Meta thread: Symbolism in Hikaru no Go
Apr. 27th, 2011 08:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
troisroyaumesApologies for having fallen off the community activity bandwagon, but I thought that ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
three_weeks_for_dw would be a good opportunity to get back on.
"Symbolism" was the meta topic that garnered the most votes in the poll I posted a while ago, so let's talk about symbolism in the series!
Some topics for discussion:
- Hikaru imagining the go board as the universe and the stones as stars
- tiger vs. dragon imagery to represent Hikaru and Akira's rivalry
- Sai using swordsmanship as a metaphor for playing go
- Hikaru's fan
- symbols used in Obata's art for the series (artbook scans, new complete editions)*
- character descriptors from the new complete editions (Hikaru = "the heir", Sai = "the ghost", Akira = "the seeker", Kaga = "the vagabond", Tsutsui = "the founder", Mitani = "the stray cat", Akari = "the neighbor", Waya = "the senior-apprentice", Ogata = "the prophet", Suyeong = "the pursuer", Isumi = "the wanderer", Ochi = "the little king", Touya Kouyou = "the master", Kurata = "the monster", Kuwabara = "the elder", Yang Hai = "the talent", Ashiwara = "the optimist", Nase = "the challenger", Yashiro = "the boldest", Zhao Shi = "the naturalist", Yeongha = "the pride", Shouji & Oka = "the buddies")
- is Sai's fear of frogs symbolic?
- is go itself symbolic?
- symbolic importance of any of these catchphrases: "the new wave", "room of profound darkness", "hand of god"
- theme of identity vs. anonymity/pseudonymity: NetGo, Sai as Hikaru's "shadow", Akira/Ogata/Touya Kouyou attempting to uncover Sai's "real" identity
- parallels in storyline, e.g. cheating by both Sai's rival at court and Mitani
- names as symbols, e.g. Hikaru, Akira and Akari all associated with "light"
- theme of tradition vs. modernity: clothes, Sai possessing Hikaru, "connecting the past to the future"
Feel free to jump in with discussion topics of your own!
* Anyone have links to scans from the second artbook, Blanc et Noir?
three_weeks_for_dw would be a good opportunity to get back on."Symbolism" was the meta topic that garnered the most votes in the poll I posted a while ago, so let's talk about symbolism in the series!
Some topics for discussion:
- Hikaru imagining the go board as the universe and the stones as stars
- tiger vs. dragon imagery to represent Hikaru and Akira's rivalry
- Sai using swordsmanship as a metaphor for playing go
- Hikaru's fan
- symbols used in Obata's art for the series (artbook scans, new complete editions)*
- character descriptors from the new complete editions (Hikaru = "the heir", Sai = "the ghost", Akira = "the seeker", Kaga = "the vagabond", Tsutsui = "the founder", Mitani = "the stray cat", Akari = "the neighbor", Waya = "the senior-apprentice", Ogata = "the prophet", Suyeong = "the pursuer", Isumi = "the wanderer", Ochi = "the little king", Touya Kouyou = "the master", Kurata = "the monster", Kuwabara = "the elder", Yang Hai = "the talent", Ashiwara = "the optimist", Nase = "the challenger", Yashiro = "the boldest", Zhao Shi = "the naturalist", Yeongha = "the pride", Shouji & Oka = "the buddies")
- is Sai's fear of frogs symbolic?
- is go itself symbolic?
- symbolic importance of any of these catchphrases: "the new wave", "room of profound darkness", "hand of god"
- theme of identity vs. anonymity/pseudonymity: NetGo, Sai as Hikaru's "shadow", Akira/Ogata/Touya Kouyou attempting to uncover Sai's "real" identity
- parallels in storyline, e.g. cheating by both Sai's rival at court and Mitani
- names as symbols, e.g. Hikaru, Akira and Akari all associated with "light"
- theme of tradition vs. modernity: clothes, Sai possessing Hikaru, "connecting the past to the future"
Feel free to jump in with discussion topics of your own!
* Anyone have links to scans from the second artbook, Blanc et Noir?
