#筒go

[ruanbaijie]

戏精 (drama queen) THE SPIREALM 致命游戏 (2024) adapted from the danmei novel Kaleidoscope of Death 死亡万花筒 by Xi Zi Xu 西子绪 @asiandramanet july bingo creator board ⎈ free choice

[lungache]

pretty sure this is moment ruan nanzhu Officially fell madly in love with lin quishi.

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu, p. 69 (nice)

[luxhesperus]

oh.

oh.

i just realized that the live action's ending is an inverse of the novel's.

where in the novel, when qiushi goes back to reality, the dead stayed dead but he did not lose nanzhu.

with the LA, everyone is alive but jiushi lost lanzhu.

[shijiujun]

A Summary: The Spirealm | 致命游戏 (Kaleidoscope of Death 死亡万花筒 Live Action) & Why You Should (Eventually) Watch It

Talk about the most short-lived drama release ever, not even totalling two hours if I recall. Creating this summary as I've seen a handful of confused friends, so here it goes!

It's going to be a long review because I sped through all 78 episodes and only properly watched the first two doors, but I got you. You'll get both the brief book rundown and the drama parts!

If you just wanna see the bromance (LOVE) parts please skip to section 4!!!!

1. Overview

Title: The Spirealm (kinda awful I'm sorry it's a mouthful) or 致命游戏 which means fatal game

Adapted From: Danmei (BL) Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu

Novel Prints: There are GORGEOUS Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese versions printed, AND Singapore publisher Rosmei has signed the license for the ENGLISH version, probably going on sale this year (preview is here). You can still access fan translations by Taida on I think wordpress and someone else on Tumblr sorry bad memory (they did half and half each) if you'd like to read it for context. It is one of my FAVE danmeis EVER and I am a die-hard OG book fan, check out my full danmei review here.

Total Episodes: 78 (20 minutes each with the exception of last episode which 10 minutes, with several BTS not that I think we will get to see all of them yet)

Where to Watch (LOL): Erm considering that iQIYI China AND International took the episodes down, there is no legal way to watch this, BUT thanks to some cnetz with super fast and great wifi, we managed to get ripped HD versions without subs. iQIYI is very hard on copyright though, they've taken down several subbed and unsubbed versions already on YouTube, but you should type the titles of show into Twitter and the top tags will tell you where to access the raws and very little subbed episodes, that may also be taken down at any point. I have the Chinese raws but as it's hosted on a cloud, I had to pay to access it.

Main Characters: Lin Qiushi & Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie (in the novel) and Ling Jiushi & Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie (in the drama)

Produced By: iQIYI so for SURE they won't film it fully BL even if the original is, but I've seen enough bromance cuts

Main Actors: Xia Zhiguang (Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie) + Huang Junjie (Ling Jiushi)

2. Summary

Book (drama follows closely if not removing the supernatural premises): Lin Qiushi, a designer, opens the door to his home one day from inside and sees 12 iron doors outside. Confused, he opens one of them and arrives at a snow covered village in the mid of winter, and meets Ruan Baijie, who's a pretty, unusually tall and whiny/timid woman. They realise that they're in a horrifying door game, and they'll have to find a door and a key to get out, while battling a long-haired, human-eating deity. They, along with a few others, have to survive day after day until they get out, and on the first night, two people have died in gory ways. Ruan Baijie and Lin Qiushi partner each other, and despite seemingly timid and crying all the time, she saves Lin Qiushi a few times mysteriously, and Lin Qiushi finds himself trusting in Ruan Baijie.

They get through the door together and when they leave successfully, Lin Qiushi realizes that the people who died in the door will die in real life by some freak accident too - car accidents, forced suicides, a robbery gone wrong, a lift trapped in the air and going ablaze, and more. That night, Lin Qiushi wakes up to see a super handsome and tall Ruan Nanzhu at his bedside and this man feels familiar to him, but he can't put a finger on it. All he can think of when Ruan Nanzhu says his name is Ruan Baijie (ahem he would later find out who it is of course). Ruan Nanzhu takes him to his mansion in the suburbs where he meets a group of other people just like them, who're forced to go through the doors for survival. Ruan Nanzhu then invites him to join Obsidian, his organization.

Through various doors, Lin Qiushi grows and supports a super intelligent and powerful Ruan Nanzhu, falls in love with him, gets through many many scary doors with him and some of their other team members, makes friends, loses them to the cruelty of the doors as they ponder over what the door means, and what being alive/dying means.

And at the end of it, at the end of of it all, when they're all good and living their life, Lin Qiushi also finds out what Ruan Nanzhu's secret is, and the lengths to which Ruan Nanzhu went to, just to be with him.

Drama: Ling Jiushi is a VR game designer who gets pulled into a game, and he meets Ruan Baijie (in his male form) right off the bat (SO NOT CROSSDRESSING I AM SAD). All the parts are actually the same as the novel, albeit with the game setting and Ling Jiushi and Ruan Nanzhu's identity adjustments to suit the game premise. Most of the other doors and their lines are the same, just that the ending is a bit more confusing than it could be. There's a big bad as well and they actually show the opposing organizations when in the novel, these other organizations aside from Obsidian didn't even actually have a face or goal to them.

