X terminology
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- This article about X/1999 is part of the X/1999 group of articles.
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[edit] Terminology
[edit] gohō dōji
(護法童子 literally "apologist child")
The familiar of a Buddhist practitioner of mikkyō, similar in nature to shikigami and inugami (see below) . In X, Arisugawa Sorata creates gohō dōji on two separate occasions: firstly, to protect Kishū Arashi when she and Nekoi Yuzuriha come under attack by the Dark Kamui/Satsuki in Inokashira Park, and then again to spy on Hinoto after he and Shirō Kamui become suspicious of her actions.
In the English translation of the manga, Sorata's gohō dōji are referred to as avatars, which is a technically incorrect term in that they are extensions of Sorata's own power, as opposed to divine beings which had been born into the material world within physical bodies (although the English term "avatar" may include the former concept).
[edit] kage-nie
(陰牲 literally "shadow sacrifice")
In traditional Japanese occult practices, a "kage-nie" is actually a wooden or paper doll that acts as a representation of an actual person. The doll serves to protect this person from harm, especially harm of the magical nature (kind of like a reversal of the idea of the voodoo doll). When someone attempts to harm a person protected by kage-nie, the doll will suffer instead of the one it represents. In "X", the members of the family from which Shirō Kamui is descended, the Magami clan, are able to act as kage-nie to other people. The Magami clan is so renowned among occult circles for this power that (as Sorata tells Kamui), at least half of Japan's legislative body, the Diet, are suspected of having hired kage-nie from the Magami clan to protect them from such dangers as assassination. Such as this is, Magami Tōru, Shirō Kamui's mother, is destroyed in a fire which results from her acting as the shadow sacrifice for (alternately) Kamui himself and for the Earth. Magami Tokiko, Tōru's younger sister and Kamui's maternal aunt, likely acts a shadow sacrifice to bring forth the second of the Shinken (Sacred Swords). Similarly, Monō Saya (Fūma and Kotori's mother) may have also possessed this power when she took the place of Tōru to bring forth the first Shinken. It can be assumed that (being of Magami lineage), Shirō Kamui himself would have the power to act as kage-nie to another person.
[edit] kakushi miko
(隠巫女 "hidden priestess")
In X, Kishū Arashi is, in fact, the Kakushi Miko of one of the oldest jinja in Japan, Ise Jingū. As the Kakushi Miko of Ise, Arashi holds within her body all of the spiritual power of Ise shrine (indeed, the power of Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess herself), which she manifests as a sacred sword which springs forth from her left hand. In the manga she loses this ability after a night with Sorata, quote, "just like my mother". Speculation as to whether Kakushi Miko really exists may abound, but this is likely a fabrication of Clamp.
[edit] kekkai
(結界 "spiritual barrier")
In Buddhist tradition, an impenetrable spiritual parameter created by a monk within which the monk retreats in order to meditate or, more generally, any kind of spiritual or magical boundary in Japanese tradition. In X, the kekkai are both man-made structures which form a sort of spiritual network throughout the world as well as the "barrier fields" which the Seven Seals create in order to spare the material plane from damage when they do battle. As man-made structures, the kekkai's spiritual network prevents most major natural catastrophes from destroying human civilization. Because of this, humanity is able to live (and continue to pollute and otherwise defile the Earth) in relative peace and prosperity. Tōkyō's kekkai act as the keystone to this network; it is the proverbial "tie that binds". Therefore, if the kekkai in Tōkyō were to be destroyed, eventually the entire worldwide spiritual network of kekkai would come undone, and with it the protection the kekkai provide. Earthquakes would then wrack the planet, destroying humanity and allowing the Earth to recover from the damage which humans have done to it (this is the ultimate goal of the Dragons of Earth).
As the barrier fields created by the Dragons of Heaven, the kekkai are fields of varying geometrical shape (depending on which of the Dragons of Heaven has created the kekkai) which only those involved with the end of the world can exist within. The barrier field effectively creates an alternate plane or dimension resembling the area of the material plane which the kekkai was created to protect. This ensures that (so long as the one who created the kekkai remains alive, conscious, in relatively decent health, and maintains an undisclosed amount of concentration required to create the kekkai in the first place) the area in which the kekkai was created and all the ordinary people within it cannot be harmed. Also, as a general rule, it is impossible for even the Ten no Ryū and Chi no Ryū themselves to leave the space of a kekkai until the creator of the kekkai releases it. Trying to leave a kekkai said to be extremely painful and dangerous, requiring a great deal of power to even attempt. The rules regarding entering a kekkai, however, seem to be more obscure.
