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第三巻: 涼宮ハルヒの退屈
Volume 3
Tanagawa Naga
Page ii
Page iii
Contents
Prologue
As much as I'd like to say the club was founded on the melancholy of Suzumiya
Haruhi, my own melancholy would be a much more appropriate description. The SOS
Brigade was established in early spring, while the whole self-made movie incident
happened in the autumn. The project caused me to sigh endlessly, but hardly fazed
Haruhi.
Half a year had gone by between the two events. Of course, in that time, which
included the summer, Haruhi could not and did not let time pass by pointlessly. It was
no surprise that there had been so many illogical and absurd incidents. I don't even
know if some of them were real incidents or just accidents. Let's just say that we were
No matter what you say, seasons come and seasons go. As the average
temperature rises, inconceivable ideas arise endlessly from Haruhi's mind, similar to
how different kinds of insects appear out of nowhere. It would be all right if she kept
those ideas inside her head, but no, those ideas always result in a variety of creepy
situations that the whole group is forced to deal with properly. What is going on?
I don't know what Itsuki, Yuki, or Mikuru are thinking, but here is what my self-
diagnosis tells me, at least. My mind and body are healthy, but every time something
happens, I feel as if I am some sort of small round animal that can't move easily
because I ate too much. The same ending always happens, and that is myself rolling
Haruhi has a very bothersome habit: whenever her mind is not filled with happy
thoughts, she starts thinking up ideas that make you want to laugh and cry at the same
time. Anyway, she just cannot endure sitting still and doing nothing. She is just that
kind of person. Whenever she has nothing to do, she will go and find something to
do. This will usually be something absurd. From my personal experiences, whenever
Haruhi says something, the rest of us will not be able to enjoy our peaceful days.
Perhaps those good old days will never come back. What a troublesome person.
It doesn't matter if the result is good or bad, as long as her life is not boring. That's
Because this is a rare chance, let me share with you how our SOS brigade fought
back “boredom” during the half a year when our melancholy became frustration. As
to why I said this is a rare chance, I actually don't know. I just think that it wouldn't
do me harm if I shared the stories. And, anyway, I really hope that at least one person
Chapter 1
The Boredom of Suzumiya Haruhi
One day in the headquarters of the "Suzumiya Haruhi Brigade to Bring More
Excitement to the World," or SOS Brigade for short (in reality the Literature Club
room), Haruhi announced with the same enthusiasm as a baseball team captain who
It was after school one day in June, and it had been two weeks since the
test results were a real life nightmare, on this early summer day. Haruhi didn’t seem
like she had been paying attention in class, yet her results made it into the top 10. If
there exists a God in this world, I believe that he is a mischievous and biased person.
Oh well, this didn't matter anymore. I am more concerned with the content of
The first that caught my eye was Asahina-san, her face as innocent as that of a
middle school student. If she had white fluffy wings, she would look like a cute little
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angel on her way back to heaven. Her face and small body suits her. I know fully well
For reasons unknown to me, Asahina-san was the only person in the room not
wearing her high school uniform. Instead, she was wearing a pink nurse uniform.
With her cute lips half opened, she looked intently at Haruhi. She is not a nursing
student nor a costume-wearing weirdo, but is just merely following the instructions of
Haruhi. Haruhi must have bought this costume from some odd website again. She's
been bringing weird clothes and making Asahina-san wear them. I believe many
people would be asking the same question, "What's the point in wearing these
Haruhi instructed Asahina-san, "You must wear this costume whenever you're in
this room, always!" Asahina-san would resist with "But, but..." In the end, she would
still obediently follow Haruhi’s commands with tears in her eyes. She looked so
adorable in that way that sometimes I felt compelled to embrace her from behind. Yet
so far I have not been able to do that, this I can assure you.
By the way, just for your information, two weeks ago, her standard attire was a
maid costume, but right now it’s hanging on the clothes rack. Actually the maid
costume suits Mikuru better and I preferred it more, so I do hope she would revert to
that costume soon. I believe Asahina-san would comply with the audience's request,
though she would be troubled and embarassed by it. Yup, that would be good.
After hearing Haruhi’s speech on the baseball tournament, Asahina-san the nurse
"Umm......"
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She made a sound as sweet as a canary then stopped. It was natural for her to have
such a reaction.
was like that of a thin cabbage to a sunflower. Nagato Yuki, as always, was indifferent
to her surroundings as her gaze was fixed on her open hardbound book.
About every ten seconds, she would flip the pages with her finger, it was then that
people could realize that this girl was still living. I was sure a parrot would have a
bigger vocabulary than she would, and even a hibernating groundhog would be more
her in detail. If I have to make a brief description, then she's a first year student, like
Haruhi and me, and she is the sole member of the Literature Club - the original
occupant of this room. In other words, our club - the SOS Brigade has borrowed the
use of this room from the Literature Club. To be more precise, we have taken over
this room like parasites. Of course the school has not approved of this, since our
"......"
I turned my gaze away from Nagato's expressionless face, and saw sitting by the
side the handsome grinning face of Koizumi Itsuki. He looked at me with an amused
look. This guy's opinions were of lesser importance than Nagato's. This mysterious
transfer student - according to Haruhi anyway - brushed aside his bangs and slowly
broke into a smile, much to my chagrin. As our eyes met, I had a strong urge to punch
beating.
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As no one said anything, I, as always, replied on behalf of the group. Why does
this duty.
"This."
Haruhi gave me a flyer cheerfully. I took a glance at Asahina-san, who had bad
memories with flyers, and saw her backing away trembling, and read out the words
It was probably a tournament to decide which baseball team was the best in the
city. It was organized by the city council, and seemed to have some history, being
"Hmm......"
I raised my head. Haruhi’s one hundred percent smile almost glowed straight into
"When you say us, does that include me, Asahina-san, Nagato, and Koizumi?"
As usual, she only hears the things she wants to hear. I suddenly thought of
something,
"More or less. It just involves pitching, catching, base running, sliding and
blocking. I joined the Baseball Team for a bit, so I know the basics,"
"A bit, just how long did you join them for?"
If baseball was so boring, then why join a baseball tournament? And why do we
have to participate as well? Faced with my natural question, Haruhi made the
following reply,
"This is a chance to leave our mark on the world! If we win this tournament, we
what if the SOS Brigade becomes famous overnight? What do you mean by a great
opportunity?
I didn’t know what to say, and Asahina-san looked stunned as well. Koizumi
mumbled, "So that's how it is," without looking concerned. As for Nagato, was she
troubled by it? She probably didn't even hear what was being said, as she remained as
"Well?"
Like a crocodile ambushing a little deer drinking water at the lake, Haruhi moved
behind Asahina-san, who was about to stand up, and grabbed the tiny nurse - or
Insubordination is a serious offense! We'll handle all opinions during the meeting!"
Meeting? Does she mean those meetings which she holds whenever she felt like
struggled,
"Doesn't baseball sound like fun? Just so you know, our target is to win this! Not a
Asahina-san rolled her eyes and blushed furiously as she trembled. While Haruhi
held Asahina-san tight like a professional wrestler and nibbled at her ears while
"Any problems?"
It wouldn't matter even if we had any. No matter what we say, you never intended
Hey! Don’t just agree blindly! How about raising your objection every once in a
while?
"Then I'll go get the baseball equipment from the Baseball Team!"
Haruhi bolted out of the classroom like a small tornado. Asahina-san, finally free
from Haruhi's grasp, slumped onto her chair exhausted. Koizumi expressed his
thoughts,
"We should be lucky that she's not starting a war to capture aliens or planning a
trip in search for Unidentified Mysterious Animals. Baseball has nothing to do with
"Makes sense."
I've decided to agree with his reasoning for now. No matter how insane Haruhi is,
she has not asked to go search for aliens, time travelers and espers. If that's the case,
instead of wandering around the city searching for supernatural occurrences which
was near impossible (this happened to be the main activity of the SOS Brigade), we
might as well play a game of baseball. Besides, even Asahina-san was nodding her
head in agreement.
However, our speculations were wide off the mark. Not only did they miss their
target, the arrows fired by Haruhi had shot through the wall and had flown off
attract attention would do for her. The SOS Brigade which Haruhi had carried the
banner for not only has a despicable name, it's not even a club, not to mention it's not
recognized by the school, it was only created because she felt like it.
The official name, "The Suzumiya Haruhi Brigade to Bring More Excitement to
the World," is not only long and condescending, it just sounds abstractly absurd. After
my suggestion to shorten the name got cruelly rejected, I had not been able to find a
I once asked Haruhi what kind of activity this club is involved in, Haruhi replied
with the face of a soldier who had just cut off the head of the enemy general,
"To find aliens, time travelers, and espers, and play with them!"
This was the famous quote of the eccentric Suzumiya Haruhi, well-known around
school since the beginning, and has been associated with queerness ever since she
said that.
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This was just like crows searching for glowing objects; cats leaping at any small
rolling objects; and rushing for the insecticide when one sees a cockroach in the
kitchen. Once she sees something that interests her, be it dodgeball, netball or cricket,
she'll probably yell loudly, "I want to do that!" Maybe I should be grateful we aren't
playing rugby, since we would need to find more people to make up the numbers for
rugby.
I had no idea what deal Haruhi had gone through, but she returned like a cyclone
carrying a whole box of baseball equipment. Inside the small cardboard box which
gloves and a baseball bat with plenty of dents on it, as well as a few dirty hard
baseballs.
"Wait,"
"What's the difference? They're still balls, and they still fly when you hit them
I remember playing baseball back in elementary school, but I haven't touched this
game ever since then. However, I at least knew the major difference between a hard-
Haruhi rejected my objection with a look that said, I don't see what all the fuss is
about.
"This Sunday."
"That's the day after tomorrow!! Isn't that way too soon!?"
"But I've already registered. Oh, don't worry, I've decided the team will be called
I felt exasperated,
"......So where are you going to find the other team members?"
Are you serious? With the exception of one person, anyone targeted by Haruhi is
usually not a normal person. That rare exception would be me. And I had no intention
I thought of the guys in Class 1-5. The only ones who would come at once
The other guys would probably flee at the mention of Suzumiya Haruhi's name.
"Excuse me,"
Haruhi responded immediately. Looks like anyone was fine. Maybe for you it
didn't matter who it was, but I was concerned. Asahina-san's friend? When and where
"In that case, maybe I should bring a friend as well? In fact, I know someone
If there was no selection criteria, then there're other friends I know of. Haruhi
Now!? Where?
Bring it on! The sound of the Baseball Team yelling their slogans can be heard
Speaking of which - I know it's awkward to suddenly change the subject - but I
have to let you know, besides myself, the other four people gathered here in this
room, for certain reasons, are not normal people. Only Haruhi wasn't aware of this.
The other three have all willingly revealed their identities to me, and hope that I
would understand. If my common sense was like the Earth, then the three of them
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However, since the end of last month, I have gone through some experiences that led
me to believe that they might be telling the truth. I didn't want to know the truth, but
ever since I was forced into Haruhi's club, I don't think this small wish of mine has
To put it simply, the reason Asahina-san, Nagato, and Koizumi would appear in
this school was all because of Haruhi. They all seem to hold a particular interest in
Haruhi.
To me, she was just a very giddy high school girl. But I was the only one who
thought that way, and lately, I'm having doubts myself about this belief as well.
Thanks to the experiences mentioned above, I was now standing in the dusty track
Being forced off the field by us, the Baseball Team looked stunned at us. I mean,
how else would they react? A mysterious club suddenly appears, with a sailor uniform
schoolgirl, who seems to be their leader, waving a baseball bat and yelling insanely.
While they were still busy being awestruck, the track field, which was reserved for
the Baseball Team, was taken over before they even knew it. They were even made to
pick up and throw the baseballs. How can they not be bewildered?
Not to mention our group was dressed in normal school uniforms, plus one nurse
amongst us.
Just as Haruhi had forecasted, standing in a row on the pitcher's mound, we were
"Kyaa!"
Asahina-san knelt down and covered her head with her glove, I risked my life to
catch the balls, making sure they don't hit her. Speaking of which, each of Haruhi's
strikes had a killing instinct in them. No matter what she does, she always goes all
out.
Koizumi carried his usual grin and easily dodged the balls.
"Hmm, I haven't played like this for a long time. Makes me feel nostalgic about
it."
Koizumi casually stepped away from Haruhi's wild strikes while revealing his
snow white teeth to me. If you have so much energy, why don't you come help protect
Asahina-san!?
I turned to Nagato and saw her standing very still while facing Haruhi. She just
stood there, completely ignoring the balls flying towards her direction. Not even
when the ball flew past her ear by a few centimeters did she move a bit. Occasionally
she would slowly move her gloved left hand, like a remote-controlled robot, and
catch the balls that would directly hit her, then slowly put her hand down again. You
ought to move around more. Or perhaps I should compliment you on your good eyes?
skipped past my glove and under my legs, and went straight for Asahina-san's knees.
"Ouch!"
"It hurts......"
After telling Koizumi and Nagato that, I shielded Asahina-san and brought her out
I lifted my hand and ignored Haruhi's protests, then carried Asahina-san's arm as I
led her to the clinic. I'm sure her nurse uniform would fit in better in the clinic than
inside the dusty club room or the rough track field. I can't be wrong about this.
Asahina-san covered her eyes with her hands to rub off her tears as she walked
shoulder to shoulder with me on the corridor, it was only then that she realized she
She made a sound so cute that I would have loved to record it, and leaped away
"Kyon-kun, you can't. If you get too close to me...... It'll happen again......"
"Asahina-san, you can go back now. I'll tell Haruhi that the injury on your leg
"But......"
"Don't worry. Haruhi's the one who's wrong, there's no need for Asahina-san to
I shook my hand and said that. Asahina-san lowered her head slightly and glanced
"Thank you."
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around at me as though feeling sorry, then finally walked off. Couldn't Haruhi learn
from her for once? I have a feeling she wouldn't look bad at all like that.
When I returned to the field, the batting training was still in progress. What
surprised me was that the members of the Baseball Team were now in defense, while
"Just as you see. It seems she wasn't satisfied with our performance, and she's
She was simply incredible. Every ball she hit flew to the direction that she had
intended.
strikes. This mentally insane girl finally put down her bat and rubbed off her sweat
"......"
"Hey,"
"Could you make it rain on the day of the match? A big one that would force the
match to be cancelled."
"Why's that?"
planet's ecosystem."
"Indeed."
Nagato nodded her head forward for five centimeters, then continued to walk
I turned around and saw Haruhi standing on the pitcher's mound preparing to
pitch.
We were gathered at the Municipal Sports Ground. There were two baseball fields
adjacent to the athletic track field. The tournament would take two weeks to
decided by tonight, with the semi-finals and final being played next Sunday. Only our
team was dressed in our school's track suit, while the other teams were dressed in
their standard baseball uniforms. This is a bit off topic, but I'd still like to mention
this, this was the first time I've seen Nagato wear something else besides her school
uniform.
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I later learned that this grass baseball tournament had quite some history (this was
the ninth installment), it looked like a prestigious tournament. If that was the case,
how I wished the organizers would reject Haruhi's application when she handed it in.
I might as well mention this, after giving Taniguchi and Kunikida a call, the two
of them agreed to come right away. Taniguchi's targets were Asahina-san and Nagato,
while Kunikida said, "This sounds like fun" and decided to come as well. I'm glad
The person Asahina-san brought to help was a second year female upperclassman
called Tsuruya. Her hair was as long as that of Haruhi's before she cut it short. She
For some reason, Asahina-san felt very nervous with this comment. Just what did
At this moment, the fourth player I brought was now facing off with Haruhi.
Haruhi dragged me towards the side of the organizer's tent with her incredible
strength,
"Just what were you thinking? Look at that thing, you're actually going to let her
play baseball?"
What do you mean 'that thing?' Isn't that a bit too rude? She may be 'a thing,' but
"She even introduced herself, saying she's now in fifth grade and is ten years old.
She's too adorable to be your sister. No, that's not the point, it would have been fine if
she were playing in the junior baseball league, but this is a baseball tournament for all
ages!"
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I didn't just bring my sister without thinking, this was all part of my meticulous
plan. I thought - why on Earth do I want to get up on Sunday morning just to do some
exercise? I never intended this. It was inevitable that things have developed to its
current state. If that's the case, it was only natural for me to at least want this
excellent if we lose in no time and everyone can go home. Even without my sister,
with such a rag-tag group, we'll definitely lose the first game, since the leader of this
team is none other than Suzumiya Haruhi. If we accidentally win, it would create a
chain of bothersome events. This was why I had to inject something that would
ensure the team would lose. If I brought an amateur elementary schoolgirl in, we
after all.
"We'll let them win one inning. It won't be fun if we win too much."
Looks like she's hellbent on winning, just how does she intend to win?
"We still haven't decided on the fielding positions and batting order yet, what do
Haruhi's face shone with satisfaction, as she took out a piece of paper from her
track suit pocket. Leaving till today to decide on the positions, I have no idea what
There were two pieces of papers. Each piece was drawn with eight lines. It
"What are you talking about? Of course it's a lottery. It's divided into lottery for
batting and fielding positions. I'll be the pitcher and first batter, by the way."
"What's with that look of yours? You got a problem with that? This is the most
democratic way. Ancient Greek leaders were chosen by ladder-tracing as well, you
know!"
Stop comparing the political system of Ancient Greece with the selection method
of a modern Japanese baseball team. Besides, you only decided this on your whim,
......Forget it. This way, we could lose quickly. According to the tournament rules,
the game would end if the score difference between the teams was more than ten runs.
I think I should prepare to go home now, since our first opponent was a top team with
the best defense in the tournament for the past three years.
The Kamigahara Pirates. This was the baseball team of some university nearby. In
a way, they had a tough playing style. They were all very serious, and came with the
intent of winning. We could catch a glimpse of their prowess just by watching their
pre-match warm up. Their screams were so full of power, even their pitching was
breathtaking. This was a proper team. From a bystander's point of view, they were a
formidable opponent. I thought to myself - have we come to the wrong place? At that
moment, I really wanted to take a look around to make sure whether this was the
While I don't feel that losing is a bad thing, I started to have an urge to escape
from this impending tragedy. Our team was so crappy that I felt like apologizing to
our opponents.
Just when I was about to formulate an escape plan, Haruhi made everyone stand
in one row,
"Listen carefully, our priority is to reach base. Once we reach base, we'll be able
to steal a base before the pitcher throws all three pitches. Swing at the ball if it's a
strike, but ignore it if it's a ball. Simple, isn't it? Just follow my plan and we'll be able
confidence based on? It was based on nothing, of course. She is the physical
called an "idiot?" Besides, this girl is not just a normal idiot, she is an idiot at the top
of the idiot food chain, the Queen Idiot of the Idiot World.
Let me announce the batting and fielding position of the "SOS Brigade" baseball
First batter, pitcher: Suzumiya Haruhi. Second batter, right fielder: Asahina
Mikuru. Third batter, center fielder: Nagato Yuki. Fourth batter, second baseman: Me.
Fifth batter, left fielder: My sister. Sixth batter, catcher: Koizumi Itsuki. Seventh
batter, first baseman: Kunikida. Eighth batter, third baseman: Tsuruya-san. Ninth
That was the line-up of our team. There were no substitutes or managers, and no
cheerleaders even.
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After both teams paid their respects to each other, Haruhi went straight for the
strike zone. Completely forgetting the existence of helmets, we had to borrow some
second-hand white helmets from the organizing committee. If there were anything
that truly belonged to us, then it would have to be the nine yellow loudspeakers
Haruhi pushed the tip of her helmet upwards and picked up the aluminum bat she
When the umpire yelled, "Play ball!" The opponent pitcher stretched his arm back
A loud clear metallic sound was made, and the white ball flew far off. It went over
the head of the center fielder and bounced off the wall. By the time the ball was
I wasn't particularly surprised, as this was a piece of cake for Haruhi. Asahina-san
and Koizumi felt the same as well. As for Nagato, I guess her emotions does not
include being surprised. However, the other members of the team besides us four
were all stunned, and looked awestruck at Haruhi, who lifted both her arms and gave
Haruhi yelled confidently. Unfortunately, what she did had the opposite effect.
Since this would lead our opponents to cancel the thought of showing mercy on our
girls.
Our second batter Asahina-san wore her wide helmet and walked hesitantly
Before she could finish, a high angled straight ball came shooting over. How dare
these bastards do that!? If you strike Asahina-san out in three strikes, you'll have to
Asahina-san had become as stiff as a Buddha statute, and only looked as the
remaining two pitches flew past her. When the umpire announced that she was struck
Haruhi's complaints are nothing, what's important was that Asahina-san was safe.
Nagato the third batter walked silently to the strike zone, dragging the tip of
"......"
She ignored all the balls being pitched and was struck out very quickly. She then
silently returned to the bench, took off her helmet and handed the bat to the next
batter - me.
"......"
She quietly sat on the bench and reverted to being a decorative doll.
Haruhi's yells were becoming annoying. Geez, it's your fault for expecting so
"Kyon! You've gotta hit this! You're the fourth batter! The cleanup hitter!"
I really do wish you wouldn't put so much hope on a fourth batter who was just
picked by lottery.
I didn't swing at the first pitch. It was a strike. Now that was scary. That ball was
fast. It basically sliced through the air and made a swishing noise. I had no idea what
its speed was, but I guess it's faster than one could blink. In fact, the moment I felt the
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pitcher had thrown the ball out, the ball had already landed in the catcher's glove. Did
The second pitch. Whoa! The ball curved. Is this what they call a curveball? If I
ignored it, it would be a ball, but I still swung at it. And so it ended with three
"You idiot!"
When our opponents went to their dugout to take a break, Haruhi yelled furiously
To be precise, our defense had more holes than you would find in a tropical
The outfield defense was especially ridiculous. It was perfectly normal for our
right fielder Asahina-san and my sister the left fielder to not catch any balls at all, this
I could tell from their pre-match warm ups. So when the ball flew to the right field, it
had to be retrieved by me the second baseman; when it flew to the left field,
Taniguchi the short stop would have to run for his life to retrieve the ball. Whenever
Asahina-san sees the ball flying towards her, she would kneel down and cover her
head with her glove, so don't expect her to do any defending. As for my sister, she
would chase the ball happily, but the ball would always land three feet away from
Nagato the center fielder was flawless when catching the ball, but she only
reacted to those that flew within her defensive perimeters, and her reactions were just
dead slow. If a line drive flew past her, our opponent would have scored a run already.
......Might as well hurry up and lose so we can go home already! That wouldn't be
too bad.
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Only Haruhi walked enthusiastically towards the pitcher's mound. The gloves,
shin guards and chest protector for our catcher Koizumi were of course all borrowed.
Our opponent's first batter bowed to the organizers, then headed to the batter's
box.
Strike.
It was a very good strike, be it the angle, speed or control of the ball. The ball
landed right in the center of the strike zone. The strike had so much power that the
If this girl were suddenly called up to the Japanese National Soccer Team, I think we
won't be too shocked about it. There was nothing which was impossible for Haruhi.
It wasn't that simple for the opponent's first batter, though. He couldn't swing his
bat for two consecutive strikes, and only managed to react for the third pitch, but he
still struck out. It seems like one of those changeup balls that curves slightly when
The second batter listened to the suggestions of the first batter, who never
managed a hit, and tried to bunt. Yet he hit the ball outside the foul line twice and
Seeing how the situation was beginning to change, even I was feeling uneasy.
Both teams weren't going to drag on like this till the last inning, were they? As
expected from their clean-up man, the third batter made a direct hit on Haruhi's
powerful fastball. If you keep pitching fastballs, it's only a matter of time before it
gets hit.
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The ball flew way past the head of Nagato, who remain rooted there, and
disappeared into the distance. With the look of Medea who had just been betrayed by
Jason, Haruhi looked intently at the third batter who had just hit a home run.
The fourth batter managed to hit a double; while the fifth batter took advantage of
an error from Kunikida, and our opponents ended up taking the first and third; the
sixth batter scored a second run by hitting the ball out into the right field; the seventh
batter hit the ball towards third base, the ball was picked up and quickly thrown home
by Tsuruya-san, tagging the runner out. This ended the first inning.
At the end of the first inning, the score was 2-0. I never thought we would have
fought this valiantly, though it'll give me more of a headache. Just hurry up and let
At the start of the second inning, our fifth to seventh batters - my sister, Koizumi
and Kunikida - were all struck out consecutively, we have already entered the second
Our opponent seems to have identified the outfield as our main weakness, and it
became obvious that they were targeting the ball towards that area. Every time
Taniguchi and I would run frantically towards the outfield, trying to catch the ball, but
our success rate was about 10%, and we were simply exhausted. Oh well, in order to
relieve Asahina-san of her pain, running this much was a small price to pay. Since
And so our opponent scored five runs in this inning. The score was now 7-0. Just
three more runs and it'll be over. We should be able to wrap things up by the next
inning, I guess.
Tsuruya-san, who tied her long hair behind her head, kept hitting the ball foul.
She seems like a very energetic person, but in the end she hit a ball that ended up
landing in the catcher's glove. She tapped her helmet with the bat and said,
"Sure is hard! Just hitting the ball alone was already tough."
She then grabbed Asahina-san, who was sitting obediently with a loudspeaker in
"Kyaa!"
Haruhi dragged the slim figure in the track suit and disappeared behind the bench
area. She and Asahina-san were each carrying a large sports bag, I would soon find
Besides from Asahina-san's cute screams, the wind blew across the rough voice of
Here we go again.
And so, when Asahina-san reappeared, she was dressed in the most appropriate
attire for this situation. She wore a sleeveless shirt with bright blue and white colours,
Such an impeccable cheerleader. Where did she get this costume from? What a
mystery.
Page 31
By the way, Haruhi was also dressed as a cheerleader. Wouldn't it be fine if only
she were to wear that...... I didn't think like that then. To be honest, Asahina-san just
looked too cute in that cheerleader costume, though she'd look cute in anything.
of her head. When she noticed that I was watching, she scowled her mouth like a
"We do this!"
Haruhi went behind Asahina-san and lifted her weak, pale arms, then began to
swing then up and down. Such unbelievable choreography. Haruhi yelled loudly by
"Wah...... Everyone, please do you best and score a run! Everyone...... Do your
best!"
Asahina-san was forced to yell in such a pretentious way. At least Taniguchi was
fired up by this, as he swung the bat with vigor, preparing to get on base. However, I
have a feeling no matter how hard he tries, he's never going to hit the opponent's
pitches.
And so, the batters position was rotated and Haruhi once again went to the batting
zone.
It was quite a feast for the eyes when Haruhi and Asahina-san once dressed up as
bunny girls, and right now their costumes was just as distracting.
Our opponents already didn't know where to look. Asahina-san was perfect in
every way; while besides her personality, Haruhi was equally flawless - in both her
the ball towards the center field past the second base. During the confusion of the
opponent's trying to scramble the ball back infield, she had already taken third base.
The third baseman's eyes were looking in a suspicious angle when Haruhi slid
The next batter was a pretty cheerleader girl whose charms far surpass Haruhi's.
Asahina-san held the bat with trepidation. Under the watchful glare of many guys
(myself included), her face blushed furiously red in embarassment. Such a great
scene.
The pitcher was so distracted he could only throw a weak pitch, but Asahina-san
still didn't swing her bat. The opponent even deliberately threw an easy-to-hit
curveball.
"Yah!"
Her eyes were shut when she swung her bat, so a ball that could have been easily
And so, Asahina-san was once again one pitch away from being struck out. At this
moment, Haruhi began swinging her arms while standing on the third base. What was
she doing?
"No. But from this situation, I can more or less imagine Suzumiya-san would
that."
"I deduce that she probably believes the chances of Asahina-san scoring a run is
near zero, so she decided to employ a squeeze play, which would result in the
infielders making an error; or perhaps if Asahina-san does manage to hit the ball, she
"The thing is that our opponent has figured that out already."
The infielders have all gone into defensive positions and were prepared. What
signals was Haruhi making? It just looked like she was signalling to hit the ball.
In the end, the squeeze play failed miserably. Asahina-san did't even know what
squeeze play was, so she could only tilt her head and wonder what Haruhi's signals
Asahina-san lowered her head and returned to the bench, with the look of a puppy
who had just enraged her master. Haruhi called her over,
"Wah~~......"
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Haruhi pinched hardly the sides of Asahina-san's trembling cheeks with both her
hands,
"This is your punishment! Let everyone see that cute face of yours."
"Ah...... Ah......"
"It's your fault for making such funny signals. Why don't you go steal home plate
Beep beep beep! Koizumi took out a cell phone from his track suit pocket, and
Asahina-san looked shocked and pressed her left ear with her hand while looking
When everyone else went to their defensive positions, Koizumi called me back,
I didn't want to know, but I'll hear what you have to say.
"A Sealed Dimension has appeared. Probably the largest we've ever seen, and it's
Sealed Dimension.
A grey world which I was too familiar with. How could I forget? Thanks to being
trapped in that gloomy dimension, I now have to carry a mental scar for the rest of my
life.
"That's how it is. Sealed Dimensions are created as a result of the pressure being
which explains the appearance of one right now. Unless her mood improves, this
Sealed Dimension is going to keep expanding, and the 'Avatars' which you're so
"......You're saying Haruhi's getting moody because the team's losing? She can get
Koizumi made no comment but simply smiled at me. I sighed and said,
"This is so annoying."
"What's the point in saying this now? You sound as though it has nothing to do
with you. This is a serious incident, and you have a lot to do with it. Weren't our
"Suzumiya-san wouldn't care less about whether you felt glad or pressurized by it.
"Simple. Because this is what Suzumiya-san wishes, that's why you were chosen
as the fourth batter. This is not coincidental. She wishes for you to perform the role of
the clean-up, but right now she is very disappointed that you have failed to live up to
her expectations."
Page 36
"Do well in the game. If possible, score a long run; or better still, a home run,
especially those that fly very far off. How about scoring a very long run, and even
"Don't be ridiculous. I only score home runs in video games. How am I supposed
No matter how much you hope, I'm neither a god nor an elf, how was I going to
find a solution?
"Then try your best to prevent the opponent from ending the game within this
inning. (In this tournament, when the score difference is ten runs, the game would
end.) If the game ends here, then it'll be the end for the world as well. No matter
what, we must limit their score in this half to within two runs."
Koizumi said in a very serious manner which didn't fit in with this atmosphere.
The second half of the third inning began. Haruhi walked towards the pitcher's
mound in her cheerleader costume. Asahina-san also wore her cheerleader costume
Haruhi revealed her arms and legs without hesitation, and ignored any runners on
The first batter struck the ball and it flew right in front of Nagato's face. She made
the out, but she didn't even look at the fly ball hit by the second batter. When the ball
rolled from the left field into the center field, he had already run to third base.
Page 37
Haruhi's pitches were still full of power, but as she kept throwing fastballs, they were
bound to get hit. As expected from the defending champions, they then scored two
runs by making two hits and taking advantage of an error from Kunikida. The
situation was now becoming critical. There were already runners standing on first and
second base. Just one more run and this game would have to end forcefully, and no
Whack! The white ball flew high and drifted towards the right field. Asahina-san
stood at where the ball would land, and curled herself in fear. There was no time to
think, I ran with my life for the umpteenth time towards the right wing. I've gotta get
that ball!
I leapt and caught the ball. The ball barely went in through the tip of the glove.
"Argh!"
I then quickly threw the ball with all my force to Taniguchi, who was standing by
at second base. The two runners thought this was going to be a long distance hit and
"Nice play!"
and Tsuruya-san all mobbed my head with their gloves. I gave them a V-sign while
looking at Haruhi's reaction, and saw her carrying a troubled expression as she looked
I sat on the bench and covered my face with a towel. Koizumi now walked
towards me,
"There is a solution to this. When you and Suzumiya-san went to that world, how
"If you use that method you used back then, we might be able to improve the
situation."
"I refuse."
Heh heh heh Koizumi giggled. Now that laughing noise of his sure pissed me off.
"I knew you would say that. Then how about this? It'll be fine as long as we win
this game. I've already thought of a good idea, it should be able to work, since she
white on-deck circle staring blankly into the distance. He then mumbled something to
the side of Nagato's ear, whose short hair seemed to wave slightly. Suddenly, Nagato
Does that mean she agreed to it? She nodded her head like a puppet whose strings
had just snapped, and walked in strides towards the strike zone.
I'm sorry. Asahina-san gestured as she lowered her head. That's fine, it can't be
helped if it's classified information. Sigh, looks like that surreal stuff was about to
happen again.
It was a very hot May evening, if Nagato hadn't barged into the classroom that
day, I would now be taking a long nap in my grave. At that time Nagato was also
chanting something very quickly, and defeated the person who was trying to kill me.
Nagato seemed to have just casually swung the bat, and struck the center of the
pitcher's fastball. The ball flew high up above the field, and finally disappeared at the
to me; Asahina-san looked a bit stiff, but wasn't surprised; while my sister and
The others simply dropped their jaws and went into shock. Of course, it was the
Haruhi leapt joyously towards the home plate and tapped on the helmet of Nagato,
who had just circled all the bases with a blank expression.
Haruhi pulled and twisted Nagato's tiny arms excitedly. Nagato still remained
A while later, Nagato walked towards the bench and handed the bat to me,
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"This,"
"What's that mean?" I asked. Nagato looked at me for some time and said,
"Homing mode."
She only said those words and walked back to the bench and sat at the corner,
picking up a very thick book lying by the side and began to read it.
The score was now 9-1. It was the first half of the fourth inning. Looks like this'll
"Whoa!"
The bat moved on its own, my arms and shoulders were simply dragged along by
it. Whack!
I originally thought I merely scratched the ball, but I never would have imagined
that the ball would have rode the wind and flew far up, it flew over the wall and lawn,
and landed on the baseball field next door. It was a home run. I widened my jaw.
I threw away the bat, which was now installed with a automatic homing device
As I passed second base I turned to look at the bench. Haruhi's hands were raised
up and when our eyes met, she quickly turned away. You ought to celebrate wildly
like Tsuruya-san and my sister! I saw Taniguchi and Kunikida looking shocked once
Page 41
again, while Asahina-san and Koizumi remained speechless, and our opponents
I felt really sorry for them, but the shock suffered by our opponents refused to
wear out.
Next, my sister walked shakily towards the strike zone. As the helmet was too big
for her, nearly half of her face was covered up, so I can't really blame her for not
being able to maintain her balance. This trump card I specifically kept just for losing
now swung her bat hitting the pitcher's ball, and whacked the ball over the fence. In
year-old fifth grade schoolgirl to whack a ball, which was thrown by a college student
at the speed of 130 km/h (according to my instincts), over the fence - in reality it was
"That's amazing!"
Haruhi never doubted this twisted reality one little bit. She took my sister's hand
"That's an incredible talent! You have a bright future ahead! You'll be in the
My sister let Haruhi swing her around madly while screaming joyously.
How should I say this? ......Hmm, the score was now 9-3.
I was now sitting on the bench and wrapping my head with my hands.
Our home run onslaught continued. The score was now 9-7. Seven continuous
home runs in one inning, I guess we've set a new tournament record.
"I've decided to join the Baseball Team. I never knew I had it in me, I feel that
entering Koushien is no longer a dream. I even felt that it was the bat itself that hit the
ball!"
They sure looked excited, while Tsuruya-san slapped the shoulder of Asahina-san,
who suddenly felt nervous for no reason, while laughing loudly. I'm glad the three of
Haruhi lifted the bat and said. Shouldn't this be the pitcher's line?
I was beginning to grow tired of the whacking noises, as the balls kept flying
It was now 9-8. Until now, the opponent has switched three pitchers. I'm sure they
didn't want my sympathy, but I still decided to pity them. Poor guys.
The batting order rotated once again, and Asahina-san, Nagato and I all made
consecutive home runs. Finally the score was reversed 9-11 in our favour. Eleven
consecutive home runs...... I began to think that this needs to be stopped quickly, since
I've discovered that our opponents weren't looking at us, instead their gazes were
concentrated on this baseball bat. Could they have mistaken this for some magic bat?
Before handing the bat to my sister the next batter, I brought Nagato, who was
reading her book at the corner of the bench, out for a talk.
"This is enough."
I said. It was rare to see Nagato's expressionless eyes blinking many times, she
"I see."
She replied, then placed her tiny fingers over the tip of the bat I was holding and
quickly chanted something. I couldn't hear what was being said, but even if I did, I
After quickly withdrawing her fingers from the bat, Nagato said nothing and
quietly returned to her position on the bench and opened her book again.
Argh!
When my sister, Koizumi and Kunikida went up to strike again, it was as though
their previous home runs never happened, as they all missed the ball and were all
struck out consecutively. In fact, this was all due to cheating through advanced
technology.
I forgot to mention, there's a time limit of ninety minutes for the games in this
tournament, this rule was inevitable if the organizers wanted to complete all the
matches within the day. And so, there would be no next inning for this game. We'll
win this game if it ends at the second half of the fourth inning.
"We have to," Koizumi said, "My colleagues have called, they say thanks to our
efforts, the Sealed Dimension seems to have ceased expanding. Though it may have
stopped growing, the 'Avatars' are still there, so we still need to think of an idea to
clean up this mess. But it's definitely good news that the Sealed Dimension has
stopped expanding,"
However, if our opponents managed to turn things around, we would all meet our
Waterloo. I was not prepared to use my imagination to guess what mood Haruhi will
be in then.
Koizumi revealed his white teeth, they were so bright I would recommend him to
"I'm very serious. If we are to keep the loss in runs at a minimum, this is the only
way.
Nagato would replace Koizumi as the catcher, Koizumi would move to the center
field, while I swapped positions with Haruhi and was now standing on the pitcher's
mound.
When Koizumi asked Haruhi to relinquish her pitcher's position, she pouted for a
while until she realized that I would be replacing her, to which she gave me a
"......Well, all right then. But if your pitches get hit, you'll have to treat everyone
for lunch!"
Nagato simply stood there looking dazed, so Koizumi and I had to help her put on
her chest protector and shin guards. Was it really appropriate for someone without
Nagato walked in strides towards the back of the home plate and knelt down.
And so, the match resumed. As we were running out of time, I didn't even have
time to warm up my pitching skills. Looks like I'll have to face my first time ever as a
Swoosh!
Page 45
The ball which I spent all my strength pitching landed into Nagato's glove without
"Be serious!"
The one yelling wildly was Haruhi. I'm always dead serious. This time I decided
to try a curveball.
but to no avail. The bat swerved hardly towards my powerless ball. It's over. My pitch
The umpire announced loudly. The batter completely missed the ball. A strike was
I understood how he felt. His reaction was expected, as my weak pitch suddenly
lowered its flight path by about thirty centimeters just before it was hit by the bat, no
"......"
Nagato remained squatted and only moved her fingers slightly to send the ball
back to me. I received the wobbling ball, then went into my pitching stance again.
No matter how many times I pitched, I could only manage a semi-straight ball.
The third pitch was wide off the mark - it was supposed to be like that, but after
flying for a few yards the ball corrected its route and bent sharply, totally ignoring the
laws of inertia, gravity and aerodynamics. It even accelerated as it charged into the
catcher's glove.
The batter now widened his eyes, even the umpire was speechless for a moment.
"Strike two!"
I was already beginning to slack off as I pitched wildly without even aiming or
putting any strength into the pitch. Yet, if the batter didn't swing his bat, my pitches
would always end up as a strike; if he attempted to swing the bat, he would end up
The secret lies with Nagato making her incantations every time I pitched. As this
secret was so big, not even I knew how it works exactly. Perhaps she did the same
thing to the bat as when she saved my life and made the classroom reappear, altering
its data.
Thanks to this, I now felt like pitching towards an electric fan. Today's MVP has
Very soon our opponent suffered two strike outs, and their third batter was now
one strike away from being struck out as well. Was it okay for me to play such a
I neither exerted a lot of force, nor did I made any special considerations as I
The ball changed course and flew towards the strike zone. The batter swung his
bat with all his might. The ball changed direction again and became a rising fastball.
The bat swerved one round again, leaving a residual image in the air. Three strike
"!"
The ball kept bouncing towards the nettting behind the catcher. Maybe the pitch
was too smooth and went slightly out of control after bending. It tapped off Nagato's
Page 47
glove, and the magic ball (according to me anyway) bounced up like a foulball behind
A wild pitch.
The batter took this golden opportunity and sprinted quickly. Yet Nagato still held
and walked towards the rolling ball. The batter has stepped on first base and was
Nagato finally caught up with the ball and picked up the soft baseball as though
"Second base!"
I pointed to the direction behind me, where Haruhi was yelling. Nagato nodded
"slightly" at me in centimeters......
Swoosh! A white beam flashed past my head, taking a few strands of my hair. I
then saw the glove fly off from Haruhi's hand. The ball remained squeezed inside the
glove as it flew towards the center field, I then realized Nagato merely moved her
After seeing the glove vanish suddenly from her hand, Haruhi widened her eyes.
As for the batter, perhaps the sight was just too horrifying for him, he was lying on all
Koizumi the center fielder picked up the glove and took out the ball, then walked
over carrying that universal smile of his. He then touched the ball on the batter, while
The players of the Kamigahara Pirates all broke into tears. I wasn't sure what was
going on, maybe they were worried about being berated by their team's graduated
seniors? Or perhaps they were just gutted at losing to what was mostly a female rag-
tag high school squad that even has an elementary schoolgirl in it? Or maybe it's even
both?
On the other hand, without even standing in the shoes of the vanquished, Haruhi
looked absolutely delighted. She carried a bright smile like the one she had when
"We'll go on all the way, and then march into the Summer Koushien! Being the
She shouted seriously. Only Taniguchi cheered with her. I wasn't about to break
any more sweat, and I'm sure the High School Baseball Federation must be feeling
the same.
"Great work,"
"Speaking of which, what should we do next? Continue with the second game?"
"To sum it up, if we lose again, Haruhi's gonna be unhappy, right? That also
means we'll have to keep on winning, which means we would require help from
Page 49
Nagato's magic. It's going to become bothersome if we keep ignoring the laws of
"I thought so as well. In fact, I think I'd better go help my colleagues. In order to
eliminate the Sealed Dimension, they're still short of people required to beat up the
'Avatars.'"
"I will. By the way, I've learned from this matter that we must not let Suzumiya-
a forfeit.
He keeps stuffing me with these troublesome tasks with such a straight face, I
I went to tap Haruhi on the back as she was forcefully making Asahina-san dance
I brought Haruhi to the outside of the field, I never thought she would obediently
follow though.
"Look at them,"
I pointed to the Kamigahara Pirates players, who were all sitting dejectedly on the
bench,
"What for?"
Page 50
"I believe that they have gone through lots of blood and sweat just to train hard
for this day. They have been winners for four consecutive years, I'm sure they're
"So?"
"They've probably got bench warmers crying as well. Look at that guy with the
marine crew-cut standing behind the side netting, that's the disappointment I'm
talking about. Don't you find that sad? He'll probably never get a chance to come on
I said as a matter-of-factly.
"You've probably played enough as well right? I don't feel like playing anymore
honestly. I'd rather we all have lunch and chat together. Frankly speaking, my limbs
It was true. Because I was running between infield and outfield all the time, I was
From being pleased with herself, Haruhi now pouted like Donald Duck and stared
Yup. Asahina-san and Koizumi, maybe even Nagato were feeling the same way as
well. My sister has been practicing with her bat swings ever since the beginning, but
if you give her a piece of candy, she'll immediately throw away the bat.
"Hmph,"
Haruhi looked at me, then looked at the baseball field. After thinking for a while,
or maybe she was pretending to think for a while, she smiled pleasantly at me,
Page 51
"All right then, I'm getting hungry anyway, let's have lunch! I never thought
Is that so?
When I proposed to withdraw in favor of them progressing to the next round, the
opposing team's captain wept while thanking us gratefully. I felt so guilty seeing him
like that, since we had used some very absurd cheating in order to steal this victory.
As I was about to leave quickly, the captain called me back, and whispered quietly
into my ear,
"Say, how much are you willing to sell that bat of yours for?"
And so, besides Koizumi, we were now occupying the corner of a restaurant as
My sister has already got herself entangled with Haruhi and Asahina-san, as she
sat between the two of them while eating her hamburger by picking it up with her
knife haphazardously; while Taniguchi and Kunikida were seriously discussing about
joining the Baseball Team. Sigh, I'd best leave them alone. Meanwhile, Tsuruya-san
has now turned her attention towards Nagato, "So you're Nagato Yuki-chi? Mikuru
tells me a lot about you." Yet her silent lower classman paid no heed to Tsuruya-san
everyone that I would be paying. I have never quite understood why Haruhi would
make such wild ideas. Since I never really managed to grasp how her mind works, so
to protest, as it was too troublesome. That's not all, I even felt relaxed as though a
All this was due a substantial amount of extra money appearing mysteriously in
my pocket.
After school, we gathered as usual in a room inside the clubs complex, and
returned to our previous lifestyle, as though the baseball tournament a few days ago
never happened.
I sipped the brown rice tea Asahina-san, now dressed in her maid costume,
brewed for me, while playing Othello with Koizumi. Nagato sat beside us reading her
philosophy book she borrowed from the library, which was as thick as a dictionary.
By the way, Asahina-san wore today's costume as per our request. After all, doesn't it
just feel better to be served by a maid than by a nurse? Asahina-san held the tray
And the one destroying this peacefulness, drowning it in the wild torrents of time
The sparkling grin that she wears on her face just gives me the creeps. For some
reason, every time she smiles like that, I would sense a scheme from her that would
make me even more exhausted physically and mentally. What an incredible world.
"Which is better?"
I placed down my black Othello piece on the board, and after flipping over two of
"These."
Not flyers again. I took a quick glance at both sheets. One was a notice for a
grass-field soccer tournament, while the other was one for a grass-field American
football tournament. I secretly cursed the person who took the time to print these
"Actually, I never wanted to join the baseball tournament, but had wanted to
choose from these two instead, but the baseball one was held earlier. So Kyon, which
made a small grimace and toyed with the Othello piece in his finger; Asahina-san
shook her head constantly, her face nearly in tears, while Nagato simply continued to
read her book, occasionally flipping the pages with her fingers.
"Oh yeah, how many people do we need for a soccer or American football team?
I looked at Haruhi's beaming smile and wondered, "Which game requires fewer
players?"
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Chapter 2
Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody
The month of May was already hot enough, but July was just unbearable. The
humidity was even worse, raising my unhappiness index to record high levels. There
was no chance a cheap high school building like ours would be installed with such
high class devices like air conditioning. The sizzling 1-5 classroom was like the
waiting room for the bus to hell. I firmly believed the architect had no concept of
To make things worse, this week was the first week of the July term-end exams,
the joyfulness of my heart had gone on to linger around Brazil, not wanting to come
back yet.
My mid-term exam results were already disastrous, so I can't imagine my term-
end exam would ever have a satisfying result. This was most likely due to me
spending too much time with the SOS Brigade, and not being able to concentrate on
my studies as a result. I didn't want to have anything to do with that, but ever since
spring this year, whenever Haruhi makes a suggestion, I would mysteriously follow
Page 57
her around. This has become part of my daily life, and I'm beginning to hate myself
It was after school when the sun shone in from the west into the classroom. The
Suzumiya Haruhi asked me with the delightful look of a kid on Christmas Eve.
Whenever she reveals such a detailed expression, it was the sign that she was
"No!"
"Asahina-san's birthday."
"No~~pe!"
"Who cares about that? You really don't know what an important day this is?"
No matter how important you say it is, it's still a very hot, normal day for me.
"July 7th......I don't really want to think about it, but you're not thinking of the
"Of course I am! It's the Tanabata festival! You ought to remember if you even
This festival actually originated from China. And according to the Chinese
"Asia ranges from the Red Sea all the way to here."
"Don't they group all those places together for the World Cup Qualifiers? It's just
Oh, really?
"Whatever. Anyway we've got to hold a Tanabata activity as well. I insist that this
But do you really have to tell me this? I don't really want to know what you're
planning to do.
something big for Tanabata every year from this year onwards."
Though I had said that, seeing that Haruhi was looking extraordinarily excited, I
"Wait for me in the club room! Don't go home on your own!" She even said.
I didn't need her to tell me, I was planning to go to the club room anyway.
Because there exists a person that I must at least look at once. Just that person alone.
The other members were already gathered in the club room, which was located on
the second floor of the arts clubhouse. Instead of calling it the club room the SOS
Brigade rented from the Literature Club, it would be a better description to call it the
"Oh, hello."
Page 59
The one who smiled and greeted me cheerfully was Asahina-san. She is the source
Since July, Asahina-san had changed to a summer maid costume. It was Haruhi
that brought her the costume, I have absolutely no idea where she got all these
colourful costumes from, while Asahina-san would always thank her intently,
"Ah......t...thank you very much." Today she was still the SOS Brigade's reserve maid,
diligently brewing wheat tea for me. I sipped my tea and studied the room
surroundings.
"Hey, how're things going?"
Koizumi looked up and greeted me. He was sitting in front of a chess board,
which was laid on the table, and was holding a chess book on one hand while moving
"Things have never been normal for me ever since I entered high school."
Koizumi said he was tired of Othello, so decided to bring a chess board last week.
But since I nor anyone else knew how to play chess, he had to play all on his own. He
sure looks relaxed even though the exams are coming up.
"Well, I'm not exactly that relaxed. I'm just making use of the time when I'm not
studying to exercise my brain. For every problem solved, the blood circulation in the
No thanks, I don't feel like exercising my already exhausted brain right now. If I
think of any more weird stuff, then all those English words that I've spent a hard time
"That's a pity. Maybe I should bring a Monopoly or Battleship board next time?
Ah yes, how about something which all of us can play in? What do you have in
mind?"
Whatever, or maybe not. This isn't the Board Game Study Group, this is the SOS
Brigade. By the way, I'm still mystified as to what activities the SOS Brigade are
involved in. I wasn't sure what this mysterious club should be doing. Neither did I
want to know, since not knowing anything enhances my chances of survival. So I was
Sitting besides Koizumi, with less emotions than a robot was Nagato Yuki, who
was busy reading her book. This silent and cold alien has shifted her interests from
translated novels to original foreign-language novels. Right now she was reading a
book, whose cover was scribbled in a language I could not recognize, like one of
those old, thick magical spell books. I guessed it must be written in ancient Etruscan
or some other strange language. I'm sure Nagato would have no problem reading
I pulled out a foldable chair and sat on it. Asahina-san quickly delivered a cup in
front of me. Who would drink hot tea in such a hot day...... I have no intention of
making a complaint which would incur the wrath of the heavens, and sipped my
Standing in the corner of the room was an electric fan which Haruhi nicked from
somewhere. Yet its cooling effects were like pouring hot water over a pile of sizzling
hot rocks at best. If you can nick, why can't you nick one of those vertical air coolers
I turned my gaze away from the English textbook, whose pages flickered along
the wind, arched my back on the foldable chair and stretched myself.
Knowing very well that I'm not going to study when I go home, I had wanted to
see if it would be better for me to study in the club room after school, but I realized
that as long as I wasn't interested in something, then there's no way I could ever get it
done, no matter where I was. It won't be good physically or mentally to force myself
to do something I don't want to do. In other words, it is healthier if you don't force
yourself. That's it, I'm not studying. I spun my automatic pen and closed my book,
and decided to have a look at my mental stabilizer. The stabilizer which could sooth
my cynical heart was now dressed in a maid costume and sitting opposite of me,
nonchalant while thinking, then suddenly writing like mad as though inspired by
something - repeatedly performing these actions was none other than Asahina-san.
I felt so much more relaxed just by looking. I suddenly felt a great sense of pity,
as if throwing all my money, apart from my allowance, into a charity box in the street
wasn't that much of a problem. Asahina-san didn't notice I was looking at her, and
concentrated on studying her math. Her every action was enough to make me smile,
Asahina-san frantically tidied herself all over, this made my heart melt even more.
"Ya-ho!"
The door was violently opened, in rushed the rough girl walking in strides.
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Haruhi appeared with a scene, carrying a piece of bamboo shoot on her shoulder.
It was a long piece of live bamboo stick, with green bamboo leaves growing on it.
What are you bringing this thing here for? To make a bamboo piggy-bank?
so we might as well have one now, it's Tanabata today, after all!"
"Does it really matter? The bamboo roots are grown underground, they wouldn't
be affected even if the top half of the shoot was cut off! It'll be an offence if I stole the
whole shoot though. I got bitten by a few mosquitoes though, man it's so itchy.