3. Characters

^ Them in the book (based on manhua that never got to go live LOL) (RNZ/RBJ left, LQS right)

^ Them in the show (LJS left, RNZ right)

Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie: MY HANDSOME CROSSDRESSING INTELLIGENT ALOOF BUT WHINY (WHEN IT COMES TO LIN QIUSHI) SASSY BOSS!!!! He's super mysterious and super thick-skinned too, and all he wants is Lin Qiushi's attention the moment he meets him. He's intrigued by Lin Qiushi's calm and his brains and the way he handles things, and has a lot of trust for him right from the get-go. This is also shown in the drama itself. As the leader of Obsidian, he cares a lot for his team members and his friends even if he doesn't show it most of the time, and the last thing he wants to do is lose Lin Qiushi, and he would do ANYTHING for Lin Qiushi, ANYTHING!!! Just look at him whining:

Ling Jiushi (Lin Qiushi): In the novel he's super calm, has quite a lot of brains, a little bit of a blur in the beginning but he's super smart as well. Worries a lot for Ruan Nanzhu and is also a loyal friend to some of his only friends, and feels a lot when he loses them. Falls gradually in love with Ruan Nanzhu in the novel, like they just belong together. In this drama, Ling Jiushi holds that same trust for Ruan Nanzhu, but in demeanour he seems a bit more like a klutz and and not as cool as he was in the novel, but I guess it's acceptable. Literally like the only thing he loves more than RNZ (maybe) is his cat Chestnut LOL and RNZ is NOT really happy about that but Chestnut LOVES RNZ

Yixie and Qianli: CUTEST TWINS ;-; WHO TREAT RNZ and LQS as their big brothers LOOK AT THEM BOWING AND RNZ/LJS like parents LMAO

A handful of other characters who will keep turning up and get your hearts ;-;

4. ALL FAVE BROMANCE MOMENTS + TROPES

THEY TOUCH EACH OTHER A LOT LIKE HOLDING HANDS AND TOUCHING FACES, PIGGY BACKING?!?! DID I MENTION FACE TOUCHING

WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP THEY HELP EACH OTHER WHEN HURT OR GET HURT FOR EACH OTHER

AND WHEN THEY WAKE UP IN BED THE OTHER IS AT THEIR BEDSIDE

AND DID I MENTION HE FEEDS HIM IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

AND THAT THEY DATED UNDER THE FIREWORKS LIKE THE NOVEL DOES NOT EVEN HAVE THIS SHIT

AND THE KABEDONS

AND FINALLY RUAN NANZHU RIZZ OMG

5. Settings

They REALLY OUTDID THEMSELVES. THIS JUST FROM DOORS 1-6:

THEY LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE NOVEL DESCRIBED!!!!

6. Overall Thoughts

PROS: This was NOT a cheap production, I'm telling you, they followed the cases very well and there're a lot of super recognisable lines, if not ALL of them, even if they changed the cases a little. I think they did it because in the novel originally, the author DOES leave a lot of details hanging like someone dies and you know he had a background and there are some shady things happening but the author NEVER actually goes into detail. So the drama did their best to cover these loopholes, even if it felt a little awkward at times. Money went into settings and attires and every damn thing, this looks EXPENSIVE. And if you've ever imagined each door and the bosses inside in your head, you might have felt chills go down your spine because damn did they really colour the book's settings for me (despite its differences). DID I MENTION that Xia Zhiguang really got the damn memo and he was a passable Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie who knew how to turn on his BL eyes. PLUS they really did some of the character deaths really well - they're technically some of the biggest parts of this story so ;-; (not two main of course)

CONS (maybe): They did away with the supernatural/horror premise and replaced it with a GAME premise, which means that there's a scientific element to it and the try to explain away stuff with the game, including the ending. I don't 100% get the ending, but the feel/vibe is about the same. Might not be for hardcore reader fans tho! They skipped out on a couple of doors, some of which were my faves, but it's fine, it's long enough LOL. They give away/explain some of the clues and surprises super early which means you don't get that added boom at the back as well. Despite that, I have to say they tried to round up the loopholes from the book as much as they could and give it an explanation while tying elements/conspiracies across doors (probably also to save cast fees LOL). And as always it's not a solid ending, it's an open confusing one, and even more confusing than the book itself because THERE IS NO CERTAIN HAPPILY EVER AFTER WITH HUBBY for it (there is in the book tho, they live together happily every after). Secondl,y, I'd say HJJ's acting is a bit stiff and OOC compared to the novel, but Xia Zhiguang really made up for it.

-------

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU GUYS!!! But I guess if you need subs it's going to be a long LONGGGG ride, considering that iQIYI doesn't seem to be going to be able to put it up anytime soon CRIES.

[nordic-language-love]

IRL Japanese 2: Things the kids I teach say all the time

If you're planning to work as an ESL teacher in Japan working with kids, this vocab is gonna be super useful for you! You'll pick up a lot as you go along, but it's good to have an overview from the start.

できた = done, finished (whenever they finish an exercise I've set them. The older kids will use the ます-form, but kids under like age 8 will use this one)

かえる？= is it time to go home? (lit: go home?)

