eag
in
reflections_2
Mibu Oriya
Author: eag
Spoilers: All the way up through Kyoto Arc, anime and manga.
Email: eag at livejournal dot com
Personal website: http://eag.squidkitty.org
When I was first introduced to Oriya, I didn’t notice him. To clarify that point, he was a shadow in the brilliance of Muraki. Muraki was my first true character love for Yami no Matsuei. In my opinion at the time, he easily outshone everyone else. Oriya seemed in contrast only compelling because he had some vague past tie to Muraki.
How completely wrong I was.
Oriya: "...humph. It's not like I'm in this business because I like it."
There’s not much we know about Oriya’s life other than a few hints from the manga. We know that he is Muraki’s friend from college; we know that he inherited and runs Kokakurou, a high class traditional restaurant that is one of the oldest establishments in Kyoto. But like the layers of his kimonos, there are layers of hidden secrets within Kokakurou itself.
Outwardly benign, Kokakurou is in fact a secret whorehouse/brothel that has been catering to politicians and the elite of Japanese society for generations. Though Oriya is an innocent in contrast to his best friend Muraki, his hands are not clean. The manga suggests that the whores are in debt to either Oriya or Kokakurou, and so deeply in debt that they can never work their way free. The manga also seems to hint that Muraki helps ‘clean up’ after troublesome women that threaten to expose Kokakurou’s secret by killing them.
Kokakurou serves a particular clientele with its traditional charm and rigorous etiquette. As Oriya notes, even Muraki could not enter if it were not for his patronage. Seen in the context of story arcs such as the King of Swords, one might even venture to guess that Oriya’s involvement in the hidden politics of the country might even go so far as using Muraki as his agent in cleaning up messy or sensitive affairs. And even as graceful as Kokakurou appears to the naked eye, it is also interesting to note that some of Kokakurou’s clients are described by Muraki as violent, a curious thing to say given the evil doctor’s own proclivities.
However Oriya appears to take no pleasure in this business, and is never seen tending to its day-to-day workings (other than once picking up the phone). What he does specifically regarding the business is unknown, though there is evidence that the female servants of his household report back to him regarding the movements of its guests. There is also ample evidence that he is extremely well-connected in the upper circles of power - he uses these connections to help Muraki cover his tracks.
Tatsumi: Things that shouldn't be appearing to exist naturally...
Tatsumi: Sakura blooming out of season
Tatsumi: This building that time has forgotten
Tatsumi: It is all unnatural...
Tatsumi: This man as well...
Adept in kendo and proficient in tea ceremony, Oriya lives as a gentleman of leisure within the walls of Kokakurou. The manga suggests that he’s over thirty and around Muraki’s age, as Muraki mentions that they went to college together. He’s perhaps a few centimeters taller than Muraki (over 183 cm) and definitely broader in build. Though to the western eye he may appear effeminate with his long dark hair and preference for flower-patterned kimonos, don’t let the image of the blossom fool you. He speaks as tough as any guy, and he can and will kick Muraki’s ass.
Mysteries surround Oriya and Kokakurou. Within its walls blooms a sakura (cherry tree) that even in late fall produces flowers out of season. Like the unnatural sakura, Oriya too is no ordinary human being: he has spiritual powers. For example, Oriya can tell when the Shinigami are trying to go invisible to get around him and forces them to fight him. As well, Oriya seems to be able to sense emotions or read intent on some level - he can tell when Hisoka’s mind clears in their fight. He can also see the full blood moon - look at the anime closely and you’ll realize the only ones that seem to be able to notice it or discern it are characters with spiritual powers such as Hisoka (before he died), the Shinigami, Muraki, and Oriya.
As a character, he is strong but has something of a brittleness, a fragility about him. Oriya is a contradiction on many levels: cloistered in his world yet at the same time at the center of a spider web of political intrigue, a modern university-educated man choosing to live in the Tokugawa era at home, a flower of a man among the flowers of his brothel. And Oriya, like the walls of Kokakurou, is a traditional beauty hiding dark secrets.
Oriya: Arrogant, cool-headed-----------
Oriya: You with the eyes that always looked down on other people let me see that face only once then...
Oriya: Even now the empty smile of a broken, faltering automaton---------...