Asahina-san walked in small steps carrying a first aid kit, she looked just like a
nurse trainee. She took out the ointment, then placed her hand into the collar of the
sailor uniform and onto Haruhi's back. Haruhi bent forward and said,
Haruhi now looked like a kitty cat whose chin was being cuddled and blinked her
eyes relaxingly. She placed the bamboo shoot by the window side, and calmly stood
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on the commander's desk, then took out a few pieces of tanzaku from nowhere and
Nagato slowly lifted her head, Koizumi smiled squeamishly, and Asahina-san
widened her eyes. What was she up to this time? Haruhi leaped from the desk, her
"What conditions?"
"Kyon, do you know who it is that grants people wishes on Tanabata?"
"Correct. That's ten points. Then, do you know which stars Orihime and
"Nope."
"That's right! 85 points! That's the two stars! In other words, you must point the
bamboo shoot carrying the tanzakus towards these two stars. Understood?"
What are you trying to say? And just which category did the remaining 15 points
belong to?
"Let me explain. There's no way we could travel faster than the speed of light,
Is there a meaning in telling me this all of a sudden? Haruhi took out a note cue
from her skirt pocket and said loudly while reading along it,
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"Just to let you know. The distance between the Earth and the Alpha Lyrae and
Alpha Aquila are twenty-five and sixteen lightyears respectively. This means it would
take twenty-five years and sixteen years to send a message from Earth to those stars.
information?
"So this would equal the time required for a god to receive our wishes, right? We
would have to wait for that long in order to get our wishes granted. So write down
what you would wish for in twenty-five or sixteen years' time! Writing wishes like 'I
wish to have a hunk of a boyfriend by next Christmas!' is not going to work, because
"Hang on, if it takes twenty-odd years for the wish to reach there, wouldn't it take
just as long for it to come back? Doesn't that mean we have to wait fifty years and
"Well, they're gods. Of course they're going to come up with something in order
to help us. There's always a 50% off auction sale once every year!"
Whenever it suited her, she would disregard the Laws of Relativity completely
"Now, does everyone understand what I'm saying? There are two types of
tanzakus, one for the Alpha Lyrae, and the other for Alpha Aquilae. So please write
down what you would wish for in twenty-five years and sixteen years' time."
That's utterly ridiculous. Trying to pray for two wishes to be granted at the same
time is just too shameless. Besides, there's no way we would know what we'll be
doing in twenty-five years or sixteen years' time. How should we know what wishes
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we'll have by then now? The best one could do is wish that their retirement scheme or
investment funds don't go wrong and are working properly by then, I guess.
If Orihime and Hikoboshi were to hear such wishes, I'm sure they'll suffer
headaches. They can only meet each other once every year, and yet they're being
asked to grant such silly wishes. Why don't you ask your own politicians to help
However, as always, this girl was thinking up all sorts of nonsensensical stuff. I
can't help but wonder if there's a white hole inside her head, since her common sense
Koizumi actually sounded like he was defending Haruhi. But he said it very softly
"It's true that Suzumiya-san's speech and behaviour are unique, but judging from
the present situation, it's clear that she knows what common sense is."
"If her thought patterns were abnormal, then this world wouldn't be so stable. If
that were the case, this world would have already become a strange one dictated by
"Suzumiya-san wishes that the whole world would change a bit, and she herself
possesses the power to reconstruct the world from scratch. You should know very
well."
"Yet so far the world has not gone completely irrational, this is because she values
"This may sound childish, but," Koizumi lifted his head and said,
"Let's take an example, she wishes for Santa Claus to exist. From common
knowledge, Santa Claus doesn't exist. Because considering Japan alone, it's just not
possible for someone to enter a locked house in the middle of the night, leave a
present then leave without ever being detected. How does Santa Claus know what
every child wants for Christmas? And there's no way he could leave a present in the
house of every child around the world in the space of one night. It's physically
impossible."
For someone to actually consider these things seriously, they must truly be
mental.
The reason I rebutted him was because he was standing on Haruhi's side, and that
"If you're right, doesn't that mean it's impossible for aliens, time travellers and
"Which is why I could imagine, Suzumiya-san feels very uncomfortable with the
common sense that exists within her. Her common sense has once and again rejected
her wish - that is to have a world where supernatural occurrences are the norm."
Does that mean her wild thoughts have a slight edge over her common sense?
"Perhaps she was unable to suppress those thoughts, which was why I, Asahina-
san and Nagato-san were summoned to her side, and why I was granted supernatural
powers. Though I'm not sure what you would think of it."
It's best to remain unsure. At least I'm not like you, I'm fully aware that I'm a
triangular shaped as she glared and shouted at us. So we had to obediently receive the
Haruhi hummed and begun writing; Nagato sat still and stared at the tanzaku;
while Asahina-san had the troubled expression of encountering something harder than
a difficult math problem. Koizumi said in a relaxed manner, "Hmm, now that's a
bother", while tilting his head in deep thought. Do you three really need to think so
seriously for such a matter? Wouldn't it be easier to just take it easy and write
......And don't tell me that the wishes you wrote are going to become true!
I spun the pencil around my fingers and looked aside. The bamboo shoot that
Haruhi "stolen" was lying out of the opened window, its leaves look messed up as a
result. The occasional breeze made a ruffling noise among the leaves, making one feel
Haruhi's voice brought my soul back to reality. On the table in front of her were
It was full of what a spoilt mishievous kid would write. It would have been fine if it
were meant as a joke, yet Haruhi looked so dead serious when she hanged her
tanzakus on the bamboo leaf
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It was full of what a spoilt mishievous kid would write. It would have been fine if
it were meant as a joke, yet Haruhi looked so dead serious when she hanged her
The wishes Asahina-san made were just too adorable. She clasped her palms and
prayed at the tanzakus that she hung on the bamboo leaf. I think she must have got
something wrong.
There was nothing interesting on Nagato's tanzakus, writing in a very regular font,
in the future, I would be an old geezer by then, so I guess the future me would wish
"I want a detached house with a garden where I can give a dog a bath"
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Haruhi declared her thoughts looking astonished after seeing my notes. She was
the least qualified to feel surprise by my wishes. In the long term, my wishes are far
"Forget it! Everyone, make sure you remember the wishes that you've written
down! The first key period would be sixteen years from now. Let's have a race to see
I looked as Asahina-san nodded her head with a serious expression as I sat on the
foldable chair. When I looked carefully, Nagato had returned to her world of books
already.
Haruhi stuck the long bamboo shoot out of the window and then put it in a firm
position. She then pulled a chair besides the window and sat on it. She placed her
elbow on the window frame and looked up at the sky. The side of her face looked a
little bit melancholic, as though not knowing what to do next. She is the sort of person
whose mood swings very rapidly, and she was yelling so excitedly a while ago.
I opened my text book, and began my attempt to tackle the exams once more. As I
Nagato was silently reading her foreign language novel, Koizumi began to play
chess on his own, while I was busy trying to memorize my English translations. All
this time, Haruhi was sitting by the window and looking up at the sky. She was
actually quite a beautiful view to behold if she keeps on sitting there and not move. At
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first I thought that she has decided to take a leaf from Nagato, but somehow the sight
of Haruhi sitting there behaving herself just made me even more uneasy. I suspect she
was probably sitting there thinking of new things that would give us a major
headache.
Sometimes she would look into the sky and breathed a deep sigh. This made me
shudder even more. This silence was probably the calm before the storm, it's just too
terrifying. The Emperor Sutoku was like that for the first two to three days after being
exiled to Sanuki.
Ruffle I heard the sound of paper ruffling and lifted my head. Sitting opposite of
me and working hard on her math problems a while ago, Asahina-san placed a finger
on her lips and closed her right eye, she then gave me an extra tanzaku which she
took in advance a while ago. Peeping at Haruhi, Asahina-san then retracted her hand
and lowered her head with the face of a little girl who had just successfully pulled a
prank.
"Please stay in the club room after today's activity has ended. - Mikuru-chan"
The above message was written on the note in a small and round handwriting.
Haruhi said and quickly picked her bag and left the room. She was behaving
rather unusual for today. She was like a diesel engine truck that has suddenly become
as tame as a solar powered car. Things sure are going fine for me today, I thought.
Koizumi tidied up his chess board and stood up. After exchanging glances with
Nagato shut her thick book with a loud thud. Oh, so you're leaving as well?
Thanks for understanding......Just as I was feeling grateful for her, Nagato walked
"Take this."
She took out a piece of paper. It was another tanzaku. I can't help you send this to
space even if you give it to me! I thought to myself as I looked at the tanzaku.
Strange geometric shapes were drawn on it. What on earth is this? Some sort of
Sumerian language? I'm afraid not even the Enigma machine would be able to
I frowned and studied to these patterns, which were neither drawings nor words,
with triangular, circular and wave-like shapes all over. By now Nagato had turned
around to pack her bag, and had left the room already.
Forget it. I placed the piece of tanzaku into my jacket pocket, then turned to face
Asahina-san.
"I, I'm sorry, but I hope you could come with me to a place."
This invitation didn't come from anyone else, but from Asahina-san herself. I'll be
condemned by the heavens if I turn her down. I'll even jump down a molten iron pit
I asked for a location, and she answered with a time instead. But......
Not three years ago again? I thought to myself, yet I was suddenly interested.
keep forgetting about that since she's just so cute. But three years ago? We're going to
three years ago? Does that mean we have to travel through time?
"Y......yes."
"Sure, I'm more than happy to go, but why me? What're we going to do there?"
Huh?
Maybe it was the confused look on my face, Asahina-san frantically shook her
Now that I think about it, when Asahina-san declared that she was from the future,
there was no one else to verify her claim. It wasn't until when I encountered another
grown-up version of Asahina-san that I truly believed her story, yet I still can't deny
having suspicions about some sort of conspiracy behind this. Then wouldn't this be a
great chance to really proof that "Asahina-san comes from the future"?
I had thought we only needed to crawl into a drawer, but Asahina-san said there
was no such device. Then how were we going to commence time travel? Asahina-san
"From here."
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Huh? Here? I turned and looked nonchalantly around the club room, which was
"Yes, please sit down. And could you please close your eyes? Yes, relax your
shoulders as well."
I did as she told me to. I hope I don't get struck on the back of my head suddenly.
"Kyon-kun......"
Asahina-san suppressed voice came in from behind my ear. Such a soft breath.
"I'm sorry."
I had a bad feeling about this. As I was about to open my eyes, suddenly
everything went dark around me. I was knocked unconscious as I felt a strong
nauseating feeling as though losing my balance. Before the darkness came, I thought
that was supposed to be standing was now lying flat, when I saw the street lamps
sticking out from my left side to my right, I realized I was lying down. It was then I
An angelic voice said. I was fully awake now. What was that squirming under my
left ear?
Asahina-san sounds troubled. I pulled myself upright and confirmed where I was.
What's going on here? I was sleeping on Asahina-san's knees, and because I was
Asahina-san smiled embarassingly and lowered her head. I don't know where she
went to get changed, but her maid costume has now been replaced by her North High
sailor uniform. There was more than enough time from dusk to late night for her to
get changed, yet I had to fall asleep of all times. But, why was I sleeping?
"That's because I can't let you know the methods of travelling through time, since
No, I'm not angry at all. If it were Haruhi, I'd have already beaten the crap out of
room a while ago, why was I suddenly in the park in the middle of the night now?
And I feel like I've been to this park before. I remember Nagato also asked to meet
me in this park the other day, is this some holy ground for queer people?
"From our time of origin, it is now July 7th three years ago. It's about nine at
night, I guess?"
"Yes."
I never thought we would come here so easily. Of course, I wasn't naive enough to
believe everything she tells me, I would have to confirm first. I'll try calling the time
suddenly felt heavy. Huh? Asahina-san was now lying her head on my shoulder. An
exhausted Asahina-san now leaned over me, what's the meaning behind this?
"Asahina-san."
No response.
"Um......"
"(Snore)......"
Snoring?
I leaned my head forward then turned 85 degrees to the left, and saw Asahina-san
closed her eyes, her lips half-opened as she made a quiet snore. What's going on here?
Ruffle......
The bushes behind suddenly ruffled. I felt my heart leaping out of my mouth,
It was the deluxe version of Asahina-san. A pretty young lady, though much older
than the Asahina-san sleeping on my shoulder, this Asahina-san has grown fully in
every part. While still looking cute, her charm has increased tenfold. I've met her
before once, and like last time, she was wearing a white blouse and blue tight
The adult Asahina-san pinched on the sleeping Asahina-san's cheeks and said,
(small),
Feeling the soft breaths of Asahina-san (small) on my arm, I couldn't move and
"It was her mission to bring you here, yet from here onwards, it would be my
Looking like an idiot, I asked Asahina-san, who gave a mature aura even when
smiling,
"Um......just what is......"
"I can't explain in detail, since it's classified. All I can do now is to guide you."
"It was I who made her sleep, since I can't be seen by her."
"Why's that?"
That reason sounded clear yet confusing at the same time. The charming Asahina-
"Go south following the rail track over there, you'll come to a public junior high
school. Could you please go help the person standing outside the school fence? Can
you go right now? And I hope you don't mind carrying this me along as well, I
She sounded like one of those villagers in those role-playing games. I wonder
"Reward? Well......"
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The adult Asahina-san elegantly placed her hands under her chin and thought
"I have nothing to offer you, but you could kiss me while I'm sleeping softly. And
Such an attractive deal! That's exactly what I've been wishing for. The sight of
"That's a bit......"
Whether it was my mood or the situation then, I just don't feel like it would be
appropriate for me. Frankly, I was disgusted at myself for being so rational then.
"Time is running short, I must go now."
"Oh, yes, please don't let her know that I was here. Let's hook our fingers and
make a promise."
Asahina-san (big) said cheerfully and walked off into the darkness, she was out of
"Now then......" I muttered to myself. I wonder when I'll meet this adult Asahina-
san again? I had a feeling she hasn't changed much since giving me that strange hint
the last time we met. Maybe this Asahina-san who appeared came from an earlier
time plane than the one I met before. I don't get it. There's no way I could. Judging
from the mood just now, it was possible I would meet many more Asahina-sans from
Asahina-san, who I carried on my back, wasn't light, but she wasn't exactly heavy
either. It was natural that my pace has slowed down. Her angelic face breathed her
soft breaths into my ear that it was almost criminal. My neck felt itchy by her
breathing.
I avoided the glances of the pedestrians (though there was hardly anyone else on
the street), and quickly headed towards the direction the adult Asahina-san pointed for
me. I think I walked for another ten minutes, the pedestrians on the road became less
and less as I walked along. After turning around a corner, we finally arrived at our
destination.
East Junior High. I've heard of this place. This was Taniguchi and Haruhi's junior
high. Speaking of which, a familiar person was now standing in front of the school
fence. I instantly recognized the small figure that was about to climb up the metal
fence.
"Hey!"
After yelling, I felt surprised. How did I know who this person was? This was too
incredible. I looked at that person's back, the height was much shorter, while the dark
Of course, there was only one person who I knew would sneak out at night and
"What?"
It was now that I truly began to feel that I was now face to face with a past reality
three years ago. No kidding, it seems like I've really travelled three years back in
time.
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Leaning by the fence, the face that turned and looked at me was indeed younger
than the commander of the SOS Brigade that I know.
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Leaning by the fence, the face that turned and looked at me was indeed younger
Yet there was no mistake with those pair of glittering eyes, those were Haruhi's
eyes. Even if she dressed casually in a T-shirt and pair of shorts, she still looked the
same to me. Three years ago, Haruhi was in her first year of junior high. Could she be
"Who are you? A sex criminal? Or a kidnapper? At any case, you look
suspicious."
The blurry street lamps had showered the street in a dim white light. I could not
clearly make out Haruhi's expression, yet Haruhi, the first year junior high student,
was now looking at me with eyes that has seen something suspicious. Who looked
more suspicious? A girl trying to scale the school fence in the middle of the night? Or
me who was loitering around carrying a sleeping girl? I really don't feel like giving
"You're the one looking suspicious instead. What're you doing here then?"
"What else would I be here for? To illegally enter the premises, of course."
Don't openly declare your criminal intentions like that, there's a limit to being
shameless!
"You came just in time. I don't know you, but if you're free, then help me out a
I should be the one calling the cops, but I've already promised the other Asahina-
san. On the other hand, why do I always find the existence known as Suzumiya
Haruhi leaped to the inside of the fence and opened the lock which was place on
the fence with a key. Where'd you get those keys from?
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"I stole them when no one was looking. It was too easy."
She was truly a pickpocket. Haruhi slowly slide open the metal fence and waved
at me. I walked towards the little girl, who was one head shorter than her future self
Next to the entrance of East Junior High was the track field. The school complex
was opposite us. Haruhi started to walk diagonally across the dark track field.
It's good that it was so dark, she wasn't able to see clearly my face or Asahina-
san's. In three years time, Haruhi would never have thought that she has met me and
Asahina-san while she was in her first year of junior high. So it was good this way, or
sports equipment storage. Inside was a rusty wagon, and a chalk-drawing machine
"I had these hidden beforehand in the storage house during the evening, pretty
clever huh?"
Haruhi beamed, she then carried the bag of chalk powder, which was nearly as
heavy as her, onto the wagon and pushed the handle. The way she slowly pushes the
wagon made me realize how young she really was. I guess junior high students are
I carefully placed the sleeping Asahina-san down and let her lean against the wall
of the storage house, please sit here like a good girl for now.
"Let me do it! Give me that thing, you go carry the chalk-drawing machine."
Should I really be helping her? All this time I have been driven around like a slave
by Haruhi, she was like a robot that went astray and won't stop until she has destroyed
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everything. She was still the same from the past all the way to the present. It seems a
person's inherent nature won't change so easily in the space of three years.
"Follow my instructions and draw the lines. That's right, you there. Because I
need to watch over you from somewhere afar and see if you've made any mistakes.
To be able to order around a high school student she never met before without
even flustering, there's no doubt this is indeed Haruhi. If I had met this sort junior
high schoolgirl for the first time, I probably would have thought she's mentally
insane.
If I knew her before meeting Nagato, Asahina-san and Koizumi, that is.
Following Haruhi's instructions, I drew white lines along the left and right side of
the track. For nearly thirty minutes, not a single night-shift teacher appeared, and
neither did a police car came to investigate after receiving complaints from
neighbours.
Could the strange symbolic patterns that Taniguchi said suddenly appeared on the
I silently looked at the pattern that I worked so hard to draw out. Haruhi now
came to my side and snatched the drawing machine from me. She then began to draw
"And sliders?"
"Hmph."
Haruhi threw aside the chalk-drawing machine and rubbed the chalk off her face
"Yeah."
"John Smith."
"That's my sister. She's suffering from a sleeping disorder called narcolepsy. She's
been like that for some time now, suddenly falling asleep anywhere and anytime,
"Hmph."
Haruhi bit her lower lip and turned aside, revealing an expression of disbelief. I
"Really? I'd sure like to meet that person. Is there really such a person in North
High?"
"Yup."
From now till then, the only person who would do such things is you.
Haruhi muttered to herself as in deep thought. She was silent for some time like a
salted vegetable, she then suddenly turned around the next moment.
"I'm going home now. I've achieved what I came here for. See ya."
She walked off in great strides. Not even a word of thanks? How rude, yet that
sure is how Haruhi would behave. Besides, she never gave her name all this time. I
not before I returned the wagon and chalk-powder which Haruhi abandoned back into
something naughty to her, but in the end I resisted this urge and slowly shook her
shoulders.
"Um......huh. Eh?......"
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"EH!?"
How should I answer her? Just as I was about to look for an answer, Asahina-san
suddenly yelled, "AH!!!" Even in the dark, I could tell that her white face was now
Asahina-san was on the verge of tears, then after a while she really started to cry.
She looked just like a kid that got lost as she rubbed her hands on her eyes and wept.
"What's a TPDD?"
like a time machine. I used that to get us to this time plane......but I can't find it.
"I don't know......I'm not supposed to lose it......but it's really gone."
I thought of the other Asahina-san, who has touched her a while ago.
Asahina-san explained to me as she sniffed, that every event in a time plane has
been decided, so if there exists a TPDD, then it should be with her. And right now she
no longer has it with her, then that means it's already inevitable that she would lose it,
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so it has been decided that she "no longer carries it"......something like that. What's
"Sob, sob. It means, if things remain this way, we'll be stuck on the time plane
three years ago and won't be able to return to our original time."
Now that's serious! I thought to myself, yet somehow I don't feel alarmed. The
adult Asahina-san never told me anything about this. I'm guessing she should be the
one who took the TPDD away and created such a situation. I deduced that Asahina-
san (big) came here to the past just for that purpose alone. For the Asahina-san who
the track field. The mysterious pattern that Haruhi thought up of and drawn by me
looked very scrambled up. The teachers and students of East Junior High are probably
going to be given a shock when they see this next morning. I just hope that these
scribbles are not some curses aimed at aliens......Just as I was wondering away, then it
It was dark everywhere, the school was only dimly lit by the blurry street lamps
outside. As the white lines that I drew were so big, if I didn't stand back some
I reached for my pocket and took out the tanzaku Nagato gave me. On it was
I said, Asahina-san looked at me blinking her eyes while I continued to study the
tanzaku.
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The symbolic patterns drawn on it was exactly the same as Haruhi's message for
the stars, the graffiti that I and Haruhi drew on the school field not long ago.
We hastily left East Junior High and came to a high-class apartment complex near
the station.
"Yeah. I didn't ask her specifically when she came to Earth, but I'm sure she was
I stood at the main entrance of the apartment complex and pushed the button for
Room 708. A beep sound was heard through the intercom, I could feel the warmth of
"......"
A frozen-like breath can be heard through the intercom. A brief pause, and
then......
"Come in."
Beep The main gate opened. I led Asahina-san, who was looking terrified, into the
elevator. We arrived at the seventh floor and came in front of Room 708, which I have
visited once before. I pushed softly on the door, which then opened slowly.
There stood Nagato Yuki inside the door. Everything felt surreal to me. Was it
Nagato looked exactly the same as I saw her before, which led me to doubt
whether we even travelled through time. The way she wore her North high sailor
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uniform, looked at me with her emotionless eyes, and her seeming lack of body
warmth and sense of existence was no different to the Nagato that I knew. Yet, the
only difference was that Nagato had recently stopped wearing glasses, while the
This Nagato wore on her face a pair of glasses which I had no idea when the
"Hey!" I raised my arm and gave her a friendly smile. Nagato was as devoid of
"......"
Nagato silently turned inside towards her apartment. I took that she has given me
and Asahina-san permission to enter. We took off our shoes and headed to the living
room. It was the same as it was three years later, the place was still empty as usual.
Nagato stood still and waited for us to come in. Left with no choice, I decided to
continue standing and explain everything to her. Where should I begin? From the first
day of school when I first met Haruhi? That's one hell of a long story.
Skipping through the details, I gave her a brief summary of what has happened.
Her emotionless eyes continued to stare at me through her glasses. I think I spent
about five minutes explaining, though personally I believed the summary for this
"......And so, the you from three years later gave me this."
Nagato gazed at the tanzaku that I took out, her fingers hovering over the strange
"Understood."
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Nagato simply nodded her head. Is that so? Wait, I've suddenly thought of
"It's true that I've known Nagato for some time, but for you it was three years ago.
That is, for you right now, this is the first time we have met, right?"
Even I didn't understand what I was talking about. Yet Nagato's glasses flashed as
"Yes."
"Then......"
"The 'me' that exists in the time plane three years from now, and the 'me' that
exists in this time period are one and the same person."
Then what? Isn't that supposed to be the case? But it can't be possible for Nagato
three years ago to share the same memory as Nagato three years later.
"It is possible."
"Synchronization."
Nagato stopped replying and slowly took off her glasses. Her emotionless eyes
blinked at me. That was indeed the face of the bookish girl that I recognize. It was the
"Why are you in the North High uniform? Have you already started school?"
"Yes."
"That's really......"
Patient of you. Don't you find it boring? Nagato shook her head and said,
"This is a mission."
inaccuracies. Many theories exist for movement through the spacetime continuum."
"Using TPDD to transfer organic lifeforms through time is allowed, but it will
When you say "us" do you mean the Integrated Data Sentient Entity?
"Can Nagato-san perform leap through time planes in its complete form?"
"Form is not necessary. It is enough for time travel as long as it contains the same
data."
Shuttling back and forth between past, present and future huh?
If Asahina-san can do it, then it wouldn't be hard at all for Nagato. Since Nagato
possesses adequate powers to do so. I started to wonder, when compared with Nagato
"I hope it's just me thinking too much......but you aren't asking us to sleep here, are
you?"..."Yes."
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the theories and workings on time travel. The question now is what we should do so
that I and Asahina-san can return to the future three years later.
She then stood up and opened the paper door to the room which was connected
"Here."
It was a Japanese style bedroom laid with tatami, there was nothing else besides
tatami. It looked really lonely, as expected from Nagato's place. This I could
understand, but why has she brought us here to this guest room? Is the time machine
hidden inside this room? Just as I was about to ask all sorts of questions, Nagato took
out a futon from the cupboard and started laying it flat. She even brought two
blankets out.
"I hope it's just me thinking too much......but you aren't asking us to sleep here,
are you?"
Nagato carried the blanket and looked at me. The figures of me and Asahina-san
"Yes."
"Yes."
I stole a glance at my side and saw Asahina-san looking embarassed, her face
"Now sleep."
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\Don't be so direct!
She blushed while I shrugged my shoulders. It was us who came to Nagato for help, if
she wants us to sleep, then let's sleep! If we wake up and find ourselves back to where
Nagato switched off the lamp switch with her hand and began to mutter
something. As I wondered, She can't be saying good night to us, could she? The lamp
The next moment, the lights went on again. The fluorescent tube slowly flickered
as the light became stabalized. Huh? What's this strange feeling? Outside the window
Her innocent, child-like face looked troubled, and she looked at me with a
questioning glance, but of course I didn't know how to answer her questions.
Nagato stood there like before as she turned on the lamp switch.
I have a feeling that this wasn't Nagato's usual face, it's as though there's some
emotion inside this one. I looked closely at that pale white face, it's as though she
wanted to express something but was not able to due to some conflict within her
heart. If I hadn't observed her face for quite some time, I would hardly have noticed
The sound of breathing in could be heard by my side, I turned and saw Asahina-
san meddling around with the liquid display watch on her right wrist.
I took a glance at her watch, could that thing be the so-called TPDD?
You mean those watches which automatically synchronizes with the standard
"We've returned. Our time of origin was July 7th......just after nine thirty at night.
Standing by the door was the Nagato we knew. If I have to distinguish through
whether she wears her glasses or not, then this Nagato Yuki was the one that has
softened up a bit. Seeing her three years later, I finally understood. The Nagato before
me has indeed changed a bit ever since I first saw her in the Literature Club room
when Haruhi brought me there. The change was so small that she probably doesn't
realize it herself.
"But, how did you do it?"
until the known destination the within spacetime continuum, and finally unfreezing
the data."
She said some very abstract terms, then paused and added,
Asahina-san attempt to stand up, then her knees softened and she knelt down
again,
"Nagato-san......has stopped time itself. She probably had the time in this space
along with us frozen for three years, until today when she finally unfroze the
time......right?"
I thought to myself, seems like we've safely returned to three years in the future. I
was sure of it just by looking at Asahina-san's reaction, she was that sort who wears
her thoughts on her face. No matter, I'll believe the reason for how we returned from
three years ago and how time had been frozen for now. Right now I can tolerate
almost anything, no matter what it is, I can basically accept it without any problems.
had invited me once, but that time I only saw the living room and had not entered this
guest room, which I wasn't even aware had existed. So......um, in other words, what's
going on here?
......In other words, when I visited for the first time and heard her story concerning
data explosions, there was another "me" sleeping in the room besides us.
"......Hey, does that mean back then you already knew what would happen?
"Yes."
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From my perspective, the first time I met Nagato was during the start of the
school term when Haruhi thought of setting up the SOS Brigade. Yet Nagato had
already met me in Tanabata three years ago. For me, that only happened not long ago,
but she told me that was already three years ago. I think I'm going crazy already.
Both me and Asahina-san looked stunned and astonished at this turn of events. I
always knew Nagato was capable, but I never thought she could even freeze time. In
that case, doesn't that make her the amazing Wonder Woman?
I decided to thank her first, though thanking her was the best I could do.
Nagato nodded her seemingly cold face, then handed me the tanzaku with
geometric symbols drawn on it. I received it and noticed the paper quality had worn
"Oh yeah, the symbols on this tanzaku, can you tell me what it's saying?"
I casually asked. I didn't think anyone could read some nonsensical symbols
"I am here,"
Asahina-san and I left Nagato's home and walked under the moonlit sky.
"Asahina-san, was there any meaning for you to bring me to the past?"
Asahina-san tried her hardest to think, then lifted her head and said in a very soft
voice,
club."
She pouted and said. Asahina-san, you look cute in that expression as well.
"I merely followed the orders......of my superiors, or higher up. So not even I
none other than the adult Asahina-san? It was a baseless speculation, since the only
time travellers I knew were her and the normal Asahina-san, so I can't be blamed for
"I see."
Yet, I still didn't understand. If that adult Asahina-san came to drop me a hint,
then she would know what would happen to us. And it seems she never told this
"Hmm......"
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It's no use getting a headache over this. If Asahina-san doesn't understand it, then
there's no way I could understand. Nagato said that there's more than one way to
travel through time. Future time travellers have their own set of rules I guess? I hope
I parted ways with Asahina-san at the station. Her small figure once again gave
thanks to me, then left as though it was a great pity. After she was out of sight, I
headed home as well, and it was now that I realized that I left my bag in the club
room.
The next day, which was July 8th; for my consciousness, it was indeed the next
day, but for my body, it felt like three years and one day had passed since I last went
to school. I went to school empty handed and headed straight for the club room, then
went to the classroom after getting my bag. Asahina-san came earlier than me it
Arriving in the classroom, I saw Haruhi sitting there, looking intently out of the
"What's wrong? You look depressed since yesterday. Had you been picking and
I said and sat down. Haruhi gave a deliberate sigh and said,
"Nothing really. Just feeling melancholic thinking about something in the past.
"I see."
Haruhi turned her head and observed the changes in the clouds. I shrugged my
shoulders. I have no intentions on lighting the fuse for this bomb. Anyone with
After school, the Literature Club room once again became the underground
Haruhi only said, "Throw the bamboo shoot away, it's useless now." Then left at
once. The "commander" armband looked rather lonely after being left behind on the
table. Sigh, tomorrow she'll return to being the eccentric girl, asking us to do
Asahina-san wasn't here as well. Only Nagato Yuki was in the room, alongside
with me playing chess with Koizumi. Unable to resist his "evangelistic" passion for
I took out one of Koizumi's pawns with my knight while glancing at Nagato, who
was looking intently at the chess board with her blank face.
"Say, Nagato, I don't get it at all. Is Asahina-san really from the future?"
"Yes."
"But I just feel a sense of paradox between heading to the past and returning to
the future."
That was expected. If there were no continuity between the past and the future - if
we went back three years ago, went to sleep over there and reawake in the present,
then the "present" that we're in now should be a different world from the "yesterday"
that we departed from. Yet from the outcome, I had given Haruhi an idea she
shouldn't have, and that idea had brought Haruhi to North High, enhancing her
If I didn't travel back to three years ago, maybe everything would never have
happened. Judging from the tone of adult Asahina-san, she seems to know more than
us. In other words, continuity does exist between the past and the future. This
contradicts with what Asahina-san had told me earlier. I can still figure this out at
"As there is no conclusion to the paradox theory, there is no way to prove that
there is no paradox."
Nagato said calmly, giving a strange expression that reads That should explain
everything. That explanation may indeed be enough for you, but I completely do not
understand at all. Nagato lifted her smooth white neck and looked at me,
"Soon you will understand."
She then went back to her usual seat and returned to her world of books. Koizumi
now spoke,
"That's the case. Right now my king is being checked by your rook. This is sure a
Koizumi said while picking up his black king, then casually placed the king into
his jacket pocket. He then showed his palm like a magician revealing his tricks,
I toyed around the white rook with my fingers and though, I'm not going to play
some stupid Zen philosophy games with you, and I don't plan to satisfy myself with
In any case - there's no doubt that Haruhi is a paradoxical existence, the same can
"Besides, a king means nothing to us, instead, it is the queen that plays a more
important role."
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I placed the white rook on the box where the black king was standing. Queen to
Knight 8.
"......I don't know what's going to happen next, but I just hope it's not something
"I think it's best for things to remain peaceful, or you would prefer to have
something happen?"
Chapter 3
Mystérique Sign
Unsurprisingly, Haruhi had recovered from her melancholic state during the end-
of-term exams, and was once again acting however she pleased. As for me, it seemed
like the blue color forced out by that reaction had been passed into my hands like a
baton, and I was at the peak of misery. Every exam paper that was distributed made
me feel worse and worse. My melancholy was probably shared as much by Taniguchi.
In the midterm exams, we were like comrades who would fly right on the edge of the
low altitude line together, even when the red mark of failure had us firmly caught in
its radar. A person is an animal that wants someone who is at least as stupid as itself
around. You can feel relatively at ease if they're around. On the other hand, this is
absolutely not the case when you see somebody else relaxing.
Taking her test in the seat behind me was Haruhi, who somehow always had time
to spare. Around thirty minutes before the allotted time was over, you could usually
How annoying.
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Kyon: "I can't. I don't get it at all. Today's Modern Japanese exam was easier to
understand than this."
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All club activities are suspended during exams, but since the SOS Brigade is open
all-year-round for some reason, reopening for business on a day like this is normal,
even though no one had asked us to, same as yesterday and the day before that.
School enforced policies do not apply to SOS Brigade activities, apparently. This is
only natural, since this whole thing has been a mistake from the very beginning. And
since this enigma of a brigade wasn't even a club or anything, it didn't matter. That is
Haruhi's policy.
Like the other day. Although I had just managed to raise my will to study to the
limit, at just the right moment, Haruhi dragged me by my sleeve and brought me with
Haruhi said, pointing to the display of the computer that she had plundered from
There was no avoiding it, so I looked. The graphics-editing software was showing
drink in the middle of a circle; I had no idea what kind of drawing it was supposed to
be. I didn't know what else to think, other than, it was something drawn by a
kindergartener.
"What is it?"
I said frankly.
"I can't. I don't get it at all. Today's Modern Japanese exam was easier to
"What are you talking about? That test was so simple even your little sister
She answered, her face glowing with pride, like she had just accomplished some
wonderful thing.
"Emblem?" I said.
through holidays for two straight months, and retraces his footsteps while taking the
Now that you mention it, it's not that I don't feel like it seems like it looks like it,
but I would hesitate to say it out loud that it's not that I can't see it. Well then, how
many negatives did I string together? I don't feel like doing it myself, so if
"You're the one with the most free time! And you're not going to be doing any
cramming, anyway."
I was actually brimming with eagerness until just a moment ago. But, now that I
"I'm thinking about putting this on the SOS Brigade's top page."
Speaking of which, we do have such a thing. But it's a miserable site that doesn't
"We're not getting any more visitors. How disgraceful! And we haven't received
any mysterious e-mail at all. It's because you got in my way! I thought we could've
Asahina-san's passionate maid pictures are all mine, and I don't intend to share
them with anyone. This is certainly one of those things in this world that cannot be
"You may have made this site, but it's reeeaaaally boring, don't you agree? There's
stupid homepage by mistake. Since there were no contents, there's nothing to update.
All it has is an image saying "Welcome to the SOS Brigade Website!", an e-mail
address, and an access counter. That counter hasn't even reached three digits, and
While I watched as the handmade website appeared in the browser window that
"Why don't you write a journal? Isn't it the chief's job to put up a task log? Even
It'd be a pain for me, too. To describe a day here, the only things you could write
about would be stuff like what kind of book Nagato was reading, how Koizumi won
at Gomoku Narabe, how Asahina-san was cute today as well, and how Haruhi was
sitting quietly with her mouth closed. Having written such unexciting things, I
couldn't think that reading them would be any more fun. Therefore, I won't do
"Okay, Kyon. Make this symbol show at the top of the site."
"Do it yourself."
"So look it up. You'll never learn if you keep depending on others."
"I'm the chief! The chief's job is to direct. Besides, if I do everything then you
guys won't have any work to do, will you? You should use your head a little, too. You
Are you telling me to do it, or not to do it? Which is it? Speak proper Japanese.
"Just do it, already! You can't trick me with that sort of wordplay. You should be
thankful that you have as much free time as the Greeks did Before Common Era.
The longer I had to listen to Haruhi's voice, which was like a crow singing noisily
at the break of dawn, the more my ears would hurt, so I reluctantly opened the HTML
editor, took Master Artist Haruhi's illustration, which seemed like it had been drawn
by a child who had some time to waste, reduced it to an appropriate size, pasted it
I clicked reload on the browser to verify the change. It seemed like the
unnecessary SOS Brigade emblem had left its footprint on the internet world
properly. I took a quick look at the access counter, and as expected, the number was
still at two digits. It'd be fine if no one but Haruhi would ever see the site. I don't want
it to be known that the one who had made such an awful website was me.
By the end of the day, as the first term somehow comes to a close, so do the days
that have drawn out my melancholy, coming to a momentary rest that will begin from
tomorrow. That rest's name is said to be the exam break. This preparatory period will
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last until summer vacation, and is the time when the teachers will probably mark my
Nagato silently reading a book, Koizumi smiling while solving a Shogi problem
listen to those tedious words; this composition has been the pattern these days.
Nothing has been happening recently as well, but I have felt like this since the
beginning.
Asahina's lilting voice, what came out from the room instead was,
"Come in!"
It was Haruhi's careless voice, and when I entered, Haruhi was the only one I saw.
With her elbows on the chief's desk, she was doing something on the PC that she had
Certainly, Nagato was in the corner of the table with an open book, seeming like
she had become a figurine as she usually did. She's like an attachment for this room,
so there's no need to include her in the count. She hasn't committed to entering the
SOS Brigade, and is officially a member of the Literature Club. But I guess I should
"That's true, do you have any complaints about it? If you do, I'd like to hear them,
If I were to list my complaints about you, it would completely fill up both sides of
an A4 note.
"I'm the one who should be disappointed. Because you knocked like that, I
thought a client must have certainly come. Don't confuse me by acting like one,
okay?"
I'm taking care so that I don't accidentally witness Asahina-san changing her
clothes live. That charmingly careless person can't quite remember to lock the door.
And what was that about clients? Tell me what kind of customer would visit this
room.
A thought startled me. She couldn't be talking about what happened three years
"You're the one who did it! And without getting my permission."
To get the student council to somehow approve the SOS brigade, I made up some
even make it to discussions, we could appeal to the student council to let the SOS
had said such a stupid thing to the executive board, we would have been shut down in
an instant.
However, I had already gone so far as making a poster by hand. I don't really
remember what I wrote, but I think it had something like, "We accept all
consultations." Since I'd gone to the trouble, I stuck it on a bulletin board I had
happened to see. Even if someone did see it, in any case, I presumed that there would
be no one deranged enough to come to the SOS Brigade for advice about their
problems. This seems to be the correct answer, as we presently have no clients, which
actually come? It was time to go home for the day, but perhaps it was better to get
myself unstuck from here. If a student with a truly strange problem came, things
I was deciding in a corner of my mind, and while Haruhi was moving the mouse
I looked through the side of Haruhi's hair. What the display was unwillingly
projecting was our SOS Brigade homepage. However, it was subtly different from
what I had made. The emblem that had been clumsily scribbled by Haruhi's hand was
distorted as if it had been concentrated, and the counter and title logo had just been
blown off. I tried reloading, but it didn't change. It was like abnormal data completely
covered by mosaic.
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"It's not the PC. It looks like the file on the server is corrupt."
I don't understand the internet very well, but I know that much. By chance, I had
thought of keeping a local copy of the site to view in the browser, so we could still
"Who knows? I've only been checking the mail these past few days, so I haven't
seen the site. It was like this when I looked at it today. Where should I file a
complaint?"
There's no need to file a complaint. The fix is simple. I snatched the mouse away
from Haruhi, and then sent the stored top page files to the server, overwriting the data
"Hmm?"
The site remained crashed. I repeated it many times, but the result was the same.
"Isn't this strange? Maybe it's that thing, those rumors I hear about hackers or
"Can't be." I denied. It's hard to think that there are people with so much free time
that they would go cracking a site that wasn't linked to from anywhere and that
Brigade! Who could it be? If I find that person, I'll sentence him to thirty days of
Taking my eyes off of the steaming Haruhi, I turned to look at Nagato who
seemed to be wearing opacity optical camouflage. Couldn't this person have done it
having detailed knowledge of computers, I have never seen her doing anything with
the PC. To be more precise, I should say that there's hardly any scene other than her
reading a book.
"Come in!"
The door opened during Haruhi's reply; it was Koizumi. With his usual,
It was the last day of the term for us first years, and only had three periods. It
should've been okay if we had quickly gone home, so why were we all gathering in
such a place? Did I have so few friends? And Haruhi, why didn't you do a counter
Koizumi left his bag lying on the table, brought out a Diamond Game board from
the cupboard, and turned to me with inviting eyes. I shook my head; Koizumi
shrugged and started a single player diamond. I really couldn't wait for Asahina-san's
tea.
Knock knock.
It was the sound of knocking again. This time, I was sitting in front of the chief's
desk grappling with the FTP software. Behind me was Haruhi, throwing misguided
and out-of-nowhere requests this way and that, and making me answer those
unreasonable demands.
"Come in!"
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Haruhi again said in a big voice, and the door opened. Judging from the sequence
Giving a humble apology as she came into sight, a wingless angel, it couldn't have
As she was saying the excuse that didn't need to be said, she lingered near the
door, seeming hesitant. She wouldn't move to enter for some reason, and timidly
continued,
"Well, that is... you see."
All our eyes were focused on Asahina-san. When she noticed that Nagato was
looking at her, Asahina-san drew back flinchingly, and then, seeming resigned, began
to speak.
That client was named Kimidori Emiri-san, a second year student who gave an
Presently, with her eyes fixed on the surface of the tea that Asahina-san had
poured, she was sitting without raising her face. Beside her was Asahina-san, who
was seated on an adjacent chair like an escort. She hadn't changed into her maid
"So, as for you." Haruhi said, making a face like an interviewer's and twirling a
ball pen. Occupying the space in front of the two second-year students, she continued
in an arrogant tone,
"What you're saying is that you want our SOS Brigade to look for your missing
boyfriend?"
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Holding the pen with the top of her lips, Haruhi crossed her arms.
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Holding the pen with the top of her lips, Haruhi crossed her arms. Although she
was acting as if she were thinking about something, I knew better. She was just
How could this be, even though I was optimistic that no one would come, our first
counselee had arrived. It would be typical of Haruhi to probably want to jump for joy
in this situation.
Nagato, Koizumi, and I were watching the situation from the sidelines. Before the
I was becoming thoroughly resentful of myself. I never should have made such a
poster! What could I have written, accepting consultations for the problems you
couldn't tell other people... Was that it? All the same, it never occurred to me that
there was a student who would take it seriously; wasn't I thinking normally?
Whether or not she took it seriously, Kimidori-san saw the poster about the SOS
Brigade's activity objectives, and seems to have mistaken it to mean that we were a
counseling office for general problems or a service business that does odd jobs.
Certainly, that would be the case if you had interpreted it literally. Ah I finally
service activities." Presently, not one of those could be related to the SOS Brigade.
However, having seen the poster I had written by chance, Kimidori-san had
discovered our existence, called out to Asahina-san, who was in the same year, after
worrying over it, and came here together with her; this seems about right.
Kimidori-san wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, and looked intently at the teacup's rim
as she spoke.
"Although he's rarely absent, he didn't even come in on a test day, which was
strange."
"Have you tried calling him?" Asked Haruhi. Her mouth stopped looking like it
was going to burst out laughing, and she started biting on the bottom of her ball pen.
"Yes. He doesn't answer his mobile or house phone. I tried going to his home, but
"Hu-hu-humm."
Haruhi was emitting such a cheerful aura that she seemed she might break out into a
song at any moment. In short, this person wasn't even a bum. End of discussion.
Kimidori-san was talking to her tea. It seems it wasn't in this person's nature to be
"I heard from before that his parents had gone to another country. I don't know
What is it you're seeing? I doubt you even know where that country is. Um... was
"There's no sign that he's even in his room. Even when I visited him late in the
Kimidori-san said indifferently, like she was reading from a script, and covered
her face with her hands. As Haruhi wound her lips, she said,
feel like I've heard it somewhere before, but I also feel that it isn't an acquaintance of
"Who's that?"
"A neighbor?"
had tilted our heads to the side, and then to Koizumi and Nagato, but her eyes didn't
meet anyone's, and she returned to staring at her teacup. And then,
I had completely forgotten. It was that pitiful president? I had taken pictures of his
sexual harassment of Asahina-san (against his will), and Haruhi, using that as a
pretext, acquired their latest model computer (by force), and he was even bullied into
doing the wiring in tears; it was the Computer Research Club's pitiable
upperclassman. No, there's no need to pity him, is there? If he has a girlfriend with
such a good atmosphere, it's more than even. Come to think of it, I wonder where I
"Okay, I got it!" said Haruhi, accepting the task easily. "We'll take care of it.
Kimidori-san, you're in luck! As client number one, you get your case solved for free
as a bonus."
If you're going to be taking their money, it won't be a school service activity.
However, is this really some kind of a case? This president something-or-other isn't
just simply becoming hikikomori, is he? I don't know how he could be complaining,
having a sweetheart like Kimidori-san, but I think it'd be better to just leave him alone
to recover by himself.
Of course I didn't say that; Kimidori-san left her boyfriend's address on a piece of
paper, and exited the clubroom in a pace like that of an apparition that had
materialized.
After waiting for Asahina-san to return from seeing her off to the corridor, I
opened my mouth.
"Hey, is it really okay to accept that so easily? What do you plan to do if we can't
"We can. That president is surely just hiding away with two-months-late May
Sickness. We'll just march over to the president, hit him two or three times, and drag
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him outside. Totally simple!" She seems to be seriously thinking that. Well, I was
"No, I haven't talked to her once. She was in the class next door, so I only saw her
It would've been better if she had told the teachers or the police rather than
consult with us. No, could she already have talked to them before? And because she
had been ignored, she called out to Asahina-san? It's probably something like that, I
think.
There wasn't any sense of urgency as we idly sipped our tea. Haruhi was
unreasonably elated, and seemed to be thinking about accepting grander and grander
commissions, and then resolving them. Although it was lamentable how little was
remaining of the first semester, these were the circumstances that were likely to force
Nagato closed her book with a thump, and, as Haruhi would say it, we proceeded
The club president's solo dwelling was a studio apartment. Because of the
location, I thought that college students were probably the main residents here, in this
three-story building that looked neither good nor bad, in a color that just looked well
enough that you couldn't say if it was new or old. Its appearance was exceptionally
normal. Ordinary.
Holding the note where the address was written in her hand, Haruhi dashed high
up the stairs. The other three and I followed the back of her summer sailor uniform in
silence.
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"Here, right?"
In front of the steel door, Haruhi confirmed the name on the nameplate. The name
that Kimidori-san had said was her boyfriend's was inside the plastic case.
After trying to turn the knob a few times to check the lock, Haruhi pushed the
"How about we come up from the veranda at the back? If we smash the glass,
group of aimless juvenile delinquents. I have no desire for a criminal record just yet.
"I guess so. Let's go to the building manager and borrow the key. If we say that
we're friends who came because we were worried, he'll lend it to us."
Pretending to be someone's friend is your specialty. But this club president, even
though he's living by himself, he never gave his girlfriend a duplicate key. That's like
harvesting just the stem of the eggplant and then throwing the fruit away.
Ka-chick.
I turned around at the cold sound, and there was Nagato gripping the knob in
silence.
"............"
Nagato was looking at me intently with eyes like liquid helium. Slowly, Nagato
tugged at the door, and the entrance to the room was agape. The air inside was stale,
but for some reason there was a chill accompanying it, lurking at our feet – or so I
felt.
"Oh."
"It was open? I didn't notice. Well, that's okay. Come on, let's go on in. I'm sure
he's hiding under his bed, so everyone, just drag him out and we'll capture him. At the
worst, if he resists violently, you may end his life. We'll soak his head in beeswax and
Apparently, she doesn't feel an atom of guilt for plundering his computer. Unlike
Salome, she couldn't even be bothered to get a container for the head. In high spirits,
she pushed all of us into the room, and then saw that the single room was uninhabited.
Not a single cockroach. Haruhi looked inside the bathroom and under the bed. There
wasn't even a human shape anywhere. This had one-fourth the space of Nagato's
room, and just her guest room at that, but compared to that dreary nothingness, the
level of life was four times greater. A bookshelf, a closet, a desk that looked like a low
dining table, and a computer rack had been left in precise order. We confirmed
through the open window that only a washing machine was hiding in the veranda.
"How strange."
While hopping on top of the bed, Haruhi tilted her head in disbelief.
"Even though I thought he'd be curled up into a ball in some corner of the room
hugging his knees. Could he have gone to the convenience store? Kyon, do you know
So it's been decided that the Computer Club president is a hikikomori then? Could
hiding his whereabouts? We should have asked the homeroom teacher of the club
"............"
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Nagato was looking up at me without any expression, and then shook her chin
sideways.
Looking small, Nagato whispered to me. It was the first time I've heard Nagato's
voice today. Haruhi and Asahina-san didn't notice, but Koizumi brought his face close
to my ear.
Don't talk so seriously, it's creeping me out. But Koizumi, with a forced smile and
Haruhi had taken the liberty of opening the refrigerator, "Warabi-mochi, found it!
The expiration date was yesterday. It'd be a waste, so let's eat!" she said, while tearing
up the bag. As Asahina-san was flustering about, Haruhi made her taste the proffered
"Similar to what?"
"Closed space. This room has a similar smell as that place. No, smell is just a
metaphorical expression. Feeling is also good, such that it is a feeling that exceeds the
five senses."
"You're an esper?!" was a reminiscent tsukkomi that I had to restrain myself not to
That's just what I wanted to say, though. If Nagato were to unexpectedly look sad
When everyone had left the condominium, Haruhi declared that we were
dismissed for the day for hunger reasons, and left for home by herself. The case that
had been brought in by Kimidori-san was being put on hold for the moment; "It'll
work itself out, eventually!" she irresponsibly said, and stopped thinking accordingly,
Haruhi wasn't the only one who didn't have lunch yet, but I pretended to go home
once everyone parted, and after waiting restlessly for ten minutes, returned a second
The other three brigade members were already waiting together. The walking
dictionary space alien and the argumentative esper bastard had knowing looks, but
Asahina-san asked,
"Um... What's the matter? You said we should reassemble without Suzumiya-san
noticing..."
over to Nagato and Koizumi, my anxiety strengthened. The one who was waiting for
me the most was Asahina-san, that's how I'll think about it.
"Those two seem to be concerned about the room we were just in." I answered.
The smiling person and the expressionless person nod at the same time.
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Moving past the stairs without even the sound of footsteps, Nagato quietly opened the
door to the club president's home, silently took off her shoes, and advanced to the
The studio that was by no means spacious was already full with just four people
standing in a line.
.............
We waited for a while, but it seems that was the only explanation. Even if you're
speaking with phrases that make it seem like you just pulled words out of a dictionary
and lined them up after they caught your eye, I, having no dictionary, am helpless.
"What I'm feeling is close to a closed space. The source origin of that is
Koizumi said what seems to be a follow-through for Nagato. You make a fine
combination. Hanging out would be good for you. You should teach Nagato some
"I will make considerations regarding that matter afterwards. However, there's
something we should be doing right now. Nagato-san, did this abnormal space cause
"Yes."
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Nagato raised one hand, in a gesture that seemed to be gently stroking the space
should have said, "Hold it!" But before I could even utter those two words, Nagato
had whispered something in a voice that was like a tape running on twenty-speed fast
forward, and, in one moment, a change took place as the scene before my eyes
flickered.
"Hahi-!?"
Asahina-san leapt and grabbed my left arm with both hands, holding on to me
tightly. But I didn't have the time to savor that long-awaited sensation, as I was
Let's see, I was in the club president's cramped studio. Definitely not at an eerie
place like this. I was not in a wide, flat space, with an ocher haze hanging in the air
such that I couldn't see the horizon. Who could have taken me to a place like this?