わかった = got it (again, the older kids will use the ます-form)

わからない / わかんない = I don't get it (idk if わかんない is just dialect or if it's common overall, but I hear it more than わからない. Usually from the kids who don't wanna be there and are making zero effort)

ちがう = wrong / different (when they give an answer but realise it's not correct. It's basically like "wait, no")

ばか = idiot (sometimes boys say this to their friends)

全部？（ぜんぶ）= everything?! (asked in disbelief when I ask them to write more than one word)

やめろ = stop it! (used with friends when they're teasing each other)

いたいよ = that actually hurts, you know! (used with friends when they're rough-housing)

よし (more like 'yoshhh') = right then (filler word indicating the start of an activity or a change of activity)

水筒（すいとう）= water bottle (most kids bring one to class and frequently forget to take them with them when they go home)

忘れた（わすれた）= I forgot (usually in reference to the text book they left at home)

トイレに行きたい = I want to go to the bathroom

先生、大好き！（せんせい、だいすき！）= I love you, Sensei!

Other useful classroom/school vocabulary:

サイコロ = dice

トランプ = playing cards

ごろごろ = onomatopeia for the sound for rolling (I found the kids got confused if I just mimed rolling a dice/ball and said "roll!" but if I did the gesture and said "gorogoro", they understood)

ビリビリ = onomatopeia for ripping (useful for when you have tear-apart crafts in class)

ケシケシ = onomatopeia for erasing something (useful when you try to explain to a kid they spelled something wrong. Because it's easier to just say "A kesh-kesh, E" than "Not A, E. Okay great you wrote E, but A needs to go. No no no not the whole word, just A. Oh my God. Okay. Let me write it and you copy.")

ちょっと = a little, soon, wait a little (useful if the kids are getting a bit antsy and ready to go home a bit too early/don't want to wait their turn. Don't use it with parents though!)

がんばれ = do your best / you can do it!

あぶない！= dangerous / look out! (useful if a kid unexpectedly runs in front of me while I'm carrying a table)

せえの！= Altogether now! (When I need the kids to repeat something after me)

だめだよ = Don't do that (for when the kids repeatedly do something I've asked them not to do)

少々お待ちください（しょうしょう　おまち　ください）= polite form of "please wait a moment". Useful if you have a parent talking to you and you need to go get something (e.g. a communication sheet for them to point at so you know what they're trying to say)

授業参観 (じゅぎょうさんかん) = parent observation (PO). A couple of times a year, parents are invited into the classroom to watch the lesson (absolutely not a thing in the UK, not sure about other countries). The past two months I've had POs at my various schools, and so the parents come to the door and ask me if it's PO week. I don't understand most of the question, but I can pick out this one word and a question particle and figure out what they're asking.

It's also obviously a good idea to learn vocabulary related to stationery (eraser, pencil, crayon, pen, notebook, textbook, pencil case etc) because kids forget/lose their stuff all the time and will inevitably ask you if they can borrow something.

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching reading. Today's choice: 死亡万花筒 / Kaleidoscope of Death.

Kaleidoscope of Death is a 2018 Chinese webnovel about two young men who fall in love while basically playing a whole bunch of horror-themed escape rooms that can for-real kill you.

This novel was gripping. I could not put it down. It started out fun and ended up ripping out my heart several times. It does a good job getting the ball rolling with a series of adventures in weird worlds, then turns into a meditation about grief and loss and what it means to have something to lose in the first place.

This is the first time I've ever done a book rec! I'm doing it in conjunction with a rec post for the Spirealm, and originally I was just going to do this as a bonus section for that post. However, I felt they both deserve whole different posts, because they both have very different things to recommend them. I also think Kaleidoscope of Death a 100% necessary read if you've seen the show, because it provides some context that the show simply cannot include -- but it's not a necessary read before you see the show.

Therefore, I'm going to give you five reasons I think you should sit down with this one, and not a single one of these reasons is going to assume you've watched the Spirealm! The book is great and deserves to be read on its own merits, and then if you then start watching the drama afterwards, so much the better.

1. All the Cross-Dressing

(Yeah, I'm going to punctuate this one with screencaps from the Spirealm, because otherwise it's just a wall of text.)

I'm not going to tell you why the male characters frequently dress and pass as women, since the book explains the practicality of it better than I could. You just need to know that they often do, and it's never not kinda hot when it happens.

When you first meet Ruan Nanzhu, it is as Ruan Baijie, a stunningly beautiful and noticeably tall woman. Lin Qiushi, our POV character who is extremely confused for a number of reasons, spends the first whole arc talking and thinking about Baijie like she's a girl. In fact, one of the cutest things about sweet, earnest Qiushi is that he clocks Baijie several times, and every time he's just like, oh, she's so flat-chested, how unusual for a girl, anyway...

And this isn't even just dressing up! Stepping into the door worlds changes you physically based on your clothing and cosmetics. Nobody inside looks the same as they do outside, and nobody looks the same inside as they did last time they were inside. The rules that govern these transformations aren't even clear to the characters themselves! So, you know, have fun with that.

I'm going to say it's not an out-and-out trans thing, in that we're not dealing with an AMAB egg who will crack someday. Ruan Nanzhu is a very male-identified, penis-having man! He's just also pretty entertainingly comfortable with performing whatever gender makes him the most fuckable person in any given room. Lin Qiushi is not so inherently genderfluid, however, which means that when his gremlin sort-of-boyfriend makes him pretend to be a girl, it's a completely different kink.

