Sunday, June 13, 2021

Bonus: List of Terms & Concepts Used in I, Nausicaa

Here's a partial list of terms and concepts from Japanese culture and made-up science that appear in I, Nausicaa:

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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