"Intrusion codes analyzed. This place is overlapping normal space. A phase has
Nagato explained. Well, isn't this person the only one who seems like she can do
this sort of thing? Koizumi, the only one who can go head-on with Nagato in a
discussion, said,
"It is deceivingly similar. However, a portion of this data space is integrating with
Asahina-san and I are getting along fine with being left out of the conversation. It
doesn't bother me at all. I really should be grateful. As it is, though, I'd be even more
surroundings. It seems like this space was an unforeseen thing for her. I was the same;
my eyes were flying in all directions, observing. Though I could breathe, will it be
safe to inhale this stuff that seemed like a yellow-brown mist? The temperature of the
floor that had felt pleasantly cool through my socks went right through to the soles of
my feet. Whether it was the floor or the ground, the ocher plane continued
everywhere. To think that such storage space would accompany a room that was no
more than six tatami mats large. So this was a cross-dimensional space? Well, I had
thought that such an atmosphere would arrive soon. I was calm, if I can say so
myself.
"It would seem so. This differing space appeared in his own room and trapped
him somehow."
Koizumi simply turned his face towards Nagato with a smile. Like it was a signal,
"Hold it!"
This time I was able to make it. In all seriousness, I asked Nagato, who had frozen
up,
"Could you tell me what you're doing? I at least want some time to prepare myself
mentally."
"Nothing."
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Nagato answered like chattering glasswork; with fingers curled, she tilted her
hand upwards by about seventy-five degrees, and extended her index finger again.
"It's coming."
"Uhn."
I groaned unconsciously.
The ocher haze was slowly coiling into a swirl. It was a whirlpool as the particles
that made up the fog gathered into one place, grain by grain. I had a feeling like I was
a pathogen that had just invaded a body. Somehow, an image sprung from somewhere
of how this ocher swirl was taking it upon itself to carry out its duty like a white
blood cell. My spirit's only solace was that Asahina-san's hand was warm.
"I sense definite hostility."
The freely talking Koizumi's voice, however, didn't make me any more strained,
and I had no reaction as Nagato stood like an android that was in the middle of
breaking down, her hand still stretched out. Nevertheless, I could not relax. These
people might have the means to defend themselves, but I didn't. It looks like Asahina-
san also didn't, as she was hiding behind me. This was just the right time to want to
bring out a futuristic item, though. Don't you have a ray gun or something?
Asahina-san answered with a quivering voice. I can understand that. Even if [this]
Asahina-san had a weapon, not only will she not be any help, she's likely to just go
and forget it on the train. You would expect that she would improve a little as an
adult, but when I think about it, [that] Asahina-san was also very much a careless
Are you familiar with the insect known as the kamadouma? If you aren't, I'd like to
show you the spectacle before my eyes.
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As I was thinking about that, a figure in the haze was gradually displaying the
features of solid matter. There's probably some reason for this as well. I didn't want to
know, but for some reason I understood what kind of shape the ocher mass was
taking.
"...Hieee!"
Asahina-san was the only one being frightened. It's certainly not something that
makes you feel like you were looking at a pretty sight, and it's something you rarely
see in town. Even I, who had last seen it how-many-years ago, under the floorboards
If you aren't, I'd like to show you the spectacle before my eyes. You'll get to know
"I know that. At kindergarten age, I was a famous insect expert. Though I haven't
seen the real thing, I knew how to differentiate between an uma-oi and a
"This thing?"
"Yes."
As I was going to ask what it was again, I noticed that Nagato was still naively
following my command.
"I see."
Slipping her hand down, Nagato looked intently at the materializing giant
kamadouma. The dark brown benjo ko-orogi was settling down on a spot several
handball. Since the last time I saw it somewhere before, I had thought that I'd never
see that ruby a second time. It seems like it had come out from his palm.
For some reason, Koizumi turned to Nagato with the refreshing smile that I'd
"............"
"Anyway, Nagato. What is that bug's true identity? And where is the president?"
Koizumi put his finger on the middle of his forehead. He looked like he was
"Correct."
"This kamadouma...... I see, this is the president's image of an object of fear, isn't
"It helps that it was an easily-understood metaphor. In that case, this'll be simple."
But it wouldn't be simple if it wasn't easy to understand. Then let's just say that
and then Asahina-san was hanging on to my waist, somehow. The way things are
"Hyoeee~"
Asahina-san wasn't just trembling, she was taking away my range of mobility.
The kamadouma that had just finished materializing is not just going to be flying
away any time soon, I suppose. How many meters can it jump, I wonder. I feel like
I abruptly said.
"Roger that."
Koizumi tossed the ruby upwards and struck it like he was serving a volleyball.
The red handball flew accurately, crashing right into the front of the monster
kamadouma, and made a sound like an exploding paper balloon. It was a stupid
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attack, but the opponent was stupid as well. Even though I had prepared for some
kind of counterattack, the kamadouma did not escape, jump, or roar a mysterious
"Is it over?"
At Koizumi's question, Nagato gave her assent. It really did finish quickly. The
giant kamadouma diffused to its original misty form, and then continued thinning
steadily. The ocher haze that shimmered in all directions was disappearing as well.
Falling on his back and facing upwards was the Computer Club's president.
In front of the PC rack, his eyes were closed, looking like he had slipped off his
chair. He seemed to be alive. Koizumi leaned over him from the side and put his hand
Nagato was standing before the bookshelves, gazing at Asahina-san, who was
could've gone.
At any rate, it was all good. Whether it was gray or ocher, I've had enough of
It was the Permian or the Triassic period when [that thing] descended to Earth,
and at the time there was nothing in the world for it to possess. Losing its basis for
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"It did not have the means to exist on the earth. Freezing all action, it settled into
slumber."
Before long, humans were born unto the world, and humans gave birth to
digital information network as a seedbed was feasible. But it was insufficient, and the
prompted its awakening. Instead of an alarm clock, floating in the net was a single
values. Data that does not exist in this planet. An alien world's information data. For
the thing, that was the physical medium it had been anxiously waiting for.......
Nagato ended her talk without flourish.
Nagato, who was doing something with the president's home computer, displayed
the SOS Brigade online site, and projected the damaged SOS Brigade emblem on the
"The invocation sign drawn by Suzumiya Haruhi is the catalyst. It became the
door."
"...It was this SOS Brigade emblem, from before, this thing, this summoning
"Yes." Nagato said with a nod of her head. "Converting this SOS Brigade crest
information."
It can't be. That image data wasn't even ten kilobytes. But Nagato calmly said,
"Amazing odds, aren't they? Because, even though it was a symbol that she had
just happened to draw, it was a perfect fit. She truly is Suzumiya-san. Astronomical
Looks like Koizumi is seriously impressed. However, I was seriously afraid. What
Most of the things Haruhi does come from mere ideas. Forming the SOS Brigade
and assembling the members were like that. Asahina-san, who was perfectly suited to
being a mascot character, Koizumi, who had transferred schools, and Nagato, who
was there from the beginning. And as it turns out, Asahina-san was a time-traveler,
Koizumi an esper, and Nagato a pseudo-alien. She's already accomplished too much.
Actually, Koizumi would say it wasn't by chance, spouting some nonsense like it was
because Haruhi had desired it. Even though I'm starting to believe just a little, I still
won't go for it. Because I, myself, am a simple, ordinary person. That alone should be
electro-magnetic wave profile hidden in me. Though there was supposed to be...
If there was another side to Haruhi's actions that I had thought meaningless, what
then? She, herself, does not know the consequence. Like her own original letters,
which she had casually pictured in her head, becoming some kind of message for
aliens somewhere. Like a cat hitting a keyboard and producing meaningful sentences.
That troublesome girl named Suzumiya Haruhi, who easily breaks through the
walls of probability and statistics, and unconsciously arrives at the correct solutions;
I'd be better off if she had made me join the SOS Brigade because she considered me
some kind of an errand boy. Yep, that's the thing. That's totally better than thinking
that I, myself, have such an idiotic and enigmatic alter-ego. So, do I? Perhaps my
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background is that there is some kind of unpredictable and unusual ability within me
Is that why I was chosen? A secret me that I do not know about, frankly, does not
exist.
Who am I?
one who understands my own part the most. The long and short of it is, I am the SOS
Brigade's only conscience. There is no mistaking that one. My nature differs from that
of the other three brigade members. I am in the SOS Brigade for the sake of
persuading Haruhi to live a normal high school life. Aside from stopping her unlawful
club activities, it is my duty to make her freely disband the brigade. If you think about
it deeply, that is the fast-track to arriving at a peaceful world. No, it is the only
straight track.
Rather than changing how Haruhi thinks of the world, changing Haruhi's inner
Then again, if I hadn't given her that strange inspiration, there might not have
been an SOS Brigade. So let's see, umm, it's a case-by-case thing. Show it somehow,
huh. But I don't know what day that will be, and why I'd have to do such a thing.
If I didn't ask this right now, the story will never end. In a tone that seemed to be
saying that she was really exhaling carbon dioxide, Nagato answered,
"Information life-form."
"It branched off in the distant past. Though their origin is identical, these evolved
Or so they thought, but here was a survivor. It didn't have to hibernate on Earth, of
all places. I wish it could've gone to bed somewhere around Neptune. It could’ve
breeding grounds. I suddenly thought of something. Going near the bed, I asked the
"Eh..."
Asahina-san opened her lips and froze. At any rate, it was probably prohibited, so
Nagato said, not sensing the atmosphere. Pointing at the PC, she said,
"For organic life-forms at the level of earthlings, inventing a system that does not
Is that so?
"I can't affirm or deny it; I was not given the authority. I'm sorry."
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No, that's okay. No need to apologize, seriously. I don't particularly feel that I
want to know―――Hey, Koizumi, why are you making such a disappointed face, is
To save Asahina-san, I decided to change the subject. Hmm, what could there be,
ah yes.
"Something's strange."
"I was present when Haruhi was drawing that stupid portrait, but nothing was
awakened. Why didn't that thing appear around the time Haruhi finished the picture?"
The one who answered was Koizumi.
"As for this room, it's because it had already been transformed into differing space
for some time. Varying types of elements and force fields are battling and negating
each other, and in contrast, it becomes just about normal. I guess you could say it's at
the saturation point. Since various things have already met the fusion capacity, there
What a theory. So what you're saying is that, the Literature Club room has become
"That's because ordinary people do not have such unnecessary sensors attached.
Ah well. However, though it's good if prevailing temperatures would just cool
down, I wouldn't want to be acting strangely or looking for a rope to hang myself
"No need to worry, everything will be all right. Because Nagato-san, Asahina-san,
Are you sure this isn't happening because the three are you are working hard?
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Smiling, Koizumi said, "Ah well," then inclined his head as he turned up both his
palms.
I turned my eyes back to the computer screen. As I looked at the broken down
symbol of the SOS Brigade, I felt uneasy for some reason. Manipulating the mouse to
"Geh?!"
The access counter was displayed. It had somehow returned to normal, and was
banging out the number of visitors. The last time I had seen it, the number wasn't
three figures. Now, our SOS Brigade Site's counter had... Ones-tens-hundreds-
thousands...... Turned to almost three thousand. How could this be? Where did it get
such exposure?
"It placed hyperlinks on various locations."
Its method was to copy its self-information into the brains of people who saw the
"So then, the people who had seen it... The almost three thousand of them, will
"Negative. The data of the summoning crest had been damaged. The number of
people who had viewed the correct information source is not many."
Though I had been thinking that the server was likely out-of-order, that might
"How many people? Those idiots that clicked such a dubious link and looked
So in that case, eight more people are trapped in ocher space? In spaces governed,
not just by kamadouma, but all sorts of metaphors? To help them――― well, we'll
probably need to go. Koizumi asked Nagato for the addresses of those people (I
wasn't surprised that Nagato knew those things somehow), and it seems like Asahina-
san is also intending to follow the pair. If that's the case, then I guess it wouldn't do
for me to not go as well. Though Haruhi did the worst of it, the one who had
discharged this magic-circle-like thing on the net was me, so I'd better clean up my
own mess.
And also for the sake of clearing up this guilty feeling.
Setting aside the victims from North High, it seems like we'll have to catch a ride
at the Shinkansen somehow for the three other people that had to be rescued.
So.
It's the beginning of the exam break. The remaining act became nothing but
As for Haruhi, when I had informed her that the club president had come to
school,
"Hmm. Really."
Was all she said before flying out of the room, and is probably eating her heart out
at the cafeteria right about now. Koizumi and Asahina-san have yet to come.
By the way, in the case of the Haruhi-devised SOS Brigade symbol, I had fixed it
by pasting on Nagato's retake. I was able to skillfully upload it this time, well, why
was that, I wonder? It should be okay for people who see this to stick their eyes onto
it from now on. It almost doesn't differ from Haruhi's clumsy illustration, but if you
compare them carefully, you'll see that "ZOZ Brigade" is displayed. Having that as
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the only difference, it was at the brink of whether strange things would or would not
appear.
An epigram for the moment: I want to impulsively click the link to an unknown
Thinking about such things, I gazed absent-mindedly at Nagato, who had been
reading a technical book lined with numbers at the table's edge. Watching Nagato's
Though I didn't know when this person noticed Haruhi's summoning image, could
us. Just a while ago, when I went to inquire at the Computer Club's room, I heard that
the club president had no girlfriend. He said so himself, seeming healthy, though he
was troubled about having no memory of the past several days. Not at all having the
appearance of having lied, he was decidedly agape when I had mentioned Kimidori-
san's name. The president was not some versatile entertainer who could give such a
real performance.
I was suspicious.
Was Kimidori-san's coming to the SOS Brigade really, truly, for a request? If you
think about it, the timing was too good. Haruhi did her prank drawing, and I pasted it
onto the site. Then some people who had seen it were taken to some information life-
form in some different dimension. After inquiring about the story from the visiting
Kimidori-san, we turned towards the club president's home. And then, somehow did
some exterminating.
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A breeze blew in through the window, tossing Nagato's hair and the pages of her
book.
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It was a picture-perfect scenario. The one in the heart of all this was always
Nagato. Though that all-purpose alien terminal having done something to Kimidori-
san, which resulted in her having brought her case to us, would have been an
boredom even just a little. If it was an incident of this level, Nagato could have
finished it off by herself without having to involve any of us. Hasn't it been always
like that? Without saying anything to anyone and keeping silently behind the curtains,
could she have been preventing these strange things before they happened?
A breeze blew in through the window, tossing Nagato's hair and the pages of her
book. Her white finger pressed softly down on the margin, her white face lowered;
unmoving except for her eyes, which chased the book's letters.
Or... Could it have been Nagato's wish to involve us? Living in a dreary room for
Chapter 4
Lone Island Syndrome
The scene before me is so shocking that I have totally forgotten the pain in my
shoulders.
Right now I'm lying on the floor, unable to even get up, as I'm too stunned by
what I see. The reason I can't move is because something as heavy as an anchor is on
my back, and I can't remove it, but that doesn't matter to me right now. Koizumi, who
was above me as we burst the door open and is now lying on top of me, is probably
just as stunned as I am. Get off me! I didn't even have the wits to tell him that. You
How can this be possible? I can't believe this is actually happening. This is no
A bright light flashed outside the window. A few seconds later, the sound of
thunder roared through my stomach. A true thunderstorm. It's been covering this
I heard a groan. That would be Arakawa-san, who burst open the door alongside
Koizumi finally got off my back. I rolled over and sat upright.
On the carpet near the door lies a man who has fallen backwards just like I did.
He is none other than the middle-aged owner of this mansion, who did not come
down to the dining hall this morning. We recognized him by the suit he was wearing,
it was the same suit he wore yesterday after bidding us good night. The only person to
wear a suit unnecessarily in this midsummer island would be him. He is the employer
Keiichi-san lay on the ground with a shocked expression, not moving a muscle. It
is absolutely normal for him not to move, because it seems like he's already dead.
How did I know this? Well, the answer was obvious. The object on his chest
looked very familiar. It was the handle of the fruit knife that was inside the fruit
I can bet with you, that attached to that handle is a sharp metal blade, or it would
have been impossible for it to stand upright on a person's chest. In other words, the
I don't suppose anyone can live if they've had a knife stabbed straight into their
heart?
"KYAA......"
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From the broken door behind me came a small terrified scream. I turned and saw
Asahina covering her mouth with her hands. Nagato stood behind Asahina, who was
slowly retreating behind and clutching Nagato's shoulders. Nagato looked at me with
her ever calm expression, and then lowered her head as though in deep thought.
Haruhi seemed to be shocked as well, sticking her head from Asahina's side to see
what was going on, and staring at Keiichi-san at eternal rest, with her dark cat-like
eyes.
"Dead?"
It's quite rare for her to speak so softly, and with a small tingle of anxiety. I turned
and was about to say something, only to see Koizumi, his usual cheery smile replaced
with a confused look. Mori-san the maid also stood in the corridor.
Only one person, who was in the mansion all day yesterday, was now missing.
A room that needs the door burst open in order to enter, a dead owner, and a
Haruhi spoke again, her face showing an unfamiliar look of discomfort. I even
had the illusion that she was about to lean into my chest.
Another lightning flash, illuminating the whole room. The thunderstorm that
raged from yesterday was beginning to calm down. The fierce waves smacked down
upon the island shores, creating a terrifying sound effect along with the thunder.
The owner of a lone island, lying dead inside a sealed room with a knife stabbed
through his chest, in the middle of a thunderstorm. This is the scene I was seeing.
Hey, Haruhi.
.........
......
...
It was midsummer, in the middle of July. The sun was so hot that I wished it
Literature Club room, enjoying Asahina's tea. Though I had recovered from the
results of the mid-term tests, once I started thinking about the impending revision
classes, I could no longer relax. At that moment, the only choice I had was to escape
from it all.
In the blink of an eye, I thought up various ways to convince myself that the
I awoke from the dream of myself being an alien paratrooper, parachuting from
"Not at all."
I answered. Your tea is still as sweet as honey from the sky, even though it's
"That's wonderful."
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Asahina, dressed in a summer maid costume, breathed a sigh of relief. She gave a
happiness. Not even a sage traveling through the most remote mountains could find
an Elixir as effective as Asahina's smile. My mind is now clearer than the surface of
Lake Mashu in Hokkaido. I can even hear angels blowing their trumpets......
did when preaching to his sister birds, but in the end I gave up. Not because I couldn't
be bothered with the use of elegant phrases, but rather at this moment an annoying
Koizumi placed the Monopoly board he brought on the table while asking me this
irrelevant question. Thanks to him, I've now returned to the dark side of the moon,
hiding in the satellite orbit thinking how to make all these thoughts stop. Why can't
you just play your Monopoly quietly? You ought to learn from Nagato, sitting
chair, in her summer sailor uniform. She had her eyes fixed on the book with that
glass statue-like face of hers. From a certain perspective, she is a digitized existence,
yet she seems to love absorbing physical data. I wonder if there's some specific
"......"
Now I think about it, how can everyone in our club have so much free time on
their hands?
School finished early today, classes having already ended in the morning. Yet why
is everyone still gathered here? Myself included, but I have a justifiable reason to be
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here! If I didn't drink Asahina's tea at least once every day, I'd basically become a
zombie. Thanks to that, I usually have to suffer withdrawal symptoms during the
weekends.
Just joking. You think I'm serious? It's just that I've learned something since I
came to high school - some people tend to take jokes very seriously. I say this from
my experiences of the past few months, so I can't be wrong. One needs to draw a fine
line between joking and being serious, or something terrible might happen.
my snack.
for us to gather here......or not. I say that because the SOS Brigade was created
without any reason at all, in fact, it was created precisely for its lack of reason. It
would be even more troublesome if it did have a reason. Instead of doing something
really stupid, it's better that it remains in its present meaningless state, because that
Asahina, so meticulous that she made her own tea, took out a cute looking
Koizumi declined. No one asked you. While Nagato's hunger is more about
Asahina picked up the rice, which had a smiley face drawn with cream, with her
Don't ask me. She's probably somewhere hunting for grasshoppers. It's summer
after all.
"I saw her in the school canteen. Her appetite sure is amazing. If all the food she
consumed was converted into nutrition, I wonder how many ergs that'd be?"
I'm not going to calculate such things. If she intends to lock herself up in the
"Don't think so. She said she has something important to announce today."
I just don't understand, how can you remain so cheerful? Whatever it is that she
announces can't be anything beneficial to society, can it? Is your memory storage
"Hmm, I wonder how? I could tell you, but Suzumiya-san would prefer to tell you
herself. It would be a great problem if I spoiled her mood by telling you before she
"Yup, because from your tone, it seems that idiot is up to something stupid again.
I don't know how many more minutes my peace of mind will last, but I'm sure it's
"As today we're having an important meeting, I intend to have anyone arriving
after me be treated as target practice for can throwing from now on as punishment.
But it seems you've all begun to nurture that team spirit already. This is excellent!"
Needless to say, I never knew there was an important meeting for today.
"You listen. The secret to eating in the school canteen is to go just before they
close. By then the old ladies will scoop more for you. But the timing is very
important, it'd be useless if you went when they were completely sold out. So today's
a lucky day!"
"Really?"
For someone like me who rarely goes to the canteen for lunch, this new piece of
information wasn't of that much use, no matter how generously it had been given.
Haruhi ignored me and called out to Asahina, who was eating carefully with her
chopsticks.
"Huh?"
Asahina covered her mouth, munching and swallowing the food that she had
cooked.
"'O-Bon Festival'? What on earth's that? Have you got it wrong? I'm not asking
you that, what I'm saying is, when it comes to summer, what's the first thing that
comes to mind?"
"That's right! Close enough. And what comes with the sea?"
"Wrong! Summer would be over by the time you guessed right. What I'm saying
I stared and got more and more pissed at Koizumi's smiling face. Was this the
"Field trip?"
Maybe it's normal for school clubs to organize field trips or whatever, but is it
really okay for us to have one as well? She can't be having us go deep into the
mountains to search for Unidentified Mysterious Animals (UMAs) that will never be
I looked at Asahina, Koizumi and Nagato in turn, and observed a stunned face, a
smiling face, and a blank face from them respectively. I then said,
What?
Going on a field trip solely for the purpose of experiencing a field trip.
Isn't that the same as saying "my headache hurts", "the tragic play is tragic", or
"What does it matter? In other words, the means and ends of this activity are the
headache?"
I don't know whether there's something wrong with Haruhi's grammar, or if she's
speaking in a different dialect. But the real problem lies with the field trip itself.
"I'm going to a lone island, and it has to be a lone island in the middle of the
ocean."
report. Just what on earth did she read to come up with such an idea?
"I was troubled by whether to go to the mountains or the sea. At first I thought it'd
be more convenient to go to the mountains, but the only time to get ourselves isolated
in a hillside mansion is during a blizzard in winter. Besides, that's way too hard."
Maybe you can try going to Greenland......no, the question is why must we do
such a thing?
"You want to go to a hillside mansion just so you can get stuck there?"
"Well yeah! Or it wouldn't be fun. But let's forget about the mountains! We'll save
that for the winter field trip. This summer we're going to the sea, no, a lone island!"
Don't be so obsessed with lone islands. I thought, but I could find no reason for
opposition. It'd be useless for me to oppose her anyway, and for this time of year, the
sea sounds more charming; besides, there should be seaside spas in these lone islands
"Hmm, I should hope so. Though it's a natural seaside spa without any lifeguards
or food stalls."
I quickly looked at Koizumi, with my eyes full of suspicion. Why are you helping
"That's because......"
"Because the location for the field trip this time is being provided by none other
than Koizumi!"
Haruhi stuck her hands inside the desk drawer, and took out a colored armband.
She then used a felt-tip pen and wrote "Vice Commander" on it.
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"As a result of this achievement, Koizumi-kun, you should feel honored. I hereby
Let me set this straight, I am not the slightest bit jealous at all. Who'd want such a
weird present?
"That's it. This is a four day three night luxury tour! Let's get ourselves mentally
prepared!"
Haruhi gave a look saying "That's all folks!" Thinking we're all happy with this
"Just a moment."
"Where is this island? Provide? What the hell's this? Why is Koizumi providing
unnatural person, and this 'Consortium' that he belongs to is even more suspicious.
Could they be taking us to some secret research lab of theirs, trying to perform live
"He's so rich that he can buy himself an uninhabited island and build a mansion
on it. The fact is, he's already built the mansion. It just went through the opening
ceremony a few days ago, but as no one was willing to travel that far to such a place,
he's decided to invite some friends and relatives over. And this is where I came in."
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Is the island that bizarre? I started to recall the story of "Robinson Crusoe" I read
approaching, and if the SOS Brigade is going on a trip, it would be more fun if we go
there together. The owner of the mansion seems to welcome us coming as well."
"A lone island! And a huge mansion! This is a rare situation! I can't wait to go
"A lone island in the middle of the sea! And a mansion! Koizumi, your relative is
really understanding! Hmm, I think I'll get along well with him."
The only people who can get along well with Haruhi are mostly weirdos. The
I couldn't tell if Nagato had heard what Haruhi had announced; it was easy with
Asahina, who had stopped eating, with an astonished look on her face.
"Don't worry, Mikuru-chan. You can have all the pickled fish you want there! Am
I right?"
Haruhi took another colored armband from the drawer of the commander's desk. I
"Towards the lone island! A lot of interesting things await us there. As for our
She said while writing on the armband with the felt-tip pen. The letters looked
"Nothing really."
Haruhi left after being satisfied with her announcement, Asahina and Nagato also
left the club room and headed home. Only Koizumi and I remained behind.
Koizumi flicked his hair parting and said,
"It's true. Even if I didn't suggest it, Suzumiya-san was bound to find somewhere
to go anyway, am I right? Since summer vacation is quite long. Would you rather go
searching for Tsuchinoko in the mountains instead of walking along the seaside?"
"A Tsuchinoko... ? ...Forget it, don't actually go and explain what it is. I know that
much, at least."
"Three days ago, I happened to find Suzumiya-san in the bookstore in front of the
station. I saw her staring hard at a map of Japan while looking through some sort of
A field trip in search of UMAs, huh? This doesn't sound like a big deal, but the
scary thing is that Haruhi would actually expect to find something mysterious.
"It seems Suzumiya-san intended to return home with something. I had a feeling
she would start with Mt. Hiba first. That being the case, it would be better for us to
How coincidental for you to have somewhere in mind. On the other hand,
however, between watching the girls in swimsuits by the seaside; and climbing the
hills in the bright sunlight, the difference is like heaven and hell.
"The key is that this is a privately owned uninhabited island, a so-called 'closed
circle'."
This I had to ask about. Asking about what you do not understand is the best
policy.
"Perhaps there's a similarity......" Koizumi smiled and paused for a while, "I guess
I didn't know how funny my expression was, but Koizumi was giggling.
"I was kidding. A 'Closed circle' is a mystery term. It means a situation in which
all direct contact with the outside world has been lost."
"This is a setting most commonly seen in classic detective novels. For example, if
"Going to the snowy mountains for a field trip is not too bad, but what if then, the
"That's the problem. We're surrounded by the blizzard and thick layers of snow
and there's no way off the mountain, and there's no way for people to come up as
well."
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"There's no other way out. That's why it's called a 'closed circle'. Under these
circumstances, something usually happens. I guess, the most common event is that
someone gets murdered. So the stage is set. There is no way out for the suspect and
the other people, and no new characters can enter from the outside, let alone the
police. It wouldn't be fun if we had to resort to scientific forensics to rat out the
suspect."
"Yes, a lone island. I was thinking, she'd probably conjure a condition in which
the island is somehow sealed off, and during this time when no one can escape,
someone would get murdered. A hilltop mansion in the middle of a blizzard or a lone
island in the middle of a tropical storm are the perfect ingredients for a 'closed circle',
where there is no way for the authorities to get involved. The ultimate stage for a
crime mystery."
Haruhi doesn't just lose control during the summer, but you don't have to go
encourage her further. And I'm not saying this out of jealousy of not getting the vice-
commander armband.
I didn't want to argue with him, but I had to say this, I don't like it at all.
"Think about those 'Master Detectives'. Normally, those with normal lives rarely
"Makes sense."
"Yet why is it that these novel detectives happen to get involved in these puzzling
"Exactly, your answer is absolutely correct. These things only happen in the
fictional world of novels. Yet to say such realistic things would just take the fun out of
"In order to encounter such surreal and mysterious events, one needs to go to a
suitable location. Because that is how the detectives in these novels end up in these
events. So, one must become a major player on the stage itself. If one desires to have
these events come to their doorstep, they must either have a relative who's a brilliant
detective, or they must be a police officer themselves, or wait till they publish a series
of novels themselves."
That makes sense. I know Nagato loves science fiction novels, but I never knew
she liked mystery novels as well. As for Haruhi, I guess she probably loves both.
unexpectedly into these circumstances, and to solve them in the swiftest manner
possible."
"They can't just have things incidentally happening to them all of a sudden."
Koizumi nodded,
Page 165
"Yes, reality seldom develops like in novels. The chances of an intriguing sealed
room murder in the school are very low. So, Suzumiya-san must be thinking of going
"And that location is the stage for this field trip - the lone island. For some reason,
most people would find this the most suitable stage for a murder mystery."
"Thus, strange events often happen where master detectives appear. This is not
coincidental, but rather, these detectives possess the super natural power to summon
events to themselves. It is not the events that draw the detectives, but rather it is the
"I'm always suitably conscious. I didn't come up with the connections between
detectives and closed circles, I'm just trying to convey Suzumiya-san's way of
thinking. To put it simply, the whole reason for this trip is because she wants to
become a detective."
she were to script and direct the whole thing, playing both the suspect and the
"At least this is better than having to go to the mountains to search for Tsuchinoko
or Bigfoot. I only told Suzumiya-san that I know someone who's built a mansion on
an island and is inviting guests. Of course, I don't expect anyone to get murdered."
Koizumi's relaxed smile and even the shrugging of his shoulders has got me
worked up.
Page 166
who knows what other ideas she might conjure out of her boredom? If that's the case,
"Us?"
"This has nothing to do with the 'Organization'. Though I did make a report just to
be safe. I may be an esper, but I'm still a high school student. Furthermore, there's
nothing wrong with a field trip. It's quite normal for high school students. Isn't going
on a trip with your close friends something worth looking forward to?"
It would be fine if Haruhi was looking forward to having a normal trip. I wouldn't
object if she'd chosen a normal hot spring or a beach near the mainland, but why pick
a lone island? This is Haruhi we're talking about, she'd probably bring in two
......Forget it, no matter how far-fetched she is, she's not the sort of person who
would wish for anyone to get killed, or there would be bodies piling up everywhere in
North High already. There seemed to be other important things to consider, so I went
Four days and three nights by the seaside in summer. A white beach, and probably
some relaxing sunshine. I think I can endure such a summer, bring it on, Mr
Sunshine!
Ah yes, I'd better prepare myself for the mesmerizing sight of Asahina in her
swimsuit.
The mansion owner was extremely generous in providing free lodging and food
for us. We only needed to pay for the return trip from the island itself.
And so we met by the ferry pier at the harbor, awaiting our ferry's arrival.
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Haruhi couldn't wait to get going already. We just had the end-of-term assembly
yesterday, in other words, today is the first day of summer vacation. It seems that
Koizumi's relatives didn't really mind when we chose to go, but to set off right on the
summer vacation peacefully without ever having to see Haruhi's face has now been
shattered. This is all because of the presence of Haruhi, and it is also the meaning of
her existence.
Her dark silky hair flew in the sea breeze as she stood by the edge of the boarding
dock.
"Such a huge ship! It's so incredible, for such a large ship to float on water."
Asahina, carrying two suitcases with her hands, looked up in awe at the ferry. She
wore a white one-piece summer dress and a straw hat on her head. This made her look
very cute. Having the laces of a hat tied under her chin suits her. Her eyes glimmered
like a child's, looking at the old ferry as though it were some ancient wooden boat dug
"......"
Nagato's face remained blank as usual, staring at the corporate logo printed on the
hull of the ferry. For once, Nagato was not wearing her uniform, but a checkered
weak girl who just came out of the hospital. I wish I had an instant camera with me. If
I took a picture of this, I could probably sell it for a high price to Taniguchi.
"The weather's excellent. This is great, you could say it's the perfect weather for
It's not like the cabins are that big anyway. Even though this is going to be a long
cruise, we're still ten years too early to have a private cabin to ourselves. This is, after
Technically, this trip isn't a study trip or anything of the sort. A trip just for the
consulting teacher accompanying a club's field trip activities. There is none for the
SOS Brigade. This is because we're still not recognized by the school as a formal
club. It would be surprising if a teacher had come along. In North High, you can't
even if a teacher did agree to be consultant to the SOS Brigade, Haruhi would
probably find that unnecessary. Because if she did, she would have abducted one
How does it float? Besides its buoyancy, I don't think there's any other way. Don't
What are you talking about? Asahina nodded her head with a serious look on her
face.
technology?"
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Having heard her put it that way, I shook my head. I didn't think so. I tried asking
another question,
Asahina held the tip of her hat and tilted her head,
I don't know whether she comes from the near future or distant future, but it
certainly is pleasing to hear that the earth didn't turn into a desert in the future, that is,
Speaking of which, I was late for the meeting today. As I was about to leave in the
morning, I found my bag to be heavier than usual, so I unzipped it and had a look.
Instead of my clothes and bathroom kit, my sister was inside. The night before, she
kept shouting, "I wanna go too!", after I let it slip that I was going on a trip with
Haruhi and the rest. I spent two whole hours trying to cheer her up, but I never
thought she would sneak into my bag. I yanked my sister out of the bag and
interrogated her on where she hid my stuff. It took some time trying to do a good cop,
bad cop routine on her as she chose to remain silent. "If you don't tell me, then I'm not
gonna buy any presents for you! I'll use all that money to buy lunchboxes for the SOS
Brigade!"
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The SOS Brigade gathered in the corner of the second class cabin, chatting while
eating the lunchboxes I bought. Actually, Haruhi and Koizumi were the only ones
"Judging from the speed of this ferry, I'd say about six hours. According to the
plans, they'll be waiting for us at the harbor. Then we'll ride on their speedboat for
about half an hour before arriving at the lone island with the mansion on top of it. I've
never been there before, so I'm not sure what it's like there."
"I bet it must be a weird mansion. Do you know the name of the architect?"
Haruhi asked.
"I didn't ask that much, I do remember him saying he hired an architect to build
it."
"It'd be great if it could match your expectations, but I'm not too sure myself as
I've never seen it before. But for someone to build a private mansion on an
uninhabited island, the mansion must be unique in some way. That would be perfect."
Said Koizumi, but I certainly wasn't hoping for that. If the blueprint design was as
Haruhi had imagined it, then the architect who drew it must have been awake for
three whole nights, suffering from alcohol poisoning, and nodding occasionally while
drawing drowsily. I don't want to stay in such a house, a normal inn will do for me.
Just a traditional Japanese breakfast for me, thank you very much. If the mansion had
a name, Haruhi would probably become a serial killer just to trigger some events.
"An island! And a mansion! There's nothing better than this for an SOS Brigade
As Haruhi got more animated, the rest of the brigade could only watch in silence.
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Besides rocking along the waves on the ship's deck, there was nothing else to do,
so we followed Koizumi's suggestion and played Go Fish. Koizumi, who lost from
start to finish, had to buy drinks for the five of us. I collected my drink and drank
silently.
I just couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this lone island awaiting us.
"That won't do, you'd better get some fresh air. It's great enjoying the sea breeze
"Don't worry, I won't push you into the sea. Hmm......though that's not a bad idea.
"Eh!?"
"Just kidding! That wouldn't be fun at all. It'd be exciting if the ship were to hit an
iceberg or get attacked by a giant squid. I'm not the sort that likes to get everyone in
I think I'd better check where the lifeboats are located. Of course, I don't suppose
an iceberg would come that near to the seas of Japan in the middle of summer, but it's
possible that unknown marine creatures might attack suddenly. I glared at Koizumi: If
a monster attacks, we're counting on you! I don't know how he read my thoughts, but
"The best events are of course left for the island! Koizumi, will I be
disappointed?"
Koizumi revealed an enigmatic smile. Though this was his usual expression, I
stared hard at the esper, trying to figure out what was behind that smiling mask. I
soon gave up. This guy's smile is like Nagato's blank expression - impossible to read
anything from. Really, he ought to show more emotion as well. Of course, not as
the cabin. Asahina turned around repeatedly, hoping that I would come along; perhaps
I was thinking too much then, but I didn't want to ruin Haruhi's mood, so I let them
go.
No matter how insane Haruhi is, just before Asahina fell into the sea, she would
save her. I prayed and stared at the ceiling, then used my bag as a pillow and lay
down. It's going to be an early morning tomorrow, so I'd better get some sleep.
I dreamed about myself doing something strange, but just as I was about to
"Stop sleeping, you idiot! Get up already! Are you really in the mood for this trip
at all? If you're already sleeping on the trip, then what can we expect from you?"
It seems while I was asleep, the ferry had almost arrived at the interchange island.
"The first step is the most important! You lack the heart to enjoy things. Look at
everyone else. Their expectations for this trip show in the glittering in their eyes!"
I followed the direction of Haruhi's finger towards the three servants preparing to
"Give him a break, Suzumiya-san, he's trying to save up energy for the trip. Who
knows, he's probably going to spend all night thinking of how to entertain us next!"
like face and Asahina's puppy dog eyes, trying to find the so called glitter within their
eyes.
"We're there already?" I mumbled.
On a long boat trip, with the SOS Brigade members around. No, let's leave the
others aside. I had given in to my desire and taken a long nap. As a result I missed my
chance to spend time with Asahina inside the elegant looking cabin.
Damn, this is so frustrating. How could I let my summer vacation be over like
that? So far, my only memories of this vacation have been playing Go Fish. Shouldn't
I have been doing something more interesting on the ferry? Like sharing each other's
thoughts on board the deck while the sea wind blew softly?
I really felt like kicking my past self in the chest for being so sleepy.
Click!
I turned my gaze towards the direction of the sound, only to see Asahina holding a
She had the face of a pre-school kid who just pulled off a prank.
"I've also taken photos of you sleeping. You must have slept soundly."
Suddenly, I felt revived. Why was Asahina secretly taking pictures of me? Could
it be that she wanted my photos that badly? Does she intend to place my photo in a
cute frame and put it by her pillow, so she can say 'good night' to me every night?
Seriously, if you had wanted my photo, I would have gladly posed for you! Even
if I had to give you my photo album which I misplaced somewhere, I wouldn't have
minded at all.
However, as I was making such a suggestion, Asahina handed the instant camera
to Haruhi.
"Kyon, what are you grinning at? You look like a moron. Best wipe that off your
face."
"I've had Mikuru-chan be the stand-in photographer for the SOS Brigade. These
photos are not for play! What I want is a previous record of the SOS Brigade's
activities for our descendants to revisit. This silly girl just felt like taking useless
waking up?
"Since you have no sense of urgency, I'm going to spread pictures of you sleeping
like a moron all over as a cautionary tale! Listen! It's immoral and against the brigade
rules for the subordinates to sleep soundly when the commander isn't sleeping!"
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Haruhi stared at me with a face I wasn't sure was laughing or scowling. I knew it
was useless asking her when she came up with such rules, it's not going to be written
"Alright. What you mean is that if we don't want to have our faces drawn on, we
aren't allowed to sleep before you, right? In that case, if I sleep after you, does that
"What are you saying? Do you actually intend to do such childish acts? Let me
put this straight, I can be very alert. I can retaliate even when asleep. Besides, you'll
be risking the death penalty if you try to do anything foolish to the commander."
Hey, Haruhi, the number of advanced countries still carrying out capital
"Why should I comment on other countries' penalty systems? What matters is not
The ship shook roughly. Maybe it's about to dock already. The other passengers
What kind of island awaits us? Just don't let it be some island that suddenly
"Don't worry."
"There's nothing special about the island, just that it's far from land. There're no
This guy's guarantees mean nothing to me. I silently looked at Nagato's pale face
questioningly.
Page 176
"......"
Nagato also silently replied to me. If there were monsters appearing, she would
"Kyaa!"
Without even flinching, Nagato caught Asahina, who had lost her balance and
"You too, Mori-san. Thanks for going to the trouble to pick us up."
Koizumi then turned and looked at us with, our jaws wide open, then shrugged his
arms ridiculously like a stage actor trying to impress his audience, his grin four times
"Allow me to introduce them. Arakawa-san and Mori-san are the butler and maid
of the new mansion, and will be in charge of taking care of us. Ah yes, you must've
It was easy to guess. I looked at the two figures who stood still after having
bowed to us. I guess in this situation, the right word would be "captivating."
"It must have been a long trip for everyone. I am Arakawa the butler."
The old gentleman with white hair, mustache, and eyebrows, dressed in a tuxedo
The lady standing beside him also bowed at the same angle, and then both raised
their heads at the same time. One wonders if they've drilled this countless times.
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Arakawa-san looked elderly, but it was difficult to tell his exact age; while Mori-
san looked very young. She looked about our age, or was she just putting on make-up
to make herself look younger? Or maybe she was born with such a youthful look?
Haruhi mumbled frantically; my reaction was the same as hers. I never knew
these professions existed in Japan. I always thought they only had a conceptual
I see. It seems the two people standing gracefully behind Koizumi are genuinely
butler and maid. They look so much like it, at least after hearing their self-
introductions, one would think, Ah......I see. They're the real thing. Especially the
maid, Mori-san, if I remember correctly. No matter how you look, she's still a maid.
Because she's dressed in proper maid attire. This comes from my many months of
experience observing Asahina dressed in her maid costume, every day in the club
room, so I can guarantee this. And Arakawa-san and Mori-san don't look like they're
dressed like that just to please Haruhi, but are really dressed for their profession.
"Wah......"
Asahina gave a gasp and simply stared at them with awe - more specifically, she
was staring at Mori-san. She was half awestruck and 30% troubled. What about the
remaining 20%? I believe she was a bit envious. After being forced by Haruhi to wear
that costume every day, she must have subconsciously begun to enjoy being a maid.
Nagato didn't give any expression at this moment, and her face remained the
same. Yet her black obsidian eyes remained transfixed on those two professionals.
"Now then......"
"The boat is prepared to take us to our master's island. The trip shall take about
half an hour. As it's a lone island, I do apologize for any inconvenience caused."
Mori-san bowed as well. I felt itchy all over for some reason. I really wanted to
tell them that we weren't really that important to deserve having them serve us so
gracefully. Could Koizumi be the son of some billionaire? I had thought this guy was
just an esper who could only use his powers irregularly. I wonder if he has people
carefully, Haruhi had the smile of someone who has just conned some ignorant
"That's more like a lone island! We wouldn't mind if it took a few hours, let alone
half an hour! A lone island in the middle of the ocean is just where I wanted to go.
Kyon, Mikuru-chan, you two should be happy. There's a mansion on the island, and a
weird butler and maid as well! You probably wouldn't find a second island like this in
Leaving Asahina, who was being forced by Haruhi to pretend to be excited, aside,
for Haruhi to actually call someone "weird" in front of their faces is just plain rude.
Yet those two just smiled. Maybe they were weird in some way.
Man, what's weird is this whole trip. And when it comes to weirdness, the SOS
Brigade is leagues ahead of everyone, so I'm not qualified to criticize other people.
Though I can't just let Haruhi get away with everything like that.
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I looked at Koizumi, who was chatting away with Arakawa-san the butler, while
Mori-san subtly had her hands clasped to her knees, staring casually towards the sea
ahead. The sea looked calm, and the skies were clear. Don't think a typhoon will be
coming soon.
Nagato's calm poker face just seems so reliable all the time. I felt so useless.
Arakawa-san and Mori-san led us to a small dock not far from the harbor. I had
originally imagined seeing a small boat, but there ahead of us was parked a private
speedboat, moving gently and idyllically on the waves. The speedboat looked so posh
that I dared not ask how much it cost. I suddenly had the urge to go fishing on board
that boat.
Thanks to my daydreaming, not counting Haruhi, who had leaped on at once;
when I saw Koizumi escorting both Asahina, who was astounded by the sight of the
speedboat; and Nagato, who just stared blankly at it, on board the boat; I felt a deep
sense of regret that my time had passed, never to return. That was supposed to be my
job!
We were led into the cabin, and before we could even admire how a boat can have
a western style kitchen, the speedboat had begun its departure from the port. It seems
that butlers these days all have speedboat licenses, as Arakawa-san was the one
driving it.
Mori-san sat opposite me with a gentle smile on her face, as though she were a
decoration in the boat. The maid costume looked trendy and dangerous at the same
time. I felt that her maid attire was thinner than the costume that Haruhi made
Asahina wear in the club room every day, but as I'm not too familiar with the maid
I wasn't the only one looking uneasy. Asahina was the same as well. She had been
staring at the maid's costume for some time now, looking very nervous. Does she
intend to study how a maid really behaves so she can learn some new tricks to do
back in the club room? She's the sort of person who is serious about the most
unexpected things.
Nagato sat facing the front, not moving at all. Koizumi had a casual expression,
"Is it called something like the House of the Dead or the sort?" (Translator note to
editors - I have no idea what the names Haruhi has listed are or how to best translate
them to English, save that they come from various Japanese mystery novels. I'd leave
it to the editors with the original Japanese text to deal with it.)
"Have there been any frightening stories like the mansion having a lot of hidden
traps, or the architect being murdered, or a room where none may leave alive?"
"Then, are there stories of the owner wearing a mask, or having three weird sisters
"Then, does that mean it's possible these things might happen some day?"
"Perhaps."
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As the boat sped off, Haruhi had crawled onto the deck and had the above
conversation with Arakawa-san. From the contents of the dialogue I could hear over
the sounds of the engine and waves, Haruhi seemed to be over expectant about the
island's mansion. Speaking of which, why does she want so many strange
specifications like an island far away from land? Isn't it enough to just swim, walk
around, getting to know each other better, and then returning happily? I was hoping
for that.
Perhaps it's too late already.
I never thought there would be a butler and a maid. This is more unexpected than
surprised if the owner of the mansion wore a mask or had other weird looking guests.
The sun slowly tilted towards the west, but it was still some time before dusk. The
mansion basked in the light of the setting sun. It seemed to shine with splendor, as I'd
The building on top of the steep hill looked just like something a rich person
would build as a summer getaway. There was nothing suspicious about its
architecture. It didn't look like any medieval European castle, it didn't have red thorny
roses surrounding its outer walls, and there were no strange looking towers attached
onion thinking it was roast beef, looking blankly at that mansion (Haruhi called it a
villa).
"This isn't what I imagined. The looks are an important factor, did the architect
I stood beside Haruhi on the deck, looking at the view of the island. I was
"Kyon, what do you think? It's a lone island, yet the building looks so ordinary.
more than an hour by private speedboat to get to the nearest convenience store and
return. What would you eat if you were to get hungry in the middle of the night?
"I'm talking about the atmosphere! I always thought it'd be one of those eerie
villas, but from the looks of it, this is just a vacation mansion! Our objective isn't to
I brushed away Haruhi's hair, which was being blown by the wind and was
stinging my face.
"That's what they call a field trip. What were you expecting? Going out on an
"Hmm, that's not a bad idea. I'll include exploring the island as part of the
Oh no, I've just increased the glitter in Haruhi's eyes. Oh, island, I beg you, please
"The islands around here were apparently formed by ancient volcanic activity."
"Besides new species, we might even pick up some ancient artifacts. There were
artifacts left behind by the ancient Japanese on other islands. It's quite dramatic, isn't
it?"
I don't see any connection between the works of the ancients and this new
mansion, but I'm not that interested in searching for Tsuchinoko or digging for
treasures. Why don't we split up? Haruhi and Koizumi can go explore the island,
while I'll stay behind with Asahina and Nagato and have a stroll by the beach. Now
Haruhi pointed to a newly built pier. It seemed to be built specifically for this
speedboat, since there were no other boats parked. A person stood at the edge of the
"No, he's another guest who was invited besides us. I believe he's the owner's
"Koizumi," I interrupted, "You should've told us this earlier! I didn't hear anything
"There's no need to worry! He's a nice person. And of course, the owner Tamaru
such a remote area just so he could live in it during the summer. He's a distant relative
of Koizumi's, something like his mother's cousin on her father's side or something
like that. I'm not too sure of the details, but I hear he's been quite successful in the
field of biotechnology, and is now reaping the rewards of his success. His wealth
must be so enormous that he doesn't know how to spend it all, otherwise he wouldn't
The speedboat gradually slowed down as it approached the pier, until we could
see the person's face. He was dressed in youthful attire, probably in his twenties. He's
We spent a few hours being rocked on the boat, so thanks to that, by the time we
got onto land, we still felt as though the ground was moving.
The young man had a pleasant smile, and ran towards the speedboat to greet us.
"These are the friends that have been taking good care of me in school."
I don't remember ever taking good care of you, but Koizumi pointed at us, lined
up in a row.
"The cheery girl here is Suzumiya Haruhi-san. She's an incredible friend. She's
pretty easy going and very energetic. I ought to learn some of her assertiveness."
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What kind of introduction is this? A cold sweat dropped from my back. And
Haruhi, you too. Why are you wearing that fake courteous looking mask? Have your
brain cells been damaged from being rocked too much on the boat?
association. He was the one who invited us to this island. He's a very reliable vice-
Koizumi ignored the cold steam being emitted by me and went on to introduce the
Or:
"This is Nagato Yuki-san. Her grades are so good she's seen as an encyclopedia
never seen before in this world. She doesn't talk much, but that's where her charm
point is."
though he'd read them from some blind date agency client file. Of course I was
included in his cheesy introduction, but I'd prefer to gloss over it here.
"Welcome everyone, I'm Tamaru Yutaka, right now I'm just an employee helping
out at my brother's company. Itsuki always talks to me a lot about you. I was very
worried for him when he suddenly had to transfer schools. It's great that he's made so
"Well, then."
Turning around, I saw the butler and Mori Sonou-san carrying our luggage and
"The sun's a bit bright here. May I suggest we move to the mansion?"
"You're right, brother's waiting for everyone. Let's bring the luggage in as well, I'll
help."
"We're fine. Could Yutaka-san go help Arakawa-san and Mori-san instead? They
After the niceties, we followed Koizumi's lead and headed for the mansion at the
At the end of the staircase, as steep as Mt. Fuji, lies the mansion. This probably
sounded bad to Haruhi, for the mansion ahead looked absolutely normal, not the sort
looked a bit wide? I even wanted to count how many rooms there were. I guess this
mansion could hold up to two football teams with room to spare. The mansion seems
to have been built after leveling out the dense woods on the hill, but how did they
ship all those building materials? A lot of logistics were probably needed. I'm really
Koizumi led us to outside the entrance hall like a butler. We stood in a row. The
Save Haruhi, who stepped forward like a horse not following its herd, rearing its
head out suddenly. I understood how eager she was for this moment, she even stuck
her tongue out on her lips and placed it back in many times. Asahina cutely combed
her hair, trying to give a good first impression. While Nagato stood as still, as usual,
Koizumi turned and looked at us, a small smile growing on his face, as he very
Needless to say, the person welcoming us wasn't wearing an iron mask, nor some
funny hat with shades, neither did he suddenly attack us, or say some very puzzling
"Welcome!"
right now this middle-aged man was dressed in just a golf shirt and working trousers,
"Itsuki, and everyone else, I've been waiting for you for a long time now. Frankly,
this place is really boring, you'll get frustrated after staying for three days. The only
Keiichi-san's vision moved to my face, then towards Asahina, Haruhi and Nagato.
"Itsuki, you have such cute friends! I heard from Itsuki, but you are prettier than I
thought. You've certainly injected some life into this lonely little island. You're most
welcome."
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Haruhi smiled heartily, Asahina bowed her head politely, while Nagato remained
motionless. Three people with three different reactions, yet they all had the eyes of
someone seeing a music teacher appear during history class, looking at Keiichi-san,
who was welcoming us from the bottom of his heart. After a while, Haruhi stepped
"We're very grateful you could invite us here. It's an honor to be able to stay in
She spoke in a higher pitch than usual, as though reciting a speech. Does she
intend to put on that appearance for the whole trip? I suggest before she sheds her
sheepskin and reveals her wolf fangs, she ought to take off that invisible mask on her
face.
Perhaps Tamaru Keiichi-san was thinking something like that as well?