Therefore: If you like it in any way when boys dress up like girls, you owe it to yourself to pick up this one. And if you like a fandom that likes it when boys dress up like girls, baby, welcome to the world inside the doors.

2. Those boys GAY

This is a textual romance. Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu are in love. This is a danmei novel about how they fall in love. There is kissing and there are fade-to-black scenes that explicitly acknowledge that the two of them have sex with one another. We even know that Ruan Nanzhu (usually) tops. This s not just me pointing at them and saying gaaaaaaaaaay. This is actual gay.

And it is gay that takes its fucking time. They do not actually hook up until well over halfway through the book, but they are physically affectionate from almost the get-go. Ruan Nanzhu is such a trickster and a liar that Lin Quishi finds it hard to believe that anything he does is sincere, which leads to nearly lesbian levels of wondering if it means anything when a guy demands you kiss him on the mouth when he's pretending to be your girlfriend. Meanwhile, Ruan Nanzhu is over here being the Kate Beaton comic about sitting here consumed with lust all evening.

Even once they both acknowledge what they're feeling for one another, they don't get together right away. After all, they're playing a game of life and death where they lose friends left and right. Every time someone goes inside the door, there's a real chance they won't come out again. Is giving your heart to someone worth how much it will destroy your entire life when you lose them?

(Yes, says the book. Yes, it is worth it.)

The slow burn of their relationship is delicious, in part because the physical (though not sexual) aspects of it predate the romantic ones. It also has the fun hot-and-cold aspect where Ruan Nanzhu is incredibly affectionate inside the doors, then icy outside of them. Poor completely inexperienced, never-been-kissed Lin Qiushi does not know what to make of any of this. He can barely manage parenting a cat. He does not know how to handle a boyfriend who is also a girlfriend who is also (spiritually) a cat.

I also find it charming how much the gay part of it both is and isn't an issue. It's not that Lin Qiushi has a problem being in love with a man; however, the fact that Ruan Nanzhu is a man does mean the heteronormally indoctrinated and relationship-inexperienced Lin Qiushi takes much longer to realize what exactly those feelings he's having are. The book's world is one where heterosexuality is the assumed default, while queerness is unexpected but everybody's still pretty cool with it. Besides, no one's going to judge Lin Qiushi's gay yearnings, because who doesn't want to fuck Ruan Nanzhu?

3. HAKO ONNA HAKO ONNA HAKO ONNA

So as I was reading through @zintranslations' earlier chapters, I kept seeing translators' notes down at the bottom about being so excited to finally get to the Hako Onna arc. Okay, I thought, this is a lot of hype; I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Friends, it does not. This is the arc I was reading while screaming into a pillow. It's thirteen chapters long, tied for the longest arc in the book with the first door. It is a fucking nail-biter. It does the clever thing of taking all the things you've learned about what can happen inside the doors and combining them for a worst-case scenario.

The setup is pretty simple: There's a bunch of boxes. One has the exit. Most are empty. Some have things that help you. Some have things that hurt you. The more things you find that hurt you, the more things there are to hurt you. And you have to open the boxes.

All the door arcs are pretty well-written, so that you can more or less play along with their various adventures. Hako Onna, however, is exceptional. It's so complicated, but you can actually follow it. And you need to be able to follow it, because the multiple emotional gut-punches that happen in this arc all depend on understanding how the rules of the game have just been leveraged to fuck someone over.

Now I really want to play the board game -- which I was pleased to discover is a real board game! And speaking of board games...

sidebar: Betrayal at House on the Hill

I know this isn't technically related to the novel at all, but if you like board games, horror, and being incredibly dramatic, you owe it to yourself to try out Betrayal at House on the Hill.

It goes like this: You and several other horror-movie archetypes wander through a mansion, "building" it as you explore it, so the game layout is different every time. At some point (and it's based on so many random factors that you never know when it'll be) someone triggers a condition, and the haunting begins. All the players then get the rules of haunting explained to them -- except for one player, the one picked to do the titular betrayal, who gets a different set of instructions and becomes the antagonist. From that point on, the game is about either surviving or completing the haunting, depending on which side you're on.

I have played this game before with normal board game people, and they were like, eh, this is fine. I have also played this game before with theatre kids who RP and LARP, and we all had a fucking blast. So I'm going to warn you that you have to choose your crowd carefully. This is a game for people who do improv and voices.

4. The art of losing isn't hard to master

The book has a high body count -- higher than the show's, in fact, though that's related to how the book also has more characters than the show does. When you meet someone who can go into the doors, be careful how much money you'd lay on their survival.

Death after the doors comes so quickly, too. There's barely any time to say goodbye, if there's even any time at all. Often there's just a phone call telling our main characters that one of their friends or allies or enemies is gone.

Everyone who gets the chance to go through the door worlds is only able to do so because they're dying already. The more doors they pass, the more they get to kick that death further down the road -- but the more doors they enter, the more chances they take that they might die inside one. So really, none of the players can be that resentful of being forced to play a game that can kill them, since they're already playing it on borrowed time.

I will say, somewhat cryptically, that the book has a positive ending that leaves open the possibility for other positive things. The path to that positive ending, though, leads through some pretty wrenching takes on living through grief. It's not even all rah-rah and it-gets-better, either -- the text acknowledges many times over what it means to have someone that life isn't worth living without.

