Japanese culture
- Wabi sabi
- Tengu
- Sen-no-Rikyū
- Enka standard, “Futari no Ōsaka” (ahh, dakishimete…)
- Akafuku (brand) mochi
- Nantō mochi (from Okinawa)
- Waka (poem)
- Burakumin (Eta)
- Shintō (belief system)
- Shingyo (Korean origin of Shintō)
- Kingorō (name of Hana Maeda’s tryst partner)
- Shōwa 41 (1966 in Japanese calendar)
- Geta (clog sandals)
- Zōri (sandals)
- Wakizashi (sword)
Concepts unique to the novel (made-up)
- Verdant metacodone HCl (opioid, also known as “Deep Fried”) - green liquid, uses matcha tea as a source of caffeine, comes in individual glass vials, has a microchip activator in each vial that needs to receive a unique electronic pulse matched to the specific vial in order to turn the active substance into an opioid.
- DNA hotel
- Simulacrum (sing.) /Simulacra (pl.) - replicas are officially designated using “[original’s name]_2.”
- Cryo-neural transmitter - Allows you to communicate by text with the recently deceased. The corpse is stored cryogenically in a block of ice. (p. 211)
- AUTOMind cylinders - analogue of Alexa or other smart speakers
- Werner von Furstenburg (Kiernan’s cat name)
Irish Culture
- Kiernan is from Dublin. He was born in University Hospital the year Bob Dylan came to Ireland (1966). He mistakenly says he was born at Mid-Western Regional Maternity, near Clancy’s Strand, along the Shannon River. His mother’s favorite song was “Sandy’s on the Phone Again.” (p. 184)
American Culture
- Disco-era songs: “Groove Line,” “September,” “Flashlight,” “One Nation Under A Groove,” and “Boogie Oogie Oogie.” (P. 237)
- Black American writers: Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Chancellor Williams, Angela Davis, James Baldwin, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. (P.4)
- The Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 over the brutal murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Trayvon Martin (p. 4)
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