"So you're Suzumiya-san? Hmm, you're different from what I heard. Itsuki told
The ball got bounced into Koizumi's court. Without flinching, he said with ease,
"Ah, really?"
Haruhi promptly took off her mask, and put on a smile that she rarely showed
"Nice to meet you, mansion owner! Allow me to ask frankly, have any strange
events happened in this mansion before? Or maybe some frightening rumors from the
locals about this island being haunted? These sort of things interest me the most."
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Don't go around declaring your interests to someone you just met for the first
time. To be precise, don't say stupid stuff about what happened in the past to the
However, Tamaru Keiichi-san was simply such a nice person, that he only smiled
and said,
"I've got similar interests to yours, though I've not heard of anything bad lately.
don't need to take off your shoes. I think I'll show you to your rooms. I wanted
Arakawa-san to show you around, but it seems he's attending to the luggage, so I
I wish I could provide everyone with a blueprint of the mansion to show where
the rooms are located, but I've known I had no talent for drawing ever since I was in
first grade, so I won't bother. To put it simply, our quarters are all on the second floor,
Tamaru Keiichi-san's bedroom and the guest room for Yutaka-san are on the third.
Maybe this represents their family ties. The butler Arakawa-san and the maid Mori-
"Right now we haven't come up with one, if you have any suggestions for the
"Ah yes, why not call it the House of Fear or the House of Horrors? What do you
think? And we could name every room as well, like the Bloodsucking Room, or the
Cursed Room?"
"Hmm, that's a great idea! I'll come up with some room names the next time I
invite someone."
We crossed the hall and climbed the high-class wooden stairway up to the second
floor. The interior was designed like an inn, with a row of doors lined up next to each
other.
"The rooms are all about the same size, they're divided into single and double
What should I do? I wouldn't mind sharing with anybody, but there's five of us. If
we had to share, there'd be an odd one out, and no matter how hard I tried, I could
only think of Nagato being the one left out. If I loudly announced my roommate
priority, I'm sure Nagato wouldn't mind, but I'd probably be killed by Haruhi's instant
backfist.
Koizumi concluded.
"Since we're only in our rooms while sleeping anyway. We can just walk between
the rooms as we please. I'd like to ask, can the doors be locked?"
"The keys are placed on the cabinet by the bed. The doors won't lock
automatically, so you don't have to worry about being locked outside your rooms by
accident. But take good care of the keys and don't lose them."
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I won't be needing a key. Even before sleeping, I might just leave the door ajar.
Maybe Asahina will come sneaking in for some reason after everyone's fallen asleep.
Besides, I didn't bring any valuables worth stealing, I don't think anyone would dare
steal when the suspect list is so narrow. Even if there was, the goddamn thief would
definitely be Haruhi.
"Then I'll go see how Arakawa-san is doing. You can take your time walking
around. Please don't forget where the emergency exits are located. I'll see you later."
"It's because there's nothing strange that makes him even more suspicious."
According to this girl's subjective logic, there is nothing in this world that is not
strange. Her standards would shock even the ISO. Maybe you could work for JARO.
I bet you could work hard feeling fulfilled every day there.
After leaving our luggage in our rooms, we met in the double bedroom Haruhi
had chosen as her room. It's so like Haruhi to occupy a double bedroom all by herself.
The three girls sat on the bed, I sat on the make-up table, while Koizumi leaned
"I know!"
"Know what?"
"The suspect."
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Haruhi said promptly. Her face now had the aura of a Great Detective, for some
reason.
"What suspect? There isn't even a case yet, we only just arrived!"
"From my instincts, the suspect is the owner of this place. I think his first target
will be Mikuru-chan."
"Eh!?"
Asahina seemed to be really scared. She trembled like a rabbit at the sound of an
eagle's wings flapping, clutching onto Nagato's skirt. Nagato said nothing.
"......"
"I'm asking you, what suspect?" I asked again, "Or more like, what kind of
"How should I know? From his eyes, he seems to have something planned. My
instincts are usually correct. By then, we'll be involved in some shocking event."
It would be fine if it was just a normal surprise party, but Haruhi was expecting
something way beyond that, not some messy party where she would only play a bit
role.
Think about it. The image of Keiichi-san removing his nice guy appearance, his
eyes flashing with insanity, and carrying a sharp butcher knife trying to cut all the
guests' stomachs open. Just because he accidentally stumbled upon some ancient
grave deep within the island forest, and got possessed by a murderous ghost.
I waved my hand horizontally in mid air, making a "don't get yourself into
trouble" gesture.
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No matter how hard you think about it, it's impossible that someone Koizumi
knows would turn into something like that. That "Organization" group is not
completely stupid, they probably did a lot of background checks beforehand. Koizumi
had his usual harmless smile, and Arakawa-san the butler, Mori-san the maid, as well
as Tamaru Yutaka-san all looked very far from the image of a scary person. By the
way, Haruhi is hoping for a mystery, not some interference from the magnetic field,
right?
If things were to happen, it would just be one to two murders at most, right?
Besides, I don't think things would happen just because she wished so. The weather's
great outside, and the sea's calm. This island is no closed circle.
Moreover, no matter how insane Haruhi is, she wouldn't actually wish for
someone to die. If Haruhi were like that, I would have been killed by her impatience
already, considering I've tagged along with her all this time.
"Let's go swimming first! What else is there to do besides swimming when we're
by the sea? Everyone, swim to your heart's content! We'll have a race and see who
That's not a bad idea, provided the coast guard is available and on standby.
But we've only just arrived, do we have to go so soon? Don't you even want to
take a break after all the exhaustion from that long boat trip? Speaking of which, even
if Haruhi has never felt tired before, she should still be considerate of other people
"What on earth are you mumbling about? The sun won't stop rising and setting
Haruhi stretched both her arms and wrapped them round Asahina and Nagato's
necks.
"KYAA~!" Asahina closed her eyes and screamed. "......" While Nagato didn't
"Swimsuits! Swimsuits! Everyone get dressed in your swimsuits and meet in the
hall! Hee hee, I've helped choose these two cuties' swimsuits! You must be looking
Haruhi revealed an expression of "I know what you've been thinking already" and
I was reinvigorated and stood upright. This was indeed part of my reason for
"Yes it is. People usually go to the beach to collect shells anyway. Few people
ever come here anyway, but the waves can be rapid here, so try not to swim too far. If
"Don't be ridiculous. I was only joking! Mikuru-chan's bound to get swept away
by a black tide to get fed to the fish. Everyone listen up, don't get too carried away
to help. At least I need to be careful not to let Asahina out of my sight for more than
two seconds.
"Hey, Kyon!"
"I don't like that stupid smile on your face, so cut it out! You're better off
Remaining passionate from beginning to end, the Haruhi Orient Express sped on,
The sun was already setting, but the rays and heat were pretty much up to summer
standards. The waves washed upon the sand, the clouds floated above in the sky like
marshmallows. Our hair was blown by the sea breeze, carrying the scent of the
waves.
While it's called a private beach, there really wasn't any need to set up any special
booking, as no one ever comes to this uninhabited island anyway. I guess the only
people who would come here to enjoy a beach spa are probably some foreign tourists
conned by those rubbish travel magazines. Besides the five of us, there was no doubt
that the beach was pretty much empty. There weren't even any seabirds.
So, besides me and Koizumi, the only other living beings able to enjoy the sight
of Haruhi and the girls in their swimsuits were the barnacles attached on the shore
rocks.
I laid the straw mat under the umbrella, and squinted my eyes, enjoying Asahina's
every move, looking shyly, while Haruhi came from behind and grabbed her.
"Mikuru-chan, the best way to enjoy the seaside is to swim! C'mon, let's go! It's
Haruhi ignored the cowering protests of Asahina, and pushed the small and pale
"Wah! Salty!"
"......"
......sat on her beach chair in her swimsuit and quietly read her thick novel.
Koizumi, who was playing beach ball, opened his mouth to show me his smile.
"One should spend their free time doing what they like most, otherwise it
wouldn't be called free time. Don't you intend to enjoy this carefree trip for the next
Isn't Haruhi the only one doing as she pleases? I never once thought Asahina,
being forced to play along by Haruhi, would understand the true meaning of being
relaxed.
Haruhi yelled at us like a siren warning. I warily got up. To be honest, I didn't
mind that much. Not counting Haruhi, just being able to stand next to Asahina is
exactly what I've wished for. Taking the blown beach ball from Koizumi's hand, I
Once we sensed our muscles starting to fatigue, we returned to the mansion, took
a bath and had a rest in our rooms. The sky is now littered with stars. Mori-san then
The dinner for that night was quite flamboyant. I don't think they were meaning to
grant Asahina's wish, but there was pickled fish on every one of our plates. Being
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used to poverty, I had to sit upright in respect after seeing all this. I get to eat all of
"Be my guests."
"Think of it as a reward for having come this far, because it's just too boring for
me alone here. Actually I'm quite picky in choosing my guests, but of course since
For some reason, Keiichi-san was now dressed very formally compared to when
we last saw him. He wore a black tuxedo with a bowtie on his neck. The dishes were
a mix of Japanese and western cuisine. There was lamb, French roast fish, and some
steamed stuff, all sorts of things. The only one using a fork and knife was Keiichi-san,
Haruhi asked while revealing her amazing appetite worthy of nomination for a
"The butler Arakawa is also the chef here, his cooking's not bad, huh?"
Haruhi said as though she were a gourmand who had just tasted a high class
dinner.
I looked at Asahina, who widened her eyes further every time she took a bite; then
at Nagato, who doesn't seem to eat much, yet she never stopped picking up food with
Mori-san asked, dressed in her maid costume and playing the role of waitress the
whole time. She carried a small, long wine bottle and smiled. Probably wine, I guess.
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While it's questionable to offer alcohol to minors, I still decided to ask for one glass.
I've never tasted wine before, but one ought to be more daring. And after seeing Mori-
Due to Haruhi's request, glasses filled with wine had now been passed into
everyone's hands.
blurred, but I do remember Haruhi grabbing onto the wine bottle and drinking
"Ah......You're so great! To thank you for inviting us, I'll offer you Mikuru-chan!
Train her well so she can become a better maid! Because this girl is completely
hopeless!"
The real maid Mori-san placed the wine bottle back on the table like a bowling
pin, and quietly sliced the apples and pears from the fruits basket, handing them out
as dessert. While the only make-believe maid in the club room, Asahina was already
Nagato finished the glass of wine Mori-san poured for her. I don't know how the
alcohol in her body gets dissipated. Her face remained the same while she emptied
That's what Koizumi told me afterwards. He said I reeked of booze just as much as
Haruhi, but since I don't remember anything, I pretended not to hear that, and refused
to remember that such a thing happened. I'll treat it as one of Koizumi's jokes.
Because something happened on the second day that pushed our hangovers to the
an ominous sound. The forest around the mansion rustled as though demons were
living in it.
Haruhi said dejectedly while looking outside the window. We were gathered in
This was after we had our breakfast. Keiichi-san was absent from the table.
Arakawa-san said Keiichi-san always felt terrible in the morning after waking up, so
"This has now really become a lone island. This is the situation of a lifetime,
Asahina gasped and moved her eyes around, while Koizumi and Nagato's facial
The waves were still and calm yesterday. Now they've reached tsunami alert
status, impossible for any ship to sail in. If this goes on until the day after tomorrow,
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we'll really be stranded on a lone island against our wishes, just as Haruhi had wished
"This typhoon seems to be moving quite fast, I think it'll get better the day after
According to the weather report, this would be correct. But there were no reports
of a typhoon coming in yesterday's report! Just whose mind conjured this storm!?
"It's coincidental."
Koizumi said with ease.
"We were supposed to explore around the island, but it seems we have to cancel
that." Haruhi said bitterly, "Ah well, let's find some games that we can play indoors!"
Haruhi seemed to have completely forgotten the original purpose of this field trip,
as the emphasis now moved into having fun. Now this was something worth cheering
for, because I didn't want to walk to the other end of the island to find some
unidentified creature's carcass being washed ashore and stuck between the boulders.
"I seem to remember there's a game room here, I'll go ask Keiichi-san to open it
for us. Which do you like? Mah-jong or pool? If we asked, we could even get a
Haruhi agreed,
"Then let's have a table tennis match! We'll decide the winner of the first SOS
Brigade Table Tennis Tournament in a round-robin format! Sorry for those who want
to play pool, I'll treat them to drinks on the boat trip back. Don't hold back now!"
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The game room was located in the basement. In the wide hall was placed a Mah-
jong table and a pool table. They even had a roulette and Baccarat table. Do
"What do you think?" Koizumi replied with a foolish smile, pulling out the folded
By the way, after an intense battle with me, Haruhi won the table tennis
tournament. She then held the Mah-jong contest, but besides Koizumi, no one in the
SOS Brigade knew how to play Mah-jong, so we had to learn as we played along.
During the game, the Tamaru brothers also joined in, making it a lively Mah-jong
contest. Haruhi distorted the rules and created yaku to suit herself, racking up win
after win with puzzling combinations like "Nishoku Zetsu Ichimon," "Chantamodoki,"
"Iishanten Paralysis" and so on. Well, it made me laugh, so I let it pass. And we
I secretly sighed, perhaps it was better to look on the bright side and enjoy the fun
the trip brought. As things stand, it seems unlikely a huge sea creature will appear, or
natives coming out from the forest. After all, this is a lone island far way from the
I decided to think like that and relax myself. Tamaru Keiichi-san and Yutaka-san,
Arakawa-san, Mori-san are all acquainted with Koizumi, they all look normal. We're
We spent the whole second day playing and eating, and as the weather worsened
by nightfall, the same dining hall scene repeated itself again. On the third day, I
struggled to wake up with a splitting headache from the hangover, if Koizumi hadn't
carried us back to our rooms, I guess I would still be sleeping in the dining hall with
I opened the curtains on the morning of the third day. The storm continued.
I washed off the dizzyness from my face with some cold water, trying hard to
walk in a straight line. I walked down the stairs with caution, not wanting to trip and
tumble over.
There gathered in the dining hall were Haruhi and Asahina with the same
miserable face as mine, and Koizumi and Nagato with their usual expressions.
The Tamaru brothers haven't come down yet, maybe they've reached their limits
after drinking for two consecutive nights? I remembered Haruhi pouring wine over
their glasses. Haruhi was already reckless when sober, with alcohol she became
worse, and just thinking of her antics last night simply worsened my headache. I
"I don't know why, but all my memories after dinner seem to have disappeared.
Isn't that a pity? I felt as we've wasted a lot of time. Argh, I don't want to get drunk
Normally, high school students are not supposed to get drunk. Perhaps I ought to
compliment Haruhi for actually saying something responsible for once? Yet,
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Asahina's dreamy expression when she was drunk looked just so seductive, I must
Koizumi nodded and agreed right away, he then said to Mori-san who just came
"We won't be needing any wine for tonight. Please just prepare some juice
instead."
"Understood."
Mori-san bowed politely and started handing out the bacon and eggs plates on to
the table.
Yutaka-san had still not appeared after we had finished our breakfast. As Keiichi-
san normally feels ill during morning, his absence was expected, but not Yutaka-san's.
At this moment......
"Excuse me."
within his usually calm butler face. I have a bad feeling about this.
"Yes." Arakawa-san said, "I believe it is sort of a problem. I had asked Mori-san
"As the door wasn't locked, I opened it to find Yutaka-sama's not inside."
With a voice as clear as a bell, Mori-san said glancing at the table cloth,
"The room was empty, and the bed doesn't seem to be slept on at all."
"I tried to contact the master's room using an internal phone line, but there was no
response."
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Haruhi released the glass of orange juice she was holding after hearing Arakawa-
"What does that mean? Yutaka-san is missing while Keiichi-san doesn't answer
the phone?"
"I have the backup keys to all the rooms save the master's bedroom. As his room
has a lot of work-related documents, only he has access to the backup keys, just to be
safe."
The bad feeling has begun to hover as a dark cloud, shrouding two-thirds of my
heart. The mansion owner who hasn't woken up, and his brother who was missing.
"I would like to visit the master's bedroom in a moment. If you do not mind,
would you please accompany me? I hope I'm wrong, but I have a bad feeling about
this."
Haruhi quickly gestured something to me with her eyes. What's she trying to say?
"Maybe he's so ill he couldn't get up. We may have to break the door down."
"Kyon, let's go! I'm getting all uneasy. Yuki and Mikuru-chan, you two come
along as well!"
In this moment, Haruhi revealed a hitherto unseen serious expression on her face.
Keiichi-san's room was located on the third floor, there was no response no matter
how many times we knocked. Koizumi tried turning the doorknob, but the door still
won't open. The wooden door now stood like a wall, blocking our access.
Before going there, we also went to Tamaru Yutaka-san's room. As Mori-san had
described, the bedsheets were tidy, as though no one has slept on it. Just where did he
"The room is locked from the inside, that means there's someone inside."
Koizumi held his chin and gave a look of thinking deeply. He said in an
So we lined up together and rammed ourselves towards the door like a bunch of
rugby players. The line-up included me, Koizumi and Arakawa-san. I trust Nagato
would be able to push the door down easily with just her finger, but she decided her
magic wouldn't be appropriate here with everyone looking. Under the watchful eyes
of the three SOS Brigade girls and Mori-san, the three of us bravely rammed the door
many times, just as the bones in my shoulders were beginning to yell out in pain......
Losing our balance, I, Koizumi and Arakawa-san all fell in towards the room with
Yes, we have now returned to the scene at the beginning. It took a long time to
.........
......
...
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After a lengthy flashback, I slowly moved my eyes away from Keiichi-san, whose
chest has been stabbed with a knife, towards the door which has been burst open. This
is a newly built mansion, even the doors looked shiny......I shouldn't be thinking of
Arakawa-san bent his body and knelt down by his master's side, touching his neck
with the tip of his finger, then slowly lifted his head to face us.
Asahina knelt on the ground looking worn out, this is understandable, because
right now I felt like doing that as well. I even found Nagato's wooden expression to
be a salvation.
The white shirt has now been dyed with some dark-reddish liquid, forming an
irregular pattern.
"Huh?"
He made an exclamation. I looked at his hand and saw a notebook placed inside
the chest pocket of Keiichi-san's shirt. The blade seemed to pierce through the
notebook and into the heart. The suspect must have possessed some formidable
strength in order to do that. I don't think it would be the girls here, though for Haruhi,
"Right now our priority is to preserve the crime scene. Let us leave this place."
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It's not surprising for Haruhi to be so worried, since Asahina was close to fainting.
She knelt wearily on the floor besides Nagato's thin legs and closing her eyes tightly.
"Yuki, let's carry Mikuru-chan to my room! You grab her other arm."
Haruhi actually said something with common sense, maybe this means she is
disturbed inside. With her arms grabbed by Nagato and Haruhi, Asahina was slowly
on the floor, while Mori-san lowered her head with a sad face. Up till now Yutaka-san
"Now..." Koizumi said to me, "It seems we need to think about what has
transpired."
"What do you mean?" I asked. Koizumi's normal smile suddenly returned to his
mouth.
I turned and noticed all the windows were locked from the inside.
"How does the suspect commit his act and leave safely in a room that can't be
accessed at all?"
"You're right," Koizumi agreed with me, "We'd better ask Yutaka-san about this."
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Koizumi asked Arakawa-san to call the police, then turned and said to me,
"Please wait at Suzumiya-san's room first, I'll be coming over as well later."
That seemed like a good idea, since there wasn't much I could do.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
The door opened slightly, Haruhi peeked from inside. She then let me in with a
Asahina was left to sleep on one of the double beds. Her sleeping face was
enough to compel any passing-by prince to come and kiss her. But from her painful
Beside her sat Nagato as though watching over a coffin. Keep up the good work!
"Think of what?"
Objectively speaking, the answer's pretty obvious, isn't it? I tried to deduce. We
burst open the locked door to find the owner of the mansion lying on the floor, with a
knife stabbed on his chest. A murder happening inside a sealed room in an island
Time stopped for a few seconds, Haruhi then sighed deeply and sort of replied,
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"Hmm......"
Haruhi placed her hand on her temple and sat on her bed.
"How can this be? I never expected things to develop this way."
She quietly murmured. I should be asking you that. Weren't you the one who was
Haruhi scowled, then changed her expression. She seemed to be troubled by what
expression she should put on. I was kind of relieved that she didn't seem happy about
this, because I have no intention of playing the role of the second victim.
I looked at Asahina, who was sleeping with an angel face.
"She should be fine, I guess. She just fainted. Such a direct reaction, I'm envious
of her. This is so like how Mikuru-chan would react. It's better than going hysterical."
A sealed room murder incident on a lone island within a storm. What are the
chances of that occurring in a trip? Then again, we are the SOS Brigade, not some
Occult Study Group, or Mystery Novels Association. Searching for mysterious events
is exactly the reason Haruhi founded the SOS Brigade, so in truth, encountering this
kind of incident perhaps embodies the founding principles of the SOS Brigade. Of
course, it's a whole different story when we're actually experiencing it.
Haruhi leaped off her bed and paced around the room.
For me, she looked like a kid who wanted to pull a small prank on April Fool's
Day, but found out the prank went too far and was feeling troubled. She seemed to be
If possible, I'd like to lie down and sleep beside Asahina, but it's useless trying to
escape reality now. There's got to be a way to deal with this. What does Koizumi
intend to do?
After all? Haruhi said that as a matter-of-factly and stood before my face. She
"Yuki's here as well, so don't worry! Yuki, have the door locked, and don't let
"Understood."
Instantaneously, the pair of light filtering eyes made contact with my eyes. At this
moment, Nagato nodded slightly in a way only I could notice, that's what I think
anyway.
something funny were to happen, it's unlikely for Nagato not to intervene. I
"To Keiichi-san's room, of course! I didn't observe it closely just now, so I need to
check again."
At the image of Keiichi-san lying on the floor with a knife stabbed on his chest,
and the blood soaked on his white shirt, I hesitated. That was not a view worth
appreciating.
"Then, we need to find out where Yutaka-san is. He may be still in the building,
besides......"
For something this serious, if Yutaka-san had nothing to do with this, then it
doesn't make sense for him to disappear. There could only be two possibilities from
his absence.
"Either Yutaka-san is the killer and has escaped the scene; or Yutaka-san is also a
victim......right?"
"Yeah, but if Yutaka-san isn't the killer, then it'll become troublesome."
"No matter who did it, it's all annoying for me......"
"Kyon, in this mansion, besides the Tamaru brothers, there's only Arakawa-san
and Mori-san left, and the five of us. Could the suspect be one of them? I don't want
to suspect my own brigade, and I don't want to hand them over to the police."
I see, so you were worried about one of us being a murderer, huh? I never
contemplated such a possibility. Asahina was out of the question, while Nagato would
have done it in a more efficient manner; as for Koizumi......that's right, Koizumi was
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the one closest to Tamaru-san. He said Tamaru-san was his distant relative, compared
to total strangers like us, he certainly seemed much closer than us......
"No."
circumstances. I do not believe that he would kill someone just to satisfy the
We don't need anyone else to have such a thinking pattern. We already have
Haruhi.
Outside of Keiichi-san's room on the third floor stood Arakawa-san with his legs
apart.
"I've called the police, and they've instructed me not to let anyone in."
He lowered his head. The door remained as it was when we burst it open, I could
"Once this storm subsides. According to the weather report, the weather would
"Hmm."
"What is it?"
"Did Keiichi-san and Yutaka-san get along well with each other?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure myself. Because I've only started working here a week
ago."
"Yes, I am indeed a butler, but I've been hired as a stand-in contractual butler. My
contract stipulates that I would serve this mansion for two weeks during summer."
"So does that mean you only work in this mansion and have not been by Keiichi-
maybe......
"You're absolutely correct. She has also been hired for these two weeks."
Such a lavish way for Keiichi-san to hire a butler and maid just for two weeks
during the summer. I felt he may be a bit casual with how he spends his money, but to
I didn't say anything, and had that little thought buried deep within my heart. I'll
"I see, so there are permanent and contractual servants, I've really learnt
something.
"Since we can't enter the room, there's nothing we can do here. Kyon, let's go to
I really didn't want to wander purposelessly with Haruhi under this stormy day.
"I only believe what I see with my eyes. Information that gets passed around
usually gets mixed up with unnecessary noise. Listen, Kyon, the most important
information are first-hand ones. Second-hand information from the eyes or hands of
Well, from a certain point, she was right. But does that mean besides those that
brought me to the first floor, where Mori-san was standing by the base of the stairs.
"Why's that?"
"I saw Yutaka-sama last night, he seemed to be in a hurry as he left the entrance
hall."
Though her hair and T-shirt have been soaked so wet that they stuck to her body,
Haruhi still bravely walked forward in the rain. I had no choice but to follow her, as
she was still tightly grabbing my wrist.
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"You mean Yutaka-san had stolen the boat and left the island?"
"I only passed by Yutaka-sama in the corridor, I didn't actually see him go out.
That was when we were getting drunk and slept very soundly.
Does that mean Keiichi-san fell on the floor during this time as well?
Once the door was opened, the raindrops fell onto our bodies. We spent quite
some time just trying to open the door, which had become very heavy due to the
strong winds. In a few seconds, Haruhi and I were soaked wet from head to toe. If I
The dark grey clouds extended towards the horizon, this reminded me of the
Sealed Dimension we were trapped in before. I don't think I'll ever like seeing such a
monotonous world.
"Let's go!"
Though her hair and T-shirt had been soaked so wet that they stuck to her body,
Haruhi still bravely walked forward in the rain. I had no choice but to follow her, as
The wind was so strong that if we had wings, we would be blown off easily.
Braving the heavy rain, we finally managed to come to a spot where we can see the
pier. If we were not careful, we could fall off the cliff. No matter how brave I got, I
started to feel that things were getting bad. I think I would turn in my grave if it was
only me that fell off, so I grabbed Haruhi's hand in return. I felt my chances of
Haruhi's voice scattered across the wind, I faced her and nodded,
"Yeah."
The pier was nearly covered in water, the only activity by the seaside were the
"There's no boat. If it wasn't carried off by the waves, then it was driven off."
That was our only means of leaving this island. Looking far, we could see no sign
Expecting our return, Mori-san had been waiting for us and handed us towels she
I don't know if she was born like that, but Mori-san's face continued to smile
softly like the light of a firefly. Though Tamaru Keiichi-san's murder had shaken her a
bit, yet her calm demeanor reflects her professionalism. Perhaps this reaction was
I apologized with Haruhi for wetting the entrance corridor, then decided to return
"At this moment, it's better to stick together. I just can't relax if I can't see
Haruhi stopped midway. I could understand what she was trying to say, so I didn't
We arrived on the second floor and found Koizumi standing at the corridor.
"Welcome back."
Koizumi carried his usual smile and gestured to us with his eyes. He was standing
"Why?"
"Well......"
After a brief pause, Nagato's voice came from behind the door.
Asahina still seems to be sleeping. Haruhi played with the towel on her head with
her fingers.
"That would be a violation of my order not to open the door for anyone."
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Haruhi looked at me with a startled look, then turned back to face the door.
"Yuki, what I meant by anyone is people besides us! Myself, Kyon and Koizumi-
kun are different. We're all companions in the SOS Brigade, right?"
"No one said anything about that. What I heard was not to let anyone in, that is
my interpretation."
Nagato's calm voice sounded like a female priest spreading the messages of the
gods.
"Hey, Nagato!"
I decided to cut in,
"Haruhi has cancelled that order. If you don't believe it, I'll recite that order for
Nagato seemed to consider that for a few seconds behind the door. The sound of
the door unlocking can be heard and the door slowly opened.
"......"
Nagato's eyes swept through our heads, and silently backed up inside.
"Really! Yuki, you ought to be more flexible! You've got to understand the
meaning properly!"
Haruhi asked Koizumi to wait a bit while she changed and entered the room. I
Was that all just a prank by Nagato? Yet it's a very hard to understand prank that
Nagato, please. Nobody's going to think of it as a joke if you always carry that
face with you. You should at least make a smile when you're pulling a prank. Or you
could just smile meaninglessly like Koizumi,you'd look better like that.
I removed my wet clothes and changed into a new set of clothes along with my
Haruhi's door.
"It's me."
Koizumi opened the door for me. As I stepped inside and closed the door,
Haruhi squatted on the bed. Even Haruhi, who was normally brash, didn't feel this
was worth being glad over. She lifted her head looking troubled,
"Yeah." I said.
Koizumi said,
"Someone must have driven it off. No, it's already meaningless to say 'someone.'
"Besides us, there was no one else who was invited to this island. The only invited
guest that has disappeared from the mansion is Yutaka-san. No matter how you put it,
"In other words, he is the killer. He must've escaped during the night."
matches with the testimony by the last witness to have seen him. I've also confirmed
"Then it must be very bad for him not to leave the island, like trying to leave the
scene of crime."
"We haven't been able to confirm that, but we should be able to deduce that from
"Wait!"
"What about Keiichi-san's door? Who locked it? Did Yutaka-san do that as well?
"According to Arakawa-san, both the master key and the backup key for that
room are kept by Keiichi-san. After some searching, we found both keys inside the
room."
I raised the question that came out of my mind, Koizumi shook his head.
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"This is the first time Yutaka-san has come to this mansion, I don't think he would
The room fell silent, the unharmonious sound of the heavy wind and rain shook
Haruhi and I were both speechless and remained quiet. Koizumi broke off this
depressing silence,
"But that would be strange if Yutaka-san were to commit this crime last night."
"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked.
"When I touched Keiichi-san, he was still warm, as if he was still alive a while
ago."
Koizumi gave a smile, then turned and faced the silent fairy sitting patiently like a
"Nagato-san, what was Keiichi-san's body temperature when we found him lying
on the ground?"
Wait a moment, Nagato, how do you even know Keiichi-san's body temperature
without even touching him? And the way she answered the question so swiftly was as
The only person with doubts would be Haruhi, but she seemed to be thinking of
"Isn't that near the normal body temperature? When was the crime committed?"
"When a person stops all living activity, the body temperature would drop by one
degree celcius per hour. From this we can esimate the time of death for Keiichi-san to
"Wait, Koizumi."
"But you said the time of death was within one hour?"
"That's correct."
"So does this mean Yutaka-san left the mansion at night and hid somewhere, then
"Assuming a small margin of error for the time of death, it should be around one
hour before we discovered him. But we were already gathered in the dining hall then.
Not only did we see Yutaka-san, we didn't even hear any strange noise. Even in this
Haruhi said frustratingly. She crossed her arms and glared at me and Koizumi. It's
useless glaring at me! If you have any questions, ask the smiling hunk over there!
I sure didn't see anything tragic from the looks of your eyes.
"I believe it is a fact that Yutaka-san has killed Keiichi-san, or there would be no
Well, yeah?
Page 225
"I don't know what argument they had or what the motive is, the thing is Yutaka-
san has attacked Keiichi-san with a knife. He must've hidden the knife behind his
back, then suddenly revealed it and stabbed with all his force. Keiichi-san must've
"But the edge of the blade probably hasn't reached the heart. It probably didn't
even scratched his skin. The knife merely penetrated the notebook on Keiichi-san's
chest pocket."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Then why did Keiichi-san die? Did someone else kill him?"
"No one killed him. There is no murderer in this case, Keiichi-san's death was a
pure accident."
Koizumi replied casually and lifted his forefinger. Which super sleuth does he
"Let me tell you what I think what has happened. Last night, Yutaka-san went to
Keiichi-san with the intent of killing him. He stabbed Keiichi-san with his knife, but
the knife was stuck in the notebook, so no fatal wound was made."
I really had no idea what he was trying to say, I decided to just let him continue.
"But the trouble begins here. Keiichi-san truly believed he has been stabbed.
Though the knife only penetrated the notebook, he could still feel the impact of the
knife thrusting in. He must've been shocked after seeing the edge of the knife
I think I'm beginning to get where Koizumi was going. Hey, could it be......
Koizumi continued,
"Seeing all this, Yutaka-san also believed he has killed him. The rest is simple, he
can only escape. This murder probably isn't premediated, but rather a killing motive
that is borne of passion. That's why he has to escape by speedboat in the middle of a
heavy storm."
"Huh? But if that's the case......"
"Please let me continue. The key is the actions Keiichi-san took after he fainted.
He stayed unconscious till dawn, all the way till we came to knock on his door when
"Keiichi-san was startled by the knock and got up and walked near the door. But
as he would usually feel ill after waking up, he must've felt drowsy then. As he
"He remembered that he was killed by his brother. In a flash, the image of Yutaka-
san wielding a knife reappeared in his mind, and Keiichi-san frantically locked the
door."
"Are you saying that's the whole truth behind this sealed room?"
Page 227
"Unfortunately, that's what I believe. Keiichi-san had lost all sense of time after
fainting, he probably thought Yutaka-san had returned to finish him off. I think it was
only a few seconds from him locking the door to us holding the door knob."
"If the killer had wanted to return to give him the finishing blow, why would he
"Keiichi-san's mind was very blurry then, so this was the swift conclusion he
"After locking the door, Keiichi-san tried to back off from the door, thinking what
a dire situation he was in. That was when the tragedy happened."
Koizumi shook his head, as if telling a sad story.
"As a result, the knife which had only penetrated into the notebook in his chest
pocket now thrusted into his chest with the force of the floor, leaving only the hilt
outside. The knife had gone straight into Keiichi-san's heart, therefore killing
him......"
Koizumi looked at me and Haruhi, whose jaws were opened like idiots, and said
firmly,
Keiichi-san died in such a ridiculous way? Is it really that simple? It was already
strange enough for the knife to land right on top of the notebook, and it's also
"AH!"
Page 228
Haruhi suddenly shouted, that gave me a fright. Why'd you shout all of a sudden
like that?
"But, Koizumi-kun......"
Haruhi said half way then stiffened up. Her face seems shocked, what was it that
made her shout so loud? Was it something Koizumi said that she couldn't accept?
Haruhi looked at me. Once our eyes met, she looked away and was about to look
at Koizumi, but then changed her mind and decided to look at the ceiling for some
reason.
"Um......nothing. That's got to be the case. Hmm, how should I put it?"
Asahina remained sleeping, while Nagato looked at Koizumi with a blank stare.
The meeting was adjourned for now. We decided to return to our rooms.
According to Koizumi, once the storm's subsided, the police would come over at
once. So we began to pack up and prepared to leave before the police arrived.
After spending some time in the room, I carried a lot of questions and went inside
"Yes?"
Koizumi lifted his head as he was folding his clothes and smiled at me.
That was natural, as some of Koizumi's deductions were full of holes that couldn't
explain itself.
"Based on your deductions, the body should be lying face down, but Keiichi-san
"That's simple, that's because the deduction I told everyone wasn't the truth."
"I guess you're right. The only one who would believe your deduction would be
the unconscious Asahina. If I had asked Nagato, she would probably tell me the
whole truth, but that's cheating and I don't like doing things that way. So why don't
laughter.
"Then let me tell you! The truth that I told everyone was correct up to the middle,
I kept quiet.
"It was correct up to when Keiichi-san walked towards the door with the knife on
his chest. He then instinctively locked the door. I then made up the rest."
"We rammed the door with our bodies and burst it open. To be precise, that would
have been me, you and Arakawa-san. Then when the door burst opened, we fell hard
inwards."
"You must've realized what that would result in. Keiichi-san, who was standing in
front of the door, was hit face on by the door, and the knife as well."
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Koizumi sat on the bed again and looked at me as though challenging me.
I looked down at Koizumi. If there was a mirror, I bet I could see myself with
why she didn't say what she wanted to say. She didn't want to report us, or maybe she
Koizumi said without doubt. I still couldn't accept this. My cerebral neocortex
"Hmph."
"I think, after coming up with a flawed deduction, you've created a second truth to
"Think about where the whole problem is! Let's start with the murder itself. How
"The typhoon may be random or created by Haruhi, but that's not important. The
"You may think that this is exactly what Haruhi wished for. But no matter how
much bullshit that girl comes up with, Haruhi wouldn't really wish for anyone to die.
You can tell just by looking at her. This means the one who created this incident isn't
Haruhi. Besides, our arrival at the scene of crime wasn't coincidental either."
"The one who started this incident......or to be exact, this summer field trip for the
seconds, but......
Koizumi looked at me, his eyes were the same as I saw them when in the Literary
Club room.
My cerebral grey matter isn't just there for looks, you know. I felt relaxed for a bit
then said,
"At that time, you asked Nagato for the body temperature."
"Yes, I did."
"Nagato is a very useful person. As you well know, she can tell us almost
anything. Instead of asking her for the body temperature, you should've asked Nagato
for the approximate time of death. No, I think she would even tell us the exact time
"If you had asked for the time of death, Nagato would simply reply that the
person isn't dead. Moreover, never once did you call Keiichi-san in that state as a
'body'."
"And I may not look like it, but I do pay attention at things that matter, especially
the interior of Keiichi-san's room door. From your deduction, the door should have
landed on the hilt of the knife with a great impact, great enough to thrust the knife
into a person's body. If that were true, there should be at least a dent on the door. Yet
"One more thing, there's something strange with Arakawa-san and Mori-san. They
both claim to only work here for less than a week. They were hired a week ago and
"Of course there is, because your attitude was too suspicious. On the day when we
first arrived, do you remember what you said to Arakawa-san and Mori-san who were
"You said 'It's been a while.' Don't you find that strange? How can it be possible
for you to say this to them? You've also said this is the first time you've been to this
island, so it should be the first time you have met them. So how can you go and chat
"Yes, this was all previously arranged. A ridiculously short play. I just didn't
"I do apologize. Though I admit I'm surprised. I had wanted to find a time to
"Does that mean Tamaru-san, Mori-san and the rest are all your accomplices?
"That's correct. For a bunch of amateurs, don't you think their acting's superb?"
The knife on the chest actually had a retractable blade; the blood is actually some
red dye; Keiichi-san was of course faking his death; while Yutaka-san was merely
shoulders."
"Maybe I should tell you. To put it simply, to prevent Suzumiya-san from coming
up with any funny ideas, we had prepared some entertainment for her. Right now isn't
Haruhi seemed to believe that we were the killers, was it necessary to go this far?
Afterwards, Haruhi was unusually gentle. I really felt uncomfortable with that.
"Then we ought to move our plans forward." Koizumi said, "According to our
san, Mori-san and Arakawa-san would be greeting us cheerfully at the harbour there.
Page 234
Of course, they would conceal everything about the 'Consortium'. As of right now,
I sighed deeply. This sort of prank only works on Haruhi. If Haruhi got pissed as a
result, then you're responsible for dousing the flames, because I'll be running for my
life.
"Oh dear. I think I'd better apologize to her. I'll go and confess to her right away
with Tamaru-san and the rest. It must be tiring for him to play a dead body for so
long."
I silently looked out of the window.
What would Haruhi do? Would she be furious at being deceived? Or would she
appreciate the joke and laugh out loud? No matter what the result, her inconsistent
"We even prepared people playing detectives and forensic experts, but it seems
our hard work will go to waste. I never thought it would end in such a whimper. Our
plan was to include a thorough search of the mansion and crime scene, such a pity."
I looked at the gloomy sky and thought, how fine will the weather become in the
In the end, Koizumi didn't lose his vice-commander badge. After the typhoon left,
on the ferry trip home under the clear blue skies, Haruhi was in a good mood all the
way until we parted at the station. It's good that Haruhi has a simple mind of treating
a joke as such.
Page 235
Of course, Koizumi had to end up buying boxed lunches and juice cans for
everyone. For things to end so smoothly, I felt he had gotten off lightly.
Nagato probably knew the truth from the beginning, and maintained her
reactionless attitude. While Asahina yelled, "How can you do this?" after waking up
and protested cutely. But when Koizumi, the Tamaru brothers and the two servants
both lowered their heads and apologized, she quickly apologized back, "Ah, i...it's
By the way, after taking a photo on the deck on the ferry trip back to Honshu
with a more shocking script! We're going to the mountain villa next time, and it has to
Like a rookie Nazi officer being told by the Führer to lead just a single Panzer
division to capture the Allied commander on the western front at the end of the
Second World War, Koizumi smiled awkwardly and turned to beg me for help.
I looked at Koizumi, who was like a defender trying to stop what seemed like a
great goal near the end of a soccer match when the scores are even after overtime, and
I look forward that it will be a game that I could at least solve and not end up in a
mess.
At the same time, this is also the best way to stop Haruhi from getting too bored
Author’s Notes
I'm not too sure about the details, but it seems to be standard practice to write
some sort of notes at the end of each book, everyone's so used to this practice that
they've taken it for granted already. (Translator note: Tanigawa used some sort of
Japanese idiom here, but I'm not sure what it means, I'm guessing something to do
with taking something for granted.) The editor even told me, "Write as many pages as
you like," But this time, I've decided to let this opportunity pass this time, and instead
write some comments regarding the short stories compiled in this volume just to
I'll be making some brief thoughts about these stories, so I won't be stuffing you
with the usual rubbish of "One year has already passed so quickly, let alone two
This story carries the same title as the book itself. This is the first story where the
reader gets reacquainted with the SOS Brigade. I think this story was published on the
Page 237
Sneaker magazine two months before "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" got
published.
At first I was quite worried, since it didn't make sense to release a sequel before
the main story even got published. Yet it seems I was the only person who was
worried, as no one else seems to have any problems with it, I was relieved as well. As
this story was thought up and written very quickly in a short time, I was concerned on
how well it would do. In the end no one said anything bad or good about it, at least I
never heard anyone's comments, so I told myself that this isn't too bad either.
By the way, as far as I can remember in my life, I've participated in not more than
ten baseball tournaments. As a second baseman who couldn't catch any flying balls,
there was nothing I did to make myself reknown. I also recently discovered that I
have never scored a run before, though it's too late for me to be thinking of this, I'm
At first I wanted to call this story "The Apprehension of Asahina Mikuru," but
then I thought people wouldn't be able to recognize this as part of a series, hence the
name change. At that time I never intended a short story I had just published would
have a sequel, I still remember how surprised I was when I saw the magazine print
the words, "To be continued" at the end of the story. That feeling is still fresh in my
mind.
As there was a time traveller, it didn't make sense not to have a story about time
travelling, so I came up with this story. Yet deep inside I hope that this would become
Mysterique Sign
Due to chance, this story took the least time from the moment I thought of it to its
completion. Just as I was wondering what the characters should be doing, I realized I
had already finished the story. Ever since publishing this story, I had wanted to
change the series title to "Fight on, Nagato-san," but this way the story would end up
in a dead-end, so I abandoned that idea in the end. However, of all the characters, she
has the most potential for development, even I am expecting a lot from her. Nagato-
san, please fight on. By the way, what should I do with the glasses? Would she look
right now my thoughts are too disorganized, who knows how he'll develop.
As a matter of fact, I started writing this before "Mysterique Sign," and had
intended for this to be published first, but then I realized this story was getting longer
works, this story has exceeded the pages originally intended for a short story. And as
a result, this story has become the longest story in this book, a "bonus" that is neither
too long nor too short. I still have a lot to learn from this lesson. I'm always thinking
of ways to try and improve the way I work, but that's easier said than done. When I
look back at my life, there were only a handful of times where I actually fulfilled
what I told myself to do. For this reason alone, my brain has already regressed to that
of an amoeba.
Page 239
Is there anyone out there willing to provide a luxury living quarters in a lone
island for me to stay for one week? If you need a witness, I think I'm more than
capable of doing the job. Of course, it's possible I would spend the whole day
sleeping instead.
And so, I'm very lucky to have published my third book. This is all thanks to
everyone. I'd really like to list out everyone's names, job titles and even nicknames.
This includes all my readers, though I don't think I could ever find out their names, all
Tanigawa Nagaru
Page 240
Translators Notes
Koushien
Koushien is the short name for two high profile High School baseball tournaments
that take place in Japan durring the spring and summer of each year. The tournaments
are played in Hanshin Koushin Stadium in the Koushin district of Nishinomiya,
Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
Anyone who knows something about Japanese culture will know what Koshien is to
the baseball zealots of Japan (and that's quite a lot of zealots mind you!). However, to
prevent others from getting confused (who may not be as familiar with Japanese
culture as some of us are), a translation note should be added to inform them that it is
both a stadium and the nickname for the national baseball tournament for schools in
Japan.
For more information, see Wikipedia entries for Koshien Stadium and High School
Baseball in Japan.
return
Medea
This article is about the figure in Greek mythology. For other meanings, see Medea
(disambiguation).
In Greek mythology, Medea (Greek: Μήδεια, "virility") was the daughter of King
Aeëtes of Colchis (now a territory of modern Georgia), niece of Circe, and later wife
to Jason.
Page 241
The myths involving Jason also invoke Medea. These have been interpreted by
specialists, principally in the past, as part of a class of myths that tell how the
Hellenes of the distant heroic age, before the Trojan War, faced the challenges of the
pre-Greek "Pelasgian" cultures of mainland Greece, and the Aegean and Anatolia.
Jason, Perseus, Theseus, and above all Heracles, are all "liminal" figures, poised on
the threshold between the old world of shamans, chthonic earth deities, archaic
matriarchies, and the Great Goddess and the new Bronze Age Greek ways.
Medea figures in the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, a myth we know best from a
late literary version worked up by Apollonius of Rhodes in the 3rd century BCE and
called the Argonautica. But for all its self-consciousness and researched archaic
vocabulary, the late epic was based on very old, scattered materials.
Medea is most often described as a priestess of Hecate. She is related on her father's
side to Helios the sun God, and to Circe, the witch who Odysseus famously
encounters.
Medea's role began after Jason arrived from Iolcus in Colchis to claim the Golden
Fleece as his own. In a familiar mythic motif, Aeëtes promised to give it to him only
if he could perform certain tasks. First, Jason had to plough a field with fire-breathing
oxen that he had to yoke himself. Then, Jason had to sow the teeth of a dragon in the
ploughed field (compare the myth of Cadmus). The teeth sprouted into an army of
warriors. Jason was forewarned by Medea, however, and knew to throw a rock into
the crowd. Unable to decipher where the rock had come from, the soldiers attacked
and defeated each other. Finally, Aeëtes made Jason fight and kill the sleepless
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dragon that guarded the fleece. Medea put the beast to sleep with her narcotic herbs.
Jason then took the fleece and sailed away with Medea, who had fallen in love with
him. (Some accounts say that Medea only helped Jason in the first place because Hera
had convinced Aphrodite or Eros to cause Medea to fall in love with him.) Medea
distracted her father as they fled by killing her brother, Apsyrtus. She is said to have
dismembered his body and tossed the limbs into the sea, knowing her father would
stop to retrieve them for proper burial. In the flight, Atalanta was seriously wounded,
but Medea healed her.
According to some versions, Medea and Jason stopped on her aunt Circe's island so
that they could be cleansed after the murder of her brother, relieving her of the blame
for the deed.
On the way back to Thessaly, Medea prophesied that Euphemus, the Argo's
helmsman, would one day rule over all Libya. This came true through Battus, a
descendant of Euphemus.
The Argo then came to the island of Crete, guarded by the bronze man, Talos (Talus).
Talos had one vein which went from his neck to his ankle, bound shut by only one
bronze nail. According to Apollodorus, Talos was slain either when Medea drove him
mad with drugs, deceived him that she would make him immortal by removing the
nail, or was killed by Poeas's arrow (Apollodorus 1.140). In the Argonautica, Medea
hypnotizes him from the Argo, driving him mad so that he dislodges the nail and dies
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(Argonautica 4.1638). In any case, when the nail is removed, Talos's ichor flows out,
exsanguinating and killing him. After his death, the Argo lands.
While Jason searched for the Golden Fleece, Hera, who was still angry at Pelias,
conspired to make him fall in love with Medea, who she hoped would kill Pelias.
When Jason and Medea returned to Iolcus, Pelias still refused to give up his throne.
Medea conspired to have Pelias' own daughters kill him. She told them she could turn
an old ram into a young ram by cutting up the old ram and boiling it (alternatively,
she did this with Aeson, Jason's father). During the demonstration, a live, young ram
jumped out of the pot. Excited, the girls cut their father into pieces and threw them
into a pot, killing him.
Alternatively, Jason married Glauce, daughter of Creon. Medea got even by giving
Glauce a cursed dress that stuck to her body and burned her to death as soon as she
put it on, a transformation of the mythic element in the story of Heracles and Nessus.
The tragic situation of Medea, abandoned in Corinth by Jason, was the subject matter
transformed by Euripides in his tragedy Medea, first performed in 431 BCE. In this
telling, Medea kills her own children before her flight to Athens. Euripides was
revolutionary in his retelling of Medea's myth because he was the first one to show
that she hadn't killed her children because she was crazy or a barbarian, but because
she was extremely distressed and furious at Jason for leaving her to marry a princess.
Fueled by a need for revenge, she sends Glauce a poisoned dress and crown that burn
her to death. Creon tries to save her by tearing the dress away, but fails, burning
alongside his daughter in the process. Medea then kills her two sons, knowing it is the
best way to hurt Jason. Some contemporary critics of Euripides accused him of
accepting a gift of five Attic talents, a huge sum, by wealthy Corinthians who wanted
no part of the blame for the children's death.
Fleeing from Jason, Medea made her way to Athens and married Aegeus. They had
one son, Medus. Her domestic bliss was once again shattered by the arrival of
Aegeus' long-lost son, Theseus. Determined to preserve her own son's inheritance,
Medea convinced her husband that Theseus was a threat and that he should be
disposed of. As Medea handed Theseus a cup of poison, Aegeus recognized the
young man's sword as his own, which he had left for his newborn son years earlier to
be given to him when he came of age. Knocking the cup from Medea's hand, Aegeus
embraced his son.
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She, then, returned to Colchis, and finding that Aeëtes had been deposed by his
brother, she killed her uncle, and restored the kingdom to her father.
Some say Medea married Achilles in the underworld. In another version of the
legend, Zeus tried to court her but failed; for being the only mortal to ever
successfully resist him, she was granted immortality by Zeus' wife, Hera.
return
Brief history
The Kōyaren evolved from the All-Japan Secondary School Baseball Federation
(全日本中等学校野球連盟 zen-nihon chutōgakkō yakyu renmei), which was formed
in 1946 to oversee the National Secondary School Baseball Championship organized
by Osaka before the war.
Due to the outcome of , in 1947 the school system was overhauled, and "secondary
schools" became "high schools". Thus the federation was renamed to the All-Japan
High School Baseball Federation.
In 1963, the federation became a private foundation separating from the Ministry of
Education, so the "zaidan hōjin" designation was added to the front of the name and
the "All-" prefix was removed.
Timeline
• 1915.08 National Secondary School Baseball Championship first held
(organized by the Osaka Asahi Shimbun)
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Tournaments organized
• (全国高等学校野球選手権大会 zen-nihon kōtō gakkō yakyū senshu-ken
taikai)
• (選抜高等学校野球大会 senbatsu kōtō gakkō yakyū taikai)
• National High School Soft-baseball Championship
(全国高等学校軟式野球選手権大会 zen-nihon kōtō gakkō nanshiki yakyū
senshu-ken taikai)
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Brands I Recommend:
Maeda-En
The best brand yet that I've tried is Maeda-En. This company's green tea is
top quality, with an extremely fresh/deep, leafy flavor, and that makes all the
difference. Combined with the aroma of toasted/roasted brown rice, it's
absolutely awesome. The package this tea comes in has instructions on
preparation, so if you don't have an intuitive sense about when your tea is
fully brewed, just follow the instructions to the letter. To quote Maeda-En,
getting the temperature of the water just right will properly bring out the
taste/aroma/color of the tea.
(Price: $4.19 for 5.3 ounces/150 grams. This is rather steep, but you have to
realize that the tea I got was of Maeda-En's "Gold Quality" grade. This grade
of tea, which is available in limited quantities every year, comes from the
year's first picking of the first tea leaves to bud and grow. The leaves
harvested from subsequent pickings, while still quite good, are not as flavorful
because they don't have the same concentration of nutrients and
phytochemicals that one finds in the leaves from the first picking. The leaves
in the first picking have the privilege of drawing the highest amount of
nutrients from the soil, while leaves from later pickings get less and less.
Consequently, you have a higher price for the Gold Quality, but it's worth it,
cause it tastes damn amazing. :p Don't get me wrong - Maeda-En's regular
genmai tea is still awesome, but everyone buys the Gold Quality whenever it's
available, cause it's in a class of its own.)