And that's maybe not what you expected from a BL horror adventure webnovel, but it's what you're gonna get! Ha ha!

5. What He Is

Which is the title of the first extra chapter, which is not extra at all, but is in fact a necessary explanatory piece that whacks you upside the head like a two-by-four and recontextualizes the entire story.

...Yeah, that's all you're going to get from me about that. You'll understand when you get there.

Have you put it on your reading list yet?

The way you have to read it is a little convoluted: @zintranslations has chapters 1-17 and 63-end + extras. Taida Translations has chapters 1-62. So no matter where you start reading, you're going to have to switch sites at least once.

There are also apparently Portuguese, Indonesian, Russian, and Spanish translations too? And the original Chinese webnovel, of course. And some audio dramas and subs linked to from this Carrd, which helpfully has other information, like content warnings for specific chapters, in case the horror aspect of the story gives you pause.

Anyway, once you're done reading it -- or even before you're done! -- you should absolutely go watch the Spirealm. I think it's clear from both rec posts that I definitely like the book better, but I appreciate having the drama to bring so many scenes to life, and I think the casting is great. Also, I don't think reading the book makes you like the drama less! Rather, I think reading the book gives you insight into the awkward and sometimes terrible choices the drama had to make to survive -- which in turn gives you the ability to see through those choices, on to what the show always wanted in its heart to be.

I do find it funny how "Kaleidoscope of Death" and "Death's Kaleidoscope" technically mean the same thing, but they sure read different, don't they?

[lunarriviera]

beach episode (11325 words) by lunarriviera chapters: 1/1 fandom: 致命游戏 | The Spirealm (TV), 死亡万花筒 - 西子绪 | Kaleidoscope of Death - Xī Zǐxù rating: explicit warnings: no archive warnings apply relationships: Lin Qiushi/Ruan Nanzhu tags: Beach Holidays, Vacation, listen lin qiushi has not been having a good time, and he is very tired, so for once in his life ruan nanzhu is doing something self-indulgent, and taking his boyfriend on vacation, Islands, Established Relationship, Grief/Mourning, Recovery

He asked Lin Qiushi where he might want to go. Lin Qiushi had stared at the floor for endless long moments before saying, dully, “How should I know, I’ve never even left the country.” Ruan Nanzhu had gazed at him motionless, hardly daring to breathe. It was the first full sentence Lin Qiushi had uttered aloud in days that wasn’t “I’m not hungry” or “I don’t care.” Ruan Nanzhu inhaled, then spoke carefully. “Would you like to go to the beach?” Lin Qiushi laughed shortly. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t mind staying here, it’s fine.” Ruan Nanzhu stood up, then, and buttoned his coat, fingers numb. “We’ll leave next week. You should pack for at least a month,” and he’d swept out of the room without looking to see how Lin Qiushi had taken this snap decision, unable to bear another second of the muted, miserable look on his face.

[odaclan]

The Conquest of Iga, as recorded in Seishū Gunki

同年の冬、伊賀住人福地某が信長の味方になり伊賀追討の兵を要請した｡故に信長は信雄に伊賀を与え、各家臣に諸方から攻め込ませた｡伊勢､名張口は北畠中将信雄である。同じく馬野口は滝川左近将監一益である。長野口は長野上野介信包である。鹿伏兎口は神戸三七信孝である。甲賀山の口は多羅尾久右衛門尉が先陣を受けた｡下口は蒲生忠三郎氏郷である。大和笠置口は筒井順慶である。 伊賀の侍は防ぐ場所を失い其々城にこもった｡信雄は丸山城を落とした｡一益は富益城を落とし､富益氏は討ち死にして滅亡した｡また、具野尾城は落ちず、信孝は柘植城を攻め落とした｡氏郷は土山城を攻め数刻鉄砲合戦があった｡伊賀は大軍を受けてかなわず有るものは討たれ、あるものは降伏しみな信雄の支配下に入った｡故に信雄は丸山城を瀧川三郎兵衛尉に与え、柘植城を池尻平左衛門尉に与えた｡また、仁木友梅（前守護・義視）を取り立て平楽寺城に入れた｡

In the winter of the same year (1581), a certain Iga resident called Fukuchi became Nobunaga's ally, and requested for an army to launch a punitive expedition against Iga. Nobunaga granted Iga to Nobukatsu, and sent vassals to invade from all directions. From Ise, Nabari entrance, was the troops led by Lieutenant General Kitabatake Nobukatsu. At the same time, from Umano entrance, was the troops under Takigawa Sakon no Shōgen Kazumasu. From Nagano entrance, came Nagano Kōzuke no Suke Nobukane (Oda Nobukane). From the Kabuto entrance, Kanbe Sanshichi Nobutaka. The army coming from the entrance of Kōkayama was led by Lieutenant Tarao Kyūemon, while from the exit came Gamō Chūzaburō Ujisato. From the Yamato Kasagi entrance came the troops under Tsutsui Junkei. The samurai of Iga lost their defences, and holed themselves in their respective castles. Nobukatsu felled Maruyama Castle. Kazumasu felled Tomimasu Castle, and the entire Tomimasu clan were destroyed and killed. Gunō Castle did not fall, but Nobutaka attacked and conquered Tsuge Castle. Ujisato attaked Tsuchiyama Castle, and a gunfight lasted for a few hours there. Iga was no match for such a massive force, and some were defeated, while others surrendered themselves under Nobukatsu. After which, Nobukatsu granted Maruyama Castle to Lieutenant Takigawa Saburōbē and Tsuge Castle to Lieutenant Ikejiri Heizaemon. Also, he brought back Nikki Yūbai (the former shugo Nikki Yoshimi) and installed him in Heirakuji Castle.