Another way to easily put it is that a kekkai is like a carbon copy of the battlefield combatants can do battle without fear of hurting innocent people or any interference from the outside. If any damage at all occurs in the city inside the kekkai and the one who puts it up lives or kills the other, then no damage will be done to the real location in the primary dimension—as if the battle had never happened. However, if the one who set up the kekkai in the first place gets injured to the point that he or she cannot maintain the requisite concentration to support the kekkai, falls unconscious, or killed altogether, then the kekkai is destroyed, and the damage done to the location within the kekkai during combat is done to the primary physical dimension, killing many innocent bystanders in the vicinity and causing massive destruction.
[edit] inugami
(犬神 literally "dog spirit")
In Japanese tradition, an inugami is a tsukaima or shikigami (familiar spirit) taking the form of a dog. Inugami were often spirits invoked to aid in acts of vengeance and were considered ferocious. In X, the tsukaima (familiar spirits) of the keepers of the Mitsumine Jinja, one of which happens to be Nekoi Yuzuriha. The inugami manifest in the form of dogs (which, however, can only be seen by those who possess occult powers). For each descendant of the family keeping Mitsumine, there is born one companion inugami which stays with them throughout their entire life. An individual's inugami can take on any desired shape. Nekoi Yuzuriha's inugami is named Inuki, and frequently assumes the form of a Chinese sword. It appears that if an inugami is killed, it can be reborn if the person's resolve is strong enough.
[edit] maboroshi
(幻 "illusion, phantasm")
Comparable to what occultists in the West might refer to as a glamour. A magical illusion created through occult practices (specifically onmyōjyutsu in "X"), which may be used to mislead or, in some cases, physically injure another person. In "X", Sakurazuka Seishirō frequently utilizes his great aptitude in onmyōjyutsu to create maboroshi in battle. He does this on two significant occasions: once while four of the Ten no Ryū are gathered in the basement of Kokkai, consulting with Princess Hinoto, and again to assault Shirō Kamui and Monō Kotori. Also, during the attack on Nakano Sun Plaza, Seishirō uses maboroshii to escape the battle between Sumeragi Subaru and himself, making it look as though he disappeared, but in truth, he is still there, hidden within an illusion.
[edit] mikkyō
(密教 "secret religion" or "secret teachings")
A Vajrayana Buddhist tradition specific to the Shingon sect. Mikkyō is a mantric Buddhist practice (as opposed to tantric), meaning that its use is primarily verbal, employing chants and mantras. Mikkyō is, in fact, a system of practical Buddhist "magic". In X, Arisugawa Sorata (a Shingon Buddhist monk, no less) is highly trained in the art of mikkyō. Sorata tends to use mikkyō in order to generate electricity as well as to create gohō dōji and a specific type of kekkai that is sealed against eavesdropping.
[edit] ofuda
(御札)
An instrument employed by an onmyōji (as well as Shintō practitioners to a lesser extent in X) in the form of spells written upon strips of paper. Ofuda are often cast or thrown by an onmyōji at a target which is possessed of negative qi. Ofuda can also be affixed to surfaces (floors, walls) in order to purify a structure or create a boundary which impassable to entities of a specific nature. In X, both Sumeragi Subaru and Sakurazuka Seishirō make use of ofuda in order to carry out their onmyōjyutsu; they are also left behind after the destruction of the "men in black" shikigami.
[edit] onmyō
陰陽 "yin and yang")
The onmyō principle is directly descended from Chinese Tao and Wu Hsing.
[edit] onmyōjyutsu / onmyōdō
(陰陽術 / 陰陽道 "art of onmyō" / "way of onmyō")
The practice of elemental Tao sorcery. Onmyōjyutsu has its origins in the Chinese principles of Tao and Wu Hsing (the Five Elements, which are: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water). Onmyōjyutsu was encouraged during the Heian Period of Japan in which many officers of the Imperial Court (indeed, the Emperor himself) hired practitioners of onmyōjyutsu to perform such tasks as divinations and ritual exorcisms.
[edit] onmyōji
(陰陽師 "onmyō master")
Practitioners of the Japanese tradition of Tao sorcery known as onmyōjyutsu. The onmyōji had their heyday in the Heian Period of Japanese history. The onmyōji of the Heian Period performed a variety of functions, ranging from such menial tasks as keeping records in accordance with the imperial calendar to the vastly more important ritual exorcisms. In "X", both Sumeragi Subaru and Sakurazuka Seishirō are onmyōji, descendants from the Sumeragi (literally meaning emperor) Clan and the Sakurazukamori Clan, the two most powerful remaining onmyōji clans within Japan. Furthermore, the Sumeragi Clan is the governing body of official onmyōji within Japan. Thus, Subaru, as the clan's current head, is considered the most powerful of the onmyouji, politically. Seishirō, however, proves more than a match for him in the actual practice of onmyōjyutsu.
