Spoiler
Alert : This article has nothing to do with the Seichi of
« The Boy and The beast ». Here are the links to the articles about
that :
☞【Seichi junrei of "The Boy And The Beast" part 1】
☞【Seichi junrei of "The Boy And The Beast" part 2】
☞【Seichi junrei of "The Boy And The Beast" part 1】
☞【Seichi junrei of "The Boy And The Beast" part 2】
This time I will explain the death of Kumatetsu in detail. If you are interested in knowing more about it, please keep reading. In the movie it was hard to understand whether he was dead or alive at the end. Therefore, I read the novel of "The Boy And The Beast", which is written in more details, to better understand it. First, let’s catch a glimpse of the end.
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Image source:amazon |
Kumatetsu, who is Kyuta’s master, was seriously injured after Ichirouhiko attacked him.
Ichirouhiko, who is a human like Kyuta, could not accept his father’s defeat by Kumatetsu.
That resulted into a fight between him and Kyuta. But as much as Kyuta is strong thanks to Kumatetsu’s guidance, Ichirouhiko was still much stronger. As a consequence, Kumatetsu claimed his right, as a grandmaster, to be a god. And that is how Kumatetsu became "a sword of fire" and got into the heart of Kyuta.
Now, here are my questions↓↓
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Image source:amazon |
That resulted into a fight between him and Kyuta. But as much as Kyuta is strong thanks to Kumatetsu’s guidance, Ichirouhiko was still much stronger. As a consequence, Kumatetsu claimed his right, as a grandmaster, to be a god. And that is how Kumatetsu became "a sword of fire" and got into the heart of Kyuta.
Now, here are my questions↓↓
1. Why and How did Kumatetsu become "a sword of fire"?
2. What is a Tsukumo God?
3. Is Kumatetsu dead? If not, what happened to him?
1. Why did Kumatetsu become "a sword of fire"?
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Image source:amazon |
To understand that, we have to recall some scenes from the beginning of the movie.
As you may know, Kyuta became a pupil of Kumatetsu at the age of nine [In fact,« Kyuu » in « Kyuta » means nine in Japanese].
At first Kumatetsu's teaching was very bad. He kept showing sword movements to Kyuta without explaining the technique.So, Kyuta could not understand why Kumatetsu was so strong. And Kumatetsu just kept saying to Kyuta : "There is a sword in your heart !!".
Later, Kumatetsu’s heart was moved by Kyuta 's learning attitude, who desperately tried to imitate the movement of Kumatetsu. That’s how, he became willing to teach Kyuta how to fight.
I think that he tried to be Kyuta's "sword of the heart." He became his "sword of the heart" to defend Kyuta, and he became "a sword of fire". As for how Kumatetsu became "a sword of fire", he became a Tsukumo god of the sword.
As you may know, Kyuta became a pupil of Kumatetsu at the age of nine [In fact,« Kyuu » in « Kyuta » means nine in Japanese].
At first Kumatetsu's teaching was very bad. He kept showing sword movements to Kyuta without explaining the technique.So, Kyuta could not understand why Kumatetsu was so strong. And Kumatetsu just kept saying to Kyuta : "There is a sword in your heart !!".
Later, Kumatetsu’s heart was moved by Kyuta 's learning attitude, who desperately tried to imitate the movement of Kumatetsu. That’s how, he became willing to teach Kyuta how to fight.
I think that he tried to be Kyuta's "sword of the heart." He became his "sword of the heart" to defend Kyuta, and he became "a sword of fire". As for how Kumatetsu became "a sword of fire", he became a Tsukumo god of the sword.
2. What is Tsukumo God?
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Image source:小学館 日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本 |
Originally, it is said that there are 8 million gods in Japan.
Therefore, in Japan it is common to think that there are various kinds of gods.
Tsukumo god is a very famous god in Japan. Tsukumo means very long time.
The picture above was drawn in the 16th century. The old Japanese believed that objects that were used for a very long time and very long living creatures and plants would become youkai or god.
For example, if the broom is used by you and your father and your grandfather since your great grandfather was born, that broom will be a Tsukumo God.
God will stay in things and tools that have been used for many years.
According to the word "Mottainai", I learn that it is very important to use things carefully in Japan.
It is said that animals and plants living for more than 100 years can also become Tsukumo gods.
3. Is Kumatetsu
dead? If not, what happened to him?
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Image source:amazon |
It seemed that Kumatetsu had died at
the end. But actually, Kumatetsu has become a kind of divinity. He became a
Tsukumo god.
What does it mean
to be a Tsukumo god? It is very difficult to tell.
But, it seems to
be different from death. Because Kyuta was definitely talking to Kumatetsu
in his mind. Kumatetsu also kept talking to him. Their conversation seemed
to be a farewell speech.
However, it was
mentioned in the novel that "Kumatetsu lost his actual body and stayed
in the heart of Kyuta instead". Kumatetsu was definitely in the heart
of Kyuta. Nobody can see him but I think he watches Kyuta like a guardian
spirit.
And, perhaps Chiko,
the girl, may be the appearance of Kyuta's mother's incarnation. Because she
was already dead. What do you think ?