(Seishū Gunki vol. 8)

In light of the recently released Assassin's Creed trailer, this really needed to be said:

Nobunaga does not invade Iga because he hated "ninjas"/shinobi. Nobunaga never participated in the Iga invasion and never directly led it.

Both are erroneous narratives that are constantly propagated both by Japanese and non-Japanese media, and this is just frustrating at this point. Some newer takes tried to "clean it up" by saying that Nobunaga invaded Iga as part of his nationwide conquest. That's a somewhat less wrong take on it, but if you put Nobunaga in direct command of the army, then it's still incorrect.

Both times the Oda forces attacked Iga, it was under the command of Nobunaga's son, Nobukatsu. After this final conquest, where Iga was thoroughly defeated in 1581, Nobunaga only came later to inspect the region. Everything had already been cleaned up, and the Shinchōkōki even recorded that there were lavish accommodations prepared for Nobunaga to stay in for the occasion.

Now going back to the narrative.

Seishū Gunki is somewhat less reliable than Shinchōkōki in various areas, but it's still a valuable material regardless. The are differences between this account and Shinchōkōki, though. For example, here Nobutaka was also listed as a participant. In the Shinchōkōki, Nobutaka was not listed as an officer that took part in the charge.

Another difference is that while Shinchōkōki corroborated Fukuchi surrendering himself to Nobunaga, it also mentioned that he was actually from Tsuge. Meaning that there was no need to attack and conquer Tsuge. Shinchōkōki also said that one of the Oda vassals went to Tsuge to protect it, and his name was listed as "Fuwa". In the above gunki narrative, this was the castle/region that Nobutaka attacked. It's likely that this part is in error in the gunki, and Nobutaka was not actually present here.

That aside, there has been various theories about why Nobukatsu attacked Iga, and there's an odd story of an Iga resident(s) who requested that the Oda invade his own homeland that was not explained in prior articles that I've seen. This request from the Iga folk themselves was what encouraged Nobunaga to grant permission for an official invasion of Iga, something that highly disapproved of 2 years prior.

This full text in the gunki provides an insight for the possible reason: It's possibly to restore the rightful shugo of Iga to power.

In the last part of the above text, a man named "Nikki Yoshimi" was referenced. The Nikki family was originally the official shugo (governors) of Iga. In a previous chapter of the gunki, it was mentioned that at some point they lost power, and the so-called council leadership of Iga became established.

If you've read the various floating narratives about how Iga is an "independent" society that is free from samurai rulership, this is how that supposedly came to be. The Nikki family were still there. They just got overrun by the people. If the above text is to be believed, the people who rebelled weren't peasants either. They were still considered of "samurai" class (they even own castles), just that they're perhaps of lower status (some texts would call them jizamurai).

If this narrative is actually accurate, then perhaps the men who came to the Oda for help were associates of the Nikki family. What they wanted was perhaps to the get rid of the "insurgents" who had rebelled and snatched power from the "rightful rulers".

So much for the mysticism of the secret "ninja" village and all, huh? It's just more of the typical power struggle between clans that are constantly happening in this time.

Incidentally, this situation is not entirely unique to Iga. A similar situation had occurred in Kaga almost a century prior, where the Ikkō from the Honganji affiliated temples there overthrew the shugo and ruled the land for a very very long time. Like in Iga, the shugo family were actually still there. They just effectively no longer had any power. The Ikkō rule remained until the Oda forces came and got rid of them as well.

[konjaku]

眉白蠅捕[Mamijirohaetori] Evarcha albaria

眉[Mami] : Eyebrow; also read as mayu or mamie

白[-jiro|Shiro] : White

蠅捕[Haetori] : Captureing flies; abbreviation for 蠅捕蜘蛛[Haetorigumo](Jumping spider)

The body length is about seven millimeters. It is so named because the male has a white band on its head that looks like eyebrows. In the photo, the leaf it is holding onto is Ohebiichigo(Potentilla anemonifolia).

むかし蠅取蜘をもてあそびし事あり、漢土にも蜘を闘はする戲はありと聞きしが、それとは異なり、まづ壁虎をよく養ひおき、小き器に入れ、蠅のをるかたへにさし向け、いちはやく取るを見て興ずるなり、又二人さし向ひて、左右より一時に蠅のをるところへさしむくるに、その蜘の弱きはもとの器へ逃げかへり、强きものはますぐには走らず、蠅のをるうしろのかたよりはひめぐりて取るを、輪をかけるといふとぞ、此の戲れ延寶の後盛んに流行、正德の頃まではまれまれにありしと、或古老の説なり、さて蜘をたくはへおく器のはじめの程は竹筒なりしが、後は唐木を用ひ蒔繪したるもありといへり、當時はへとり蜘を、座敷鷹といひしとぞ、