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Shirakiku
It was my mother who got me hooked on genmai tea some years back (and
later, teas in general), and Shirakiku was the brand she was drinking at the
time. Shirakiku has good genmai tea. One unique thing about Shirakiku (a
company that also packages and sells other Japanese food products like
inarizushi wrappers and sunomono) is that their genmai tea comes in a box
with two airtight pouches. One pouch has the green tea, while the other has
the roasted rice. This is probably done to keep the flavors separated till the
tea is purchased, but I personally doubt that this makes any difference in the
final end product, since you want the flavors to join when the tea is brewed.
Still, it's fun to open the box and mix the contents of the two pouches
together. *g* At any rate, Shirakiku's genmai, while nice, is not as good as
Maeda-En's regular genmai, let alone Maeda-En's Gold Quality genmai. Even
my mother agreed when we compared the brands recently. XD I personally
liked Maeda-En better because even in their regular quality genmai their tea
leaves were more flavorful than Shirakiku's tea leaves; interestingly enough,
my mother preferred Maeda-En's genmai because the essences of the
roasted rice came through better. Proof that two separate pouches don't really
help anything, I guess. :p
(Price: $5.69 for 10 ounces/284 grams. Keep in mind that although this is
much cheaper than Maeda-En's Gold Quality, it's not that much cheaper than
the regular quality, and even Maeda-En's regular quality tastes better than
Shirakiku - at least, in my opinion! Also, as far as I know, Shirakiku doesn't
sell any sort of "first harvest grade tea" the way Maeda-En does.)
Try Maeda-En, of course! :p Shirakiku isn't bad - in fact, it's good. It's just that
Maeda-En is better. *L*
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Unhappiness Index
return
Tanabata
Tanabata (七夕, meaning "Seven Evenings") is a , derived from traditions and the
star festival, . The festival is usually held on , and celebrates the meeting of () and ().
The , a river made from stars that crosses the sky, separates these lovers, and they are
allowed to meet only once a year. This special day is the seventh day of the seventh
lunar month of the .
History
The festival originated from The Festival to Plead for Skills (乞巧節; qǐ qiǎo jié), an
alternative name for , which was celebrated in the from the . The festival spread to
the general public by the early Edo period, became mixed with various traditions,
and developed into the modern Tanabata festival. In the , girls wished for better
sewing and craftsmanship, and boys wished for better handwriting by writing wishes
on strips of paper. At this time, the custom was to use dew left on leaves to create the
ink used to write wishes.
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Customs
In present-day Japan, people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes,
sometimes in the form of poetry, on tanzaku (短冊, small pieces of paper) and
hanging them on , sometimes with other decorations. The bamboo and decorations are
often set afloat on a river or burned after the festival, around midnight or on the next
day. This resembles the custom of floating paper ships and candles on rivers during
Obon. Many areas in Japan have their own Tanabata customs, which are mostly
related to local Obon traditions.
There is also a traditional song that goes with Tanabata that is taught to almost every
Japanese child:
Sasa no ha sara-sara
Nokiba ni yureru
Ohoshi-sama kira-kira
Kin Gin sunago
Translation:
Date
The original Tanabata date was based on the Japanese , which is about a month
behind the calendar. As a result, some festivals are held on July 7, some are held on a
few days around August 7, while the others are still held on the seventh day of the
seventh lunar month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar, which is usually in
the 's August.
The Gregorian dates of "the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Japanese
lunisolar calendar" for upcoming years are:
• 2006-07-31
• 2007-08-19
• 2008-08-07
• 2009-08-26
• 2010-08-16
• 2011-08-06
• 2012-08-24
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• 2013-08-13
• 2014-08-02
• 2015-08-20
Tanabata festivals
Large-scale Tanabata festivals are held in many places in Japan, mainly along
shopping malls and streets, which are decorated with large, colorful streamers. The
most famous Tanabata festival is held in from August 5 to 8. In the area, the biggest
Tanabata festival is held in for a few days around July 7. A Tanabata festival is also
held in , around the first weekend of July.
Although Tanabata festivals vary from region to region, most festivals involve
Tanabata decoration competitions. Other events may include parades and Miss
Tanabata contests. Like other Japanese festivals, many outdoor stalls sell food,
provide carnival games, etc., and add to the festive atmosphere.
The Sendai Tanabata festival began shortly after the city was founded in the early
Edo Period. The Tanabata festival gradually developed and became larger over the
years. Although the festival's popularity started to dwindle after the Meiji Restoration,
and almost disappeared during the economic depression that occurred after World
War I, volunteers in Sendai revived the festival in 1928 and established the tradition
of holding the festival from August 6 to 8.
During World War II it was impossible to hold the festival, and almost no decorations
were seen in the city from 1943 to 1945, but after the war, the first major Tanabata
festival in Sendai was held in 1946, and featured 52 decorations. In 1947, the Showa
Emperor Hirohito visited Sendai and was greeted by 5,000 Tanabata decorations. The
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festival subsequently developed into one of the three major summer festivals in the
Tohoku region and became a major tourist attraction. The festival now includes a
fireworks show that is held on August 5.
At the Sendai Tanabata festival, people traditionally use seven different kinds of
decorations, which each represent different meanings. The seven decorations and
their symbolic meanings are:
Paper strips (短冊; Paper Kimono (紙衣; Paper Crane (折り鶴; Purse (巾着;
Tanzaku) : Wishes for Kamigoromo) : Wishes Orizuru) : Family Kinchaku) : Good
good handwriting and for good sewing. safety, health, and long business
studies Wards off accidents life
and bad health.
The ornamental ball (くす玉; Kusudama) often decorated above streamers in present-
day Tanabata decorations was originally conceived in 1946 by the owner of a shop in
downtown Sendai. The ball was originally modelled after the Dahlia flower. In recent
years, box-shaped ornaments have become popular alternatives to the ornamental
ball.
See also
• Qi Xi
External links
• Kids Web Japan
return
Etruscan civilization
The Etruscan civilization is the name given today to the culture and way of life of a
people of ancient Italy whom ancient Romans called Etrusci or Tusci, ancient Greeks
called Tyrrhenoi or Tyrrsenoi and who called themselves Rasenna, syncopated to
Rasna or Raśna. As distinguished by its own language, the civilization endured from
an unknown prehistoric time prior to the foundation of Rome until its complete
assimilation to Italic Rome in the Roman Republic; numerous vestiges of Etruscan
culture do survive the Roman conquest. At its maximum extent during the foundation
period of Rome and the Roman kingdom, it flourished in three confederacies: of
Etruria, of the Po valley and Latium and of Campania. Rome was sited in Etruscan
territory. There is considerable evidence that early Rome was dominated by Etruscans
until the Romans sacked Veii in 396 BC.
Culture that is identifiably and certainly Etruscan developed in Italy after about 800
BC approximately over the range of the preceding Iron Age Villanovan culture. The
latter gave way in the 7th century to an increasingly orientalizing culture that was
influenced by Greek traders and Greek neighbors in Magna Graecia, the Hellenic
civilization of southern Italy. Of the various theories about the ethnic origins of the
people who were culturally Villanovan, the non-committal expression "Proto-
Etruscan" is preferred: if the Etruscans were not already on the Villanovan range,
they would have had to enter Italy in numbers from the sea, have fought a major war
to displace the indigenes, and to have developed into three confederacies of 36 cities,
all within 100 years and without leaving any legends or other evidence.
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Map showing the extent of the Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities.
Language
Main article: Etruscan language.
The Etruscans are generally believed to have spoken a non-Indo-European language.
After generations of speculation, secure knowledge of the Etruscan language only
began with the discovery of the bilingual Phoenician-Etruscan Pyrgi Tablets found at
the port of Caere in 1964, and this knowledge is still incomplete.
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An Etruscan warrior head figure used as a cippus (grave marker) in the necropolis
Crocifisso del Tufo outside Orvieto
Origins
Herodotus (1.94) records the legend that they came from Lydia:
The customs of the Lydians are like those of the Greeks, except that they
make prostitutes of their female children. They were the first men whom we know
who coined and used gold and silver currency; and they were the first to sell by retail.
And, according to what they themselves say, the games now in use among them and
the Greeks were invented by the Lydians: these, they say, were invented among them
at the time when they colonized Tyrrhenia. This is their story: [...] their king divided
the people into two groups, and made them draw lots, so that the one group should
remain and the other leave the country; he himself was to be the head of those who
drew the lot to remain there, and his son, whose name was Tyrrhenus, of those who
departed. [...] they came to the Ombrici, where they founded cities and have lived
ever since. They no longer called themselves Lydians, but Tyrrhenians, after the
name of the king's son who had led them there.
Some researchers have proposed that the non-Greek inscriptions found on the island
of Lemnos, appearing to be related to the Etruscan language and dated to the sixth
century BCE, support Herodotus' hypothesis. However, recent research, referencing
burial rituals, shows that there was no break in practices from the earlier settlements
of the Villanovan culture to the Etruscans, indicating that they were likely indigenous,
at least as far as the Romans were concerned. The Romans termed indigeni all
peoples they knew to be more ancient than they.
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The term "Etruscans" should not imply that the culture was confined to Italy. There
were too many to all have come from Lemnos, and there is no evidence of them in
Lydia. They were, however, a seafaring people. Thousands of Etruscan inscriptions
from all over the Mediterranean, especially the eastern Mediterranean, testify their
presence. The end of their power dates from the time that the Romans began
systematically to take over their seaports.
The seafaring Etruscans may simply have sought brides from among their client or
host populations, accounting for the mitochondrial DNA. At the other end of the
spectrum of possibilities, perhaps some Trojans emigrated to Etruria, accounting for
the different names. We have no evidence as to what language they spoke. They
could have assimilated to Etruscan culture, just as the Etruscans assimilated to the
Romans. The latter assimilation was thorough. The population of modern Tuscany is
the closest of the moderns to the Etruscans, but that is not very close. The moderns do
not evidence the higher degree of kinship to Anatolia or north Africa, and they are
more related to the Basques than the ancients.
Archaeological possibilities
A final thread illuminated by the genetic evidence is the possible central European
origin of the Villanovan. It appears to be an offshoot of the Urnfield. Some have
hypothesized that the Villanovan represents immigrant Celts or Old Europeans
(lumped under the Greek term “Pelasgian.”). Perhaps the Etruscans entered Italy over
the Alps.
Genetically, the ancient Etruscans have no closer affinities to the modern people of
east Europe than do modern Italics. Moreover, the Urnfield never included only the
Celts, and the Villanovan did not include only the Etruscans. It spread to Italics as
well. More than likely, the Villanovan only represents a central European cultural
influence and not a transfer of population.
If the Etruscans moved to Italy from Europe, they are most likely to have done so
much earlier, and there is some evidence of that. The Rinaldone culture of central
Italy and its twin, the Remedello culture of the Po Valley, appear to represent imports
from the Fyn and Horgen cultures of the Swiss lakes region, who were being pushed
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ultimately by Indo-European pressure originating in the north Pontic area. The two
pockets are remarkably coincidental, but the dates of those cultures are in the 3500-
3000 BC window. Over the span of a few thousand years, it is impossible to say what
the language might have been.
Genetics
In an effort to resolve the contradictions, a team of geneticists from different
universities in Italy and Spain undertook the first genetic studies of the ancient
Etruscans, based on mitochondrial DNA from 80 bone samples taken from tombs
dating from the 7th century to the 3rd century BC in Etruria. The results are
enlightening but also contradictory.
This initial genetic study of the Etruscans finds that they were more related to each
other than to the population of modern Italy; i.e., they qualify as a partially distinct
genetic pool, or "people." Moreover, this pool contained between about 150,000 to
200,000 women. Dividing these numbers by the 36 cities in the three Etruscan
leagues obtains an average of between 4167 and 6944 women per community.
Selecting an arbitrary family size of four gives a most approximate Etruscan
population of 600,000 to 800,000 persons in about 36 communities of an average
between 16,668 and 27,776 persons each. These populations are sufficiently dense
and sufficiently urban to have accomplished everything the Etruscans were supposed
to have accomplished. While this study gives an insight into the genetic composition
of the Etruscans, and excludes a mass migration from Anatolia, it cannot resolve the
linguistic controversy: An invasion of an elite imposing itself over authochthonous
subjects often leads to linguistic changes without leaving genetic traces.
It's also shown that there is a link between Etruscans and populations of Anatolia.[1]
History
The mining and commerce of metal, specially copper and iron, led to an enrichment
of the Etruscans and to the expansion of their influence in the Italian peninsula and
the western Mediterranean sea. Here their interests collided with those of the Greeks,
specially in the 6th century when Greeks from Phocea founded colonies along the
coast of France, Catalonia and Corsica. This lead the Etruscan to ally themselves with
the Carthaginians, whose interests also collided with the Greeks.
Around 540 BC, the Battle of Alalia led to a new distribution of power in the western
Mediterranean sea. Though the battle had no clear winner, Carthage managed to
expand its sphere of influence in expense of both the Etruscan and the Greeks, and
Etruria saw itself relegated to the northern Tyrrhenian Sea.
Since the first half of the 5th century, the new international politic situation meant the
beginning of the Etruscan decadence. In 480, Etruria's ally Carthage was defeated by
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a coalition of Magna Graecia cities led by Syracuse. A few years later, in 474,
Syracuse's tyrant Hiero defeated the Etruscan at the Battle of Cumae. Etruria's
influence over the cities in the Latium and Campania weakened, and it was taken over
by Romans and Samnites.
In the 4th century, Etruria saw a gaul invasion put to an end its influence over the Po
valley and the Adriatic coast. Meanwhile, Rome had started annexing Etruscan cities.
At the beginning of the 1st century, Rome annexed all the Etruscan territory.
Etruscan society
Kinship
The cemeteries of the Etruscans give us considerable information about their society.
They were a monogamous society that emphasized pairing. The word for married
couple was tusurthir. The lids of large numbers of sarcophagi are adorned with
sculpted couples, smiling, in the prime of life (even if the remains were of persons
advanced in age), reclining next to each other or with arms around each other. The
bond was obviously a close one by social preference.
The names of persons are generally binomial: Vethur Hathisna, Avile Repesuna, Fasti
Aneina. The second name is typically a patronymic, but it is often made into a
gentilical name with a -na suffix, normally used for adjectives. Presumably, clans are
a later development of a richer landed society. Dedications to Selvans (Sylvanus), the
god of boundaries, are common. The Etruscans at their height used lautun,
syncopated to lautn, to mean gens.
Kinship is defined with relation to the ego, or "I". I then may state whatever "I" am or
you are to me. Females could state that they were the daughter of a father, sec or sech,
and the wife of a husband, puia. Conversely, a man was never described as a husband
of a woman. Etruscan society therefore was patrilineal and probably patriarchal.
Kinship among the Etruscans was vertical, or generational. They kept track of six
generations. In addition to the mi (“I”) an individual recognized a clan (“son”) or a
sec (“daughter”), a neftś (“grandson”), and a prumaths (“great-grandson”). Every self
had an apa and ati (“father” and “mother”) and relatives older than they.
A division of relatives as maternal or paternal seems to have existed: the apa nachna
and the ati nachna, the grandfather’s and grandmother’s relatives. On the level of the
self, the lack of any words for aunt, uncle or cousins is notable. Very likely, apa was
a generational word: it meant father or any of father’s male relatives. Similarly, ati
would have meant any female relative of mother’s age or generation. Ruva
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(“brother”) is recognized, but no sister. It's possible, though hard to determine, that
ruva had a broader meaning of "any related male of the self’s generation".
This horizontal telescoping of relatives applies indirectly to the self as well. The telals
are the grand offspring, either male or female, of the grandmother, and the papals of
the grandfather. It's difficult to determine whether neftś means "grandson" or
"nephew" although there could be cross-cultural contamination here with Latin nepōs
(< IE *nepōts) which derives from a kinship system of the Omaha type. In the Omaha
type, the same word is used for both nephew and grandson but this kinship type does
not typically exhibit terminology used for "kin of a particular generation" as
suspected in Etruscan kinship terms.
The Etruscans were careful also to distinguish status within the family. There was a
step-daughter and step-son, sech farthana and clan thuncultha (although this may in
fact mean "first son" based on the root thun- "one"), as well as a step-mother, ativu
(literally "little mother"), an adopted son, clanti, and the universal mother-in-law,
netei. Other terms were not as high or democratic in status. The system was like that
of the Roman. The etera were slaves, or more precisely, foreign slaves. When they
had been freed they were lautni (male) or lautnitha (female), freed men or women,
who were closely connected to the family and were clients of it in return for service
and respect.
Of the several formal kinship classifications, the Etruscan is most like the Hawaiian,
which distinguishes sex and generation, but otherwise lumps persons in those classes
together. The lack of a sister does not fit; however, the Etruscan dictionary is still in
progress. Perhaps one will turn up.
Government
The historical Etruscans had achieved a state system of society, with remnants of the
chiefdom and tribal forms. In this they were ahead of the surrounding Italics, who still
had chiefs and tribes. Rome was in a sense the first Italic state, but it began as an
Etruscan one.
The Etruscan state government was essentially a theocracy. The government was
viewed as being a central authority, over all tribal and clan organizations. It retained
the power of life and death; in fact, the gorgon, an ancient symbol of that power,
appears as a motif in Etruscan decoration. The adherents to this state power were
united by a common religion.
The political unit of Etruscan society was the city-state, which was probably the
referent of methlum, “district”. Etruscan texts name quite a number of magistrates,
without much of a hint as to their function: the camthi, the parnich, the purth, the
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tamera, the macstrev, and so on. The people were the mech. The chief ruler of a
methlum was perhaps a zilach.
All the city-states of the Etruscans were gathered into confederacies, or “leagues”.
The sources tell us there were three. A league for unknown reasons, likely religious,
had to include 12 city-states. The word for league was also mech. Once a year the
states met at a fanu, or sacred place (Latin fanum) to discuss military and political
affairs, and also to choose a lucumo, “ruler”, who held the office for one year. What
he did is described by the infinitive, lucair, “to rule.” The Etrurian confederacy met at
the fanum Voltumnae, the "shrine of Voltumna". Their league was called the
“duodecim populi Etruriae” or the “twelve peoples of Eturia”.
The relationship between Rome and the Etruscans was not one of an outsider
conquering a foreign people. The Etruscans considered Rome as one of their cities,
perhaps originally in the Latian/Campanian league. It is entirely possible that the
Tarquins appealed to Lars Porsena of Clusium, even though he was pro-republican,
because he was lucumo of the Etrurian mech for that year. He would have been
obliged to help the Tarquins whether he liked it or not. The kings of Rome at some
point may also have been lucumo. The gens name, Lucius, is probably derived from
lucair.
The Romans attacked and annexed individual cities between 510 and 29 BC. This
apparent disunity of the Etruscans was probably regarded as internal dissent by the
Etruscans themselves. For example, after the sack of Rome by the Gauls, the Romans
debated whether to move the city en masse to Veii, which they could not even have
considered if Veii was thought to be a foreign people. Eventually Rome created
treaties individually with the Etruscan states, rather than the whole. But by that time
the league had fallen into disuse, due to the permanent hegemony of Rome and
increasing assimilation of Etruscan civilization to it, which was a natural outcome, as
Roman civilization was to a large degree Etruscan.
Religion
The Etruscan system of belief was an immanent polytheism; that is, all visible
phenomena were considered to be a manifestation of divine power and that power
was subdivided into deities that acted continually on the world of man and could be
dissuaded or persuaded in favor of human affairs. Three layers are evident in the
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The Etruscans believed in intimate contact with divinity. They did nothing without
proper consultation with the gods and signs from them. These practices, which we
would view as superstition, were taken over in total by the Romans. A god was called
an ais (later eis) which in the plural is aisar. Where they were was a fanu or luth, a
sacred place, such as a favi, a grave or temple. There one would need to make a fler
(plural flerchva) "offering".
Around the mun or muni, the tombs, were the man or mani (Latin Manes), the souls
of the ancestors. A deceased person travels to the underworld called Aita "Hades" and
thus may be referred to as a hinthial (literally "(one who is) underneath"). A special
magistrate, the cechase, looked after the cecha, or rath, sacred things. Every man,
however, had his religious responsibilities, which were expressed in an alumnathe or
slecaches, a sacred society. No public event was conducted without the netsvis, the
haruspex, or his female equivalent, the nethsra. They read the bumps on the liver of a
properly sacrificed sheep. We have a model of a liver made of bronze, whose
religious significance is still a matter of heated debate, marked into sections which
perhaps are meant to explain what the bump in that region should mean. Divination
through haruspicy is a tradition originating from the Fertile Crescent.
Like the Egyptians, the Etruscans believed in eternal life, but prosperity there was
linked to funereal prosperity here. The tombs in many cases were better than many
houses, with spacious chambers, wall frescoes and grave furniture. Most Etruscan
tombs have been plundered. In the tomb, especially on the sarcophagus, was a
representation of the dead person in his or her prime, probably as they wanted to be in
the hereafter. Some of the statuary is the finest and most realistic of any. We have no
problem visualizing the appearance of the Etruscans. They wanted us to see them
smiling and intimate with their kith and kin around them, as we do.
view today is that Rome was founded by Etruscans and merged with Italics later. In
that case Etruscan cultural objects are not influences but are a heritage.
The main criterion for deciding whether an object originated at Rome and travelled
by influence to the Etruscans, or descended to the Romans from the Etruscans, is
date. Many if not most of the Etruscan cities were older than Rome. If we find that a
given feature was there first, it cannot have originated at Rome. A second criterion is
the opinion of the ancient sources. They tell us outright that certain institutions and
customs came from the Etruscans.
Later history relates that the Etruscans lived in the Tuscus vicus, the “Etruscan
quarter”, and that there was an Etruscan line of kings (albeit ones descended from
Demaratus the Corinthian) as opposed to the non-Etruscan line. These views must
come from the later reduction of Etrurian cities and absorption of the Etruscan
populations into the Roman state. If we begin recounting all the institutions and
persons said to be Etruscan, and comparing cultural objects to ones we know to have
been of Etruscan origin, an originally Etruscan Rome appears unmistakably before
our view. Rome was founded by Etruscans, all the kings were Etruscans, and the
earliest government was Etruscan.
Foundation of Rome
Rome was founded in Etruscan territory. Despite the words of the sources, which
indicated Campania and Latium also had been Etruscan, scholars took the view that
Rome was on the edge of Etruscan territory. When Etruscan settlements turned up
south of the border, it was presumed that the Etruscans spread there after the
foundation of Rome. As it stands now, the settlements are known to have preceded
Rome. The Greeks also landed on Etruscan soil, at a round conventional date of about
1000 BC.
Etruscan settlements were inevitably built on a hill, the steeper the better, and
surrounded by thick walls. When Romulus and Remus founded Rome, they did so on
the Palatine Hill according to Etruscan ritual; that is, they began with a pomoerium or
sacred ditch. Then they proceeded to the walls. Romulus was required to kill Remus
when the latter jumped over the wall, breaking its magic spell (see also under Pons
Sublicius).
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Populus Romanus
Lore descending from the first constitution gives little indication of being anything
but Etruscan. The people were divided into magic numbers: three tribes, 12 curiae per
tribe. The word century also appears, ostensibly meaning “100” in the Etruscan
language. Throughout the long history of Rome, a social century of any sort has never
been 100. It is now known that many words of Etruscan origin have been given Indo-
European pseudo-etymologies. This topic seems to generate a great deal of debate.
The names of the tribes: Ramnes, Luceres, Tities, are Etruscan, as well as the word
curiae. The king is most likely to have been a lucumo; certainly, the trappings of
monarchy are all Etruscan: the golden crown, sceptre, the toga palmata (a special
robe), the sella curulis (throne), and above all the symbol of state power: the fasces.
The latter was a bundle of whipping rods surrounding a double-bladed axe. No
confederate or associative form of government could have had the power to whip and
execute, administered by the lictors.
Chance has thrown an example of the fasces into our possession. Remains of bronze
rods and the axe come from a tomb in Etruscan Vetulonia. Now that its appearance is
known, the depiction of one was identified on the grave stele of Avele Feluske, who
is shown as a warrior wielding the fasces.
The most telling Etruscan feature is the very name of the people, populus, which
appears as an Etruscan deity, Fufluns. It was divided into gentes, which is an Indo-
European word, but that must have been substituted for the Etruscan word at the same
time the Indo-European senatus arrived, at the start of the republic, when the
Etruscans had become a minority in their own city and lived in the Etruscan quarter.
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Etruscan architecture
Near the Etruscan center of Viterbo, an Etruscan citadel now called Acquarossa was
destroyed ca 500 BC and never rebuilt [2], thus preserving relatively undisturbed
Etruscan structures, which have been excavated under the auspices of the Swedish
Institute. The walls of the houses were of various construction, some built of dressed
blocks of volcanic tuff, some of sun-dried bricks framed within wooden poles and
beams that formed a kind of half-timbered construction, and some of wattle and daub
construction, in which hurdles of brushwood or reed were covered with clay. House
plans range to two or three rooms in a row, with an entrance was normally on the long
side; the hearth was set either near the center of the room or into the back wall. The
rock-cut chamber tombs executed in the same time-frame display close analogies
with these house types. Decorative architectural features of terracotta, which have
usually been associated with temple constructions, were found at Acquarossa in
domestic settings: acroteria, painted roof tiles, and antefixes.
In addition to their walls, the Etruscans insisted on sewage and drainage systems,
which are extensive in all Etruscan cities. The cloaca maxima, “great sewer”, at
Rome is Etruscan. The initial Roman roads, dikes, diversion channels and drainage
ditches were Etruscan. More importantly, the Etruscans brought the arch to Rome,
both barreled arches and corbelled arches, which you can see in gates, bridges,
depictions of temple fronts, and vaulted passages.
Homes also were built in Etruscan style: a quadrangle of rooms around an open
courtyard. The roof was of a type called cavoedium tuscanicum: two parallel beams
crossing in one direction on which rafters were hung at right angles.
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Additional information
Much more can be and has been said on the topic; for example, on , banqueting, and
entertainment, such as theatre, music and dancing, and above all Roman writing,
which began in Italy among the Etruscans. The brief presentation in this article
suffices to show that the Etruscans contributed more than an influence on the
formation of Rome and Roman society.
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Linear A
Linear A is an undeciphered script used in ancient Crete. Its decipherment is one of
the "holy grails" of ancient scripts.
Though the two scripts share many of the same symbols, using the syllables
associated with Linear B in Linear A writings produces words that are unrelated to
any known language. This language has been dubbed Minoan or Eteocretan, and
corresponds to a period in Cretan history prior to a series of invasions by Mycenean
Greeks around 1400 BC.
As the Minoan language is lost to the modern day, it is hard to be certain whether or
not a given decipherment is the correct decipherment, or merely gibberish being
generated by an incorrect mapping of symbols to sounds. However, the simplest
approach to decipherment may to be to simply presume that the values of Linear A
match more or less the values given to the fully translated Linear B script, used for
Mycenean Greek. A site maintained by John Younger has a comprehensive list of
known texts written in Linear A at [1]. Some religious formulae have been identified,
some even bearing resemblance grammatically to the Etruscan language.
In 2001, the journal Ugarit-Forschungen, Band 32 [2] [3] published the article "The
First Inscription in Punic—Vowel Differences in Linear A and B" by Jan Best,
claiming to demonstrate how and why Linear A notates an archaic form of
Phoenician. This was a continuation of attempts by Cyrus Gordon in finding
connections between Minoan and West Semitic languages. His methodology drew
widespread criticism. While some words may indeed be of Semitic origin (such as
KU-RO, suspected to mean "total", cf. Sem *[kll] "whole, all"), there is as of yet no
real success made in connecting Minoan with Semitic languages.
The only word deciphered so far, with certainty, the summarizing term KU-RO, can
illustrate the depths of problems arising with the decipherment attempts. This word,
though undoubtedly meaning "whole", could be of both Indo-European (*kwol), or
Semitic (*kll) origin. And the word churu in Etruscan has the same meaning.
Around the same time, M. Tsikritsis, a Greek computer scientist and a text analysis
specialist used a statistical and machine comparison of Linear A and Linear B
symbols to conclude that Linear A was an early aeolic dialect of Greek, and
essentially a form of Linear B with a variety of archaisms. Critics of this theory state
that Linear A shows no detectable signs of the prototypical features recognizable
from the Indo-European language group to which Greek belongs, let alone features
resembling Greek itself.
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Usually, it is a more or less accepted viewpoint to group the 'Minoan' language of the
linear A inscriptions together with Eteocretan (its likely descendant), and Eteocypriot,
into the group of Aegean languages, but without any precise knowledge about the
underlying languages, their relationships, or grammatical structure.
'Religious' texts
A stone ladle from Troullos (given the Linear B values) reads:
a-ta-i-dju-wa-ja o-su-ga-re ya-sa-sa-ra-me u-na-ka-na-si i-pi-
na-ma si-ru-te
• a-ta-i-dju-wa-ja (or a-ta-i-θu-wa-ja?) is possibly the name of a goddess
(mayba related to the Etruscan sun goddess Catha)
This 'word' also appears in another form, as a-ta-i-dju-wa-e. This could be a
compound as -i-dju- also appears ing another 'word' ta-na-i-dju-u-ti-nu.
• o-su-ga-re Probably a personal or place name
• ja-sa-sa-ra-me as said above could be the name of the goddess Ashtoreth
Yam. Another possibility for comparison from Hittite is hassussara (queen),
with an added suffix -me, which would quite likely mean 'my' if it is indeed a
Hittite word; this means that the word ya-sa-sa-ra-me might mean 'my queen'.
It is not impossible, though it is a stretch, to suppose that this somehow
morphed into the Greek goddess Hera. Another, though more tentative
explanation would be, to compare it to the Hittite ashar (woman). Some have
even suggested a comparison with Etruscan ais, meaning 'god'.
Alternatively(and extremely tentatively) it could be related to the Etruscan verb
alsase "dedicated". Ja-sa-sa-ra- appears with a number of suffixes. These are -me, -
ma-na and -a-na-ne. Tentativly these may be suffix pronouns at the end of a verb.
*ja-sa-sa-ra-me = "I have dedicated" (Etruscan *mi alsase)
*ja-sa-sa-ra-ma-na= "We have dedicated" (Etruscan mi + -ne plural
(like the Japanese watashi/watashi-tachi}
*ja-sa-ra-a-na-ne= "They have dedicated" (Etruscan 3rd person an + -
ne plural)
• u-na-ka-na-si is sometimes read together, and might be a compound, since
examples exist with u-na-re-ka-na-ti (plural?), and u-na-ru-ka-[damaged]-ja-
si. It might be comparable, as some suggest, with the Etruscan unchva
cenase(bearing libations).
If it is like the Etruscan it would support the theory that the -re suffix is the plural as
with the Etruscan un libation (singular) unar libations (plural)
'Accounting' texts
qe-? [worker ideogram]. ?-ru-ja 3 me-ri-ja 4 ?-na-ko da-re te-ro2 1
The first word is most likely to be a name of a person or place. The second sign
seems to depict a man with his hands bound behind his back. Then follow two words,
one reading ?-ru-ja with the numeral 3, the other reading me-li-ja and the numeral 4.
The -ja ending also occurs in Linear B, meaning "women of", so me-li-ja 4 may mean
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"4 women of Meli". Meli once the i from the declension has been removed, if similar
to Linear B, would read melu or melo, which may be the name of the Aegean island
of Melos where Linear A tablets have been unearthed.
These words are followed by a list of seven names each followed by a numeral. One
name ku-do-ni, as mentioned below, may be the name of the Minoan town of
Kydonia. The following word (likely another place-name) can be (highly tentatively)
transliterated as da-si-dja(or maybe da-si-θa?) ?= Lasithia? Another name, te-ki may,
though less likely than the above, be the name of the settement of Tegea on Crete.
The last word is ku-ro which, as again mentioned below, probably means 'total' or
whole.
• Skoteino Cave
• Tel Haror
• Thera
• Tiryns
• Traostalos
• Trullos (also Troullos)
• Vrysinas
• Zakros
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Observation data
Epoch J2000.0
Constellation Lyra
Right ascension 18h 36m 56.3s
Declination +38° 47' 01"
Apparent magnitude (V) 0.03
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Characteristics
Spectral type A0V
B-V color index 0.00
U-B color index −0.01
Variable type Delta Scuti
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv) −13.5 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 201.02 mas/yr
Dec.: 287.46 mas/yr
Parallax (π) 129.01 ± 0.52 mas
Distance 25.27 ly (7.751 pc)
Absolute magnitude (MV) 0.58
Details
Mass 2.6 M☉
Radius 2.73 R☉
Luminosity 51 L☉
Temperature 9,300 K
Metallicity 63%
Rotation 12.5 h
Age 3.5 × 108 years
Other designations
Alpha Lyrae, α Lyrae, 3 Lyr, GJ 721, HR 7001, BD +38°3238, HD 91262, GCTP
4293.00, LTT 15486, SAO 67174, HIP 91262
Vega (α Lyr / α Lyrae / Alpha Lyrae) is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra,
and the fifth brightest star in the sky. It is the second brightest star in the Northern
night sky, after Arcturus, and can often be seen near the zenith in the mid-northern
latitudes during the Northern Hemisphere summer.
It is a "nearby star" at only 25.3 light years from Earth, and together with Arcturus
and Sirius, one of the brightest stars in the Sun's neighbourhood.
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Vega is a vertex of the Summer Triangle, which consists of Vega (in Lyra), Deneb (in
Cygnus) and Altair (in Aquila). If one is to consider this asterism a right triangle, then
Vega would correspond to its right angle. This triangle is very recognisable in the
northern skies for there are few bright stars in its vicinity.
Its spectral class is A0V (Sirius, an A1V, is slightly less powerful) and it is firmly in
the main sequence, fusing hydrogen to helium in its core. Since more powerful stars
use their fusion fuel more quickly than smaller ones, Vega's life time is only one
billion years, a tenth of our Sun's. Vega's current age is about 0.5 billion years. Vega
is twice as massive[1] as our Sun and burns at fifty times the power.
In about AD 14,000, Vega will become the North Star, owing to the precession of the
equinoxes. See Polaris for more information.
Professional astronomers have used Vega for the calibration of absolute photometric
brightness scales. When the magnitude scale was fixed, Vega happened to be close to
zero magnitude. Therefore the visual magnitude of Vega was decided to be, by
definition, zero at all wavelengths for many years (this is no longer the case, as the
apparent magnitude zero point is now most commonly defined in terms of a particular
numerically specified flux). It also has a relatively flat electromagnetic spectrum in
the visual region (wavelength range 350-850 nanometers, most of which can be seen
with the human eye), so the flux densities are roughly equal, 2000-4000 Jy. The flux
density of Vega drops rapidly in the infrared, and is near 100 Jy at 5 micrometres.
The name Vega comes from the Arabic word waqi meaning "falling", via the phrase
ﻧﺴ ﺮ اﻟﻮاﻗ ﻊan-nasr al-wāqi‘, translated "the swooping vulture". As part of the
constellation Lyra it represents a jewel set in the body of the harp.
Rapid rotation
From the Earth, Vega is seen from within 5 degrees of the polar (rotation) axis, but if
it was viewed along the plane of the equator, Vega would look about 20% fatter at the
equator than at the poles. This is because the star rotates at 93% of the speed that
would cause it to start breaking up from centrifugal effects (with a rotation period of
about 12.5 hours). Because Vega's polar regions are closer to the core, they are hotter:
polar temperature is 10,000 K (17,500 °F), while equatoral temperature is 7,600 K
(13,200 °F).[2]
Astronomers are recalculating what the temperature would be for potential planets. A
planet in a polar orbit around Vega would have a higher surface temperature than one
in an equatorial orbit.
Possible planetary system
Vega has a disk of dust and gas around it, discovered by the IRAS satellite in the mid
1980s. This was initially thought to be a protoplanetary disk, but is now considered a
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"debris disk" due to the star's relatively young age of about 200 million years. In 1998
teams at the Joint Astronomy Centre and UCLA detected irregularities in it that
suggest the presence of a planet.[3] A 2003 paper hypothesizes these lumps could be
caused by a Neptune-sized planet having migrated from 40 to 65 AU over 56 million
years[4], an orbit large enough to allow the formation of smaller rocky planets closer
to Vega.[5] These findings have yet to be fully confirmed, but since Vega is much
more powerful than our Sun, scientists believe there is no life possible on any such
suggested planets.
Cultural significance
The star has been the subject of many 'firsts' in Astronomy; in 1850 it became the first
star to be photographed, and in 1872 the first to have its spectrum photographed. It
was also debatably the first star to have its parallax measured, in the pioneering
experiments of Friedrich Struve in 1837. Finally, it became the first star to have a car
named after it, when Chevrolet launched the 'Vega' in 1971.
Medieval astrologers counted Vega as one of the Behenian stars and related it to
chrysolite and winter savory. Cornelius Agrippa listed its kabbalistic sign under
Vultur cadens, a literal Latin translation of the Arabic name.
See also: Vega in fiction
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Altair.
Observation data
Epoch J2000
Constellation Aquila
Right ascension 19h 50m 47.0s
Declination +08° 52' 06"
Apparent magnitude (V) 0.77
Characteristics
Spectral type A7 IV-V
B-V color index 0.22
U-B color index 0.08
Variable type None
Astrometry
Radial velocity (Rv) −26.1 km/s
Proper motion (μ) RA: 536.82 mas/yr
Dec.: 385.54 mas/yr
Parallax (π) 194.97 ± 0.86 mas
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Mass 1.7 M☉
Radius 1.7 R☉
Luminosity 10.7 L☉
Temperature 8,000 K
Metallicity 200% Sun
Rotation 6.5–10.4 hours
Age <109 years
Other designations
α Aquila, 53 Aquila, HD 187642, HR 7557, BD+08°4236, GCTP 4665.00, GJ 768,
LHS 3490, and HIP 97649.
Altair (α Aql / α Aquilae / Alpha Aquilae / Atair ) is the brightest star in the
constellation Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the nighttime sky, at visual
magnitude 0.77.
Altair is a vertex of the Summer Triangle. It is an "A" type or white star located 17
light years away from Earth (about 99 trillion miles), one of the closest stars visible to
the naked eye.
The name "Altair" is Arabic for "the flyer", from the phrase ﻧﺴ ﺮ اﻟﻄ ﺎﺋﺮan-nasr aţ-
ţā?ir "the flying eagle". The spelling "Atair" is also used frequently.
Altair is most notable for its extremely rapid rotation; by measuring the width of its
spectral lines, it was determined that its equator does a complete rotation in about 6½
hours (various other sources give 9 hours, or 10.4 hours). In comparison, our star, the
Sun, requires a little more than 25 days for a complete rotation. As a result of its rapid
rotation, Altair is oblate: its equatorial diameter is at least 14 percent greater than its
polar diameter.
Altair, along with Beta Aquilae and Gamma Aquilae, form the well-known line of
stars sometimes referred to as the shaft of Aquila.
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In astrology, the star Altair was ill-omened, portending danger from reptiles.
In computing, an important early microcomputer, the Altair 8800, was named after
the star because the daughter of the man responsible for coming up with a suitable
name, when asked what she thought the computer should be called, was watching an
episode of Star Trek where the Starship Enterprise had the star Altair as its
destination. So Altair it was.
Location
The star's location in the constellation of Aquila is shown in the following map:
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Emperor Sutoku
Emperor Sutoku (崇徳天皇 Sutoku Tennō) (7 July 1119 – 14 September 1164) was
the 75th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He
ruled from 1123 to 5 January 1142. His personal name was Akihito (顕仁). (Note
that the kanji in his name are different from those of the personal name of the present
emperor of Japan.)
Genealogy
Sutoku was the eldest son of Emperor Toba. Some old books say he was actually the
son of Toba's grandfather, Emperor Shirakawa.
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Life
in 1151,He ordered Waka imperial anthology Shikashu.
In 1156, after failing to put down the Hōgen Rebellion, he was exiled to Sanuki
Province (modern-day Kagawa prefecture on the island of Shikoku).
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Sanuki Province
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Sanuki (讃岐国; -no kuni) was an old province of Japan on the island of Shikoku,
with the same boundaries as modern Kagawa Prefecture. It faced the Inland Sea and
bordered on Awa and Iyo provinces. Across Naruto strait it bordered Awaji province
too. Administratively it was included as a part of Nankaido. It was settled in the 7th
century and originally consisted of the northeastern part of Shikoku and Awaku
Islands on the Inland Sea.
Sanuki's ancient capital is believed to have been near modern Sakaide, but has not
been discovered. Takamatsu developed as the main seat of the province in the middle
ages.
In the Sengoku period Sanuki was ruled by the Miyoshi clan. The Miyoshi were
invaded by Chosokabe clan in Tosa province and lost Sanuki province. Finally
Chosokabe lost a battle against Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Sanuki was given to his
men.
In the Edo Period Sanuki was divided into five; three han in Takamatsu, Marugame,
Tadotsu, the Shogun's direct holding and a part of Tsuyama han whose mainland was
on Honshu. Naoshima Islands and Shodoshima was separated from Bizen province
and merged into Sanuki province.
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Page 282
Sumer
Sumer (or Shumer, Egyptian Sangar, Bib. Shinar, native ki-en-gir, (from Ki = Earth,
En = (title) usually translated as Lord, Gir = (cultured) usually translated as Civilised,
thus "the land of the civilised lords") was an ancient civilization located in the
southern part of Mesopotamia (modern day southeastern Iraq) from the time of the
earliest records in the mid 4th millennium BC until the rise of Babylonia in the late
3rd millennium BC. The term "Sumerian" applies to all speakers of the Sumerian
language. Sumer is considered the first settled society in the world to have manifested
all the features needed to qualify fully as a "civilization".
Background
The term "Sumerian" is an exonym, first applied by the Akkadians. The Sumerians
called themselves "the black-headed people" (sag-gi-ga) and their land "land of the
civilized lords" (ki-en-gir). The Akkadian word Shumer possibly represents this name
in dialect. The Sumerians were a non-Semitic people and were at one time believed to
have been invaders, as a number of linguists believed they could detect a substrate
language beneath Sumerian. However, the archaeological record shows clear
uninterrupted cultural continuity from the time of the Early Ubaid period (5200-4500
BC C-14, 6090-5429 calBC) settlements in southern Mesopotamia. The Sumerian
people who settled here farmed the lands in this region that were made fertile by silt
deposited by the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers.
The challenge for any population attempting to dwell in Iraq's arid southern
floodplain, where rainfall is currently less than 5 inches a year, was to cultivate the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers for year-round farming. The Sumerian language has many
terms for canals, dikes, and reservoirs, and this indicates that Sumerian speakers were
possibly farmers who moved down from the north after perfecting irrigation
agriculture there. The Ubaid pottery of southern Mesopotamia has been connected via
Choga Mami Transitional ware to the pottery of the Samarra period culture (c. 5700-
4900 BC C-14, 6640-5816 BC calBC) in the north, who were the first to practice a
primitive form of irrigation agriculture along the middle Tigris River and its
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tributaries. The connection is most clearly seen at Tell Awayli (Oueilli, Oueili) near
Larsa, excavated by the French in the 1980s, where 8 levels yielded pre-Ubaid pottery
resembling Samarran ware. Sumerian speakers spread down into southern
Mesopotamia perhaps because they had developed a social organization and a
technology that enabled them, through their control of the water, to survive and
prosper in a difficult environment then occupied by the fisher-hunter-gatherer
population using a pre-pottery Arabian bifacial toolkit in the marshlands near the
Persian Gulf and proto-Akkadian nomadic pastoralists.
A distinctive style of fine quality painted pottery spread throughout Mesopotamia and
the Persian Gulf region in the Ubaid period, when the ancient Sumerian religious
center of Eridu was gradually surpassed in size by the nearby city of Uruk. The
archaeological transition from the Ubaid period to the Uruk period is marked by a
gradual shift from painted pottery domestically produced on a slow wheel, to a great
variety of unpainted pottery mass-produced by specialists on fast wheels. The date of
this transition, from Ubaid 4 to Early Uruk, is in dispute, but calibrated radiocarbon
dates from Tell Awayli would place it as early as 4500 BC.
By the time of the Uruk period (4500-3100 BC calibrated), the volume of trade goods
transported along the canals and rivers of southern Mesopotamia facilitated the rise of
many large temple-centered cities where centralized administrations employed
specialized workers. It is fairly certain that it was during the Uruk period that
Sumerian cities began to make use of slave labor (Subartu) captured from the hill
country, and there is ample evidence for captured slaves as workers in the earliest
texts. Artifacts, and even colonies of this Uruk civilization have been found over a
wide area - from the Taurus Mountains in Turkey, to the Mediterranean Sea in the
west, and as far east as Central Iran.
The Uruk period civilization, exported by Sumerian traders and colonists (like that
found at Tell Brak), had an effect on all surrounding peoples, who gradually evolved
their own comparable, competing economies and cultures. The cities of Sumer did not
maintain remote, long-distance colonies purely by military force; the domestic horse
did not appear in Sumer until the Ur III period - one thousand years after the Uruk
period ended. The end of the Uruk period coincided with the Priora oscillation, a dry
period from c. 3200-2900 BC that marked the end of a long wetter, warmer climate
period from about 9,000 to 5,000 years ago, called the Holocene climatic optimum.
When the historical record opened, the Sumerians seemed to be limited to southern
Mesopotamia — although very early rulers such as Lugal-Anne-Mundu are indeed
recorded as expanding to neighboring areas as far as the Mediterranean, Taurus and
Zagros, and not long after legendary figures like Enmerkar and Gilgamesh, who are
associated in mythology with the historical transfer of culture from Eridu to Uruk,
were supposed to have reigned.
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In the earliest known period Sumer was divided into about a dozen independent city-
states, whose limits were defined by canals and boundary stones. Each was centered
on a temple dedicated to the particular patron god or goddess of the city and ruled
over by a priest (ensi) or king (lugal), who was intimately tied to the city's religious
rites.
The principal Sumerian sites (from North to South) were the cities of
As these cities developed, they sought to assert primacy over the others, falling into a
millennium of almost incessant warfare over boundary stones, water rights, trade
routes, and tribute from nomadic tribes. Sumerians are the first to have employed a
professional caste of soldiers, drawn from a corvee of the working male population.
The ancient Sumerian king list recounts the early dynasties. Like many other archaic
lists of rulers, it may include legendary names. It describes a series of 7 pre-diluvian
kings, before getting to Ubar Tutu, king of Sharrupak, who according to later stories
was the person on whom the tale of Noah was originally based.
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"After the flood had swept over, and the kingship had descended from heaven,
the kingship was in Kish."
The first king on the list whose name is known from any other source is Etana, 13th
king of the first Dynasty of Kish. The first king authenticated through archaeological
evidence is that of Enmebaragesi of Kish, the 22nd and penultimate king of that
Dynasty, whose name is also mentioned in the Gilgamesh epics, and who may have
been king at the time hegemony passed from Kish to Uruk once again. This has to the
suggestion that Gilgamesh himself really was a historical king of Uruk.
The dynasty of Lagash is well known through important monuments, and one of the
first empires in recorded history was that of Eannatum of Lagash, who annexed
practically all of Sumer, including Kish, Uruk, Ur, and Larsa, and reduced to tribute
the city-state of Umma, arch-rival of Lagash. In addition, his realm extended to parts
of Elam and along the Persian Gulf. He seems to have used terror as a matter of
policy - his stele of the vultures has been found, showing violent treatment of
enemies.
Downfall
After Sargon, the Semitic Akkadian language came to the fore in inscriptions,
although Sumerian did not disappear completely. The Sumerian language still appears
on dedicatory statues and official seals of Sargon and his heirs. Thorkild Jacobsen has
argued that there is little break in historical continuity between the pre- and post-
Sargon periods, and that too much emphasis has been placed on the perception of a
"Semitic vs. Sumerian" conflict[2]. However, it is certain that Akkadian was also
briefly imposed on neighboring parts of Elam that were conquered by Sargon.
Following the downfall of the Akkadian Empire at the hands of Gutians, another
native Sumerian ruler, Gudea of Lagash, rose to local prominence, promoting artistic
development and continuing the practices of the Sargonid kings' claims to divinity.
Later, the 3rd dynasty of Ur under Ur Nammu and Shulgi, whose power extended as
far as northern Mesopotamia, was the last great "Sumerian renaissance", but already
the region was becoming more Semitic than Sumerian, with the influx of waves of
Martu (Amorites) who were later to found the Babylonian Empire. Sumerian,
however, remained a sacerdotal language taught in schools, in the same way that
Latin was used in the Medieval period, for as long as cuneiform was utilised.
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They grew barley, chickpeas, lentils, wheat, dates, onions, garlic, lettuce, leeks and
mustard. They also raised cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. They used oxen as their
primary beasts of burden and donkeys or onagers as their primary transport animal.
Sumerians caught many fish and hunted fowl and gazelle.
After the flood season and after the Spring Equinox and the Akitu or New Year
Festival, using the canals, farmers would flood their fields and then drain the water.
Next they let oxen stomp the ground and kill weeds. They then dragged the fields
with pickaxes. After drying, they plowed, harrowed, raked the ground three times,
and pulverized it with a mattock, before planting seed. Unfortnately the high
evaporation rate resulted in gradual salinity of the fields. By the Ur III period, farmers
had converted from wheat to the more salt tolerant barley as their principle crop.
Sumerians harvested during the dry fall season in three-person teams consisting of a
reaper, a binder, and a sheaf arranger. The farmers would use threshing wagons to
separate the cereal heads from the stalks and then use threshing sleds to disengage the
grain. They then winnowed the grain/chaff mixture.
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Architecture
Main article: Sumerian architecture
The Tigris-Euphrates plain lacked minerals and trees. Sumerian structures were made
of plano-convex mudbrick, not fixed with mortar or with cement. Mud-brick
buildings eventually deteriorate, and so they were periodically destroyed, leveled, and
rebuilt on the same spot. This constant rebuilding gradually raised the level of cities,
so that they came to be elevated above the surrounding plain. The resultant hills are
known as tells, and are found throughout the ancient Near East.
The most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the ziggurats, large
terraced platforms which supported temples. Some scholars have theorized that these
structures might have been the basis of the Tower of Babel described in Genesis.
Sumerian cylinder seals also depict houses built from reeds not unlike those built by
the Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq until as recently as A.D. 400.
Sumerian temples and palaces made use of more advanced materials and techniques,
such as buttresses, recesses, half columns, and clay nails.
Culture
Sumerian culture may be traced to two main centers, Eridu in the south and Nippur in
the north. Eridu and Nippur may be regarded as contrasting poles of Sumerian
religion.
The deity Enlil, around whose sanctuary Nippur had grown up, was considered lord
of the ghost-land, and his gifts to mankind were said to be the spells and incantations
that the spirits of good or evil were compelled to obey. The world he governed was a
mountain (E-kur from E=house and Kur=Mountain); the creatures that he had made
lived underground.
Eridu, on the other hand, was the home of the culture god Enki (absorbed into
Babylonian mythology as the god Ea), the god of beneficence, ruler of the freshwater
depths beneath the earth (the Abzu from Ab=water and Zu=far), a healer and friend to
humanity who was thought to have given us the arts and sciences, the industries and
manners of civilization; the first law-book was considered his creation. Eridu had
once been a seaport, and it was doubtless its foreign trade and intercourse with other
lands that influenced the development of its culture. Its cosmology was the result of
its geographical position: the earth, it was believed, had grown out of the waters of
the deep, like the ever widening coast at the mouth of the Euphrates. Long before
history is recorded, however, the cultures of Eridu and Nippur had coalesced. While
Babylon seems to have been a colony of Eridu, Eridu's immediate neighbor, Ur, may
have been a colony of Nippur, since its moon god was said to be the son of Enlil of
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Nippur. However, in the admixture of the two cultures, the influence of Eridu was
predominant.
Historian Alan Marcus has been quoted as saying that "Sumerians held a rather dour
perspective on life." One Sumerian wrote: "Tears, lament, anguish, and depression are
within me. Suffering overwhelms me. Evil fate holds me and carries off my life.
Malignant sickness bathes me." Another wrote, "Why am I counted among the
ignorant? Food is all about, yet my food is hunger. On the day shares were allotted,
my allotted share was suffering."
Though women were protected by late Sumerian law and were able to achieve a
higher status in Sumer than in other contemporary civilizations, the culture was male-
dominated.
Sumerian Music
Main article: Sumerian music
There is much evidence that the Sumerians loved music. It seemed to be an important
part of religious and civic life in Sumer. Lyres were popular in Sumeria.
