|
The
main board of Kigetsu represents a map of Japan.
It is
inspired from the territorial organization of the Middle Ages,
without
imitating it, in order to balance the game.
Kigetsu isn't a wargame and so, the borders
are useless. However,
they are not here by chance. One the one hand, the colours of
the five
provinces refer to the colours of the
5 families of the game. On the
other hand, their location is connected to a certain logic. |
The Miyako area, at the center, used to be the Emperor's.
The capital city and the Emperor's palace were there.
At the Emperor's court, endless plotting caused the fall of
the regime many times. As a consequence, this area could
only be symbolized by the water clan (blue), the clan of the
ninja, composed of mercenaries and plotters.
Sapporo island, at North East, was conquered late in Japanese
history. Even today, it remains little civilized. It used
to
be the shelter of many tribes, such as the Ainus. As a consequence,
this province is symbolized by the earth clan (green).
Kyushu island, at South West, has the greatest volcano of
Japan : mount Aso. The Fire clan (red) was thus the best to
represent this area. Furthermore, the isle of Shikoku also
means "kingdom of the dead" in Japanese - a famous
pilgrimage takes place there, making this island a high spiritual
place, which is greatly influenced by local sects,
reminding us of the fire clan again.
Edo - today's Tokyo - became the capital of Japan around 1600.
The shogunate of the Tokugawa then reorganized
the state around a very rigid hierarchy, which allowed them
to control the whole country, at the expense of the Emperor.
It was the time of the samurais and of the daimyos, and so,
this area is symbolized by the metal clan (gray).
The mountainous
areas of Miyako used to shelter the greatest sohei Busshist
temples. They played an important
political role and competed with the samurai on the military
level. Their monasteries were like fortresses, and
mountains made them difficult to attack. As a consequence,
the whole moutainous area North West of Miyako is
symbolized by the wood clan (brown).
|
Fudo
The map of Kigetsu represents a self-sufficient
and self-centered world, which
symbolizes the concept of "Fudo". Fudo
refers to a mystical God, which keeps
the borders of the world, but the thinker Watsuji
Tetsuro made a geographical
criteria out of it, which associates nature and collective imagination.
Japan is
subjected to volcanoes, typhoons, earthquakes and many other
disasters : as a
consequence, Japaese collective thinking rejects stable landmarks
and
favours fluxes, processes and asymetry. |
One of the oldest maps of Japan
|
The
main board is a scroll (or parchment) which gradually tells
the legend of the players. It mixes myth and history
without limiation. It represents space and time as absolutes.
In that sense, the Great Sun and the Great Moon, next to the
map, symbolize the Golden age and the Dark age. The players
constantly move from one to the other, and
gradually build the game aroud that to and fro movement. In
Kigetsu, nothing is really defined in termes
of time and space.
When a fight ends, the battle may have lasted several minutes,
many days, or even centuries, according to the player's
perception. In the same way, when a player puts his counters
on the map, he does more than travelling from one point to the
other. He actually draws a line of power, he opens a track as
people gradually open a track through a forest : it is a process
which takes a lot of time, but which then allows to travel faster. |
A kata sequence in karate |
Jo Ha Kyu
In Japanese primitive thinking, time is the real master of the
universe : it is pure energy, which
triggers and submits everything. In martial arts and even in
the tea ceremony, capturing
this pure energy can be performed through jo-ha-kyu,
an aesthetic principle that could
be translated by "beginning, break, rapid". This arrangement
may be found at many levels :
microcosmic (a combination of hits, notes, or dancing steps)
and macrocosmic (an act,
a narrative structure, an epic tale).
In Kigetsu, each part is organized around this
principle, globally (in the game) and
specifically (in the battles). Jo-ha-kyu is a "breath",
which gives life to the game.
The playwright Zeami
described jo-ha-kyu as a brook, which becomes a river,
then a fall
which crashes into a quiet pond. It is the introduction, development
and conclusion
of any action.
|
|
|
|
JO
– slow and quiet introduction. |
HA
– Development, characterized
by ruptures, and by an increase of
speed and pressure. |
KYU
– quick conclusion, followed
by a brief final stasis. |
|