[Mukashi haetorigumo wo moteasobishi koto ari, kando nimo kumo wo tatakawasuru gi wa ari to kikishi ga, sore towa kotonari, mazu haetorigumo wo yoku yashinai oki, chiisaki utsuwa ni ire, hae no oru katae ni sashimuke, ichihayaku toru wo mite kyōzuru nari, mata futari sashimukaite, sayū yori ichiji ni hae no oru tokoro e sashimukuruni, sono kumo no yowaki wa moto no utsuwa e nigekaeri, tsuyoki mono wa masugu niwa hashirazu, hae no oru ushiro no kata yori haimegurite toru wo, wa wo kakeru to iu tozo, kono tawamure enpō no nochi sakan ni ryūkō, shōtoku no koro made maremare ni arishi to, aru korō no setsu nari, sate kumo wo takuwae oku utsuwa no hajime no hodo ha takezutsu narishi ga, nochi wa karaki wo mochii makie shitaru mo ari to ieri, tōji haetorigumo wo, zashikitaka to iishi tozo,] There are facts that people played with Haetorigumo in the past. Unlike the game of making spiders fight each other, which is said to have existed in China, tame Haetorigumo well at first, place it in a small container, send it in the direction the fly is, and enjoy watching it capture the fly as quickly as possible. And, if two people face each other and send their Haetorigumos from both sides at the same time where the fly is, the weaker one will run back to the container, and the stronger one will not run straight, but will go behind the fly and capture it, which is said to be called "Wa wo kakeru" (lit. surrounding with a circle). This play became popular after the Empō era(1673-1681), and was only occasionally seen until the Shōtoku era(1711-1716), an old man said. By the way, the containers in which the spiders were kept were bamboo tubes in the beginning, but later, karaki(exotic non-Japanese woods, or ebony, rosewood, mahogany, etc.) were used, and some were said to have been decorated with maki-e lacquer. In those days, Haetorigumo was said to be called Zashiki-taka(Falcon on the room floored with tatami mats). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maki-e From 足薪翁記[Sokushin'ō-ki] written by 柳亭種彦[Ryūtei Tanehiko] quoted in 広文庫[Kōbunko] Source: https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/969100/1/506 (ja)

[diarytheroomoffuji]

ポケットにマグカップ

Should I Stay or Should I Go

今朝、先日ネタの所へ行ってきた。いつものようにコーヒーと軽食を持って・・・今朝は、ミニドーナツ2つ。マグカップにドーナツを入れ、そのままポケットに (笑) コーヒーは保温の水筒で。

Nikon FMに入れてた手巻きのモノクルフィルムがあと数枚撮れたで出動。シブいモノクロ写真が撮れればいいな・・・（下の一枚は、デジタルカメラで）

レイクで数枚写真を撮っていたら、近くに停めてあったSUVの中から初老の男性が声をかけてくれた。彼も写真を撮りに来たそうで、車内で軽食中でした。

「こんな一時が良いよね・・」 と話して、その場を後に

何もない所の贅沢です

[ruanbaijie]

别走。再陪我待一会儿。

THE SPIREALM 致命游戏 (2024) 1.45 adapted from the danmei novel Kaleidoscope of Death 死亡万花筒 by Xi Zi Xu 西子绪

[avaritia93]

Qiushi, I am bored, one morning, Ruan Nanzhu said, and Lin Qiushi indulged his bored lover for a day. What could go wrong?

I had this thought for the whole day, so I wrote it down: what would happen when a bored Ruan Nanzhu got indulged by Linlin? I hope you enjoy my moment of crazy thought today. have fun reading.

[luxhesperus]

finally finished kaleidoscope of death and i have to say that i did not see that twist coming...

because it was absurd, to say the least? don't get me wrong, i absolutely loved the plot and characters! it's just, the twist wasn't... fitting?

[ok spoiler below]

like, if it had been qiushi who was the door god it would have made more sense considering that the whole time, the reader is kept being reminded that qiushi wasn't quite reacting like humans would... almost like it was hinting that qiushi wasn't human

hell, some of the characters even pointed out that even nanzhu, the ever cold and steady leader of obsidian, had reacted to the doors more human than qiushi (you know, the depression, the time he had to spent recovering from each door)

double hell, even qiushi himself found it quite odd how he needed less time to recover from the doors in comparison to nanzhu and the others

so the twist being that nanzhu was the door god is just so... it feels like i've been blindsided? only because no part of the narrative ever suggested, even ever so slightly, that nanzhu was anything but human, ya know? so that twist felt kinda weird

it brings up so many questions too... like where did the doors come from? when did it start? before nanzhu, a door god, found interest in qiushi, what was in the twelfth door originally?

even so, i loved the story and its characters! i actually have a lot more to say, especially about the 11th door (maybe i'll dive into that later when i've actually gotten some sleep lol)

[falseandrealultravival]

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Tomoyo Harada): J-pop

Former President of Kadokawa Shoten: Haruki Kadokawa is active in film production and has discovered two new actresses. They are Hiroko Yakushimaru and Tomoyo Harada. Both of them were successful singers as well. Among them, Tomoyo Harada's debut film is "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" by Yasutaka Tsutsui, a sci-fi writer. It is a story about going back in time when you smell the scent of lavender in a science laboratory. At that time, Tomoyo Harada was youthful and her songs were hits.

