusiastic.  One entry on the blacklist was simply “any word that means dirt, in any language, including fictional ones”. Another entry read “Welsh terms are right out” – surprisingly suggested by an administrator from Wales, on the basis that they did not want to spend the rest of the foreseeable future listening to it be butchered. Fair enough.

A much more pleasant task in hand, I managed to lose track of time.

I trailed my fingers along the wall, tracing the loops and whorls as I wandered the ship.  The corridor was empty.  Maybe I was on one of the lower decks. Despite not knowing where I was, I wasn’t afraid. After all, I was still on the Ark.  If I walked far enough, I would end up somewhere familiar.

“Hello.”

I spun around. “Who’s there?” I called, curious rather than scared.

“There.”

Looking around, I still couldn’t see anyone. “Noah? Who else is on this level?” I asked.

“NO-ah”

“You aren’t Noah,” I shook my head, starting to get frustrated. I tried again. “Miys, who else is here?”

Instead of my friend, the hollow voice replied. “Else.”

I tried to reason that it was an echo, but part of me knew it wasn’t. “My name is Sophia Reid. I’m on the Council. Who are you?”

“so-FEE. My name Else.”

Walking toward the voice, I glanced around, trying to catch sight of whoever was speaking. “Your name is Else?”

“ELSE” it confirmed loudly.

“Where are you, Else? Are you lost?”

“Lost.”

“It means you don’t know where you are,” I explained, feeling foolish. Everyone on the ship was an adult, they had to know what being lost meant. In the After we had

“All been lost for so long,” the voice finished, much clearer now.

“This has to be Noah,” I chided, only now feeling a trickle of fear. “No one else on this ship can read minds.” I spun, looking all around me. The voice wasn’t coming from the speakers in the ceiling, or from my databand.  There was no way someone as large as Miys could hide from view.

But the corridor was still empty.

“I’m not NO-ah. I’m Else.”

“Are you human?” I kept reminding myself that things we knew weren’t scary. Right?

“Right.”

Was it confirming it was human, or was it reading my mind again?

“Reading your mind again.”

“Stop doing that,” I scolded. It was bad enough when Noah did that, this was

“Even worse.”

“STOP THAT!” My voice rose in a shriek, fear steadily spiking. “Where are you? Show me your face, please. I just want to know who you are.”

“Your face. You.”

By now, my heart had decided to go for a new record in the 400-meter dash. Touching my cheek with one shaking hand, I shook my head. “No, this is my face. And it’s going to stay mine. Show me yours.”

“No. Your face.”

There was a distinct possibility that I was going to strangle them as soon as I could get my hands on whatever they had for a neck. “Look – “

“Look. Your hands. Look.”

Oh nuggets.

With a shaky breath – hell, all of me was shaking at this point – I looked down at my palms.

Purple, swollen fingertips greeted my horrified eyes. When I turned my hands over, blood was pooled under jagged, flaky nails.  A steady drip of red fell from my right thumb, stark on the grey floor.

I screamed.

Roughly, I was shaken awake.  Still screaming, I flailed wildly as I stood and backed away.  I patted my face roughly before looking at my hands. Smooth, unbruised palms, neat and even fingernails. I dropped to my knees and sobbed in relief.

“Soph, what the actual fuck?” Tyche’s voice penetrated my panicked brain. “You were screaming like every demon in Hell and Earth was chasing you, and you know I would never do that.”

I chuckled at her joke before rubbing my face again and shaking my head violently. “I must’ve fell asleep.  Worst nightmare, ever, hands down.”

“Worse than the giant vampire rabbits?”

“And the time I was abducted by Michael Jackson in a panda suit, yeah.”

She shuddered. I only realized Alistair was with her when he spoke. “I will be inquiring in the near future as to whether these are actual dreams you had or if you are making poorly-timed jokes.  In the time of my acquaintance with you both, I have learned that both are equally likely.”

“Hey, Worthington,” I smiled shakily and held out a hand for help off the floor. Alistair reached first, but Tyche batted his hand down and glared at him as she yanked me to my feet in one smooth motion.  Every inch of her screamed my scared sister, no touchie.

Settling into a chair, I gratefully took the fresh coffee that was shoved at me. “I don’t even know how I fell asleep.  I’ve been drinking coffee strong enough to jump start the ship all morning.”

My sister’s face scrunched up before taking on her most imperious expression. “Miys, medical diagnostic on Sophia Reid.”

“Tych – “

“Shut it,” she commanded. “You had Xiomara’s coffee on your console as the last four requests.  You should be vibrating, not falling asleep.  Miys?”

“Tyche, Wisdom is showing severe vitamin deficiencies, along with signs of extreme exhaustion. It is recommended that she visit a medical bay for intravenous nutrients and rest.”

I groaned loudly. “I’m an adult, don’t I get a say in this?”

“Wisdom, it is a recommendation only.  A very strong one.  And should you not show improvement within a standard ship’s day, I will physically repeat my recommendation.”

“Are you threatening to drag me to medical?” My jaw hit the floor. When did Noah start taking courses on threatening from my sister?

“If Conor and Maverick do not do so first, yes. I have not sent the results to either of them, but I will if necessary.”

I glared at Tyche, who smirked back. “Thank you, Miys,” she sang sweetly. “Please send the list of vitamin deficiencies to myself and Sophia. We’ll see what we can do.”

“I can’t believe you have been teaching them how to threaten me,” I grumbled as both of our databands chirped to signal the transfer was completed.

“Someone has to do it when I’m not around,” she shrugged, unrepentant. “In any event, you should probably take the rest of the day off.”

“Yeah, I probably should,” I relented with a sigh. “Fortunately, there is nothing pressing here.  I’ll signal GK on the way, see if she’ll prescribe me a vitamin booster and something to help me sleep. Without nightmares.”  She opened her mouth to say something, but I headed her off at the pass. “And I’m going to take a transport, so you don’t have to worry about me collapsing on the way. I’ll even take Alistair as a witness.”

She snapped her jaw shut and nodded. “I’ll come check on you when I get off shift. Curry for dinner? I’ll make it.”

My mouth watered at the thought of lentils and vegetables. “Sounds like a plan. Alistair, you want to join us for curry?”

“I will attempt to carve time out of my busy social schedule,” he replied drily. I wasn’t fooled – he ate curry twice a week just as lunch at work.

The corner of Tyche’s mouth twitched knowingly. “Vindaloo it is.”

<< Prev  Masterlist  Next >>