Before playing a stringed instrument, the musicians would wash their hands to purify
them. Many of the songs were for the Goddess Innana.
Dancing girls used clappers to provide rhythm eventually drums and wind
instruments began to evolve.
Music and dancing were a part of daily celebration and temple rites-music was played
for marriages and births in the royal families. Music was also used to back up the
recitation of poetry, as in Greece.
Music in Sumeria was a utilitarian art. It was played at occasions but probably not
played simply for enjoyment-as in a concert in our society.
The Epic of Gilgamesh refers to trade with far lands for goods such as wood that were
scarce in Mesopotamia. In particular, cedar from Lebanon was prized.
The Sumerians used slaves, although they were not a major part of the economy.
Slave women worked as weavers, pressers, millers, and porters.
Sumerian potters decorated pots with cedar oil paints. The potters used a bow drill to
produce the fire needed for baking the pottery. Sumerian masons and jewelers knew
and made use of alabaster (calcite), ivory, gold, silver, carnelian and lapis lazuli.
Military
The Sumerian military used carts harnessed to onagers. These early chariots
functioned less effectively in combat than did later designs, and some have suggested
that these chariots served primarily as transports, though the crew carried battle-axes
and lances. The Sumerian chariot comprised a four or two-wheeled device manned by
a crew of two and harnessed to four onagers. The cart was composed of a woven
basket and the wheels had a solid three-piece design.
Sumerian cities were surrounded by defensive walls. The Sumerians engaged in siege
warfare between their cities, but the mudbrick walls failed to deter some foes.
Religion
Main article: Sumerian mythology
Like other cities of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean, Sumer was a polytheistic, or
henotheistic, society. There was no organized set of gods, with each city-state having
its own patrons, temples, and priest-kings; but the Sumerians were probably the first
to write down their beliefs. Sumerian beliefs were also the inspiration for much of
later Mesopotamian mythology, religion, and astrology.
Collectively the Gods were known as Anunaki ("heaven and earth", reminiscent of
the opening verse of Genesis - "In the beginning God created the heavens and earth").
An's closest cohorts were Enki in the south at the Abzu temple in Eridu, Enlil in the
north at the Ekur temple of Nippur and Inana, the deification of Venus, the morning
(eastern) and evening (western) star, at the Eanna temple (shared with An) at Uruk.
The sun was Utu, was worshipped at Sippar, the moon was Nanna, worshipped at Ur
and Nammu or Namma was one of the names of the Mother Goddess, probably
considered to be the original matrix; there were hundreds of minor deities. The
Sumerian gods (Sumerian dingir, plural dingir-dingir or dingir-a-ne-ne) thus had
associations with different cities, and their religious importance often waxed and
waned with the political power of the associated cities. The gods were said to have
created human beings from clay for the purpose of serving them. The gods often
expressed their anger and frustration through earthquakes and storms: the gist of
Sumerian religion was that humanity was at the mercy of the gods.
Sumerians believed that the universe consisted of a flat disk enclosed by a tin dome.
The Sumerian afterlife involved a descent into a gloomy netherworld to spend
eternity in a wretched existence as a Gidim (ghost).
Sumerian temples consisted of a forecourt, with a central pond for purification (the
Abzu). The temple itself had a central nave with aisles along either side. Flanking the
aisles would be rooms for the priests. At one end would stand the podium and a
mudbrick table for animal and vegetable sacrifices. Granaries and storehouses were
usually located near the temples. After a time the Sumerians began to place the
temples on top of multi-layered square constructions built as a series of rising
terraces: the ziggurats.
Technology
Examples of Sumerian technology include: the wheel, cuneiform, arithmetic,
lunisolar calendar, bronze, copper, gold, silver, leather, saws, chisels, hammers,
braces, bits, nails, pins, rings, hoes, axes, knives, lancepoints, arrowheads, swords,
glue, daggers, waterskins, bags, harnesses, boats, armor, quivers, scabbards, boots,
sandal (footwear), harpoons, and beer brewing.
It has been suggested that Mesopotamia schools be merged into this article or section.
The most important archaeological discoveries in Sumer are a large number of tablets
written in Sumerian. Sumerian pre-cuneiform script has been discovered on tablets
dating to around 3500 BC.
Understanding Sumerian texts today can be problematic even for experts. Most
difficult are the earliest texts, which in many cases don't give the full grammatical
structure of the language.
Legacy
Most authorities credit the Sumerians with the invention of the wheel, initially in the
form of the potter's wheel. The new concept quickly led to wheeled vehicles and mill
wheels. The Sumerians' cuneiform writing system is the oldest we have evidence of
(with the possible exception of the highly controversial Old European Script), pre-
dating Egyptian hieroglyphics by at least seventy-five years. The Sumerians were
among the first formal astronomers, correctly formulating a heliocentric view of the
solar system, to which they assigned 5 planets (all that can be seen with the naked
eye).
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They invented and developed arithmetic using several different number systems
including a Mixed radix system with an alternating base 10 and base 6. This
sexagesimal system became the standard number system in Sumer and Babylonia.
Using this sexagesimal system they invented the clock with its 60 seconds, 60
minutes, and 12 hours, and the 12 month calendar which is still in use. They may
have invented military formations and introduced the basic divisions between
infantry, cavalry and archers. They developed the first known codified legal and
administrative systems, complete with courts, jails, and government records. The first
true city states arose in Sumer, roughly contemporaneously with similar entities in
what is now Syria and Israel. Several centuries after their invention of cuneiform, the
practice of writing expanded beyond debt/payment certificates and inventory lists and
was applied for the first time about 2600 BC to written messages and mail delivery,
history, legend, mathematics, astronomical records and other pursuits generally
corresponding to the fields occupying teachers and students ever since. Accordingly,
the first formal schools were established, usually under the auspices of a city-state's
primary temple.
Finally, the Sumerians ushered in the age of intensive agriculture and irrigation.
Emmer wheat, barley, sheep (starting as mouflon) and cattle (starting as aurochs)
were foremost among the species cultivated and raised for the first time on a grand
scale. These inventions and innovations easily place the Sumerians among the most
creative cultures in human pre-history and history.
New Sumer
Because ancient Sumer was located in southern Iraq, a new movement was started in
2005 by many secular Shiites (led by a Baqr Yassin) to make the southern three
provinces of Basra, Amara, and Nasariyah into an autonomous zone called "Sumer,"
similar to the arrangement the Kurds have with Kurdistan now. Yassin is calling for
local control of resources—including the vast oil reserves there—and some kind of
control of military units in the region.
See also
• Sumerian language
• Epic of Gilgamesh
• History of Sumer
• Sumerian king list
• Sumerian architecture
• History of writing numbers
return
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Enigma machine
In the history of cryptography, the Enigma was a portable cipher machine used to
encrypt and decrypt secret messages. More precisely, Enigma was a family of related
electro-mechanical rotor machines — comprising a variety of different models.
The Enigma was used commercially from the early 1920s on, and was also adopted
by the military and governmental services of a number of nations — most famously
by Nazi Germany before and during World War II.
The German military model, the Wehrmacht Enigma, is the version most commonly
discussed. The machine has gained notoriety because Allied cryptologists were able
to decrypt a large number of messages that had been enciphered on the machine. The
intelligence gained through this source — codenamed ULTRA — was a significant
aid to the Allied war effort. The exact influence of ULTRA is debated, but a typical
assessment is that the end of the European war was hastened by two years because of
the decryption of German ciphers.
Although the Enigma cipher has cryptographic weaknesses, it was, in practice, only
their combination with other significant factors which allowed codebreakers to read
messages: mistakes by operators, procedural flaws, and the occasional captured
machine or codebook.
This article discusses the Enigma machine itself: its components and its procedures.
For the history and techniques of how Enigma was broken, see Cryptanalysis of the
Enigma. For a discussion of how Enigma-derived intelligence was put to use, see
ULTRA.
A three-rotor German military Enigma machine showing, from bottom to top, the
plugboard, the keyboard, the lamps and the finger-wheels of the rotors emerging from the
inner lid (version with labels).
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Description
Enigma wiring diagram showing the current flow when pressing the 'A' key is encoded to
the 'D' lamp, also D yields A, but A never A
The scrambling action of the Enigma rotors shown for two consecutive letters — current
is passed into set of rotors, around the reflector, and back out through the rotors again. Note:
The greyed-out lines represent other possible circuits within each rotor, which are hard-wired
to contacts on each rotor. Letter A encrypts differently with consecutive key presses, first to
G, and then to C. This is because the right hand rotor has stepped, sending the signal on a
completely different route.
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Like other rotor machines, the Enigma machine is a combination of mechanical and
electrical systems. The mechanical mechanism consists of a keyboard; a set of
rotating disks called rotors arranged adjacently along a spindle; and a stepping
mechanism to turn one or more of the rotors with each key press. The exact
mechanism varies, but the most common form is for the right-hand rotor to step once
with every key stroke, and occasionally the motion of neighbouring rotors is
triggered. The continual movement of the rotors results in a different cryptographic
transformation after each key press.
The mechanical parts act in such a way as to form a varying electrical circuit — the
actual encipherment of a letter is performed electrically. When a key is pressed, the
circuit is completed; current flows through the various components and ultimately
lights one of many lamps, indicating the output letter. For example, when encrypting
a message starting ANX..., the operator would first press the A key, and the Z lamp
might light; Z would be the first letter of the ciphertext. The operator would then
proceed to encipher N in the same fashion, and so on.
To explain the Enigma, we use the wiring diagram on the left. To simplify the
example, only four components of each are shown. In reality, there are 26 lamps,
keys, plugs and wirings inside the rotors. The current flows from the battery (1)
through the depressed bi-directional letter-switch (2) to the plugboard (3). The
plugboard allows rewiring the connections between keyboard (2) and fixed entry
wheel (4). Next, the current proceeds through the - unused, so closed - plug (3) via
the entry wheel (4) through the wirings of the three (Wehrmacht Enigma) or four
(Kriegsmarine M4) rotors (5) and enters the reflector (6). The reflector returns the
current, via a different path, back through the rotors (5) and entry wheel (4), and
proceeds through plug 'S' connected with a cable (8) to plug 'D', and another bi-
directional switch (9) to light-up the lamp.
So the continual changing of electrical paths through the unit because of the rotation
of the rotors (which cause the pin contacts to change with each letter typed)
implements the polyalphabetic encryption which provided Enigma's high security (for
the time).
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Rotors
For details on the rotor wiring, ring settings and effect on the encryption, see Enigma rotor details.
The left side of an Enigma rotor, showing The right side of a rotor, showing the pin
the flat electrical contacts. A single turnover electrical contacts. The Roman numeral V
notch is visible on the left edge of the rotor. identifies the wiring of the rotor.
The rotors (alternatively wheels or drums — Walzen in German) form the heart of an
Enigma machine. Approximately 10 cm in diameter, each rotor is a disk made of hard
rubber or bakelite with a series of brass spring-loaded pins on one face arranged in a
circle; on the other side are a corresponding number of circular electrical contacts.
The pins and contacts represent the alphabet — typically the 26 letters A–Z (this will
be assumed for the rest of the description). When placed side-by-side, the pins of one
rotor rest against the contacts of the neighbouring rotor, forming an electrical
connection. Inside the body of the rotor, a set of 26 wires connects each pin on one
side to a contact on the other in a complex pattern. The wiring differs for every rotor.
.
Three Enigma rotors and the shaft on which they are placed when in use.
When placed in the machine, a rotor can be set to one of 26 positions. It can be turned
by hand using a grooved finger-wheel which protrudes from the internal cover when
closed, as shown in Figure 2. So that the operator knows the position, each rotor has
an alphabet tyre (or letter ring) attached around the outside of the disk, with 26 letters
or numbers; one of these can be seen through a window, indicating the position of the
rotor to the operator. In early Enigma models, the alphabet ring is fixed; a
complication introduced in later versions is the facility to adjust the alphabet ring
relative to the core wiring. The position of the ring is known as the Ringstellung
("ring settings").
The rotors each contain a notch (sometimes multiple notches), used to control the
stepping of the rotors. In the military versions, the notches are located on the alphabet
ring.
1. notched ring
2. marking dot for "A"
contact
3. alphabet ring
4. plate contacts
5. wire connections
6. pin contacts
7. spring-loaded ring
adjusting lever
8. hub
9. finger wheel
10. ratchet wheel
The Army and Air Force Enigmas came equipped with several rotors; when first
issued there were a total of three. On 15 December 1938, this changed to five, from
which three were chosen for insertion in the machine. These were marked with
Roman numerals to distinguish them: I, II, III, IV and V, all with single notches
located at different points on the alphabet ring. This must have been intended as a
security measure, but ultimately allowed the Polish Clock Method and British
Banburismus attacks.
The Naval version of the Wehrmacht Enigma had always been issued with more
rotors than the other services: at first, six, then seven and finally eight. The additional
rotors were named VI, VII and VIII, all with different wiring, and had two notches
cut into them at 'N' and 'A' , resulting in a more frequent turnover.
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The four-rotor Naval Enigma (M4) accommodated an extra rotor in the same space as
the three-rotor version. This was accomplished by replacing the original reflector with
a thinner reflector and adding a special fourth rotor. The fourth rotor can be one of
two types: Beta or Gamma. This 4th rotor never steps, but can be manually placed in
any of the 26 positions.
Stepping motion
Stepping motion of the Enigma. All three ratchet pawls (green) push in unison. In the first
rotor (1), the ratchet (red) is always engaged, and steps with each keypress. Here, the second
rotor (2) is engaged because the notch in the first rotor is aligned with the pawl; it will step
with the next keypress. The third rotor (3) is not engaged, because the notch in the second
rotor is not aligned; the pawl will simply slide over the curved ring.
The most common arrangement utilises a ratchet and pawl mechanism. Each rotor is
affixed with a ratchet with 26 teeth; a group of pawls engage the teeth of the ratchet.
The pawls are pushed forward in unison with each keypress on the machine. If a pawl
engages the teeth of a ratchet, that rotor advances by one step.
In the Wehrmacht Enigma, each rotor is affixed with an adjustable notched ring. The
five basic rotors (I-V) have one notch each, while the additional naval rotors VI, VII
and VIII have two notches. At a certain point, a rotor's notch will align with the pawl,
allowing it to engage the ratchet of the next rotor with the subsequent key press.
When a pawl is not aligned with the notch, it will simply slide over the surface of the
ring without engaging the ratchet. In a single-notch rotor system, the second rotor is
advanced one position every 26 advances of the first rotor. Similarly, the third rotor is
advanced one position for every 26 advances of the second rotor. The second rotor
also advances at the same time as the third rotor, meaning the second rotor can step
twice on subsequent key presses — "double stepping" — resulting in a reduced
period[1].
This double stepping causes the rotors to deviate from a normal odometer. A double
step occurs as follows: the first rotor steps, and takes the second rotor one step
further. If the second rotor has moved by this step into its own notch-position, the
third pawl can drop down. On the next step this pawl pushes the ratchet of the third
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rotor and advances it, but will also push into the second rotor's notch, advancing the
second rotor a second time in a row.
With three wheels and only single notches in the first and second wheels, the machine
has a period of 26 × 25 × 26 = 16,900 (NOT 26 X 26 X 26 because of the double
stepping of the second rotor. see bottom of page in the references section, for a link to
a PDF file on this 'double stepping'). Historically, messages were limited to a couple
of hundred letters, and so there was no risk of repeating any position within a single
message.
To make the use of the naval fourth rotors "Beta" and "Gamma" possible, introduced
in 1942, the reflector was changed to a thin model and the special thin fourth rotor
was placed against it. No changes were made to the mechanism. Since there are only
three pawls, the fourth rotor never steps, but can be manually set into one of its 26
positions.
When pressing a key, the rotors step before the electrical circuit is connected.
The Enigma rotor assembly. The three movable rotors are sandwiched between two fixed
wheels: the entry wheel on the right and the reflector (here marked "B") on the left.
Entry wheel
The entry wheel (Eintrittswalze in German), or entry stator, connects the plugboard, if
present, or otherwise the keyboard and lampboard to the rotor assembly. While the
exact wiring used is of comparatively little importance to the security, it proved an
obstacle in the progress of Polish cryptanalyst Marian Rejewski during his deduction
of the rotor wirings. The commercial Enigma connects the keys in the order of their
sequence on the keyboard: Q A, W B, E C and so on. However, the military
Enigma connects them in straight alphabetical order: A A, B B, C C etc. It took
an inspired piece of guesswork for Rejewski to realise the modification, and he was
then able to solve the equations.
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Reflector
With the exception of the early models A and B, the last rotor is followed by a
reflector (German: Umkehrwalze), a patented feature distinctive of the Enigma family
amongst the various rotor machines designed in the period. The reflector connects
outputs of the last rotor up in pairs, redirecting current back through the rotors by a
different route. The reflector ensures that Enigma is self-reciprocal: conveniently,
encryption is the same as decryption. However, the reflector also gives Enigma the
property that no letter can encrypt to itself. This was a severe conceptual flaw and a
cryptological mistake subsequently exploited by codebreakers.
In the commercial Enigma model C, the reflector can be inserted in one of two
different positions. In Model D the reflector can be set in 26 possible positions,
although it does not move during encipherment. In the Abwehr Enigma, the reflector
is stepped during encryption in a similar way to the other wheels.
In the German Army and Air Force Enigma, the reflector is fixed and does not rotate,
and appeared in four versions. The original version was marked A, and was replaced
by Umkehrwalze B on 1 November 1937. A third version, Umkehrwalze C was used
briefly in 1940, possibly in error, and was solved by Hut 6[2]. The fourth version, first
observed on 2 January 1944 is a rewireable reflector, called Umkehrwalze D,
allowing the Enigma operator to alter the connections as part of the key settings.
Plugboard
The plugboard (Steckerbrett) is positioned at the front of the machine, below the keys.
When in use, there can be up to 13 connections. In the above photograph, two pairs of letters
are swapped (S-O and J-A).
A cable placed onto the plugboard connects letters up in pairs, for example, E and Q
might be a steckered pair. The effect is to swap those letters before and after the main
rotor scrambling unit. For example, when an operator presses E, the signal is diverted
to Q before entering the rotors. Several such steckered pairs, up to 13, might be used
at one time.
Current flows from the keyboard through the plugboard, and proceeds to the entry-
rotor or Eintrittswalze. Each letter on the plugboard has two jacks. Inserting a plug
will disconnect the upper jack (from the keyboard) and the lower jack (to the entry-
rotor) of that letter. The plug at the other end of the crosswired cable is inserted into
another letter's jacks, switching the connections of the two letters.
The "Schreibmax" was a printing unit which could be attached to the Enigma, removing
the need to laboriously read and write down the letters off the light panel.
Accessories
A handy feature that was used on the M4 Enigma was the "Schreibmax", a little
printer which could print the 26 letters on a small paper ribbon. This excluded the
need for a second operator, reading the lamps and writing the letters down. The
Schreibmax was placed on top of the Enigma machine and was connected to the lamp
panel; to install the printer, the lamp cover and all lightbulbs had to be removed.
Besides its handiness, it improved operational security: the signal officer no longer
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had to see the plaintext, as the printer might have been installed in the captain's cabin
of a submarine, so that the signals officer did the typing and key handling but never
gained knowledge of secret received plaintext information.
Another accessory was the remote lamp panel. If the machine was equipped with an
extra panel, the wooden case of the Enigma was wider and could store the extra
panel. There was a lamp panel version that could be connected afterwards, but that
required, just as with the Schreibmax, the lamp panel and lightbulbs to be removed.
The remote panel made it possible for a person to read the decrypted text, without
giving the operator access to it.
In 1944, the Luftwaffe introduced an extra plugboard switch, called the Uhr (clock).
There was a little box, containing a switch with 40 positions. It replaced the default
plugs. After connecting the plugs, as determined in the daily key sheet, the operator
could turn the switch in one of the 40 positions, each position resulting in a different
combination of plug wiring. Most of these plug connection are, unlike the default
plugs, not pair-wise.
Mathematical description
actions of the left, middle and right rotors respectively. Then the encryption E can be
expressed as
E = PRMLUL − 1M − 1R − 1P − 1
After each key press the rotors turn, changing the transformation. For example, if the
right hand rotor R is rotated i positions, the transformation becomes ρiRρ − i, where ρ
is the cyclic permutation mapping A to B, B to C, and so forth. Similarly, the middle
and left-hand rotors can be represented as j and k rotations of M and L. The
encryption function can then be described as:
In use, the Enigma required a list of daily key settings as well as a number of auxiliary
documents. The procedures for German Naval Enigma were more elaborate, and secure, than
the procedures used in other services. The Navy codebooks were also printed in red, water-
soluble ink on pink paper so that they could easily be destroyed if they were at risk of being
seized by the enemy. The above codebook was taken from captured U-boat U-505.
An Enigma machine's initial state, the cryptographic key, has several aspects:
• Wheel order (Walzenlage) — the choice of rotors and the order in which they
are used.
• Initial position of the rotors: — chosen by the operator, different for each
message.
• Ring settings (Ringstellung) — the position of the alphabet ring relative to the
rotor wiring.
• Plug settings (Steckerverbindungen) — the connections of the plugs in the
plugboard.
Enigma was designed to be secure even if the rotor wiring was known to an
eavesdropper, although in practice the wiring was kept secret. With secret wiring, the
total number of possible configurations has been calculated to be around 10114
(approximately 380 bits); with known wiring and other operational constraints, this is
reduced to around 1023 (76 bits)[3]. Users of Enigma were assured of its security by
the large number of possibilities; it was not feasible for an adversary to even begin to
try every possible configuration in a brute force attack.
Indicators
Most of the key were kept constant for a set time period, typically a day. However, a
different initial rotor position was chosen for each message, because if a number of
messages are sent encrypted with identical or near-identical settings, a cryptanalyst
has several messages "in depth", and might be able to attack the messages using
frequency analysis. To counter this, a different starting position for the rotors was
chosen for each message; a similar concept to an initialisation vector in modern
cryptography. The starting position was transmitted along with the ciphertext. The
exact method used is termed the "indicator procedure" — weak indicator procedures
allowed the initial breaks into Enigma.
Figure 2. With the inner lid placed down, the Enigma is ready for use. The finger wheels
of the rotors protrude through the lid, allowing the operator to manually set the rotors, and the
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current position — here RDKP — is visible to the operator through a set of windows.
One of the earliest indicator procedures was exploited to make the initial breaks into
the Enigma by Polish cryptanalysts. The procedure was for the operator to set up his
machine in accordance with his settings list, which included a global initial position
for the rotors (Grundstellung — "ground setting"), AOH, say. The operator would turn
his rotors until AOH was visible through the rotor windows. At this point, the operator
would choose his own, arbitrary starting position for that particular message. An
operator might select EIN, and this became the message settings for that encryption
session. The operator would then type EIN into the machine, twice, to allow for
detecting transmission errors. The results would be an encrypted indicator — the EIN
typed twice might turn into XHTLOA, which would be transmitted along with the
message. Finally, the operator would then spin the rotors to his message settings, EIN
in this example, and the text of the actual message was typed in.
At the receiving end the operation was reversed. The operator set the machine to the
initial settings and typed in the first six letters of the message (XHTLOA). In this
example, EINEIN would be produced. By moving his rotors to EIN, the receiving
operator would then type in the rest of the ciphertext, deciphering the message.
The weakness came from two factors: the use of a global ground setting — this was
later changed so that the operator selected his initial position to encrypt the indicator,
and sent the initial position in the clear. The second problem was the repetition of the
indicator, which was actually a security flaw. The message key was encoded twice,
resulting in a relation between first and fourth, second and fifth, and third and sixth
character. This security problem enabled the Polish Cipher Bureau to break the pre-
war Enigma messages. However, from 1940 on, the Germans changed the procedures
to increase the security.
During the Second World War, German operators used the codebooks only to set up
the rotors and ringsettings. For each message, he selected a random startposition, let's
say WZA, and random message key, let's say SXT. He moved the rotors in the WZA
startposition, and encoded the messagekey SXT. Let us presume that the result was
UHL. He sets up the message key SXT as startposition, and encodes the message. Next,
he transmits the startposition WZA, the encoded message key UHL together with the
message. The receiver sets up the startposition according the first trigram, WZA and
decodes the second trigram, UHL, to obtain the SXT message key. Next, he uses this
SXT message key as startposition to decode the message. This way, each ground
setting was different and the new procedure avoided the security flaw of double
encoded message keys.
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This procedure was used by Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe only. The Kriegsmarine
procedures on sending messages with the Enigma were far more complex and
elaborate. Prior to encryption with the Enigma, the message was encoded with the
Kurzsignalheft code book. The Kurzsignalheft contained tables that converted
sentences into four-letter groups. All kinds of expressions in many different topics
were listed. Logistic matters such as refueling and rendez-vous with supply ships,
positions and grid lists, names of harbors, countries, weapons, weather conditions,
enemy positions and ships, date and time tables. All possible situations and topics
were listed. Another codebook contained the Kenngruppen and Spruchschlüssel, resp
key identification and message key. More details on Kurzsignale on German U-Boats
Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe transmitted the messages in groups of five characters. The
Kriegsmarine, using the four rotor Enigma, applied four letter groups. Frequently
used names or words were to be varied as much as possible. Words like
Minensuchboot (minesweeper) could be written as MINENSUCHBOOT,
MINBOOT, MMMBOOT or MMM354. To make cryptanalysis harder, more than
250 characters in one message were forbidden. Longer messages were divided in
several parts, each using its own message key. For more details see Tony Sale's
translations of "General Procedure"[4] and "Officer and Staff procedure"[5].
A selection of seven Enigma machines and paraphernalia exhibited at the USA's National
Cryptologic Museum. From left to right, the models are: 1) Commercial Enigma; 2) Enigma
T; 3) Enigma G; 4) Unidentified; 5) Luftwaffe (Air Force) Enigma; 6) Heer (Army) Enigma;
7) Kriegsmarine (Naval) Enigma — M4.
Commercial Enigma
On February 23, 1918, German engineer Arthur Scherbius applied for a patent for a
cipher machine using rotors, and, with E. Richard Ritter, founded the firm of
Scherbius & Ritter. They approached the German Navy and Foreign Office with their
design, but neither was interested. They then assigned the patent rights to
Gewerkschaft Securitas, who founded the Chiffriermaschinen Aktien-Gesellschaft
(Cipher Machines Stock Corporation) on 9 July 1923; Scherbius and Ritter were on
the board of directors.
The reflector — an idea suggested by Scherbius' colleague Willi Korn — was first
introduced in the Enigma C (1926) model. The reflector is a key feature of the
Enigma machines.
Model C was smaller and more portable than its predecessors. It lacked a typewriter,
relying instead on the operator reading the lamps; hence the alternative name of
"glowlamp Enigma" to distinguish from models A and B. The Enigma C quickly
became extinct, giving way to the Enigma D (1927). This version was widely used,
with copies going to Sweden, the Netherlands, England, Japan, Italy, Spain, U.S. and
Poland.
Military Enigma
The German Navy were the first branch of the German military to adopt Enigma.
This version, named Funkschlüssel C (Radio cipher C), had been put into production
by 1925 and was introduced into service in 1926[7]. The keyboard and lampboard
contained 29 letters — A-Z, Ä, Ö and Ü — which were arranged alphabetically, as
opposed to the QWERTZU ordering[8]. The rotors had 28 contacts, with the letter X
wired to bypass the rotors unencrypted[9]. Three rotors were chosen from a set of
five[10] and the reflector could be inserted in one of four different positions, denoted
α, β, γ and δ[11]. The machine was revised slightly in July 1933[12].
By 15 July 1928[13], the German Army (Reichswehr) had introduced their own
version of the Enigma — the Enigma G, revised to the Enigma I by June 1930[14].
Enigma I is also known as the Wehrmacht, or Services Enigma, and was used
extensively by the German military services and other government organisations,
both prior to and during World War II. The major difference between Enigma I and
commercial Enigma models was the addition of a plugboard to swap pairs of letters,
greatly increasing the cryptographic strength of the machine. Other differences
included the use of a fixed reflector, and the relocation of the stepping notches from
the rotor body to the movable letter rings[14]. The Navy eventually agreed and in
1934[15] brought into service the Navy version of the Army Enigma, designated
Funkschlüssel M or M3. While the Army used only three rotors at that time, for
greater security the Navy specified a choice of three from a possible five[16].
In December 1938, the Army issued two extra rotors so that the three rotors were
chosen from a set of five[14]. In 1938, the Navy added two more rotors, and then
another in 1939 to allow a choice of three rotors from a set of eight[16]. In August
1935, the Air Force also introduced the Wehrmacht Enigma for their
communications[14]. A four rotor Enigma was introduced by the Navy for U-boat
traffic on 1 February 1942, called M4 (the network was known as Triton, or Shark to
the Allies). The extra rotor was fitted in the same space by splitting the reflector into
a combination of a thin reflector and a thin fourth rotor.
There was also a large, eight-rotor printing model, the Enigma II. During 1933,
Polish codebreakers detected that it was in use for high-level military
communications, but that it was soon withdrawn from use after it was found to be
unreliable and jam frequently[17].
The Abwehr used the Enigma G (the Abwehr Enigma). This Enigma variant was a
four-wheel unsteckered machine with multiple notches on the rotors. This model was
equipped with a counter which incremented upon each key press, and so is also
known as the counter machine or the Zahlwerk Enigma.
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Other countries also used Enigma machines. The Italian Navy adopted the
commercial Enigma as "Navy Cipher D"; the Spanish also used commercial Enigma
during their Civil War. British codebreakers succeeded in breaking these machines,
which lacked a plugboard. The Swiss used a version of Enigma called model K or
Swiss K for military and diplomatic use, which was very similar to the commercial
Enigma D. The machine was broken by a number of parties, including Poland,
France, Britain and the United States (the latter codenamed it INDIGO). An Enigma
T model (codenamed Tirpitz) was manufactured for use by the Japanese.
It has been estimated that 100,000 Enigma machines were constructed[18]. After the
end of the Second World War, the Allies sold captured Enigma machines, still widely
considered secure, to a number of developing countries[18].
Enigma derivatives
The Enigma was influential in the field of cipher machine design, and a number of
other rotor machines are derived from it. The British Typex was originally designed
from the Enigma patents — Typex even includes features from the patent descriptions
that were omitted from the actual Enigma machine. Due to the need for secrecy about
its cipher systems, no royalties were paid for the use of the patents by the British
government. A Japanese Enigma clone was codenamed GREEN by American
cryptographers. Little-used, it contained four rotors mounted vertically. In the US,
cryptologist William Friedman designed the M-325, a machine similar to Enigma in
logical operation, although not in construction.
The Japanese developed an Enigma clone, Tatjana van Vark's Enigma-inspired rotor
codenamed GREEN by American machine, constructed in 2002. The rotors of
cryptographers, although it was little used. this machine contain 40 contacts, compared to
the original Enigma's 26.
Surviving Enigmas
The effort to break the Enigma was not disclosed until the 1970s. Since then, interest
in the Enigma machine has grown considerably and a number of Enigmas are on
public display in museums in the US and Europe. The Deutsches Museum in Munich
has both the three and four-wheel German military variants, as well as several older
civilian versions. There are also examples in the NSA's National Cryptologic
Museum at Fort Meade and at the Computer History Museum in the United States, at
Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom, the Australian War Memorial at Canberra in
Australia, as well as a number of other locations in Germany, the US, the UK, and a
few other countries in Europe. A number are also in private hands[21].
Occasionally, Enigma machines are sold at auction; prices of US$20,000 are not
unusual[22].
A rare Abwehr Enigma machine, designated G312, was stolen from the Bletchley
Park museum on 1 April 2000. In September, a man identifying himself as "The
Master" sent a note demanding £25,000 and threatened to destroy the machine if the
ransom was not paid. In early October 2000, Bletchley Park officials announced that
they would pay the ransom but the deadline set passed with no word from the thief.
Shortly after the ransom deadline passed the machine was sent anonymously to BBC
journalist Jeremy Paxman, but three rotors were missing. In November 2000, an
antiques dealer named Dennis Yates was arrested after telephoning The Sunday Times
to arrange the return of the missing parts. The Enigma machine was returned to
Bletchley Park after the incident. In October 2001, Yates was sentenced to ten months
in prison after admitting handling the stolen machine and blackmailing Bletchley
Park Trust director Christine Large, although he maintained that he was acting as an
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intermediary for a third party. Yates was released from prison after serving three
months.
Fiction
Robert Harris' 1996 novel Enigma is set against the backdrop of World War II
Bletchley Park and cryptologists working to read Enigma. The book was made into
the 2001 film, Enigma, starring Kate Winslet and Dougray Scott; the film has been
criticized for many historical inaccuracies. An earlier film dealing (somewhat
superficially) with the Polish aspects of the subject was the 1979 Sekret Enigmy (The
Enigma Secret)[23].
An interactive fiction game Jigsaw by Graham Nelson contains a puzzle in which the
player must decrypt a message with a simplified version of the Enigma. The puzzle is
generally accepted as the most annoying in the game, which is perhaps some measure
of how hard it was to decrypt messages produced by the original machine(s).
Friedrich Kittler's 1986 (trans. 1999) Gramophone, Film, Typewriter examines the
use of the Enigma and similar devices in relation to the Symbolic order of Jacques
Lacan.
Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 film Das Boot includes an Enigma machine. That machine
appears to be a four rotor Kriegsmarine variant. It appears in many scenes which
probably capture the flavor of day to day Enigma use aboard a World War II U-Boat.
See also
World War II Era Encryption Devices:
• Sigaba (United States)
• Typex (Britain)
• Lorenz SZ 40/42 (Germany) (Allied code-name: 'Tunny')
• Siemens and Halske T52 (Germany) (Allied code-name: 'Sturgeon').
• Geheimschreiber
return
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Doraemon
Doraemon (ドラえもん?) created by Hiroshi Fujimoto, pen name Fujiko F. Fujio, is
a Japanese franchise about a robotic cat, Doraemon, who travels back in time from
the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi.
The stories first appeared in January 1970. They were simultaneously published in six
different magazines. In total, 1,344 of the original stories were created. They are
published by Shogakukan under the Ladybug (てんとう虫 Tentōmushi?) comics
brand, extending to forty-five volumes. They are collected in the Takaoka Central
Library, Toyama, Japan, where Fujimoto was born.
Doraemon was awarded the grand prize of the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize
(手塚治虫文化賞) of 1997.
Doraemon
ドラえもん
(Doraemon)
Genre Comedy, Kodomo
TV anime
Directed by Tsutomu Shibayama
Studio Asatsu DK
TV Asahi
TVB
Network RCTI
ChampTV, AnioneTV
Ntv7, RTM 1
GMA 7
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Canal Panda
Channel 8
TV3, Canal Panda
CTS
Original run 2 April 1979 –
No. of episodes Over 2000
Related works
• List of Doraemon media
Setting
The stories are formulaic, usually focused on the everyday struggles of fourth grader
Nobita Nobi, the main character of the story. Doraemon possesses a four-dimensional
pocket from which he can produce all manner of futuristic tools, gadgets and
playthings from a future department store. In the typical chapter, Nobita comes home
crying about some problem he faced in school or his local neighborhood. After
Nobita's pleading, or perhaps goading, Doraemon produces some device to help
Nobita fix his problems, gain revenge, or show off to his friends.
However, Nobita usually goes too far--despite Doraemon's best intentions--and gets
into deeper trouble than before. Sometimes Nobita's friends (usually Suneo or Jaian)
steal the gadgets and end up misusing them. However, at the end of the day, there's
usually retribution to the characters who end up misusing them, and a moral lesson is
taught.
What makes Doraemon so lovable is that he is not perfect, despite being a supposedly
"omnipotent" robot from the 22nd century. Doraemon has his own weaknesses, such
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as his insatiable love for dorayaki, a Japanese treat filled with sweet bean paste (this
fact is often exploited by Nobita and his family/friends to persuade Doraemon to do
something that he is reluctant to do), his fear of rats (because a robotic rat bit off his
ears), or his tendency to panic during emergencies (characterized by him frantically
trying to pull out a very much needed tool, only to produce a HUGE assortment of
unrelated household items). He also has a wide variety of expressions, from the
classic, wide-mouthed grin to extreme anger. This serves to make him all the more
realistic, and approachable to audiences of all ages.
History
The original Doraemon manga appeared simultaneously in January 1970 in six
different children's monthly magazines, divided by the year of study, called Yoiko
(good children), Yōchien (nursery school), and Shōgaku ichinensei (first grade of
elementary school), Shōgaku ninensei (second grade), Shōgaku sannensei (third
grade), and Shōgaku yonensei (fourth grade). Later the series started also on Shōgaku
gonensei (fifth grade) and Shōgaku rokunensei (sixth grade). Each story in each of the
magazines was different, thus the author was originally creating more than six stories
a month. In 1979, CoroCoro Comic was launched as a magazine of Doraemon.
Original manga based on the Doraemon movies were also released in the CoroCoro
magazine. The stories which were preserved in the Tentōmusi comics are the ones
from these magazines.
Since the debut in 1970, the Doraemon stories have been selectively collected into
forty-five books published from 1974 to 1996, which had a circulation of over 80
million in 1992. In addition, Doraemon has appeared in a variety of manga series of
Shogakukan. In 2005, Shogakukan published a series of five more manga volumes
not reprinted in these forty-five books under the title Doraemon+(Doraemon Plus).
Characters
Doraemon (ドラえもん?)
Doraemon is the assistant and helper of Nobita sent back in time by Sewashi.
Doraemon originally had ears but they were bitten off by a robot mouse back in
the 22nd century. As a result, he has an excessive fear of mice, despite being a
robotic cat. He is predominantly blue colored, the exceptions being his white face,
hands, feet, and stomach, as well as red nose and tail (he also usually wears a red
collar dangling a gold bell--hence the name DingDong often used in Chinese
versions).
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In "The Doraemons" story arc, it is revealed that Doraemon's old paint color was
yellow! After getting his ears gnawed off by the robot mouse, he slipped into
depression on top of a tower. He drank a potion with a label having letters that
resembled sadness. As he cried for a long time, his yellow color washed off and
his voice changed due to the potion. He was later greeted by his sister, Dorami.
Doraemon's favourite food is dorayaki, a gong-shaped sweet. Many think that this
is the origin of his name. However, it was revealed in one of the manga that his
name originates from a Japanese word for "stray cat", dora neko, and the emon
ending which is part of traditional Japanese names, as seen in, for example,
Ishikawa Goemon.
Of the Doraemon characters, Doraemon is the only one to have changed since the
beginning of the comic strip. He originally was stooped, had a body much larger
than his head, and had a blue tail and flesh-coloured hands and feet. His body
shape changed to having a head larger than the body, white hands and feet, a red
tail and smaller body. The above picture of his first appearance shows the original
Doraemon.
He weighs 129.3 kg and his height is 129.3 cm. He was manufactured (hence, his
"birthday") on Sept. 3, 2112 at Matsushiba Robot Factory (Matsushiba robotto
kojo)
Although he often bullies other children, he also has a strong sense of justice, and
will not hesistate to help Nobita and his friends when they are in real trouble
(usually this occurs in the movie series).
Minor characters
• Jaiko (ジャイ子, Jaiko) is Jaian's younger sister who would have been
Nobita's wife in the future had Doraemon not intervened. She appears from
the first episode of the story, actually preceding Jaian.
Her name Jaiko is usually considered as a nickname but Fujiko hasn't given
her a real name. Some believe that Jaiko is her strange but real name while
her brother Jaian named after her, abbreviating Jaiko's older brother
(ジャイ子の兄ちゃん, Jaiko no anchan). One of supporting facts to this
myth is that in the bilingual English/Japanese edition of the Doraemon manga,
Jaian's nickname is rendered "Gian," although Jaiko's nickname is unchanged.
This results that her full name is Jaiko Goda (剛田ジャイ子, Gôda Jaiko),
although is denied by Shogakukan officials.
Jaiko has another name Christine Goda (クリスチーネ剛田, Kurisuchîne
Gôda) as an amateur manga artist, and sometimes send her story to publishing
companies for prizes.
• Hidetoshi Dekisugi (出木杉英才, Dekisugi Hidetoshi) is Nobita's classmate
and rival for Shizuka's affections. He always gets 100% on school tests. His
name literally means "brilliant over-achiever", and his last name is a pun on
dekisugiru, which literally means "over achieving".
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Nobita's family
• Tamako Nobi (野比玉子 Nobi Tamako?) Nobita's mother. Endlessly either
angry with Nobita for failing tests, or sending Nobita on errands.
• Nobisuke Nobi (野比のび助 Nobi Nobisuke?) Nobita's father. Laid back
salaryman. Tends to be nice to Nobita. Cannot drive or quit smoking, and has
a poor memory.
• Sewashi (セワシ?) Nobita's great-great-grandson. He feels sorry about the
family's failure in life, and sent his robot pet Doraemon back to the past to
look after Nobita.
• Nobisuke (ノビスケ?) Nobita's son, named after Nobita's father. He is a much
better athlete than Nobita and is sly, he did not hesitate to beat young Nobita
when young Nobita tried to stop Nobisuke from running away from home.
The Doraemons
The Doraemons (ザ☆ドラえもんズ Za Doraemonzu?) is a kind of an old boys'
association of the Robot School (ロボット学校 Robotto Gakkō?) which Doraemon
attended. Each and every member enjoys dorayaki, but usually add their own
preferred seasoning. All of the Doraemons have rock-hard heads they can use as a
weapons, or to break out of prison (among other things), but this is even more
enhanced in Doraemon, since he has no other special weapons, and has no ears or hat
to get in the way when using this mode of attack. The members are:
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They are tightly united by a card called Shin'yū Tereka (親友テレカ? lit. close
friend telephone card). They can call each other with the card everywhere and every
time.
Dōgu
Doraemon can take out various devices (Dōgu; literally, devices or tools; 道具; see
also chindōgu) from his four-dimensional pocket. Some of them are based on real-life
Japanese household goods with a fanciful twists, others are tools that most of us
would dream to have. Most often, these tools allow the characters to do what would
otherwise be impossible in real life (like affecting the outcome of battles on TV, or
walk on clouds). Whilst some of them might be possible to make in real life, many of
these tools will only exist in our wildest imaginations.
Below is a short list of the dōgu that is used by Doraemon and his friends at some
point or other. The list is by no means exhaustive, as the author has featured
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Recurring Items
• Take Copter: One of the main modes of transportation for the various
characters is the take-koputā (literally, bamboo-copter; タケコプター) which
combines the words take (bamboo in Japanese) and koputa – last half of the
word helicopter (which is also used in Japanese). The device is a tiny cap with
a propeller which you can put on any part of your body to gain the ability to
fly. It is usually put on the head like a propeller beanie, but in the first few
Doraemon episodes, it is placed on the waist.
• Moshi mo box (もしもボックス): is a pun based upon the phrase "moshi
moshi", the greeting used on the telephone, and moshimo, meaning 'what if?'
The device is a phone booth into which the characters dial and propose a
"what if" scenario which magically alters the world. Nobita has at various
times wished for a world where money was not necessary (and storekeepers
forced cash onto his hands upon attempting to purchase toys, and laws were
enforced to ban the burying of money; in short, you purchase an item by
receiving cash and robbed by being forced to take cash), a world without
mirrors (where nobody had ever seen a reflective surface) and for a world
where lazy people who napped would be hailed as celebrities.
• Instant Christmas Tree: A Christmas tree that grows instantly when you
plant it. Similar tools include the instant vine, which grows into the sky in
moments after planting.
• Cloud hardening gas: A gas which hardens clouds upon application,
allowing characters to walk on them. Doraemon and his friends once used this
gas to create a cloud city.
• Bamboo Horse: A horse/bamboo hybrid creature that is highly volatile in
temperament. It needs to be fed carrots to pacify it. Doraemon gave it to
Nobita so he could win a stilts walking contest.
• Mini airplane: A mini air plane in which you jump into it and fly around like
a fly. It also has the ability to fire and when the plane is destroyed, the pilot
will be ejected from it in a parachute.
• Lightning Cloud: A small portable lightning cloud that floats and has a
trigger to immediately release lightning and loud thunder. Doraemon gave it
to Nobita to help him get used to thunder.
• Sticker of truth: A rubber sticker of small size that could be stuck on anyone
to make them tell the truth. Nobita once used it on Suneo because Suneo was
flattering random people.
TV series
After a brief and unpopular attempt at animation (in 1973 by Nippon Television)
Doraemon remained fairly exclusive in the domain of printed pages until 1979 when
the TV Asahi (テレビ朝日) produced a series of Doraemon anime (1979 - ). This
series became incredibly popular and Doraemon fever swept across Japan.
Celebrating Doraemon's anniversary, a new version of Doraemon has been telecast on
TV Asahi with the new seiyu and staff since 15th April, 2005.
Films
Main article: List of Doraemon films
In 1980, the first of a series of annual feature length animated films was made. The
films have taken a slightly more adventure oriented tone taking the familiar characters
of Doraemon and placing them in a variety of exotic and perilous settings. Nobita and
his friends have visited the age of the dinosaurs, the far reaches of the galaxy, the
heart of darkest Africa (where they encountered a race of sentient bipedal dogs), the
deepest depths of the ocean, and a world of magic. Some of the films are based on
legends (e.g. Atlantis) and literature works (Journey to the West and Arabian Nights).
Some films also have serious themes, especially on environmental topics and the use
of technology.
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Voice actors
From 1979 to spring 2005, the main voices in Doraemon were provided by the
following actors:
However, they gave up their parts to other people in the spring of 2005 due in part to
the 25th anniversary of the Doraemon TV-series and their age. [1] [2]
On 13th March, 2005, TV Asahi [3] announced the new voice actors for the 5 main
characters.
Nowadays, Doraemon is widely popular beyond Japan where Doraemon was born.
The publishing dates below are slightly misleading, particularly in the Southeast
Asian market. Doraemon has been published widely and without license in many
countries until its actual publishing rights were obtained due to stricter regulations.
The TV series has been introduced in India on the Hungama children's channel.
cause it to reset and lose all memory, or await a competent robotics technician
who would be able to resurrect the cat-robot one day. Nobita swore that every
day to work hard in school, graduate with honours, and become that robotics
technician. He successfully resurrected Doraemon in the future as a robotics
professor, became successful as an AI developer, and thus lived happily ever
after, thus relieving his progeny of the financial burdens that caused
Doraemon to be sent to his space-time in the first place. A doujin manga for
this ending exists.
• The second, more pessimistic ending suggests that Nobita Nobi is suffering
from autism and that all the characters (including Doraemon) are simply
fictional characters in his imagination. The idea that Nobita was a sick and
dying little boy who imagined the entire series on his sickbed to help him ease
his pain and depression no doubt angered quite a bit of fans. Many Japanese
fans staged a protest outside the Head Quarter of the publisher of the series
after learning about this suggestion. The publisher had to issue a public
statement that this is not true. (This ending actually correlates to the ending
for the series St. Elsewhere, which ended in 1988.)
• The third ending suggests that Nobita fell and hit his head on a rock. He fell
into deep coma, and eventually into a semi-vegetative state. To raise money
for an operation to save Nobita, Doraemon sold all his tools and devices in his
four-dimensional pocket. However, the operation failed. Doraemon sold all
his tools except for one used for the last resort. He used it to enable Nobita to
go wherever he wanted, whichever time era he wished to go. In the end, the
very place Nobita wanted to go is heaven...
However, the plausibility of the issues was discussed here and it concludes that there
is no ending to Doraemon. [4]
Nevertheless, there are actually three official endings to Doraemon that were made.
Doraemon was discontinued in two media because readers were advancing in grades
and an ending was believed to be needed. These two are not reprinted.
[5]
• In the March 1971 issue of the magazine Shogaku 4-nensei : Due to the fact
that visitors from the future were causing too much trouble, the government in
the 22nd Century passed a bill to ban time-travelling altogether, meaning
Doraemon would have to return to his time era. He leaves Nobita.
• In the March 1972 issue of the magazine Shogaku 4-nensei: Doraemon, for
some reason, had to go back to the future but fakes a mechanical problem so
that Nobita would let him go. Nobita believes him and promises to wait until
Doraemon gets well. Realizing that Nobita can handle his departure,
Doraemon tells the truth and Nobita accepts. Doraemon returns to the future.
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The third ending was actually meant to be the official ending due to low TV ratings
and the Fujiko Fujio duo was busy with other works. But Doraemon did not leave
their minds and restarted from next month's issue. In 1981, this episode was made
into anime (called "Doraemon Comes Back"), and in 1998, this was released as an
anime movie.
• In the March 1973 issue of the magazine Shogaku 4-nensei, Nobita again
returns home after losing a fight against Jaian. Doraemon then explains that he
has to return. Nobita tries to have Doraemon stay but after talking it over with
his parents, he accepts Doraemon's departure. They take a last walk in the
park. After they split up, Nobita encounters Jaian and gets into a fight again.
After a long duel with Nobita trying to win at all costs so that Doraemon can
leave without worries, Jaian lets Nobita win for not giving up. Doraemon
finds Nobita passed out and takes him home. Sitting beside sleeping Nobita
and after a moment of thought, Doraemon returns to the future. (It is also
found at the last chapter of the manga Book 6)
• The animated version is completely similar but lenghtened. Nobita finds a box
the shape of Doraemon in his drawer. The next day, which happens to be
April Fool's day, Nobita is jeered at by Suneo and Jaian, the latter tricking him
about Doraemon's return. He happily runs home and asked his mother whether
Doraemon came back and finds out the truth. Nobita couldn't stand it and
opens the box. Inside of it was a bottle of liquid. He hears Doraemon's voice
explaining that the potion is called Uso 800 (Lies 800) it is used to make all
untruths the drinker says true. Nobita uses it to play a few tricks on Jaian and
Suneo, like first taking cover then say that the weather sure is good, which
becomes a lie and it started to rain heavily before he said it is raining heavily
and the rain stopped. Jian and Suneo was scared away after a few tricks and
when Nobita mentioned what is happening. Nobita was very happy at first but
quickly loses interest in the absence of Doraemon. As he walks home, due to
his earlier questioning if Doraemon returned or not, his mother asked him if
he could find Doraemon, he unwittingly said, in great disappointment, the
truth about Doraemon never coming back, just like what Doraemon told
Nobita before his departure. Since the potion was still in effect, when he
arrives his room he finds Doraemon there, and they have a happy reunion, but
due to the effects of the potion, all his greets and joyful words have to be
spoken in the opposite way like I am so unhappy that we can never be
together again.
• The extra portion of the above ending from the animated version is included
in Book 7 of the manga series.
When the Fujiko Fujio duo broke up in the 1987, the very idea of an official ending to
the series was never discussed. Since Fujiko F. died in 1996 before any decisions
were reached, any "endings" of Doraemon are fan fiction. However, it is apparent
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from many episodes and movies where Nobita travels to the future that in the end he
does marry Shizuka, leads a happy life and separates with Doraemon, although
Nobita and his friends fondly remember him. [6]
Dorabase
Dorabase is a baseball comic based on the Doraemon characters. This comic follows
the story of other robotic cats that form a baseball club. Though it shows Doraemon
in the beginning, it doesn't focus on Doraemon itself (because Doraemon must go
back to the past to help Nobita). The group is led by Kuroemon, a cat that looks like
Doraemon, only it has ears and black fur (Doraemon doesn't have fur). It features a
lot of imaginary ability, and in the baseball game, is allowed to use up to 3 gadgets.
Analysis/significance
• In 2005, the Japan Society of New York selected Doraemon as a culturally
significant work of Japanese otaku pop-culture in its exhibit Little Boy: The
Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture, curated by renowned artist Takashi
Murakami. In Murakami's analysis, he states that Doraemon's formulaic
plotlines typified the "wish fulfilment" mentality of 1970s Japan, where the
electronics revolution glamorized the idea that one could solve their problems
with machines and gadgets rather than hard work or individual intelligence.
Other appearances
Doraemon is a popular character in Japan and appears in many places. For example,
Doraemon is used as a promotional character by Art Hikkoshi Center"
(アート引越センター Āto hikkoshi sentā?), a removals company, and by Cocos, a
popular restaurant chain. He also appears in appeals for charity, the Doraemon fund.
Doraemon toys and novelty items are also often found in Japan, with literally
thousands of items on sale.
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Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a neurological condition most characterized by Excessive Daytime
Sleepiness (EDS), episodes of sleep and disorder of REM or rapid eye movement
sleep. It is a kind of dyssomnia.