♪You're my friend

don't disappear suddenly

To a place where we can never meet again

I have to go alone

Swear you don’t

I will be a wanderer

girl leaping time

love is a ship that takes off

Because it crosses the past, the future, and the constellations

hug me

時をかける少女（原田知世）：J-pop

角川書店の前社長：角川春樹は、映画製作に積極的で、２人の新人女優を発掘した。薬師丸ひろ子と原田知世である。２人とも、歌手としても売り出し、成功した。そのうち原田知世のデビュー映画が、SF作家：筒井康隆の「時をかける少女」である。理科の実験室でラベンダーの香りを嗅いでタイムスリップするというお話である。この当時、原田知世は若々しく、曲もヒットした。

(2023.05.14)

[2063travel]

我居然落魄到連一杯咖啡都買不到

第伍佰貳拾貳章 「我居然落魄到連一杯咖啡都買不到」 你們這什麼莫名其妙的國家，吃花就會飽了是吧?

在塔林街頭晃蕩到10點，終於等到這班從愛沙尼亞到聖彼得堡的夜巴。當我的屁股沾上椅子的瞬間，立刻抱著我的背包就睡著了。我大概是夢到那個在塔林吃到的煎餅，如此柔軟，如此香甜，直到… 「逼逼逼逼!!　@$@$%^!*(&^&%$%@$#!@^(&%&^%_(%!!」一陣急促的哨子聲在寂靜的夜裡響起，一群穿著軍裝的人衝上來，滿口的奇怪外語對著我們大叫，原本全黑的車廂被幾支手電筒照得跟白天一樣亮。我模模糊湖搞不太清楚發生什麼事，揉著眼睛感覺自己的心跳突然好快。 「GO!」終於，有一個軍人受不了我慢吞吞的動作，直接拿著手電筒照著我的臉。我一看他的身後一個人都沒有，原來我是最後下車的人。我瞄了一眼手機，現在是凌晨一點多，在車上的旅客全部在巴士旁邊整整齊齊排成一排，有老人有小孩，大家都老老實實的在寒風中站著。我們被要求檢查護照，被仔仔細細的用手電筒檢查五官各式形狀跟角度跟照片是否一樣，但對於我們的行李卻…

[impetuousdesigns]

Inspiration

面白くてどうしても描きたくなるシーンによく出会う。自転車のフェンダーを通して光線が落ち葉に当たって虹になっていること。電車の中で、背後の窓から見える海が前の窓に映っていること。紅葉しているかずらが塀の角を伝っていること。公園を囲んでいる柵が地面に変形した影を作っていること。このことを見ると、スケッチブックがポケットに入ったらよかったなと思ってしまう。なんで持っていないの！

以前はスケッチブックをいつも持っていた。ハイキングコースの横に座って葉っぱや花などを描いていた。友達に会うとき早く到着して周りのビルを描いていた。子供が生まれて以来お出かけ用の持ち物の優先順位が変わった。前は、スケッチブック、鉛筆2～3本、消しゴム、水筒などがカバンに入っていたが、今は着替え、おもちゃ、お菓子などが入っている。まあ、実は前にもお菓子が入っていたが、今は娘の分も必要だからその2倍が入っている。

よく考えてみると、どうしてスケッチブックを持って出かけないんだろう。美術館で働いた時、展示物について習ったことや作品から湧き起こったアイデアも書くために小さなノートをポケットに忍ばせた。覚えている時は、娘がスケッチブックが入っているカバンを持っていく。今でもアートが私の最優先事項の一つなのに、スケッチブックが抜け落ちている。去年のクリスマスに母がいいスケッチブックをくれたけど、表紙がピンクだったから娘がすぐに勝手に持っていってしまった。最近友達がとても素敵なノートをくれたが、これは娘が見つからないように隠し持っている。娘に気づかれずにスケッチブックをカバンにこっそり入れるかもしれない。またスケッチブックを持って出かけることにしよう。

There are so many little scenes that I see and just can’t help but want to draw. The rainbow, made by sunlight passing through the plastic fender on a bike, that appears on a leaf. The reflection of the view of the sea through window behind me on the window in front of me on the train. The vines, whose leaves are turning red, that creep around the corner of a wall. The angled shadow of an interesting fence around a park. These little things make me wish I had a sketchbook in my pocket at all times!! So, why don’t I? 

I used to carry one around when I lived in Kagawa. I’d sit down on the side of a hiking path and draw leaves or flowers. I’d arrive early to meet friends and draw the buildings. Since having a child, my mental list of Things to Take When Going Out has changed its priorities. It used to contain things like my sketchbook, a pencil or two, an eraser, and water bottle, but now it has things like a change of clothes, small toys, and snacks. Ok, snacks were on the list before, but now I need twice as many snacks since my daughter needs her own supply. 

It’s kind of odd that I don’t have a sketchbook, now that I think about it. When I was working at the museums, I always had a notebook in my pocket to jot down things about the exhibition or ideas inspired by the artwork I saw. My daughter always has a sketchbook in her bag when she remembers to carry one. I guess my own sketchbook has just slipped out of my top priorities recently, even though art it is very much a top priority in my life. My mother gave me a really nice sketchbook last Christmas, but since the cover was pink my daughter immediately confiscated it for her own use. A friend recently gave me a beautiful notebook that I have hidden from my daughter. Maybe I can sneak it into my backpack without her noticing. Then I’ll have a travel sketchbook back in my life.