Oriya knows Muraki’s secrets. Muraki’s past, his relationship with his parents, even Ukyou - well enough it seems, to call her -chan (though this is probably tongue-in-cheek). Through Oriya’s eyes, we even see that heartbreakingly innocent Muraki of his youth, years before Muraki became the man he is now, young yet still with that air of tragedy, that same fatalism that later helps drive Muraki deeper into madness.
The Muraki that Oriya knows has been gone for a long time, yet it appears that he clings to the hope that somewhere within the empty smile of a killer, that young man he knew still exists. It’s impossible to say definitively that Oriya is in love with him. Like the tea ceremony they sit at, each has their own ritualized role in each other’s life. The two delicately move around each other’s boundaries, pushing and prodding at turns but always careful not to actually break that tension, careful not to upset their relationship. Instead of love then, I would say that they have a certain understanding with each other that they share with no one else. An understanding that goes deeper than romantic love.
It is an understanding that leads Oriya to confront a similar dilemma to Tatsumi: letting go of someone important so that they can follow through with their own choices and end the suffering in their lives. Muraki gives Oriya the key to stopping him because he wants someone to stop him, whether his best friend or the Shinigami. Oriya could have made his own personal decision to go after Muraki himself. Yet he does as he is requested, because it is a promise to his best friend. And because Oriya cares deeply, he also knows that Muraki cannot go on the way he has been.
Oriya resigns himself to knowing that he will never see Muraki again, even as their understanding is unraveled by mutual agreement. By the end, Oriya realizes there are things about Muraki that he will never know, that their understanding was on some level utter self-delusion, and that there are conversations forever lost to the Sagano night, as fleeting as the life of a flickering candle flame.
And so he waits.
Fics involving Oriya (there are lots more, but I particularly like these):
Empty Branches by Aeanagwen
In the Ashes of Jericho by vain_chan
Yuurei no Tegami by tenshi_no_korin
Essays:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/oriyasan_kick/4517.html
References:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/oriyasan_kick/3983.html
http://theria.net/yaminomatsuei/manga/index.html#7
http://www.angelfire.com/geek/tetrisnomiko/fansub/ynmfansub.html
For more discussions, fics, and other Oriya-related information, please check out oriyasan_kick.
Spoilers: All the way up through Kyoto Arc, anime and manga.
Email: eag at livejournal dot com
Personal website: http://eag.squidkitty.org
When I was first introduced to Oriya, I didn’t notice him. To clarify that point, he was a shadow in the brilliance of Muraki. Muraki was my first true character love for Yami no Matsuei. In my opinion at the time, he easily outshone everyone else. Oriya seemed in contrast only compelling because he had some vague past tie to Muraki.
How completely wrong I was.
Oriya: "...humph. It's not like I'm in this business because I like it."
There’s not much we know about Oriya’s life other than a few hints from the manga. We know that he is Muraki’s friend from college; we know that he inherited and runs Kokakurou, a high class traditional restaurant that is one of the oldest establishments in Kyoto. But like the layers of his kimonos, there are layers of hidden secrets within Kokakurou itself.
Outwardly benign, Kokakurou is in fact a secret whorehouse/brothel that has been catering to politicians and the elite of Japanese society for generations. Though Oriya is an innocent in contrast to his best friend Muraki, his hands are not clean. The manga suggests that the whores are in debt to either Oriya or Kokakurou, and so deeply in debt that they can never work their way free. The manga also seems to hint that Muraki helps ‘clean up’ after troublesome women that threaten to expose Kokakurou’s secret by killing them.
Kokakurou serves a particular clientele with its traditional charm and rigorous etiquette. As Oriya notes, even Muraki could not enter if it were not for his patronage. Seen in the context of story arcs such as the King of Swords, one might even venture to guess that Oriya’s involvement in the hidden politics of the country might even go so far as using Muraki as his agent in cleaning up messy or sensitive affairs. And even as graceful as Kokakurou appears to the naked eye, it is also interesting to note that some of Kokakurou’s clients are described by Muraki as violent, a curious thing to say given the evil doctor’s own proclivities.
However Oriya appears to take no pleasure in this business, and is never seen tending to its day-to-day workings (other than once picking up the phone). What he does specifically regarding the business is unknown, though there is evidence that the female servants of his household report back to him regarding the movements of its guests. There is also ample evidence that he is extremely well-connected in the upper circles of power - he uses these connections to help Muraki cover his tracks.