Symptoms of narcolepsy
The main characteristic of narcolepsy is overwhelming excessive daytime sleepiness
(EDS), even after adequate nighttime sleep. A person with narcolepsy is likely to
become drowsy or to fall asleep, often at inappropriate times and places. Daytime
naps may occur with or without warning and may be irresistible. These naps can
occur several times a day. They are typically refreshing, but only for up to a couple
hours. Drowsiness may persist for prolonged periods of time. In addition, night-time
sleep may be fragmented with frequent wakenings.
Four other classic symptoms of narcolepsy, which may not occur in all patients, are:
• Cataplexy: sudden episodes of loss of muscle function, ranging from slight
weakness (such as limpness at the neck or knees, sagging facial muscles, or
inability to speak clearly) to complete body collapse. Episodes may be
triggered by sudden emotional reactions such as laughter, anger, surprise, or
fear, and may last from a few seconds to several minutes. The person remains
conscious throughout the episode.
• Sleep paralysis: temporary inability to talk or move when waking up. It may
last a few seconds to minutes. Often frightening but not dangerous.
• Hypnagogic hallucinations: vivid, often frightening, dream-like experiences
that occur while dozing, falling asleep and/or while awakening.
• Automatic behavior: Automatic behavior occurs when a person continues to
function (talking, putting things away, etc.) during sleep episodes, but
awakens with no memory of performing such activities. It is estimated that up
to 40 percent of people with narcolepsy experience automatic behavior during
sleep episodes.
sleepiness generally persists throughout life, but sleep paralysis and hypnagogic
hallucinations may not.
In narcolepsy, the order and length of NREM and REM sleep periods are disturbed,
with REM sleep occurring at sleep onset instead of after a period of NREM sleep.
Thus, narcolepsy is a disorder in which REM sleep appears at an abnormal time.
Also, some of the aspects of REM sleep that normally occur only during sleep -- lack
of muscular control, sleep paralysis, and vivid dreams -- occur at other times in
people with narcolepsy. For example, the lack of muscular control can occur during
wakefulness in a cataplexy episode. Sleep paralysis and vivid dreams can occur while
falling asleep or waking up.
Simply put, the brain does not pass through the normal stages of dozing and deep
sleep but goes directly into (and out of) rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This has
several consequences:
• Nighttime sleep does not include much deep sleep, so the brain tries to "catch
up" during the day, hence EDS
• People with narcolepsy fall quickly into what appears to be very deep sleep
• They wake up suddenly and can be disoriented when they do
• They have very vivid dreams, which they often remember
People with narcolepsy may dream even when they only fall asleep for a few seconds.
Causes of narcolepsy
While the cause of narcolepsy has not yet been determined, scientists have discovered
conditions that may increase an individual's risk of having the disorder. Specifically,
there appears to be a strong link between narcoleptic individuals and certain genetic
conditions. One factor that may predispose an individual to narcolepsy involves an
area of Chromosome 6 known as the HLA complex. There appears to be a correlation
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Certain variations in the HLA complex are thought to increase the risk of an auto-
immune response to protein producing neurons in the brain. The protein produced,
called hypocretin or orexin, is responsible for controlling appetite and sleep patterns.
Individuals with narcolepsy often have reduced numbers of these protein producing
neurons in their brains.
The neural control of normal sleep states and the relationship to narcolepsy are only
partially understood. In humans, narcoleptic sleep is characterized by a tendency to
go abruptly from a waking state to REM sleep with little or no intervening non-REM
sleep. The changes in the motor and proprioceptive systems during REM sleep have
been studied in both human and animal models. During normal REM sleep, spinal
and brainstem alpha motor neuron hypopolarization produces almost complete atonia
of skeletal muscles via an inhibitory descending reticulospinal pathway.
Acetylcholine may be one of the neurotransmitters involved in this pathway. In
narcolepsy, the reflex inhibition of the motor system seen in cataplexy is believed
identical to that seen in normal REM sleep.[citation needed]
Prevalence of narcolepsy
It is estimated that there are as many as 3 million people worldwide affected by
narcolepsy. In the United States it is estimated that narcolepsy afflicts as many as
200,000 Americans, but fewer than 50,000 are diagnosed. It is as widespread as
Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis and more prevalent than cystic fibrosis, but it
is less well known. Narcolepsy is often mistaken for depression, epilepsy, or the side
effects of medications.
Narcolepsy can occur in both men and women at any age, although its symptoms are
usually first noticed in teenagers or young adults. There is strong evidence that
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Narcolepsy has its typical onset in adolescence and young adulthood. There is an
average 15-year delay between onset and correct diagnosis, that may contribute
substantially to the disabling features of the disorder. Cognitive, educational,
occupational, and psychosocial problems associated with the excessive daytime
sleepiness of narcolepsy have been documented. For these to occur in the crucial teen
years when education, development of self-image, and development of occupational
choice are taking place is especially damaging. While cognitive impairment does
occur; it may only be a reflection of the excessive daytime somnolence.
The prevalence of narcolepsy in the United States has been estimated to be as high as
one per 1,000. It is a reason for patient visits to sleep disorder centers, and with its
onset in adolescence, it is also a major cause of learning difficulty and absenteeism
from school. Normal teenagers often already experience excessive daytime sleepiness
because of a maturational increase in physiological sleep tendency accentuated by
multiple educational and social pressures; this may be disabling with the addition of
narcolepsy symptoms in susceptible teenagers. In clinical practice, the differentiation
between narcolepsy and other conditions characterized by excessive somnolence may
be difficult. Treatment options are currently limited. There is a paucity in the
literature of controlled double-blind studies of possible effective drugs or other forms
of therapy. Mechanisms of action of some of the few available therapeutic agents
have been explored but detailed studies of mechanisms of action are needed before
new classes of therapeutic agents can be developed.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is relatively easy when all the symptoms of narcolepsy are present. But if
the sleep attacks are isolated and cataplexy is mild or absent, diagnosis is more
difficult.
Two tests that are commonly used in diagnosing narcolepsy are the polysomnogram
and the multiple sleep latency test. These tests are usually performed by a sleep
specialist. The polysomnogram involves continuous recording of sleep brain waves
and a number of nerve and muscle functions during nighttime sleep. When tested,
people with narcolepsy fall asleep rapidly, enter REM sleep early, and may awaken
often during the night. The polysomnogram also helps to detect other possible sleep
disorders that could cause daytime sleepiness.
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For the multiple sleep latency test, a person is given a chance to sleep every 2 hours
during normal wake times. Observations are made of the time taken to reach various
stages of sleep. This test measures the degree of daytime sleepiness and also detects
how soon REM sleep begins. Again, people with narcolepsy fall asleep rapidly and
enter REM sleep early.
Treatment
Several treatments are available for narcolepsy. These treat the symptoms, not the
underlying cause. The drowsiness is normally treated using stimulants such as
methylphenidate (Ritalin®), amphetamines (Adderall®), dextroamphetamine
(Dexedrine®), methamphetamine (Desoxyn®), modafinil (Provigil®), etc. Other
medications used are codeine (see references to clinical studies) and selegiline. In
many cases, planned regular short naps can reduce the need for pharmacological
treatment of the EDS to a low or non-existent level. The cataplexy is treated using
clomipramine, imipramine, or protriptyline but this need only be done in severe cases.
A new medication is gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) (Xyrem®), recently approved
in the USA by the Food and Drug Administration. It is thought to be effective
because it increases the quality of nocturnal sleep.
Ongoing communication among the physician, the person with narcolepsy, and
family members about the response to treatment is necessary to achieve and maintain
the best control.
Research
Studies supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are trying to increase
understanding of what causes narcolepsy and improve physicians' ability to detect and
treat the disease. Scientists are studying narcolepsy patients and families, looking for
clues to the causes, course, and effective treatment of this sleep disorder.
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Recent discovery of families of dogs that are naturally afflicted with narcolepsy has
been of great help in these studies. Some of the specific questions being addressed in
NIH-supported studies are the nature of genetic and environmental factors that might
combine to cause narcolepsy and the immunological, biochemical, physiological, and
neuromuscular disturbances associated with narcolepsy.
Scientists are also working to better understand sleep mechanisms and the physical
and psychological effects of sleep deprivation and to develop better ways of
measuring sleepiness and cataplexy.
While studies in the naturally occurring narcoleptic dog model suggest an autosomal
recessive mode of transmission in that model, genetic analysis of cohorts of
narcoleptic patients and identification of informative families are needed to define the
mode of inheritance and to facilitate the search for gene markers.
Support groups exist to help persons with narcolepsy and their families.
Individuals with narcolepsy, their families, friends, and potential employers should
know that:
Doctors generally agree that lifestyle changes can be very helpful to those suffering
with narcolepsy. Suggested self-care tips, from the National Sleep Foundation,
University at Buffalo, and Mayo Clinic, include:
• Take several short daily naps (10-15 minutes) to combat excessive sleepiness
and sleep attacks.
• Develop a routine sleep schedule – try to go to sleep and awaken at the same
time every day.
• Alert your employers, coworkers and friends in the hope that others will
accommodate your condition and help when needed.
• Do not drive or operate dangerous equipment if you are sleepy. Take a nap
before driving if possible. Consider taking a break for a nap during a long
driving trip.
• Join a support group.
• Break up larger tasks into small pieces and focusing on one small thing at a
time.
• Stand whenever possible.
• Take several short walks during the day.
• Avoid caffeine and nicotine.
• Carry a tape recorder, if possible, to record important conversations and
meetings.
See also
• Cataplexy
• Dyssomnia
• Orexin
• Microsleep
• List of people with narcolepsy
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The phrase is also used in a more general context to mean "a little dose of something
which caused your problems in the first place," can be used to cure the problem. The
phrase may have some roots in the Latin phrase "Similia similibus curantur".
Biological effects
A hangover is due partly to poisoning by alcohol (production of toxins) and other
components of the drink, and partly to the body's reaction to withdrawal from alcohol.
Medically, consuming alcohol may help with mitigating the headache of a hangover
by depressing the central nervous system, and may ameliorate some of the symptoms
of alcohol withdrawal, for example, delirium tremens[1]; but it is not medically
recommended for hangovers, nor for the long term treatment of problems related to
alcohol consumption. Some researchers have suggested that ethanol may help dilute
other alcohols that cause many of the hangover symptoms, but no controlled studies
were carried out.
Generally speaking, physicians do not recommend 'hair of the dog' treatments for
hangovers. [2] Drinking more alcohol can make the symptoms seem to lessen at first,
but will only aggravate the symptoms once the liver breaks the alcohol down, because
the body will have additional toxins to deal with.
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Related concepts
There are parallels with this concept in Homeopathic medicine. However ‘hair of the
dog’ treatment is distinct in that with homeopathic cures only a small amount of the
active ingredient is used, and often the ingredient is different than the causative agent
although it produces similar symptoms.
Treatment notice
Medical professionals should be consulted about the proper treatment for hangovers,
alcohol withdrawal, and withdrawal from other drugs.
Notes
1. ^ "Delirium tremens:Medication" from eMedicineEthanol is effective in
blunting withdrawal symptoms, but it is no longer indicated because of
associated electrolyte abnormalities, potential worsening of gastritis,
hepatitis, and pancreatitis. Ethanol use may promote continued ethanol usage.
2. ^ “Medline:Hangover treatment” National Institute of Health.
3. ^ “Shingles: Hope Through Research”, National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Health.
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Page 340
Gomoku
Gomoku, go-moku, or gobang (Japanese: 五目並べ, Gomoku Narabe, "five points")
is an abstract strategy board game. It is traditionally played with go pieces (black and
white stones) on a go board (19x19 intersections); however, because once placed
pieces are not moved or removed from the board, gomoku may also be played as a
Paper and pencil game.
Black plays first, and players alternate in placing a stone of their color on an empty
intersection. The winner is the first player to get an unbroken row of five stones
horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Gomoku is known in Korean by its cognate
omok (오목) and in Chinese as "五子棋" (Pinyin: wǔzǐqí).
Example game
This game on the 15×15 board is adapted from the paper "Go-Moku and Threat-
Space Search".
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The opening moves show clearly black's advantage. An open row of three (one that is
not blocked by an opponent's stone at either end) has to be blocked immediately, or
countered with a threat elsewhere on the board. If not blocked or countered, the open
row of three will be extended to an open row of four, which threatens to win in two
ways. White has to block open rows of three at moves 10, 14, 16 and 20, but black
only has to do so at move 9.
Move 20 is a blunder for white (it should have been played next to black 19). Black
can now force a win against any defence by white, starting with move 21.
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There are two forcing sequences for black, depending on whether white 22 is played
next to black 15 or black 21. The diagram on the right shows the first sequence. All
the moves for white are forced (except for 38, but by then it is too late). Such long
forcing sequences are typical in gomoku, and expert players can read out forcing
sequences of 20 to 40 moves rapidly and accurately.
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The diagram on the right shows the second forcing sequence. This diagram shows
why white 20 was a blunder; if it had been next to black 19 (at the position of move
32 in this diagram) then black 31 would not be a threat and so the forcing sequence
would fail.
Variations
Black was long known to have a big advantage, even before L. Victor Allis proved
that black could force a win (see below). So a number of variations are played with
extra rules that aimed to reduce black's advantage.
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Analysis
Computer search by L. Victor Allis has shown that on a 15x15 board, black wins with
perfect play. This applies regardless of whether overlines are considered as wins, but
it assumes that the rule of three and three is not used. It seems very likely that black
wins on larger boards too.
The following recursive algorithm Pseudocode shows how one may develop a
winning strategy for the problem gomoku (in PSPACE – proof not given) – for player
X.
1: Assign X to a position, if X has won (there are five X's in a row) then we have a
winning strategy and exit. If the board is full and no player has won, exit - there is no
winning strategy.
a: Assign O to a position – if the board is full or there are five Os in a row X was
obviously a bad position, go back to 1 and choose another position, otherwise run the
program on the new positions – via recursion, if that fails choose another position X
in step 1.
2: If no assignment in step 1 allows for a ‘winning strategy’ then there isn’t one – ie
X will eventually lose.
See also
• Solved board games
• Go
• Connect6, can be called a revised version of Gomoku, with no "no 3-3's" rule,
etc
• Pente
External links
• Renju International Federation website
Internet Servers
• Pocket-Monkey (tm) - Turn-based Gomoku, Backgammon, and other board
games.
• Kurnik Online Games - A hassle-free, community-supported site of classic
board and card games to play against live opponents.
return
Common Era
This article is about "Before Common Era" (BCE) and "Common Era" (CE). For other
uses of these acronyms, see BCE (disambiguation) or CE
The Common Era (CE), sometimes known as the Current Era or less often referred
to as the Christian Era, is the period of measured time beginning with the year 1 (the
traditional birthdate of Jesus) to the present. The notations CE and BCE (Before the
Common Era or Before the Christian Era) are alternative notations for AD (anno
Page 346
Domini, Latin for "in the year of the Lord") and BC (Before Christ), respectively.
They may also be written C.E. and B.C.E.
The calendar practice prompting the coining of the term common era is the system of
numbering years from the supposed year of birth of Jesus. This system was devised
by the monk Dionysius Exiguus in the year 525, who named it anno Domini. Two
centuries later, the Anglo-Saxon historian Bede used a Latin term (ante incarnationis
dominicae) that is roughly equivalent to the English term before Christ to identify
years before the first year of this era.
The term "common era" is an alternative way of referring to this era. Using this
nomenclature, human beings first walked on the Moon in the year 1969 of the
common era, and the French Revolution is considered to have occurred in year 1789
of the common era.
When used as a replacement for BC/AD notation, the common era is abbreviated as
CE and its years are numerically equivalent to AD years. Similarly, the time before
the common era is written as BCE and is equivalent to BC. Both Common Era
abbreviations are written following the year, thus Aristotle was born in 384 BCE (or
384 BC), and Genghis Khan died in 1227 CE (or AD 1227). As with anno Domini,
the year zero is not used, except for astronomical uses. So 1 CE is immediately
preceded by 1 BCE.
On (rare) occasions, one may find the abbreviation "e.v." or "EV" instead of
"CE";[citation needed] this stands for "Era Vulgaris", the Latin translation of "Common
Era".
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Origins
According to Peter Daniels (a Cornell University and University of Chicago trained
linguist):
CE and BCE came into use in the last few decades, perhaps originally in Ancient Near
Eastern studies, where (a) there are many Jewish scholars and (b) dating according to a
Christian era is irrelevant. It is indeed a question of sensitivity.
However, the term "common era" has earlier antecedents. A 1716 book by English
Bishop John Prideaux says, "The vulgar era, by which we now compute the years
from his incarnation." In 1835, in his book Living Oracles, Alexander Campbell,
wrote "The vulgar Era, or Anno Domini; the fourth year of Jesus Christ, the first of
which was but eight days." In its article on Chronology, the 1908 Catholic
Encyclopedia uses the sentence: "Foremost among these (dating eras) is that which is
now adopted by all civilized peoples and known as the Christian, Vulgar or Common
Era, in the twentieth century of which we are now living."
"Vulgar" comes from the Latin word vulgāris (from vulgus, the common people),
meant "of or belonging to the common people, everyday," and acknowledges that the
date was commonly used, even by people who did not believe that Jesus was divine.
By the late 1800s, however, vulgar had come to mean "crudely indecent" and the
Latin word was replaced by its English equivalent, "common".
The first known Jewish use of this practice is from an inscription on a gravestone in a
Jewish cemetery in Plymouth, England:
Here is buried his honour Judah ben his honour Joseph, a prince and honoured
amongst philanthropists, who executed good deeds, died in his house in the City of
Bath, Tuesday, and was buried here on Sunday, 19 Sivan in the year 5585. In memory
of Lyon Joseph Esq (merchant of Falmouth, Cornwall). who died at Bath June AM
5585/VE 1825. Beloved and respected.
This inscription uses the Hebrew calendar (5585), but ends by providing the common
year (1825); presumably the "VE" means "Vulgar Era", and presumably VE was used
instead of AD in order to avoid the Christian implications.
Usage
Many Jewish writers, Islamic scholars, and others prefer the notation's neutrality,
while some Christians have used the term CE to mean "Christian Era." Jehovah's
Witnesses exclusively use CE and BCE in their publications, generally explaining in
footnotes that the terms stand for "Common Era" and "Before the Common Era". [2]
Some non-religious academics in the fields of history, theology, archaeology,
sociology and anthropology have also in recent decades begun using this system.
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More visible uses of common era notation have recently surfaced at major museums
in the English-speaking world: The Smithsonian Institution prefers Common Era
usage, though individual museums are not required to use it.[3] Furthermore, several
style guides now prefer or mandate its usage.[4][5][6][7][8] Even some style guides for
Christian churches mandate its use: For example, that of the Episcopal Diocese of
Maryland.[9]
In the United States, the usage of the BCE/CE notation in textbooks is growing. It is
used by the College Board in its history tests[10], as well as by some National
Geographic Society publications[11], and the United States Naval Observatory.[12] The
U.S.-based History Channel uses BCE/CE notation in articles on non-Christian
religious topics such as Jerusalem and Judaism[13][14] and the unusual combination of
BC and CE in other cases.[15]
Support
Supporters of common era notation promote it as a religiously-neutral notation suited
for cross-cultural use.
Opposition
Efforts to replace AD/BC notation with CE/BCE notation have given rise to
opposition. Arguments against the common era designation include:
• BC and AD have been used for such a length of time as to have become
somewhat removed from their religious connotations.[16]
• The newer BCE/CE system has not been used widely enough to have become
commonly understood.[16]
• Some argue against the BCE/CE system because it retains year 1 as its epoch
and so preserves a Christocentric worldview. These people hold that a more
massive change in the calendar is needed, one that would change every
date.[16]
• BCE/CE fails to fix one of the primary problems with the Christian calendar,
the lack of a year "0". 1 BC should become the year 0, 2 BC should become 1
BC, et cetera. [16]
• As there is no equally forceful trend to remove other terms with origins in
non-Christian religions (such as days of the week named after Norse gods),
some argue that movement to replace BC and AD is specifically anti-
Christian. Conversely, Roman and Norse religious references are perhaps of
less concern because they are dead religions and so do not elevate one
population over another.[16]
• The Indian national calendar (also the Saka calendar) is the official civil
calendar in use in India. Years are counted in the Saka Era, which starts its
year 0 in 78. 2006 is therefore 1928 in India.
• The Islamic calendar dates from the Hijra in 622 using a lunar year of about
354 days (so the Western year 2000 contains parts of 1420 AH and 1421 AH);
• The Bahá'í calendar dates from the year of the declaration of the Báb. Years
are counted in the Bahá'í Era (BE), which starts its year 1 from March 21,
1844.
• The Japanese calendar dates from the succession of the current Emperor of
Japan. The current emperor took the throne in 1989, which became Heisei 1,
but which was until then Shōwa 63.
• The Jalaali calendar, a form of the Zoroastrian calendar, is used in Iran. This
uses the Zoroastrian months, with the starting year taken from the Hijra in
622—thus the year 1385 begins in March 2006. The spring equinox marks the
beginning of the year for this calendar.
• The French Revolutionary Calendar was used in Revolutionary France from
October 24, 1793 (on the Gregorian calendar) to January 1, 1806. Years were
counted using the Republican era from September 22, 1792 starting with year
I.
• The Neo-Pagan Calendars include that used by many pagan religions today,
often called the Wheel of the Year.[citation needed]
• The Roman Calendar, which is virtually extinct, dated years from the
mythological founding of Rome, 21 April 753 BC. The first year was thus 1
AUC (ab urbe condita or anno urbis conditae; "from the city being founded",
or "in the year of the foundation of the city"). Reckoning days by this calendar
is complex and no longer in use, but the calendar continues on today as 2759
AUC in 2006.
• The Discordian calendar follows the CE numbering plus 1166. Presumable
because of the Curse of Greyface that occurred in 1166 BCE. As a reference,
2006 is 3172 YOLD (Year of Our Lady of Discord) in the Discordian
calendar.
See also
• Calendar reform
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Page 351
Tsume-Shogi
Tsume are to Shogi what mating problems are to European chess - there are a few
differences but it would not be stretching a point too far to describe tsume as 'shogi
mating problems'. My favourite selection of tsume shogi problems is on the Shogi
Nexus Page.
Tsume are an important part of Shogi, particularly if you can't find opponents very
often - they allow you to 'practice' on your own.
The rules for tsume are really quite simple - here they are:
1. The attacking side is always black, the defending side white
2. Black has only the pieces shown on the board, plus those in hand. White is
deemed to have all other pieces (except the black king) available for dropping.
3. As Black is attacking, the black king is not shown on the board.
4. Black has first move, and all moves must be check. White may defend by
moving the king, taking the checking piece, or interposing a piece, either by a
normal move or a drop.
5. The 'best' move must always be made by each side. What this means is that
black must always make the move which will lead to the shortest exchange, of
moves before mating and white must make that move which delays the mate
for as long as possible.
6. In the final position, when White is checkmated, Black should no longer have
any pieces in hand.
7. Moves are numbered in the Japanese fashion, ie: black's first move is 1,
white's first move is 2, etc. Move numbers are often not shown.
8. Tsume are usually displayed as taking place at the 'upper right hand corner' of
the board.
Ascii Board representations are painful, so I won't bother with them here, but will
present a problem in a standard notation which is described in more detail below.
That is, Black has a promoted bishop on 3d a pawn on 2e and a rook in hand. White
has the king at 1c, a bishop at 2b, a gold at 1e and a lance at 1a (and in hand all pieces
not shown except for the black king).
Here is the solution:
Set the problem up on your board and play through the solution. This should give you
a little feel for what tsume are all about. Remember, every move by black must be a
check.
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Now, here are a few more notes on tsume. They repeat (far more eloquently) much of
what I have said above and were contributed by Reijer Grimbergen (who also
contributed about 300 tsume to the SHOGI-L mailing list).
Tsume Shogi skill progresses as you move through the book. I started tsume shogi
with a book by Kato, containing 180 tsume problems (unfortunately this book is now
out of print). At the start I had a very difficult time, but going through the book I was
amazed at the beautiful themes used in tsume and I began to like it more and more.
Shortly after finishing this book I became sho-dan, winning more than one game in a
close endgame fight.
Reijer Grimbergen
Here are a few more notes on tsume which I received from Hans Geuns.
I have received a letter from Mr Onogi of NSR which leaves the copyright situation
with respect to the problems I used to display here (i.e., those contributed by Reijer
Grimbergen) unclear - so I have removed access to the tsume. Anyone requiring
further information should contact me by email. Here is another resource which
contain tsume-shogi problems: Ricoh Tsume Shogi Page.
return
Manzai (tsukkomi)
Manzai (漫才) is a style of stand-up comedy in Japan, which usually involves two
performers—a straight man (tsukkomi) and a funny man (boke)—trading jokes at
great speed. Most of the jokes revolve around mutual misunderstandings, double-talk,
puns and other verbal gags.
In recent times, manzai has often been associated with the Osaka region, and manzai
comedians often speak in the Kansai dialect during their acts. Yoshimoto Kogyo, a
large entertainment conglomerate based in Osaka, first coined the term manzai in
1933, as well as introducing the form of comedy to Tokyoites.
History
Originally based around a festival to welcome the New Year, manzai traces its origins
back to the Heian period. The two manzai performers came with messages from the
gods and this was worked into a standup routine, with one performer showing some
sort of opposition to the word of the other. This pattern still exists in the roles of the
boke and the tsukkomi.
Continuing into the Edo period, the style focused increasingly on the humor aspects
Page 355
of stand-up, and various regions of Japan developed their own unique styles of
manzai, such as Owari manzai (尾張万歳), Mikawa manzai (三河万歳), and Yamato
manzai (大和万歳). With the arrival of the Meiji Period, Osaka manzai (大阪万才)
began changes that would see it surpass in popularity the styles of the former period,
although at the time rakugo was still considered the more popular form of
entertainment.
The spread of manzai was largely put to a halt after the conclusion of World War II.
With the end of the Taisho Era, Yoshimoto Kōgyō—which itself was founded at the
beginning of the era, in 1912—introduced a new style of manzai lacking much of the
celebration that had accompanied it in the past. This new style proved successful and
spread all over Japan, including Tokyo. Riding on the waves of new communication
technology, manzai quickly spread through the mediums of stage, radio, and
eventually, TV.
Etymology
The kanji for manzai have been written in various ways throughout the ages.
Originally written as 萬歳 (meaning something like "long life"), using a rather
archaic form of the character 万 (to which it was soon changed), the arrival of Osaka
manzai brought another character change, this time changing the latter character to a
simpler 才, which carries the basic meaning of "talent".
External links
• A study in the cultural effects of manzai
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Page 356
Diamond Game
Diamond Game seems to be what the Japanese call Chinese Checkers. However, I
couldn't find anything about how a single-player game would go. I guess it would be
something like Peg Solitaire [3]. The box in the anime seems to based on the product
by Hanayama Toys (Magnetic King Diamond).
Hanayama Toys Chinese Checkers Wiki
return
Hikikomori
Hikikomori (ひきこもり or 引き篭り lit. "pulling away, being confined," i.e.,
"acute social withdrawal") is a term to refer to the phenomenon of reclusive and
young adults who have chosen to withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme
degrees of and confinement due to various personal and social factors in their lives.
The term "hikikomori" refers to both the sociological phenomenon in general as well
as to individuals belonging to this societal group.
Definition
The Japanese Ministry of Health defines hikikomori as individuals who refuse to
leave their parents' house, and isolate themselves away from society and family in a
single room for a period exceeding six months. While the distinctiveness of the
phenomenon is varying depending on the individual, some of such youths remain in
isolation for a span of years, or in rare cases, decades. Many hikikomori may start out
as school refusals, or tōkōkyohi (登校拒否) in Japanese.
Situation
Japan
According to estimates by psychologist Tamaki Saito, who first coined the phrase,
there may be one million hikikomori in Japan, twenty percent of all male adolescents
in Japan, or one percent of the total Japanese population. Surveys done by the
Japanese Ministry of Health as well as research done by health care experts suggest a
more conservative estimate of 50,000 hikikomori in Japan today. As reclusive youth
by their very nature are difficult to poll, the true number of hikikomori most likely
Page 357
Worldwide
While total social withdrawal seems to be mainly a Japanese phenomenon, there are
reports of similar phenomena developing in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Still, with the appearance of NEET in the United Kingdom and Twixters in the
United States in recent years, there are indications that hikikomori may be part of a
larger global phenomena in affluent and highly developed Post-Industrial countries,
although specific causes may differ from the Japanese phenomenon.
Causes
General Causes
Sometimes referred to as a kind of social problem in Japanese discourse, the
hikikomori phenomenon has a number of possible contributing factors. Young adults
may feel overwhelmed by modern Japanese society, or be unable to fulfill their
expected social roles as they have not yet formulated a sense of personal tatemae (the
public facade) and hon'ne (the "true self") – both of which are needed to cope with the
daily paradoxes of adulthood.
The dominant nexus of the hikikomori issue centers on the transformation from
young life to the responsibilities and expectations of adult life — indications are that
advanced capitalist societies such as modern Japan are unable to provide sufficient
meaningful transformation rituals for promoting certain susceptible types of youth
into mature roles within society.
As with many advanced capitalist meritocracies, there exists a great deal of pressure
on adolescents in Japan to be successful and perpetuate the existing social status-quo.
A traditionally strong emphasis on complex social conduct, rigid hierarchies and the
resulting, potentially intimidating multitude of social expectations, responsibilities
and duties in Japanese society contribute to this pressure on young adults.
Lastly, it should be noted that the hikikomori phenomenon is similar to the symptoms
exhibited by people with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome in western cultures.
Significantly, Japan has the highest incidence of Pervasive Developmental Disorders,
that include Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, in the developed world. In Japan,
PPD’s are some 2.95 times more common then in western countries; 2.1% v’s ca. 0.7
%. Some 3.3% of Japanese males have a PDD compared with only ca. 1% in Europe
and the US. This has led some western commentators to suggest that people with
hikikomori are affected by PDD’s or disorders that affect social competence, but that
their disorders e.g. Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Avoidant Personality Disorder, are
altered from their typical western presentation by the social and cultural pressures
unique to Japan.
from parents and the society in general to conform to its dictates and doctrines. These
doctrines, while part of modern Japanese society, are increasingly being rejected by
Japanese youth in varying ways such as hikikomori, freeter, NEET, and parasite
singles.
Since 1996, the Japanese Ministry of Education has taken steps to address this
'pressure-cooker' educational environment and instill greater creative thought in
Japanese youth by significantly relaxing the school schedule from six day weeks to
five day weeks and dropping two subjects from the daily schedule, with new
academic curricula more comparable to Western educational models. However this
may be too little too late, as highly competitive Japanese parents are sending their
children to private cram schools to 'make up' for the newly lax curricula in the
Japanese public schools.
After graduating from high school or university, Japanese adolescents also have to
face a very difficult job market in Japan, often finding only part time employment and
ending up as freeters with little income, unable to start a family.
Another source of pressure is from their co-students, who may harass and bully some
students for a variety of reasons, including physical appearance (especially if they are
overweight or have severe acne problems), educational or athletic performance,
wealth, ethnicity, or even having lived overseas even for a short time. Some have
been punished for bullying or truancy, bringing shame to their families.
Symptoms
While many people feel the pressure of the outside world, and may feel
uncomfortable in public (or "social anxiety"), a hikikomori reacts by complete social
withdrawal to avoid all outside pressure. In some cases, they may lock themselves
into their bedroom or another room of their parent's house for prolonged periods of
time, sometimes measured in years. They usually have few, or no friends. A
hikikomori's days are characterized by long spells of sleeping, while their nighttime
hours are often spent watching TV, extensively playing computer games, surfing the
internet, reading, or other non-social activities.
Page 360
This refusal to participate in society and fulfill their expected roles makes hikikomori
an extreme subset of a much larger group of the younger Japanese generation that
includes parasite singles and freeters. All three groups seem to be rejecting the current
social norms society has placed upon them in their own unique ways, with lifestyles
considered deviant by society at large.
The withdrawal from society usually starts gradually. Affected individuals may
appear unhappy, lose their friends, become insecure, shy, and talk less. Those in their
teen ages may be bullied at school, which, atop the already high pressures of school
and family, may be the final trigger for the withdrawal.
Hikikomori often set their own sleep schedule, waking around noon and going to bed
in early morning. While they are awake, they may engage in a variety of activities
shared with other people of their age, including listening to music, surfing the internet
or actively posting in internet forums like 2channel, which has become famous for its
hikikomori population. While hikikomori favor indoor activities, most of them do
venture outdoors on occasion, though they may prefer to do that at night.
Effects
On the individual
The lack of social contact and prolonged solitude has a profound effect on the
mentality of the hikikomori, who gradually lose their social skills and the social
references and mores necessary to interact with the outside world. They may immerse
themselves into the fantasy worlds of manga, television or computer games, which in
turn become their only frame of reference. Due to a lack of interpersonal stimulus the
hikikomori may developmentally stagnate into routine behaviors as time passes,
sleeping all day and staying up all night only to sneak out into the kitchen for food
when the family is asleep. In extreme cases, the hikikomori eventually abandons all
diversions of books and TV and simply stares into space for hours at a time.
Should a hikikomori decide to give up his seclusion, whether on his own or through
the aid of a care worker, they may face the problem of lacking social skills and years
of education that their peers already possess through normal daily interaction with
society. Also making reentry into society difficult is the recent social stigma that has
come to be attached to the condition due to mass media attention since 1998. As a
result, some former hikikomori might be afraid that others will discover their past,
adding to their feeling of insecurity around people, especially strangers, in how they
should act. Also detrimental is the fact they lack a work history, making anything
beyond menial jobs difficult to acquire.
On the family
Having a hikikomori in the family is often considered embarrassing, so usually it is
Page 361
acknowledged as an internal private matter of the family, and many parents wait for a
long time before seeking help by a third party within the hikikomori support industry.
Also, in Japan the education of the children is traditionally done by the mother, and
the father may leave the problem of a hikikomori to the mother, who feels very
protective of her child. Initially, most parents simply wait and hope that the child will
eventually overcome his problems and return to society by his own will. They see it
as a phase the child has to overcome. Also, many parents are uncertain about what to
do with a hikikomori, and wait simply due to lack of other options. An aggressive
approach by the parents forcing the child back into society is usually not taken or
only after a considerable waiting period.
In some cases, school homeroom teachers and social workers make inquiries, but
usually do not get involved with the situation. In recent years, due to widespread
media attention, having a family member who is a hikikomori has come to have a
social stigma attached to the condition akin to mental illness. Due to this stigma and
the resultant shame, many families strive to keep their child's hikikomori condition a
secret from those in the community, thus further delaying parents from seeking
outside intervention for their child.
Controversy
Part of the reason that hikikomori gained worldwide attention was the fact that the
media attributed a number of high profile crimes to hikikomori. In 2000, a 17 year old
labeled as a hikikomori by the press hijacked a bus and killed one passenger. In fact,
it was discovered later that the hijacker was originally a hikikomori but his parents
didn’t know how to deal with him, so they admitted him to a mental hospital for two
months of observation. Allegedly, the boy felt betrayed by his parents as a result of
his hospital admission, and some argue that the violence during the bus hijacking was
directed at his mother by proxy. In the coming days, the media reported other
extremely violent cases as perpetrated by hikikomori, such as one man who
kidnapped nine year old Sano Fusako and held her captive for nine years and two
months, The Girl A case, or Tsutomu Miyazaki who in 1989 killed 4 girls to reenact
scenes of his pornographic hentai manga. As a result of the media spotlight, a great
social stigma of hikikomori being violent and mentally ill came to be attached to the
condition that exists to this day.
In 2004, 29-year old Japanese-Dutch film school student Danyael Sugawara[1] made
a film based on hikikomori called “Tamago". IMDB page of "Tamago"
The hikikomori's fear of the social pressure and the inability to effect change in their
situation may turn into frustration or even anger— some hikikomori have even
physically attacked their parents, though most of the time anger manifests in other
ways such as nightly harassment by banging on walls while the rest of the family
sleeps.
Page 362
This hostility often arises when parents continue to exert pressure on the hikikomori
to come out of their rooms after many months of isolation, despite the fact a status
quo has been allowed to develop between the parents, usually the mother, and the
hikikomori. This status quo, called the Strange Peace, occurs because parents
passively allow their child to stay withdrawn and has many reasons but mostly
centers on an amae relationship between mother and son, the fear and social stigma of
the local community knowing the family has a hikikomori, and the simple notion that
it is better to have the child in the house even in isolation than as a runaway.
It was initially argued in the mass media when hikikomori came into public spotlight
that the loss of a social frame of reference might also lead hikikomori to commit
violent or criminal behaviors. However, it has been argued by hikikomori experts that
‘true hikikomori’ are too socially withdrawn and timid to venture outside of their
rooms, let alone venture outside the home and attack someone. If hikikomori
physically attack anyone, it is usually confined to family members.
Western youths who feel similar social pressures or bullying from peers and adults
may become depressed, withdraw similar to hikikomori, or even lash out with hate
and aggression. In some instances of the latter, their actions may escalate to the
extreme, such as in the arson committed by June and Jennifer Gibbons, the deadly
violence of Columbine High School massacre and Red Lake High School massacre in
the United States, or the Erfurt massacre in Erfurt, Germany.
Reaction
Treatment
There are different opinions about the treatment of a hikikomori, and the opinions
often split into a Japanese and a western point of view. Japanese experts usually
suggest waiting until the hikikomori reemerges, whereas western doctors suggest
dragging the hikikomori back into society, by force if necessary.
While there are a growing number of doctors and clinics specialized in helping
hikikomori, many hikikomori and their parents still feel a lack of support for their
problems on an institutional level and feel that society at large has been slow to react
to the hikikomori crisis. In the last several years, a hikikomori support industry has
sprung up in Japan, each with its own style or philosophy in treating hikikomori
cases. Despite this diversity, there seem to be two general camps for treatment:
1. The psychological approach suggests psychological help is needed for these
isolated young people, as many parents are overwhelmed with the problems of
a hikikomori child whom they don’t understand. The standard psychological
approach to hikikomori behavior in a youth is to treat the condition as a
behavioral or mental disorder and so admit the child to a hospital ward in
order to administer counseling, observation, and drug therapy using standard
institutional procedures.
Page 363
Acceptance
In contrast to the approach of treatment, some may argue that the Hikikomori status is
a personal personality style or choice of living to be accepted, or resolved, within the
respective families, as long as this choice is not leading to criminal or violent
behaviour affecting others. As there is a certain tendency in societies, especially
traditionally conformist ones like the Japanese society, to label individuals or
minority groups deviating from the perceived norm, be it physical, social,
psychological or sexual, "pathologically ill" and calling for their cure, i.e. re-
alignment with the mainstream, there must be a careful examination regarding the
actual wishes of the individual in comparison to the alleged harm to society (also see
Asperger Syndrome and Schizoid Personality Disorder regarding the treatment vs.
acceptance issue).
See also
Related Japanese topics
• Amae
Page 364
• Education in Japan
• Freeters
• NEET
• Nevada-tan
• Otaku
• Parasite singles
• Taijin kyofusho
Medical diagnoses for hikikomori behaviors
• Agoraphobia
• Asperger's syndrome
• Attention-Deficit-Disorder (ADD)
• Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD)
• Avoidant personality disorder
• Delayed sleep phase syndrome
• Depression
• Dysthymia
• Isolation
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Schizoid personality disorder
• Selective mutism
• Shyness
• Social anxiety disorder
See also
• Kairo (a.k.a. Pulse) - 2001 film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa which comments about
this behavior in Japan
• School refusal
• Secondary school
• Twixter
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Page 365
May Sickness
五月病 (GOGATSUBYO, May Sickness, May Disease, May Blues) is a "sickness"
that a number Japanese experience every year. April is the beginning of the new
school and fiscal years. People are even busier than normal doing taxes, getting kids
ready for school (ceremonies, exams, placements and whatnot) and then there's
spring, the cherry blossoms, then the week of national holidays; busy again. Come
May, they start to slow down back to a normal routine and all of a sudden they feel
very unmotivated, lost, hopeless etc. All the goals and dreams they thought of in
April are squashed and they get depressed. Spring is ending, and people see that the
trees are turning green and summer is already on its way.
Some blog... doesn't exist anymore, I think
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Salome
For other uses of Salome and Salomé, see Salome (disambiguation)
Flavius Josephus
The name "Salome" is preserved in Josephus' Jewish Antiquities (Book XVIII,
Chapter 5, 4):
Herodias, [...], was married to Herod, the son of Herod the Great, who was born of
Mariamne, the daughter of Simon the high priest, who had a daughter, Salome; after whose
birth Herodias took upon her to confound the laws of our country, and divorced herself from
her husband while he was alive, and was married to Herod, her husband's brother by the
father's side, he was tetrarch of Galilee; but her daughter Salome was married to Philip, the
son of Herod, and tetrarch of Trachonitis; and as he died childless, Aristobulus, the son of
Herod, the brother of Agrippa, married her; they had three sons, Herod, Agrippa, and
Aristobulus;[1]
Biblical character
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist by Titian, painted circa 1515 (Galleria Doria
Pamphilj, Rome)
Salome was the step-daughter of Herod Antipas, and danced before Herod and her
mother Herodias at the occasion of Herod's birthday, and by doing so caused the
death of John the Baptist. The New Testament suggests that Salome caused John to
be executed because of his complaints that Herod's marriage to Herodias was
adulterous; and that Herodias put her up to the demand that John be executed,
something the king was initially reluctant to do. According to Mark 6:21-29:
And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a
supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the
daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and
Page 367
them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever
thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou
shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went
forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of
John the Baptist.
And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I
will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes
which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an
executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and
beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to
the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples
heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. (KJV)
This Salome is not the same Salome who is said to be a witness to the Crucifixion of
Jesus in Mark 15:40. (see Salome (disciple)).
Painting
This Biblical story has long been a favourite of painters, since it offers a chance to
depict oriental splendour, semi-nude women, and exotic scenery under the auspices of
being a Biblical subject. Painters who have done notable representations of Salome
include Titian and Gustave Moreau.
"The Peacock Skirt", illustration by Aubrey Beardsley for Oscar Wilde's play
Salome
Page 368
This story was made the subject of a play by Oscar Wilde that premiered in Paris in
1896, under the French name Salomé. In Wilde's play, Salome takes a perverse fancy
for John the Baptist, and causes him to be executed when John spurns her affections.
In the finale, Salome takes up John's severed head and kisses it. Because British law
forbade the depiction of Biblical characters on stage, Wilde wrote the play originally
in French, and then produced an English translation (titled Salome). Wilde's French
was far from perfect: the play was proofread and corrected by Marcel Schwob. In the
English version Alfred Bruce Douglas (Bosie) is indicated as translator.
Opera
Strauss
Main article: Salome (opera)
The Wilde play (in German translation) was turned into an opera by Richard Strauss,
part of the standard operatic repertoire, and is now better known than the Wilde play
itself. The opera Salome, which premiered in Dresden in 1905, is famous for the
Dance of the seven veils.
Massenet
Main article: Hérodiade
The 1881 opera Hérodiade by Jules Massenet tells a slightly different story of the
relationship between Salome, John the Baptist and Herod. The rather sub-standard
libretto by Paul Milliet, Gremont and Zamadini based upon the novella Herodias by
Gustave Flaubert (published in Three Tales, 1877) gives full responsibility for John's
death to Salome's mother Herodias and the priests who fear his religious power.
Salome herself is shown as a loving disciple of John who commits suicide when he is
executed.
Films
Wilde's Salome has at least twice been made into a film: a 1923 silent film starring
Alla Nazimova in the title role (see Salomé (1923 film)) and a 1988 Ken Russell play-
within-a-film treatment, Salome's Last Dance, which also includes Wilde and Lord
Alfred Douglas (Bosie) as characters.
IMDB lists at least 25 Salome/Salomé films, and numerous resettings of the Salome
story to modern times. Among the former are
Page 369
• a 1918 Salomé movie, starring Theda Bara, for which Flavius Josephus was
credited for the story;
• a 1953 film starring Rita Hayworth;
• a 2002 film by Carlos Saura using flamenco dance.
See also
• Dance of the seven veils
• List of names for the Biblical nameless
return
Warabi-Mochi
Warabi-Mochi(ワラビ餅)is not true mochi, but a jelly-like confection made from
bracken starch and covered or dipped in kinako (sweet toasted soybean flour). It is
popular in the summertime, and often sold from trucks, not unlike ice cream trucks in
Western countries.
return
Page 370
Tatami
Tatami (畳 tatami, Tatami) (originally meaning "folded and piled") are a traditional
flooring. Made of woven , and traditionally packed with straw (though nowadays
sometimes with ), tatami are made in individual mats of uniform size and shape,
bordered by brocade or plain green cloth.
Tatami were originally a luxury item for the wealthy at a time when most people had
floors made of dirt.
There are various rules concerning the number and layout of tatami mats; an
inauspicious layout is said to bring bad fortune. In homes, the mats must not be laid in
a grid pattern, and in any layout there is never a point where the corners of three or
four mats intersect.
Page 371
In Japan, the size of a room is typically measured by the number of tatami mats (-畳 -
jō). The traditional dimensions of the mats were fixed at 90 cm by 180 cm (1.62
square meters) by 5 cm (35.5 in by 71 in by 2 in). Half mats, 90 cm by 90 cm (35.5 in
by 35.5 in) are also made. Shops were traditionally designed to be 5½ mats (8.91m²),
and tea rooms and tea houses are frequently 4½ mats (7.29m²). Because the size is
fixed, rooms in traditional Japanese construction measure in multiples of 90 cm. Mats
from Kyoto and other parts of western Japan are slightly smaller than those from
Tokyo and eastern Japan at 85 cm by 170 cm (1.53m²; 33.5 in by 70.5 in).
Page 372
Use
Tatami mats are associated with Japanese religious rites and the tea ceremony. Most
modern Japanese homes still have at least one tatami room, the washitsu.
Tatami are also used when training Japanese martial arts, such as judo, for protective
purposes.
Tatami "omote", or the outside rush mat layer, wrapped over the rice straw core of the
mat, is used in the practice of tameshigiri in Japanese swordsmanship. The tatami
omote mats are rolled into cylinders, soaked in water for several days, and then cut in
order to test either a newly made sword's sharpness or a swordsman's cutting ability.
See also
• 1 E0 m²
return
Page 373
return
Shinkansen
The Shinkansen (Japanese: 新幹線) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan
operated by Japan Railways. Since the initial Tōkaidō Shinkansen opened in 1964,
the network has expanded to link most major cities on the islands of Honshu and
Kyushu with running speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph), in an earthquake and
typhoon prone environment. Test run speeds have been 443km/h (275 mph) for
conventional rail, and up to 580 km/h (360 mph) for maglev trainsets.
Shinkansen literally means "New Trunk Line" and hence strictly speaking refers only
to the tracks, while the trains themselves are officially referred to as "Super Express"
(超特急 chō-tokkyū); however, this distinction is rarely made even in Japan. In
contrast to older lines, Shinkansen are standard gauge, and use tunnels and viaducts to
go through and over obstacles, rather than around them.
300 (Left) and 700 Series Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station,
Shinkansen at Tokyo Station March 2005
Page 374
History
Shinkansen track is standard gauge, extremely level, and has rails that are continuously
welded together to reduce vibration.
Japan was the first country to build dedicated railway lines for high speed travel. Due
to the largely mountainous nature of the country, the pre-existing network consisted
of 3 ft 6 in gauge (1,067 mm) narrow gauge lines, which generally took indirect
routes and could not be adapted to higher speeds. In consequence, Japan had a greater
need for new high speed lines than countries where the existing standard gauge or
broad gauge rail system had more upgrade potential.
Early proposals
The popular English name bullet train is a Western translation of the Japanese term
dangan ressha (弾丸列車), a nickname given to the project while it was initially
being discussed in the 1930s. The name stuck due to the Shinkansen locomotive's
close resemblance to a round-shaped bullet and its high speed.
The "Shinkansen" name was first formally used in 1940 for a proposed standard
gauge passenger/freight line between Tokyo and Shimonoseki, using steam and
electric locomotives with a top speed of 200 km/h (twice the speed of the fastest
Japanese train at the time). Over the next three years, the Ministry of Railways drew
up more ambitious plans to extend the line to Beijing (through a tunnel to Korea) and
even Singapore, and build connections to the Trans-Siberian Railway and other trunk
lines in Asia. These plans were formally abandoned in 1943, as Japan's position in
World War II began to visibly erode. However, some construction did commence on
the line; several tunnels on the present-day Shinkansen date to the war-era project.
Construction
Following Japan's defeat in 1945, high-speed rail was forgotten for several years.
However, by the mid-1950's, the Tokaido Main Line was operating at full passenger
capacity, and the Ministry of Railways decided to revisit the Shinkansen project.
Government approval came in 1958, and construction of the first segment of the
Tōkaidō Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka started in 1959. Much of the
construction was financed by a US$80 million loan from the World Bank. A testing
facility for rolling stock, now part of the line, opened in Odawara in 1962.
The Tokaido Shinkansen opened on October 1, 1964, just in time for the Tokyo
Olympics. It was an immediate success, reaching the 100 million passenger mark in
less than three years on July 13, 1967 and one billion passengers in 1976. Sixteen-car
trains were introduced for Expo '70 in Osaka.
The first Shinkansen trains ran at speeds of up to 200 km/h (125 mph), later increased
to 220 km/h (135 mph); some of these trains, with their classic bullet-nosed
appearance, are still in use. A driving car from one of the original trains is now in the
British National Railway Museum in York.
Network expansion
This early success prompted an extension of the first line westward to Hiroshima and
Fukuoka (the Sanyo Shinkansen), which was completed in 1975.
Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was an ardent supporter of the Shinkansen, and his
government proposed an extensive network of lines paralleling most existing trunk
lines in Japan. Two new lines, the Tohoku Shinkansen and Joetsu Shinkansen, were
built following this plan. However, many other planned lines were either delayed or
scrapped entirely as the national railway went further into debt, largely due to the
high costs of building the Shinkansen network. By the early 1980's, Japan National
Railways was practically insolvent, leading to its privatization in 1987.
Since 1970, development has also been underway for the Chūō Shinkansen, a maglev
train planned to eventually run from Tokyo to Osaka. On December 2, 2003, the 3 car
maglev trainset reached a world speed record of 581 km/h (361 mph).
In 2003, JR Central reported that the Shinkansen's average arrival time was within 0.1
minutes or 6 seconds of the scheduled time. This includes all natural and human
accidents and errors and is calculated from all of about 160,000 trips Shinkansen
Page 376
made. The previous record was from 1997 and was 0.3 minutes or 18 seconds. Japan
celebrated 40 years of high speed rail in 2004, with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen line
alone having carried 4.16 billion passengers. According to Japanrail.com, the total
network has carried over 6 billion passengers.
Safety record
There have been no passenger fatalities associated with operation of the Shinkansen.
There have been many injuries and one fatality due to doors closing on passengers or
their belongings, but attendants are on hand at each platform to ensure that these are
resolved before operation begins.
There have been suicides by passengers jumping both from and in front of moving
trains. This has resulted in some stations installing barriers preventing passengers
from accessing the tracks, although an incident on January 9, 1999 at Sakudaira
Station on the Nagano Shinkansen showed that even these would not stop determined
suicides: a man climbed over a safety barrier to be hit by a non-stop service.
The first derailment of a Shinkansen train in passenger service occurred during the
Chūetsu Earthquake on October 23, 2004. Eight of ten cars of the Toki No. 325 train
on the Jōetsu Shinkansen derailed near Nagaoka Station in Nagaoka, Niigata.
However, there were no injuries or deaths among the 154 passengers.[1] In the event
of an earthquake, an earthquake detection system can bring the train to a stop very
quickly; the next generation FASTECH 360 trains will have ear-like air resistance
braking flaps to assist in an emergency stop at high speeds.
Future
Due to noise pollution concerns, increasing speed is becoming more difficult. Current
research is primarily aimed at reducing operational noise, particularly the "tunnel
boom" phenomenon caused when trains enter tunnels at high speed. Despite this,
there are two planned speed increases, one to 350 km/h (217 mph) for new trains on
the Sanyō line, and one to 360 km/h (223 mph) using the FASTECH 360 trains
currently in testing on the Tōhoku Shinkansen.
