Ian Andreas Miller. 6 October 2002.

     In volume seventeen of the Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn manga, Princess Kaky† says that she came from the Tankei Kingdom of the planet Kinmoku.  The incense burner that held Kaky’s body gives off the scent of fragrant olives.  There is a special connection between Kaky's fragrant olive theme and the name of her planet.  Some English-speaking fans may have trouble understanding the connection without a thorough explanation.  This article explains the connection.

     The Japanese term Kinmokusei refers to a variety of fragrant olive trees.  That variety's scientific name is Osmanthus fragrans variation aurantiacus (“orange-red fragrant olive”)¹.  The term Kinmoku-sei means planet Kinmoku in Japanese².  The sei kanji is a suffix that refers to a celestial body³.  In this case, the suffix logically refers to a planet.  When the Japanese pronounce the name of that variety of fragrant olive trees ( Kinmokusei), it sounds exactly like the Japanese term that means planet Kinmoku ( Kinmoku-sei).  The term Kinmoku-sei is a pun on the term Kinmokusei.

     It is important to understand that the sei in the term Kinmoku-sei is not a permanent part of the name.  The sei in one of the Japanese names of the planet Venus, Kinsei, is permanent⁴.  If we remove the sei in Kinsei, it is no longer a Japanese name of the planet.  The term Kinmoku-sei is not the name of Kaky's planet.  It means planet Kinmoku.  Kaky's transformation phrase is “Kinmoku Star Power, Make Up”⁵, not “Kinmokusei Star Power, Make Up” as it would be if the sei was meant to be permanent.  If we remove the sei in Kinmoku-sei, we have the name of planet, Kinmoku ( Kinmoku).  Therefore, the name of Kaky's planet itself is Kinmoku in English and in Japanese. 

(Incidentally, the Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn manga mentions the Japanese terms Ch-sei, Mmeido-sei, Koronisu-sei, and Mau-sei⁶.  The manga also mentions Sailor Chu, Sailor Mermaid, Sailor Coronis, and Sailor Mau.  Those sailor soldiers represent their respective planets.  The sei kanji in the four Japanese terms is not permanent: Ch-sei means planet Ch, Mmeido-sei means planet Mermaid, Koronisu-sei means planet Coronis, and Mau-sei means planet Mau.)

     There are other fragrant olive references in the Bishjo Senshi Sr Mn manga.  Sailor Kaky performs her Kinmoku Fusion Tempest maneuver in volume eighteen⁷.  (The name of the maneuver also shows that the sei in Kinmoku-sei is not permanent.)  The katakana characters that are used to write the name appear next to the kanji .  The first two kanji, , are used in China to represent the scientific name Osmanthus fragrans⁸.  The Chinese reading (intended pronunciation) of those kanji is Guìhu, but the Japanese reading is Keika.  (The other four kanji, hyakka ryran, mean many flowers blooming in profusion⁹.)  The kanji Tankei represent the name of Kaky’s Kingdom.    Those kanji also refer to Dnguì, which is the Chinese name of the tree that the Japanese call Kinmokusei.

     The olive family of trees and shrubs has the scientific name Oleaceae.  Chinese botanists often use the kanji to represent the scientific name¹⁰.  The Chinese reading of those kanji is Mùxk.  Japanese botanists use the term Mokuseika to represent the name Oleaceae¹¹.

     A variety of fragrant olive trees with silver-white flowers has the Japanese name Ginmokusei¹².  The Chinese name of the tree is Yínguì¹³.  Its scientific name is Osmanthus fragrans variation latifolius (“wide-leaved fragrant olive”).  A variety of fragrant olive trees with gold-orange flowers has the Japanese name Usugimokusei¹⁴.  (The usugi part looks sort of like the name Usagi!).  The Chinese name of that tree is Jnguì¹⁵.  Its scientific name is Osmanthus fragrans variation thunbergii (“fragrant olive of Thunberg”).

[DIES GAUDII] | [Contact] | [Sources Cited] | [Gallery] | [Notes]

© 2002-2008 Ian Andreas Miller. All rights reserved. Those statements refer to all of the original content on these Web pages. All of the other works that are mentioned on these pages are the properties of their authors.