[edit] Sakurazukamori
(桜塚護 roughly "cherry blossom [burial] mound guardian")
The Sakurazukamori is a Japanese assassin clan empowered by black onmyou, featured in both X and the earlier Clamp work, Tokyo Babylon; their symbol is the inverted pentagram. Despite the term "clan", there is only ever one true Sakurazukamori, who ascends to the role by murdering their predecessor. However, the clan has many allies and clients, and future Sakurazukamori are trained from an early age in both black magic and emotional suppression. A Sakurazukamori is expected to kill their target without compunction, as well as their relatives and anyone else who sees them at their grim work. Sakurazukamori attacks involve shikigami, ofuda, direct hand-to-hand combat and massive illusions -- heralded by uncanny showers of cherry blossoms -- in which victims can be trapped and killed. A victim may also glimpse a ghostly cherry tree, whose blossoms are always ripe even out of season.
In Tokyo Babylon it emerged that Sakurazuka Seishirō was the present Sakurazukamori, having murdered his own mother to gain the role. His mother prophesised that he would be killed by the one he loves, as she was, and this apparently comes to pass as he is killed by Sumeragi Subaru, the boy to whom he showed affection in the earlier story. In the manga version, Subaru is explicitly stated to have thus become the new Sakurazukamori and a Dragon of Earth, though he refuses to aid their cause.
The Sakurazukamori is partly based on the Japanese folk tale (recounted in Tokyo Babylon) that every sakura tree has a corpse buried beneath it, whose blood dyes the white blossoms pink.
[edit] shikigami
(式神)
Occult practitioners in Japan often personally invoke their individual "shikigami" for protection or assistance, much in the same manner as Native Americans, Neopagans, and New Age spiritualists called on their spirit guides, and after the manner in which Christians believed that witches had a familiar, or a spirit in the form of an animal (often a cat or a bird) which would carry out their bidding. In "X", Sakurazuka Seishirō makes use of his shikigami, which takes upon the form of a hawk, in order to attack the Ten no Ryū. Sumeragi Subaru's shikigami, white three-headed crows, are used to not only attack his opponent, but also serve as his reconnaissance agents. Additionally, the mysterious "men in black" who frequently pester the Ten no Ryū are not (as many thought for a long time) products of ofuda sent by Seishirō, but rather shikigami sent out by the Dark Hinoto.
[edit] Shinken
(神剣 "holy sword")
In "X", the Sacred Sword wielded by Kamui. There are, in actuality, TWO Shinken. Also, notably, "Shinken" can be taken to imply the meaning "sword that is gifted by god(s)" or "sword that is offered as a sacrifice to god(s)". The inscription upon the blade of the Shinken is a Hebrew prayer and reads:
- Barukh attah adonai eloheinu melekh ha-olam, she-ha-kol nihyeh bi-d'varo.
This translates into English as: Praised are You, Lord God, King of the Universe, at whose Word all things come into being.
[edit] yumemi
(夢見 literally "having a dream")
In "X", dreams play a very important role as they are a window through which certain characters are able to view what is supposedly the unalterable future. These characters are called "yumemi". The word yumemi is used in this instance to mean not only "one who has dreams", but specifically "one who has true dreams" (i.e., a seer). The dream world in X are expressed as being one connected world, rather than separate but only the yumemi can "cross" them.
Several characters in "X" have the ability to either move through the dreamscape with some degree of control or actually foresee the future in dreams, among them: Hinoto, Kuzuki Kakyō, Kanoe, Monō Kotori, Sumeragi Hokuto, and Monō Saya. Although it appears that Kanoe and Hokuto are especially limited in that they can only move into the dreams of others; Kanoe usually looks into the dreams of her sister, while Hokuto has been "drawn" into the dreams by Kakyō, it is uncertain what her actual ability is. Saya's own abilities were restricted to viewing the future of her loved one—namely, Magami Tōru.
Hinoto, Kakyō, and Kotori all have dreams foreshadowing future events. Kotori was supposedly weaker in this power (or that her power has not been awakened) that although she can see disconnected images of the future, she can not fully understand or control them. Perhaps it it is because of this, Kotori has expressed optimism for the future, "未だ未来は決まってな一定", (Mada mirai wa kimatte na itte, The future has yet to be decided).
Hinoto and Kakyō are the more powerful yumemi who can fully utilise their abilities; they can understand, divinate, and control their dreams consciously. Whereas the other characters are referred to as having some abilities of a yumemi, these 2 are referred to as actual yumemi. Besides crossing into other people's dreams, they can also draw people into their own dreams (whether the person was conscious or not) and can intercept each other's dreams. They are shown to have lucid power in their dreams, thus creating their dream-world the way they want. It is suggested that the yumemi makes some physical sacrifices for their power, notably seen in Hinoto and Kakyō, who are both physically disabled in some ways. Both are certain (perhaps from experience) that the future they see in the dreams is absolute, often saying that "there is only ONE future" and thus pessimistic over what they see.