The Kyushu Shinkansen from Kagoshima to Yatsushiro opened in March 2004. Three
more extensions are planned for opening by 2010: Hakata-Yatsushiro, Hachinohe-
Aomori, and by 2014: Nagano-Kanazawa. There are also long-term plans to extend
the network, Hokkaidō Shinkansen from Aomori to Sapporo (through the Seikan
Tunnel), Kyushu Shinkansen to Nagasaki, and as well as complete a link from
Kanazawa back to Osaka, although none of these are likely to be completed by 2020.
of its planned right-of-way will be utilized by the Narita Rapid Railway link when it
opens in 2010. Although the NRR will use standard gauge track, it will not be built to
Shinkansen specifications and it would not be feasible to convert it into a full
Shinkansen line.
There are two standard gauge not technically classified as Shinkansen lines but with
Shinkansen services:
• Hakata Minami Line (Hakata – Hakata-Minami)
• Gala-Yuzawa Line – technically a branch of the Jōetsu Line – (Echigo-
Yuzawa – Gala-Yuzawa)
Future lines
Many Shinkansen lines were proposed during the boom of the early 1970s but have
yet to be constructed. These are called Seibi Shinkansen (整備新幹線) or "planned
Shinkansen." One of these lines, the Narita Shinkansen to Narita Airport, has been
officially cancelled, but a few remain under development.
• Tōhoku Shinkansen extension from Hachinohe Station to Shin-Aomori is
under construction and will open by 2010.
• Hokuriku Shinkansen extension to Kanazawa is under construction and will
open by 2014. The complete extension of the line to Osaka is under
development, and only Fukui Station is under construction.
• Kyushu Shinkansen extension to Hakata is under construction and will open
by 2010.
• The second Kyushu Shinkansen route from Shin-Tosu to Nagasaki section is
under development.
• The Hokkaidō Shinkansen from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate is under
construction and will open by 2015. A further extension of the line from Shin-
Hakodate to Sapporo is under development.
• Experimental Trains
o 1000 Type
o 951 Type
o 961 Type
o 962 Type
o 500-900 Series (WIN 350)
o 952/953 Type (STAR 21)
o 955 Type (300X)
o E954 Type (FASTECH 360 S)
o E955 Type (FASTECH 360 Z)(Mini-Shinkansen)
• Maintenance Trains
o 911 Type Diesel Locomotive
o 912 Type Diesel Locomotive
o DD18 Type Diesel Locomotive
o DD19 Type Diesel Locomotive
o 944 Type (Rescue Train)
o 921 Type 0 Numbers (Track Checking Car)
o 922 Type (Doctor Yellow Set T1, T2, T3)
o 923 Type (Doctor Yellow Set T4, T5)
o 925 Type (Doctor Yellow Set S1, S2)
o E926 Type (East i)(Mini-Shinkansen)
Hayate
Yamabiko, Max Yamabiko
Nasuno, Max Nasuno
Aoba (discontinued)
Komachi (Akita Shinkansen)
Tsubasa (Yamagata Shinkansen)
• Joetsu Shinkansen
Toki, Max Toki
Tanigawa, Max Tanigawa
Asahi (discontinued), Max Asahi (discontinued)
• Hokuriku Shinkansen (Nagano Shinkansen)
Asama, Max Asama
• Kyushu Shinkansen
Tsubame
Further reading
Hood, Christopher P. (2006). Shinkansen – From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern
Japan. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415320526.
See also
• Taiwan High Speed Rail
return
8/27/2006 Page 383
Lake Mashu
Lake Mashu
return
8/27/2006 Page 384
Francis of Assisi
"Saint Francis of Assisi", "St. Francis of Assisi" and "St Francis of Assisi" all
redirect here. For the opera by Olivier Messiaen see Saint-François d'Assise.
gave the man everything he had in his pockets. His friends quickly chided and
mocked him for his stupidity, and when he got home, his father scolded him in a rage.
After his return to Assisi in 1203, Francis recommenced his carefree life. But in 1204
a serious illness started a spiritual crisis. In 1205 Francis left for Puglia to enlist in the
army of Gualtiero di Brienne. But on his way, in Spoleto, a strange vision made him
return to Assisi, deepening his spiritual crisis.
It is said that when he began to avoid the sports and the feasts of his former
companions, and they asked him laughingly if he was thinking of marrying, he
answered "Yes, a fairer bride than any of you have ever seen" - meaning his "lady
poverty", as he afterward used to say.
He spent much time in lonely places, asking God for enlightenment. By degrees he
took to nursing lepers, the most repulsive victims in the lazar houses near Assisi.
After a pilgrimage to Rome, where he begged at the church doors for the poor, he had
a mystical experience in the Church of San Damiano just outside of Assisi, in which
the Icon of Christ Crucified came alive and said to him 3 times, "Francis, Francis, go
and repair My house which, as you can see, is falling into ruins." He thought this to
mean the very ruined church in which he was presently praying, and so sold his horse
together with some cloth from his father's store, to assist the priest there for this
purpose.
Pietro, highly indignant, attempted to bring him to his senses, first with threats and
then with corporal chastisement. After a final interview in the presence of the bishop,
Francis renounced his father and his patrimony, laying aside even the garments he
8/27/2006 Page 386
had received from him. For the next few months he lived as a beggar in the region of
Assisi.
Returning to the town where he spent two years this time, he restored several ruined
churches, among them the Porziuncola, little chapel of St Mary of the Angels, just
outside the town, which later became his favorite abode.
At the end of this period (according to Jordanus, on February 24, 1209), a sermon
which he heard on the Gospel of Matthew 10:9, where Christ tells his followers that
they should go forth and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is upon them, and that
they should take no money with them, that they should take no walking stick for the
road, and that they should wear no shoes -- made such an impression on him that he
decided to devote himself wholly to a life of apostolic poverty.
Clad in a rough garment, barefoot, and, after the Evangelical precept, without staff or
scrip, he began to preach repentance. He was soon joined by his first follower, a
prominent fellow townsman, the jurist Bernardo di Quintavalle, who contributed all
that he had to the work. Many other companions joined Francis, and reached the
number of eleven within a year. In his humility Francis chose never to be ordained a
priest, and the community lived as "fratres minores", in Latin, "lesser brothers". The
Franciscans are sometimes called Friars Minor, a term derived from "fratres", in
Latin, "brothers".
8/27/2006 Page 387
The brothers lived a simple life in the deserted lazar house of Rivo Torto near Assisi;
but they spent much of their time wandering through the mountainous districts of
Umbria, always cheerful and full of songs, yet making a deep impression on their
hearers by their earnest exhortations.
In 1209 Francis led his first 11 followers to Rome and asked the Pope's permission to
found a new religious order and succeeded in gaining the approval of Pope Innocent
III. At first his attempt to speak with the Pope was refused; but the following night,
Innocent III saw in a dream the church was crumbling apart and a poor man
appearing to hold it up. The next morning, recalling the poor man he had refused the
day before, he recognized him as the man he saw in his dream, and decided to change
his verdict the following day.
Later life
From then on his new order grew quickly with new vocations. When hearing Francis
preaching in the church of San Rufino in Assisi in 1209, Clare of Assisi became
deeply touched by his message and she realized her calling. Her brother Rufino also
joined the new order.
the Porziuncola
On Palm Sunday, 28 March 1211 Francis received Clare at the Porziuncola and
hereby established the Order of Poor Dames, later called Poor Clares.
In the same year, Francis left for Jerusalem, but he was shipwrecked by a storm on
the Dalmatian coast, forcing him to return to Italy.
On the 8 May 1213 he received the mountain of Verna as a gift from the count
Orlando di Chiusi. This mountain would become one of his favourite retreats for
8/27/2006 Page 388
prayer. In the same year, Francis sailed for Morocco, but this time an illness forced
him to break off his journey in Spain. Back in Assisi, several noblemen (among them
Tommaso da Celano, who would later write the biography of St. Francis) and some
well-educated men joined his order.
In 1215 Francis went again to Rome for the Fourth Lateran Council. During this time,
he probably met Dominic de Guzman.
In 1216 Francis received from the new pope Honorius III the confirmation of the
indulgence of the Porziuncola, now better known as the Pardon of Assisi : a complete
remission of their sins for all those who prayed in the Porziuncola.
In 1217 the growing congregation of friars was divided in provinces and groups were
sent to France, Germany, Hungary, Spain and to the East.
St. Francis before the Sultan - the trial by fire (fresco attributed to Giotto)
In 1219 Francis left, together with a few companions, for Egypt. Received by the
sultan Melek-el-Kamel, Francis challenged the Muslim scholars to a test of true
religion by fire. But they retreated. When Francis proposed to enter the fire first and,
if he left the fire unharmed, the sultan would have to recognize Christ as the true God,
the sultan allowed him to preach to his subjects. On 5 November 1219 Francis helped
the crusaders to capture Damietta. At Saint Jean d'Acre, the capital of what remained
of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, he rejoined the brothers Elia and Pietro Cattini. Francis
then most probably visited the holy places in Palestine in 1220.
During 1221 and 1222 Francis crossed Italy, first as far south as Catania in Sicily and
afterwards as far north as Bologna.
On 29 November 1223 the final rule of the order (in 12 chapeters) was approved by
pope Honorius III.
While he was praying on the mountain of Verna, together with his close friend
Thomas, Francis received the Stigmata on 17 September 1223. Suddenly he saw a
vision of an angel on a cross. This angel bore holes into St. Francis's feet, hands, and
chest. This is the first account of Stigmata in history. However, no one knew about
this occurrence until after his death, when Thomas told a crowd of Franciscans that he
had witnessed this account.
Suffering from these Stigmata and from an eye disease, he had been receiving care in
several cities (Siena, Cortona, Nocera) to no avail. In the end he was brought back to
the Porziuncola. He was brought to the transito, the hut for infirm friars, next to the
Porziuncola. Here, in the place where it all began, feeling the end approaching, he
spent the last days of his life dictating his spiritual testament. He died on the evening
of 3 October 1226.
8/27/2006 Page 390
On 16 July 1228 he was pronounced a saint by the next pope Gregory IX, the former
cardinal Ugolino di Conti, friend and protector of St. Francis. The next day, the pope
laid the foundation stone for the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.
Perhaps the most famous incident that illustrates the Saint’s humility towards nature
is recounted in the Vigina (The Little Flowers), a collection of legends and folk-lore
that sprang up after the saint’s death. It is said that one day while Francis was
traveling with some companions they happened upon a place in the road where birds
filled the trees on either side. Francis told his companions to “wait for me while I go a
preach to my sisters the birds.” The birds surrounded him, drawn by the power of his
voice, and not one of them flew away. Francis spoke to them:
“My sister birds, you owe much to God, and you must always and in everyplace give
praise to Him; for He has given you freedom to wing through the sky and He has
clothed you…you neither sow nor reap, and God feeds you and gives you rivers and
fountains for your thirst, and mountains and valleys for shelter, and tall trees for your
nests. And although you neither know how to spin or weave, God dresses you and
your children, for the Creator loves you greatly and He blesses you abundantly.
Therefore…always seek to praise God.”
Another legend from the Fioretti tells us that in the city of Gubbio, where Francis
lived for some time, there was a wolf “terrifying and ferocious, who devoured men as
well as animals.” Francis had compassion upon the townsfolk, and went up into the
hills to find the wolf. Soon fear of the animal had caused all his companions to flee,
but the saint pressed on and when he found the wolf he made the sign of the cross and
commanded the wolf to come to him and hurt no one. Miraculously the wolf closed
8/27/2006 Page 391
his jaws and lay down at the feet of St. Francis. “Brother Wolf, you do much harm in
these parts and you have done great evil…” said Francis. “All these people accuse
you and curse you…But brother wolf, I would like to make peace between you and
the people.”
Then Francis led the wolf into the town, and surrounded by startled citizens he made
a pact between them and the wolf. Because the wolf had “done evil out of hunger” the
townsfolk were to feed the wolf regularly, and in return, the wolf would no longer
prey upon them or their flocks. In this manner Gubbio was freed from the menace of
the predator. Francis, ever the lover of animals, even makes a pact on behalf of the
town dogs, that they will not bother the wolf again.
These legends exemplify the Franciscan mode of charity and poverty as well as the
saint's love of the natural world.
Part of his appreciation of the environment is expressed in his Canticle of the Sun, a
poem written in Umbrian Italian in perhaps 1224 which expresses a love and
appreciation of Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Earth, Brother Fire, etc. and all of
God's creations personified in their fundamental forms.
However, the academic establishment agrees that St. Francis actually had a rather
conventional attitude towards his worldly environment. He did believe that the
external world was inherently good as a sign and revelation of God's providence and
goodness, its purpose being to inspire our respect and love, but this was not an
unusual philosophy in the thirteenth century. His belief in the universal ability and
duty of all creatures to praise God is remarkable.
See also
Saints Portal
• Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) by Franco Zeffirelli
• Prayer of Saint Francis, Prayer once attributed to St. Francis of Assisi,
although in fact it first appeared several centuries after his death.
• Clare of Assisi
• Saint Juniper, one of Francis' original followers.
• Saint David
• University of Saint Francis (Illinois), a school founded in the tradition of St.
Francis of Assisi.
• List of people on stamps of Ireland
• Saint Margaret of Cortona
• The Flowers of St. Francis (1950), a film by Roberto Rossellini
• Flowers for St Francis (2005), a book by Raj Arumugam (see
www.ttsworld.com.au)
• Lynn Townsend White, Jr.
• Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi a book by Donald Spoto
(2002)
return
It's a summer pastime of kids and childish adults in Japan. You catch cicadas with big
nets (like Western kids catching butterflies) and put them in little cages. Depending
on the time of year, there are many different active types of cicada, each with a
characteristic song. Some species are specifically associated with the end of summer
and the resumption of school with the second semester -- species such as the
つくつく法師 (tsukutsuku-boushi semi), which sings from late summer until well
into autumn.
--Freak Of Nature 14:41, 10 May 2006 (PDT)
Nevertheless, almost all cicadas in all anime series sound exactly the same.
Nowadays, the childish adults would probably just stay home and play bishoujo
games.
--Eleutheria 22:40, 10 May 2006 (PDT)
So those are cicadas, I don't know what's gotten into heads of those official
Taiwanese translators, but the Chinese term I read clearly said "locusts". I had no idea
why Haruhi would "hunt for locusts", but I just translated what I saw, so thanks for
rectifying that out.
--Kinny Riddle 20:39, 11 May 2006 (HKT)
I seriously don't get how they can make that mistake. I lived in Hong Kong and
Singapore for years, and in both places, the Chinese locals had the same custom of
catching cicadas or crickets or whatever and putting them in little cages. You could
buy cicadas/crickets in cages, at some of the markets in Kowloon.
So, I can't understand how a Taiwanese translator can possibly miss that reference.
Not only is the practice part of Chinese behaviour (in some locations, at least) -- it is
also an integral element of Japanese culture, and therefore something that a translator
shouldn't miss.
--Freak Of Nature 08:02, 11 May 2006 (PDT)
return
Erg
For other uses see Erg (disambiguation)
The erg is a small unit, equal to a force of one dyne exerted for a distance of one
centimeter. In the CGS base units, it is equal to one gram-square centimeter per
second squared (g·cm2/s2). It is thus equal to 1 × 10-7 joules or 0.1 microjoule (µJ) in
SI units. It is approximately the amount of energy that a mosquito uses to take flight.
External links
• Online unit conversion
return
Bon Festival
Illuminated by the Albuquerque Bridge, Japanese volunteers place candle lit lanterns into
the Sasebo River during the Obon festival.
An Obon offering.
O-bon (お盆?) or only Bon (盆?) is a Japanese Buddhist holiday to honor the
departed spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist festival has evolved into a family
reunion holiday during which people from the big cities return to their home towns
and visit and clean their ancestors' graves. Traditionally including a dance festival, it
has existed in Japan for more than 500 years. It is held from July 13 (August 13
according to the lunar calendar still observed in many regions) to the 15th
("Welcoming Obon" and "Farewell Obon" respectively) in the eastern part of Japan
(Kanto), and in August in the western part. In recent years, however, most parts of
Tokyo, and by extension, the media, hold Obon in August to coincide with the
summer holiday period. Obon shares some similarities with the predominantly
Mexican observance of el Día de los Muertos.
Bon Odori originates from the story of Mokuren, a disciple of Shakyamuni, who saw
a vision of his deceased mother in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts where she was
indulging in her own selfishness. Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked
how he could release his mother from this realm. Buddha answered, "On the 15th of
July, provide a big feast for the past seven generations of dead." The disciple did this
and, thus, saw his mother's release. He also began to see the true nature of her past
unselfishness and the many sacrifices that she had made for him. The disciple, happy
because of his mother's release and grateful for his mother's kindness, danced with
joy. From this dance of joy comes Bon Odori or "Bon Dance", a time in which
ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. See also: Ullambana
Sutra.
Toro Nagashi is the floating of paper lanterns on the last evening of Obon, to guide
the spirits. in their journey.
8/27/2006 Page 396
Bon Odori
Bon Odori (盆踊り, meaning simply Bon dance) is an event held during Obon. It is
celebrated as a reminder of the gratefulness one should feel toward one's ancestors.
The O-Bon festival is observed all over Japan as well as parts of China, Malaysia, and
American cities with a large enough Japanese population (see Japantown). Originally
a Nenbutsu folk dance to express the effusive welcome toward the spirits of the dead,
the style of celebration varies in some aspects from region to region. Prefectures often
have their own ways of dancing the Bon Odori and their own music to go with it. A
Bon Odori in Okayama prefecture will be completely different from one in Kanagawa
prefecture. People line up around a high wooden building made especially for the
festival called a 'yagura'. There are many kinds of music that go with the dance. The
music varies from classical music to Japanese traditional music such as the Makkou
Onndo to matsuri-themed pop music such as the Pokemon Ondo.
The tradition is said to have started in the later years of the Muromachi period as a
public entertainment. In the course of time, the original religious meaning has faded,
and the dance has become associated with summer.
Malaysia
A Bon Odori Festival is also celebrated every year at The Esplanade, Penang and at
the Matsushita Corp Stadium, Shah Alam. This celebration, which is a major
attraction for the state of Selangor, is the brain child of the Japanese Expatriate &
Immigrant's Society in Malaysia. In comparison to the celebrations in Japan, the
festival is celebrated on a much smaller scale in Penang and Selangor (Malaysia).
Here, it is less associated with Buddhism and more with Japanese culture. Held
mainly to expose locals to a part of Japanese culture, the festival provides the
experience of a variety of japanese food & drinks, art and dance.
North America
Bon Odori is observed at Japanese Buddhist temples throughout North America
(United States and Canada). In cities like Los Angeles and Honolulu, a Bon Odori
festival occurs most weekends from July through August. For many temples, the Bon
Odori Festival is a major fundraising activity for the temple and brings together
temple members to prepare and staff booths for food, games, and merchandise. Some
temples separate out the Bon Odori dancing from the more commercial food booth
aspect so that their members can all participate in dancing. Special Obon services
held at local cemetaries often occur in the weeks proceeding or following the Bon
Odori. Because the original members of these temples came from various regions of
Japan, Bon Odori Festivals often feature dances from all over Japan.
External links
• Bon Dance: Description of various Bon Dance styles and resources.
• Runker Room : Japan : Obon no koto
• Photo Gallery of Bon Odori held in Penang, Malaysia
See also
• Japanese calendar
• Japanese culture
• Awa Dance Festival
return
8/27/2006 Page 398
Two Years' Vacation (Deux ans de vacances) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne,
published in 1888. The story tells of the fortunes of a group of schoolboys marooned
on a deserted island in the South Pacific, and of their struggles to overcome adversity.
Publication
In common with most of Verne's works, it was serialised (in twenty-four parts
between January and December 1888) in the "Extraordinary Journeys" section of the
French-language journal Magasin d’Éducation et de Récréation by the Paris-based
publisher Hetzel. It was also published in book form in two volumes in June and early
November of that year. An illustrated double volume with a colour map and a preface
by Verne was released in late November. In his preface to the book, Verne explains
that his dual goal was to create a Robinson Crusoe-like environment for children; and
to show the world what the intelligence and bravery of a child was capable of when
put to the test.
English translations
An English translation of the book was serialised in 36 installments in the Boy's Own
Paper between 1888 and 1889.
An American reprint in 1964 published the book in two volumes: Adrift in the Pacific
and Second Year Ashore.
In 1967 a new translation by Olga Marx with illustrations by Victor Ambrus titled A
Long Vacation was published by Oxford University Press in the United Kingdom and
Holt, Rinehart & Winston in the United States.
The plot
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The story starts with a group of schoolboys aged between eight and thirteen on board
a schooner moored at Auckland, New Zealand, and preparing to set off on a six-week
vacation. With the exception of the oldest boy Gordon, an American, and Briant and
Jacques, two French brothers, all the boys are British.
While the schooner's crew are ashore, the moorings are cast off under unknown
circumstances and the ship drifts to sea, where it is caught by a storm. Twenty-two
days later, the boys find themselves cast upon the shore of an uncharted island. They
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are to remain there for the next two years until the landing of a passing ship that has
been taken over by pirates. With the aid of the two surviving members of the original
crew of the pirates' ship, the boys are able to defeat the pirates and make their escape.
The struggles for survival and dominance amongst the boys were to be echoed in
William Golding's Lord of the Flies, written some 66 years later.
References
• Dehr V, Margot J-M, & H'E Zvi. The Complete Jules Verne Bibliography.
Retrieved on 2006-03-18.
return
Tsuchinoko
The tsuchinoko (ツチノコ) is a mythical creature (or UMA) from Japan resembling
a snake. The creature is also known as "bachi-hebi" in Northern Japan. References to
the tsuchinoko legend can apparently be found in the Kojiki.
Characteristics
• The tsuchinoko's body is wider around the middle than regular snakes.
• The tsuchinoko carries venom similar to that of a viper.
• Tsuchinoko are able to jump distances of one meter (3.3 feet).
• Some tsuchinoko have been known to speak human language, but they often
lie.
• The tsuchinoko enjoy alcohol.
• The tsuchinoko are reptiles of the snake family, have scales, and are typically
about 60cm (2 feet) long (according to the Japanese comic "Doraemon", issue
9).
Although there have been many reported sightings, no one has actually found or
studied a tsuchinoko. A tsuchinoko was apparently once captured, but the captor
released the animal before informing the media because snakes are believed to bring
bad luck. Several years later the story was picked up by the media and broadcast on
TV.
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Some video games of Japanese origin feature the tsuchinoko, often as a secret item or
enemy. Notable examples include Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Castlevania: Aria
of Sorrow, We Love Katamari, Me and My Katamari, Siren, Radiata Stories, and
Pokémon (the character Dunsparce).
Disclaimer
As with all mythical creatures, it is possible that a regular animal may be mistaken for
a new species. Some believe that the tsuchinoko may simply be a normal snake with a
swollen belly due to the recent swallowing of a large meal.
External links
• A model of the tsuchinoko by Hajime Emoto (English introduction)
return
Goddess of Creation
The first gods summoned two divine beings into existence, the male Izanagi and the
female Izanami, and charged them with creating the first land. To help them do this,
Izanagi and Izanami were given a spear decorated with jewels, named Amenonuhoko
(heavenly spear). The two deities then went to the bridge between heaven and earth,
Amenoukihashi (floating bridge of heaven), and churned the sea below with the spear.
When drops of salty water fell from the spear, they formed into the island Onogoro
(self-forming). They descended from the bridge of heaven and made their home on
the island. Eventually they wished to be mated, so they built a pillar called
Amenomihashira and around it they built a palace called Yahirodono (the room of
eight footsteps?). Izanagi and Izanami circled the pillar in opposite directions, and
when they met on the other side, Izanami spoke first in greeting. Izanagi didn't think
that this was the proper thing to do, but they mated anyhow. They had two children,
Hiruko (watery child) and Awashima (island of bubbles) but they were badly-made
and are not considered deities.
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They put the children into a boat and set them out to sea, then petitioned the other
gods for an answer as to what they did wrong. They were told that the male deity
should have spoken first in greeting during the marriage ceremony. So Izanagi and
Izanami went around the pillar again, and this time, Izanagi spoke first when they
met, and their marriage was then successful.
From their union were born the ohoyashima, or the eight great islands of the Japanese
chain:
• Awazi
• Iyo (later Shikoku)
• Ogi
• Tsukusi (later Kyushu)
• Iki
• Tsusima
• Sado
• Yamato (later Honshu)
Note that Hokkaido, Chishima, and Okinawa were not part of Japan in ancient
times.
They bore six more islands and many deities. Izanami died giving birth to the child
Kagutsuchi (incarnation of fire) or Ho-Masubi (causer of fire). She was then buried
on Mt. Hiba, at the border of the old provinces of Izumo and Hoki, near modern-day
Yasugi of Shimane Prefecture. So angry was Izanagi at the death of his wife that he
killed the newborn child, thereby creating dozens of deities.
Goddess of Death
Izanagi lamented the death of Izanami and undertook a journey to Yomi ("the
shadowy land of the dead"). Quickly, he searched for Izanami and found her. At first,
Izanagi could not see her at all for the shadows hid her appearance well. Nevertheless,
he asked her to return with him. Izanami spat out at him, informing Izanagi that he
was too late. She had already eaten the food of the underworld and was now one with
the land of the dead. She could no longer return to the living.
Izanagi was shocked at this news but he refused to give in to her wishes of being left
to the dark embrace of Yomi. While Izanami was sleeping, he took the comb that
bound his long hair and set it alight as a torch. Under the sudden burst of light, he saw
the horrid form of the once beautiful and graceful Izanami. She was now a rotting
form of flesh with maggots and foul creatures running over her ravaged body.
Crying out loud, Izanagi could no longer control his fear and started to run, intending
8/27/2006 Page 402
to return to the living and abandon his death-ridden wife. Izanami woke up shrieking
and indignant and chased after him. Wild shikome (foul women) also hunted for the
frightened Izanagi, instructed by Izanami to bring him back.
Izanagi burst out of the entrance and quickly pushed a boulder in the mouth of the
cavern that was the entrance of Yomi. Izanami screamed from behind this
impenetrable barricade and told Izanagi that if he left her she would destroy 1,000
residents of the living every day. He furiously replied he would give life to 1,500.
The story has both strong parallels, and significant differences, with the Greek Myths
of Orpheus and Eurydice as well as to the myth of Persephone and Demeter, the
Maya Myth of Itzamna and Ix Chel, the Akkadian/Sumerian myth of Inanna's
Descent to the Underworld. The Shikome, for instance, are parallel to the Maenads
who tore Orpheus to pieces.
Japanese Mythology
Stories and Myths:
Kojiki | Kwaidan | Nihon Shoki | Otogizoshi | Yotsuya Kaidan
Divinities:
List of divinities in Japanese mythology | Kami & Megami | Seven
Lucky Gods
Legendary Figures:
Abe no Seimei | Hidari Jingoro | Kintaro
Momotaro | Nezumi Kozo | Tamamo no Mae | Tomoe Gozen |
Urashima Tarō
Mythical and Sacred Locations:
Horai | Mt. Hiei | Mt. Fuji
Rashōmon | Ryugu-jo | Suzakumon | Takamagahara | Yomi
return
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The Maneki Neko (招き猫, literally "Beckoning Cat"; also known as Lucky Cat or
Fortune Cat) is a common Japanese sculpture, often made of porcelain or ceramic,
which is believed to give good luck to the owner. The sculpture depicts a cat
beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed in stores, restaurants,
pachinko parlors, and other businesses. A raised right paw supposedly attracts money,
while a raised left paw attracts customers.
A classic example of kitsch, Maneki Neko come in different colors, styles, and
degrees of ornateness. In addition to sculptures, Maneki Neko can be found as
keychains, piggy banks, air fresheners, and other miscellaneous ornaments.[1]
Common features
The gesture
To Americans and Europeans it may seem as if the Maneki Neko is waving rather
than beckoning. This is because Westerners use a different gesture to beckon someone
than the Japanese. The Maneki Neko's upraised paw is actually in imitation of the
Japanese beckoning gesture. The Japanese beckon by holding up the hand, palm out,
and repeatedly folding the fingers down and back up, thus the cat's appearance. Some
Maneki Neko made specifically for Western markets will have the cat's paw facing
backwards, in a beckoning gesture more familiar to Westerners.[2]
Maneki Neko can be found with either the right or left paw raised (and sometimes
both). The significance of the right and left raised paw differs with time and place.
The most common belief is that the left paw raised brings in customers, while a right
paw brings wealth and good luck. But some believe the opposite. Still others say that
a left paw raised is best for drinking establishments, the right paw for other stores.
(Those who hold their liquor well are called hidari-kiki in Japan, "left-handed".)[3]
It is commonly believed the higher the raised paw, the greater the luck. Consequently,
over the years Maneki Neko's paw has tended to appear ever higher. Some use the
paw height as a crude method of gauging the relative age of a figure. Another
common belief is that the higher the paw, the greater the distance good fortune will
come from.
Some Maneki Neko feature battery- or solar-powered moving arms endlessly engaged
in the beckoning gesture.
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Color
Maneki Neko come in all sorts of colors. While originally the colors may have been
simply decorative, different colors are now associated with different attributes.
(Again, the meanings of the colors, like everything else about the Maneki Neko, are
incredibly varied):
• Tricolor (Calico/Tortie and White): The background is white with random
black and orange patches. This coloring is considered especially lucky and is
the most popular color for maneki neko. This belief may be related to the
rarity of this coloring in the Japanese bobtail cats, after which the Maneki
Neko is modeled. Also note that in Japan the colour is called Mi-ke, meaning
three-fur.
• White: White cats indicate purity and are the second most popular type.
• Black: Black Maneki Neko are believed to keep away evil. These are
especially popular with women as they are supposed to be particularly
effective at keeping away stalkers. Like red, they can be associated with good
health, but very occasionally.
• Red: Red is also a protective color, and is believed to keep away evil spirits
and illness.
• Gold: Associated with wealth.
• Pink: While not a traditional color this color is popular now and is associated
with love.[4]
The bib might also be related to the bibs often decorating statues of the divinity Jizo
Bodhisattva. Protective statues of Jizo can be found guarding the entrances to
Japanese shrines and graveyards. Jizo is the protector of sick and dying children and
grateful parents of children recovered from illness will place a bib around Jizo as a
gift of thankfulness.
8/27/2006 Page 406
The coin
Maneki Neko are sometimes depicted holding a coin; usually a gold coin called a
koban, used during the Edo period in Japan. A koban was worth one ryō, another
early Japanese monetary unit. The koban most Maneki Neko hold though is indicated
to be worth ten million ryō. (A ryō can be imagined as worth a thousand dollars,
although the value of the coin, like the value of the dollar, varied considerably.)
The coin obviously ties into the cat's role in bringing good fortune and wealth. It is
not surprising then that one can often find Maneki Neko used as banks, a practice
which goes back at least to the 1890s, much like the Western piggy bank.
Sometimes, pennies and other small coin denominations are left on the Maneki Neko
as offerings. This is a practice somewhat related to that of leaving coins in a fountain
or wishing well.
Material
Maneki Neko are typically made of porcelain or ceramic. However, cheaper Maneki
Neko can be made ofother materials ranging from plastic to wood to papier-mâché to
clay, while expensive maneki neko may be made of jade or gold. The moving Maneki
Neko are usually made of plastic.
Origins
History
While it is believed that Maneki Neko first appeared during the later part of the Edo
period (1603-1867) in Japan the earliest documentary evidence comes from the
1870s, during Japan's Meiji Era. It is mentioned in a newspaper article in 1876 and
there is evidence kimono-clad Maneki Neko were distributed at a shrine in Osaka
during this time. An ad from 1902 advertising Maneki Neko indicates that by the turn
8/27/2006 Page 407
One theory ties Maneki Neko's origin, or at least its growth in popularity, to the rise
of the new Meiji government. In its attempts to westernize Japanese society the Meiji
government banned overtly sexual talismans then popular, often displayed
prominently in brothels. With these popular items gone, Maneki Neko soon appeared
in their place as a substitute charm, their beckoning gesture perhaps in imitation of a
beckoning woman.
Others have noted the similarities between the Maneki Neko's gesture and that of a
cat washing its face. There is a Japanese belief that a cat washing its face means a
visitor will soon arrive. This belief may in turn may be related to an even older
Chinese proverb that states that if a cat washes its face, it will rain. Thus it is possible
a belief arose that a figure of a cat washing its face would bring in customers.
It is unknown how the Maneki Neko became popular in the United States, but they
were known in the U.S. at least in 1963, when Patricia Dale-Green wrote of them in
The Cult of the Cat.
The Maneki Neko is most prevalent in modern day Chinatown, New York City. Sole
vendors and street shops display and sell countless varieties of the cat, which are
purchased mainly by tourists. They are often bought for their comedic value or for a
conversation piece at home.
The Temple Cat: This story goes that a wealthy feudal lord was taking shelter under
a tree near Gotoku-ji temple (in Western Tokyo) during a thunderstorm. The lord saw
the temple priest's cat beckoning to him and followed; a moment later the tree was
struck by lightning. The wealthy man became friends with the poor priest and the
8/27/2006 Page 408
temple became prosperous. When the cat died, supposedly the first Maneki Neko was
made in his honor.[6] (also see http://www.geoffbolton.net/manneko.html )
The Old Woman: An old woman living in Imado (eastern Tokyo) was forced to sell
her cat due to extreme poverty. Soon afterwards the cat appeared to her in a dream.
The cat told her to make its image in clay. She did as instructed, and soon afterward
sold the statue. She then made more, and people bought them as well. They were so
popular she soon became prosperous and wealthy.[7]
Influence
Such is the influence of the Maneki Neko as a cultural icon that many other
characters and cultural imagery are derived from it.
• The name of Hello Kitty, a popular Japanese merchandising character, may
arise from a flawed translation from the Japanese 招き猫.
• Meowth, a Pokémon, is always seeking money for its owners and most likely
was derived from the Maneki Neko.
• The Thai prosperity goddess Nang Kwak has adapted the beckoning gesture
of the Maneki Neko.[8]
• An NGO group working in Ukraine ran a poster campaign with the
photograph of Maneki Neko to promote a fair election process.
• In Samurai Pizza Cats, the cat heroes keep their giant robot hidden inside a
gigantic Maneki Neko which resembles a statue of a sitting Buddha, called
"The Supreme Cat-Atonic"
• SF author Bruce Sterling wrote a story, "Maneki Neko," in which the cat-paw
gesture is the sign of a secret AI-based barter network.
• In the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce, the protagonist Kel has
a collection of lucky waving cats.
See also
• Three-legged money frog
8/27/2006 Page 409
External links
• Maneki Neko Club website
• Sushi Cat Maneki Neko page
• Lucky Cats
• Maneki Neko - the lucky beckoning cat
• LEGO Maneki Neko
• mechanical papercraft Maneki Neko
• Unofficial Mascot of the SQL Server Reporting Services Team
• "Beckoning Cat and Nang Kwak" by catherine yronwode at luckymojo.com
return
While the ISO defines itself as a non-governmental organization (NGO), its ability to
set standards which often become law through treaties or national standards makes it
8/27/2006 Page 410
more powerful than most NGOs, and in practice it acts as a consortium with strong
links to governments. Participants include several major corporations and at least one
standards body from each member country.
The name
The organization is usually referred to simply as "ISO" (IPA pronunciation: [ aɪsəʊ]
or [aɪ ɛs əʊ]). It is a common misconception that ISO stands for "International
Standards Organization", or something similar. ISO is not an acronym; it comes from
the Greek word ίσος (isos), meaning "equal". The reason it is in all caps in writing is
that it appears that way in the Organization's logo (above). In English, the
organization’s long-form name is "International Organization for Standardization",
while in French it is called "Organisation internationale de normalisation." These
initials would result in different acronyms in ISO’s two official languages, English
(IOS) and French (OIN), thus the founders of the organization chose "ISO" as the
universal short form of its name.[1]
Aside from standards, ISO also creates Technical Reports for documents that cannot
or should not become International Standards such as references, explanations, etc.
The naming conventions for these are the same as for standards with the exception of
having TR prepended in the place of IS in the standard's name. Examples:
• ISO/IEC TR 17799:2000 Code of Practice for Information Security
Management
• ISO TR 15443-1/3 Information Technology - Security Techniques - A
Framework for IT Security Assurance parts 1-3
Finally, ISO will on rare occasions issue a Technical Corrigendum. These are
amendments to existing standards because of minor technical flaws, improvements to
usability or to extend applicability in a limited way. Generally, these are issued with
the expectation that the affected standard will be updated or withdrawn at its next
scheduled review.
8/27/2006 Page 411
ISO documents
ISO documents are copyrighted and ISO charges for copies of most. ISO does not,
however, charge for most draft copies of documents in electronic format. Although
useful, care must be taken using these drafts as there is the possibility of substantial
change before it becomes finalized as a standard. Some ISO standards are made freely
available. For examples, see Freely Available Standards and Free Standards2
Members
ISO has three membership categories. There are member bodies that are national
bodies that are considered to be the most representative standards body in each
country. These are the only members of ISO that have voting rights. For countries
that don't have standards organizations on their own there is a membership category
called correspondent members. These are informed about the work going on in ISO
but are not allowed to take part in the actual standardization work. Finally there are
subscriber members for countries with small economies. These have reduced
membership fees but can follow the development of new standards.
ISO International Standards are not in any way binding on either governments or
industry merely by virtue of being International Standards. This is to allow for
situations where certain types of standards may conflict with social, cultural or
legislative expectations and requirements. This also reflects the fact that national and
international experts responsible for creating these standards do not always agree and
not all proposals become standards by unanimous vote. The individual nations and
their standards bodies remain the final arbiters.
See also
• List of ISO standards
• Category:ISO standards
• Standardization
• International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
• ISO A4
• International Classification for Standards
References
• "ISO’s Name" on ISO’s Web site, retrieved 2006-06-07 UTC
8/27/2006 Page 414
External links
• ISO's official website (free access to the catalogue of standards only, not to
the contents)
• Publicly Available Standards (free access to a small subset of the standards)
• The ISO Standards Glossary
• ISO/IEC JTC1
return
Jaro
íÜÉÉÉÉëÃThe Japan Advertising Review Organization, Inc. (JARO) is a self-
regulatory body of advertising. As its primary role, the Organization handles
complaints and inquiries from consumers, competitors and other sectors.
The JARO was formed in 1974 when Japan was in the midst of a dramatic hike in
production and consumption, a wide proliferation of marketing/advertising techniques
and a huge wave of consumerism. In the marketplace, there had been a series of
scandals relating to the deceptive labeling of food contents and a recurring
competition of offering premiums of allegedly excessive value targeted to consumers.
With the wind blowing wild against the advertising industry, a succession of
consumer-oriented regulations became effective. Among others, the following rules
were vital to the industry:
up by experts, which had prepared a series of advice addressed to the government and
the various industries. Their recommendation suggested that the industry should look
into the codes of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) or the Chamber of Commerce in
the United States to enhance disciplinary business activities.
In recognition of the need to develop and maintain its self-regulatory system, the ad
industry organized a fact-finding mission and dispatched it to the BBB. After duly
considering the report compiled thereafter by members of the mission, the Japan
Advertising Federation (JAF) established an acting committee to discuss how to build
and operate a voluntary regulatory system. The activities of the Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom and the Bureau de Verification de la
Publicite (BVP) in France were also researched.
The first General Assembly of JARO was held on August 28 that year with more than
300 attendees representing the initial 110 member companies and 150 organizations
which supported the formation of JARO directly or indirectly. Through next year, the
membership grew in number to 327 companies, during the first decade to 706, and as
of the end of the fiscal year 2001 to 955.
return
Battleship Board
Translator note: I'm sure Koizumi meant Battleship, for I can't think of anything else.
return
8/27/2006 Page 416
Baccarat
This article is about the card game. For the town, see Baccarat, Meurthe-et-
Moselle. For the crystal company, see Baccarat (company)
Baccarat is a gambling card game. It is believed to have been introduced into France
from Italy during the reign of Charles VIII of France (ruled 1483-1498), and it is
similar to Faro and to Basset. There are three accepted variants of the game: baccarat
chemin de fer (railway), baccarat banque (or a deux tableaux), and punto banco (or
North American baccarat).
Baccarat (pronounced bakəraː) is a simple game with only three possible results -
'Player', 'Banker' and 'Tie'. The term 'Player' does not refer to the customer and the
term 'Banker' does not refer to the house. They are just options on which the customer
can bet.
Baccarat is an unusual game in that any score of 10 is worth 0 (or 'Baccarat'). The
highest score that can be achieved is 9. Two picture cards would have a score of 0. A
9 and a 6 would not equal 15 but 5. (Minus the first digit) An ace counts as 1 and the
rest of the cards retain their face value.
Pictures and 10s count as 0. If the initial deal has a hand totalling 8 or 9 no further
cards are drawn.
• If the 'Player' has an initial total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the 'Player' draws another
card.
• If the 'Player' has an initial total of 6 or 7, the 'Player' stands and draws no
further card.
• If the 'Player' has an initial total of 8 or 9, this is a natural and neither the
'Player' nor the 'Banker' draw further cards.
8/27/2006 Page 417
• If the 'Banker' has an initial total of 0, 1 or 2, the 'Banker' draws another card.
• If the 'Banker' has an initial total of 3, the 'Banker' draws another card when
the 'Player's' third card is anything but an 8.
• If the 'Banker' has an initial total of 4, the 'Banker' draws another card when
the 'Player's' third card is a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
• If the 'Banker' has an initial total of 5, the 'Banker' draws another card when
the 'Player's' third card is a 4, 5, 6, or 7.
• If the 'Banker' has an initial total of 6, the 'Banker' draws another card when
the 'Player's' third card is a 6 or 7.
• If the 'Banker' has an initial total of 7, the 'Banker' stands and draws no further
cards.
• If the 'Banker' has an initial total of 8 or 9, this is a natural and neither the
'Player' nor the 'Banker' draw further cards.
• If the 'Banker' has an initial total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the 'Player' has an
initial total of 6 or 7 and stands, the 'Banker' draws another card.
• The 'Banker' must stand on 6 when the 'Player' has a 6 or 7 on the initial deal.
The croupier will deal the cards according to the tableau and the croupier will
announce the winning hand - either 'Player' or 'Banker'. Losing bets will be collected
and the winning bets will be paid according to the rules of the house. Usually even
money or 1-1 will be paid to the player and 95% to the 'Banker', 5% commission to
the house. (Commission Baccarat) Some casinos pay even money or 1-1 to both
'Player' and 'Banker' except when the 'Banker' wins with a total of 6. Then the
'Banker' will be paid 50% or half the original bet.
Should both the 'Banker's' hand and the 'Player's' hand have the same value at the end
of the deal the croupier shall announce "Egalite - tie bets win." All tie bets will be
paid at the odds of 8-1 and the croupier shall not touch the bets on either 'Player' or
'Banker'.
The traditional form of punto banco baccarat is played at an oval table, similar to the
chemin de fer version. The table is staffed by a croupier, who directs the play of the
game, and two dealers who collect and pay bets as well as tallying commissions due.
Six or eight decks of cards are used, normally shuffled only by the croupier and
dealers. Like chemin de fer, the shoe is passed around from player to player, who acts
as the dealer of the cards and as "banker," but he or she does not actually bank the
game. Indeed, the "banker" may bet on the player hand if he or she wishes, or may
pass the shoe along to another player — the role of the "banker" is merely
ceremonial. The person who bet the highest amount on the player hand is given the
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player-hand cards, though he or she simply turns the cards over, annoucing their total.
The croupier instructs the "banker" on if or when to deal third cards, and then
announces the winning hand.
In casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, this version of baccarat is usually played in
special rooms separated from the main gaming floor, ostensibly to provide an extra
measure of privacy and security because of the high stakes often involved. The game
is frequented by the highest of high rollers, who may wager tens or hundreds of
thousands of dollars on a single hand. Australian tycoon Kerry Packer was
particularly fond of the game, having won and lost large sums over the years.
Minimum bets are relatively high, often starting at 25 USD and going as high as 500
USD. Posted maximum bets are often arranged to suit a player, but maximums of
10,000 USD per hand are common
Despite its simplicity (or perhaps because of it), the punto banco version of baccarat
offers some of the lowest house advantage available in a casino. The player bet has a
house advantage of 1.24%, and the banker bet (despite the 5% commission) has an
advantage of 1.06%. The tie bet has a much higher house advantage of 14.44%, based
on six decks in play. [1]
Because of its attraction for wealthy players, a casino may win or lose millions of
dollars a night on the game, and the house's fortunes may even affect the bottom line
of a corporation's quarterly profit and loss — notations of the effects of major
baccarat wins and losses are frequent in the quarterly reports of publicly-traded
gaming companies.
Mini-baccarat is essentially the same game, but played at a smaller table very similar
to a blackjack table. A single dealer handles the entire game, including dealing the
cards. The pace is usually much faster than the "big baccarat" version. Betting
minimums and maximums are usually lower. In casinos outside of Las Vegas and
Atlantic City, this is frequently the only version of baccarat that is offered.
The croupier shuffles the cards, and then passes them on, each player having the right
to shuffle in turn. When they have made the circuit of the table, the croupier again
shuffles, and, having done so, offers the cards to the player on his left, who cuts. The
croupier places the cards before him, and, taking a manageable quantity from the top,
hands it to the player on his right, who for the time being is dealer, or "banker." The
other players are punters.
The dealer places before him the amount he is disposed to risk, and the players "make
their stakes." Any punter, beginning with the player on the immediate right of the
dealer, is entitled to say "Banco", meaning to "go bank," to play against the whole of
the banker's stake. If no one does so, each player places his stake before him. If the
total so staked by the seated players is not equal to the amount for the time being in
the bank, other persons standing round may stake in addition. If it is more than equal
to the amount in the bank, the punters nearest in order to the banker have the
preference up to such amount, the banker having the right to decline any stake in
excess of that limit.
The banker proceeds to deal four cards face downwards: the first, for the punters, to
the right; the second to himself; the third for the punters, the fourth to himself. The
player who has the highest stake represents the punters. If two punters are equal in
this respect, the player first in rotation has the preference. Each then looks at his
cards. If he finds that they make either nine, the highest point at Baccarat, or eight,
the next highest, he turns them up, announcing the number aloud, and the hand is at
an end. If the banker's point is the better, the stakes of the punter become the property
of the bank. If the punters' point is the better, the banker (or the croupier for him)
pays each punter the amount of his stake.
The stakes are made afresh, and the game proceeds. If the banker has been the
winner, he deals again. If otherwise, the cards are passed to the player next in order,
who thereupon becomes banker in his turn.
If neither party turns up his cards, this is an admission that neither has eight or nine.
In this case the banker is bound to offer a third card. If the point of the punter is
baccarat (i.e. cards together amounting to ten or twenty, = 0), one, two, three, or four,
he accepts as a matter of course, replying, "Yes," or "Card." A third card is then given
to him, face upwards. If his point if already six or seven, he will, equally as a matter
of course, REFUSE the offered card. To accept a card with six or seven, or refuse
with baccarat, one, two, three, or four (known in either case as a "false draw"), is a
breach of the established procedure of the game, and brings down upon the head of
the offender the wrath of his fellow-punters; indeed, in some circles he is made liable
for any loss they may incur thereby, and in others is punishable by a fine. At the point
of five, and no other, is it optional to the punter whether to take a card or not; nobody
has the right to advise him, or to remark upon his decision.
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The banker has now to decide whether he himself will draw a card, being guided in
his decision partly by the cards he already holds, partly by the card (if any) drawn by
the punter, and partly by what he may know or guess of the latter's mode of play. If
he has hesitated over his decision, the banker may be pretty certain (unless such
hesitation was an intentional blind) that his original point was five, and as the third
card (if any) is exposed, his present point becomes equally a matter of certainty. The
banker, having drawn or not drawn, as he may elect, exposes his cards, and receives
or pays as the case may be. Ties neither win nor lose, but the stakes remain for the
next hand.
The banker is not permitted to withdraw any part of his winnings, which go to
increase the amount in the bank. Should he at any given moment, desire to retire, he
says, "I pass the deal." In such case each of the other players, in rotation, has the
option of taking it, but he must start the bank with the same amount at which it stood
when the last banker retired. Should no one present care to risk that high a figure, the
deal passes to the player next on the right hand of the retiring banker, who is in such
case at liberty to start the bank with such amount as he thinks fit, the late banker now
being regarded as last in order of rotation, though the respective priorities are not
otherwise affected.
A player who has "gone bank," and lost, is entitled to do so again on the next hand,
notwithstanding that the deal may have "passed" to another player.
When the first supply of cards is exhausted, the croupier takes a fresh handful from
the heap before him, has them cut by the player on his left, and hands them to the
banker. To constitute a valid deal, there must be not less than seven cards left in the
dealer's hand. Should the cards in hand fall below this number, they are thrown into
the wastebasket, and the banker takes a fresh supply as above mentioned.
Baccarat Banque
In Baccarat Chemin de Fer, it will have been noticed that a given bank only continues
so long as the banker wins. So soon as he loses, it passes to another player. In
Baccarat Banque the position of banker is much more permanent. Three packs of
cards are shuffled together. (The number is not absolute, sometimes four packs,
sometimes two only, being used; but three is the more usual number.) The banker
(unless he retires either of his own free will or by reason of the exhaustion of his
finances) holds office until all these cards have been dealt.
The bank is at the outset put up to auction, i.e. belongs to the player who will
undertake to risk the largest amount. In some circles, the person who has first set
down his name on the list of players has the right to hold the first bank, risking such
amount as he may think proper.
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The right to begin having been ascertained, the banker takes his place midway down
one of the sides of an oval table, the croupier facing him, with the waste-basket
between. On either side the banker are the punters (ten such constituting a full table).
Any other persons desiring to take part remain standing, and can only play in the
event of the amount in the bank for the time being not being covered by the seated
players.
The croupier, having shuffled the cards, hands them for the same purpose to the
players to the right and left of him, the banker being entitled to shuffle them last, and
to select the person by whom they shall be cut. Each punter having made his stake,
the banker deals three cards, the first to the player on his right, the second to the
player on his left, and the third to himself; then three more in like manner. The five
punters on the right (and any bystanders staking with them) win or lose by the cards
dealt to that side; the five others by the cards dealt to the left side. The rules as to
turning up with eight or nine, offering and accepting cards, and so on, are the same as
at Baccarat Chemin de Fer.
Each punter continues to hold the cards for his side so long as he wins. If he loses, the
next hand is dealt to the player next following him in rotation.
Any player may "go bank," the first claim to do so belonging to the punter
immediately on the right of the banker; the next to the player on his left, and so on
alternatively in regular order. If two players on opposite sides desire to "go bank,"
they go half shares.
A player going bank may either do so on a single hand, in the ordinary course, or a
cheval, i.e. on two hands separately, one-half of the stake being played upon each
hand. A player going bank and losing may, again go bank; and if he again loses, may
go bank a third time, but not further.
A player undertaking to hold the bank must play out one hand, but may retire at
anytime afterwards. On retiring, he is bound to state the amount with which he retires.
It is then open to any other player (in order of rotation) to continue the bank, starting
with the same amount, and dealing from the remainder of the pack, used by his
predecessor. The outgoing banker takes the place previously occupied by his
successor.
The breaking of the bank does not deprive the banker of the right to continue,
provided that he has funds with which to replenish it, up to the agreed minimum.
Should the stakes of the punters exceed the amount for, the time being in the bank,
the banker is not responsible for the amount of such excess. In the event of his losing,
the croupier pays the punters in order of rotation, so far as the funds in the bank will
extend; beyond this, they have no claim. The banker, may, however, in such a case,
instead of resting on his right, declare the stakes accepted, forthwith putting up the
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needful funds to meet them. In such event the bank thenceforth becomes unlimited,
and the banker must hold all stakes (to whatever amount) offered on any subsequent
hand, or give up the bank.
The laws of baccarat are complicated and no one code is accepted as authoritative, the
different clubs making their own rules.
Trivia
• Chemin de Fer is the game of choice by Ian Fleming's secret agent, James
Bond 007. He can be seen playing the game in numerous films and novels,
including, most notably, the novel Casino Royale where Bond is tasked with
bankrupting a SMERSH agent by defeating him at a table of Baccarat Banque.
External links
• Baccarat Glossary of Terms
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