Tatsumi: Things that shouldn't be appearing to exist naturally...
Tatsumi: Sakura blooming out of season
Tatsumi: This building that time has forgotten
Tatsumi: It is all unnatural...
Tatsumi: This man as well...
Adept in kendo and proficient in tea ceremony, Oriya lives as a gentleman of leisure within the walls of Kokakurou. The manga suggests that he’s over thirty and around Muraki’s age, as Muraki mentions that they went to college together. He’s perhaps a few centimeters taller than Muraki (over 183 cm) and definitely broader in build. Though to the western eye he may appear effeminate with his long dark hair and preference for flower-patterned kimonos, don’t let the image of the blossom fool you. He speaks as tough as any guy, and he can and will kick Muraki’s ass.
Mysteries surround Oriya and Kokakurou. Within its walls blooms a sakura (cherry tree) that even in late fall produces flowers out of season. Like the unnatural sakura, Oriya too is no ordinary human being: he has spiritual powers. For example, Oriya can tell when the Shinigami are trying to go invisible to get around him and forces them to fight him. As well, Oriya seems to be able to sense emotions or read intent on some level - he can tell when Hisoka’s mind clears in their fight. He can also see the full blood moon - look at the anime closely and you’ll realize the only ones that seem to be able to notice it or discern it are characters with spiritual powers such as Hisoka (before he died), the Shinigami, Muraki, and Oriya.
As a character, he is strong but has something of a brittleness, a fragility about him. Oriya is a contradiction on many levels: cloistered in his world yet at the same time at the center of a spider web of political intrigue, a modern university-educated man choosing to live in the Tokugawa era at home, a flower of a man among the flowers of his brothel. And Oriya, like the walls of Kokakurou, is a traditional beauty hiding dark secrets.
Oriya: Arrogant, cool-headed-----------
Oriya: You with the eyes that always looked down on other people let me see that face only once then...
Oriya: Even now the empty smile of a broken, faltering automaton---------...
Oriya knows Muraki’s secrets. Muraki’s past, his relationship with his parents, even Ukyou - well enough it seems, to call her -chan (though this is probably tongue-in-cheek). Through Oriya’s eyes, we even see that heartbreakingly innocent Muraki of his youth, years before Muraki became the man he is now, young yet still with that air of tragedy, that same fatalism that later helps drive Muraki deeper into madness.
The Muraki that Oriya knows has been gone for a long time, yet it appears that he clings to the hope that somewhere within the empty smile of a killer, that young man he knew still exists. It’s impossible to say definitively that Oriya is in love with him. Like the tea ceremony they sit at, each has their own ritualized role in each other’s life. The two delicately move around each other’s boundaries, pushing and prodding at turns but always careful not to actually break that tension, careful not to upset their relationship. Instead of love then, I would say that they have a certain understanding with each other that they share with no one else. An understanding that goes deeper than romantic love.
It is an understanding that leads Oriya to confront a similar dilemma to Tatsumi: letting go of someone important so that they can follow through with their own choices and end the suffering in their lives. Muraki gives Oriya the key to stopping him because he wants someone to stop him, whether his best friend or the Shinigami. Oriya could have made his own personal decision to go after Muraki himself. Yet he does as he is requested, because it is a promise to his best friend. And because Oriya cares deeply, he also knows that Muraki cannot go on the way he has been.
Oriya resigns himself to knowing that he will never see Muraki again, even as their understanding is unraveled by mutual agreement. By the end, Oriya realizes there are things about Muraki that he will never know, that their understanding was on some level utter self-delusion, and that there are conversations forever lost to the Sagano night, as fleeting as the life of a flickering candle flame.
And so he waits.
Fics involving Oriya (there are lots more, but I particularly like these):
Empty Branches by Aeanagwen
In the Ashes of Jericho by vain_chan
Yuurei no Tegami by tenshi_no_korin
Essays:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/oriyasan_kick/4517.html
References:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/oriyasan_kick/3983.html
http://theria.net/yaminomatsuei/manga/index.html#7
http://www.angelfire.com/geek/tetrisnomiko/fansub/ynmfansub.html
For more discussions, fics, and other Oriya-related information, please check out oriyasan_kick.