Season 10, Episode 42: Hearing without Hearing (Patreon)

This week on MSB we're talking about the Victory Gundam episode with a truly goth title: #42 'A Shining Vortex of Fresh Blood.'

We discuss Sigmund Freud, weird facts, name and design references, the sour end to Lupe Cineau's improbably long career, what not having kids does to a woman (and how to fix it according to Dr. Uso), and a whole lot about the Zanneck's origins. Plus, Nina and Thom both reach their limits for very different reasons. Please listen to it!

Show Notes

• Collage of the Zanneck, clearly showing the eight-spoked wheel-shape of the "flying saucer," and the shoulder-crescents in various states of activation:

• The story that mentions Raijin's attendants and their mirrors is "214: Gengorō’s Trip to the Sky," in The Yanagita Kunio Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale, by Fanny Hagin Mayer. The entirety of the text is available online, courtesy of Indiana University Press.

• Books:

  • Ashcraft, Brian, and Hori Benny. Japanese Tattoos: History, Culture, Design. Tuttle Publishing, 2016.

  • Ashkenazi, Michael. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2003.

  • Baird, Merrily. Symbols of Japan: Thematic Motifs in Art and Design. Rizzoli, 2001.

  • Toriyama, Sekien. Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien. Translated by Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt, Dover Publications, 2016.

    • "Katawa-guruma," p113 (the wheel that steals a baby)

      By Toriyama Sekien (鳥山石燕, Japanese, *1712, †1788) - scanned from ISBN 4-336-03386-2., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2079950

    • "Wanyūdō," p114 (priest-wheel that steals souls and also rolls around the sky)

      By Toriyama Sekien (鳥山石燕, Japanese, *1712, †1788) - scanned from ISBN 4-336-03386-2., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2079951

    • "Ungai-Kyō," p290 (the circle the face is on is a mirror)

      By Toriyama Sekien (鳥山石燕) - scanned from ISBN 978-4-336-03386-4., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2084072

    • "Suzuhiko-hime," p291 (it's hard to make out, but those are bells atop her head... just like Fuala!)

      By Toriyama Sekien (鳥山石燕) - scanned from ISBN 978-4-336-03386-4., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2084726

• We talked about eboshi/other priest-garb hats in MSB Season 2 Episode 51, when Thom researched the 'The O' mobile suit. Here's a good screenshot of the Zanneck's pointy hat-head:
  

• Wikipedia pages consulted: Triple Goddess (Neopaganism), Vajra, and 鈴 (すず、bell). Also the Encyclopedia Britannica page for Vajra.

• The finial of a shakujō, or "alarm staff," from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

• Wright, Gregory.  “Raijin.” Mythopedia, 29 Nov. 2022. https://mythopedia.com/topics/raijin. Accessed on 17 Feb. 2024.

• Shoutout to 國學院大學 (Kokugakuin University)'s Digital Museum, which includes an Encyclopedia of Shinto! I consulted their pages on Raijin (thunder god), Kagura (ceremonial dance), and Kamigakari/Takusen (spirit possession and spirit mediums).
  
  

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