nanashi was from?
we got he was a foreigner and all, but were do you think he came from? I was starting to believe he himself was from china too
Nanashi is likely Japanese. In that period (the Sengoku era), people often referred to those from other provinces as "foreigners," even though to us now, they would be considered from the same country, at the time, they were not.
He spoke Japanese, so that's what I'd say.
He washed up in a ship wreck and had red hair. Anyone can learn Japanese, especially if you've lived in Japan your whole life. He was probably from the same European country that Kenshin was. It seems like redhead make the best swordsmen.
Feed Me a Stray Cat
I agree with you that he was really just 'Japanese'. Throughout history, the islands that we call Japan today, have been home to a variety of peoples and cultures. The country also had a kind of 'Warring states' period and it was around the time of this story (Stranger) that the islands were very specifically divided. Even today, every prefecture of Japan has several sources of pride, be it an unusual dialect (or language as seen in Ainu and Ryuyku people of Japan), or just unique food.
In anime, exagerated colourisation and physical features are common. Nanashi's hair colour was most likely just an exaggerated device to show his seperation. I am sure that he is 'Japanese', by our standards today, but just from another 'country' of Japan. Also, I don't recall ever seeing anyone with dark red hair like his that hasn't opened a bottle of Loreal.
I am pretty sure that at this time in Japan, there was no 'Japan' as such. The term 'foreigner' probably just means that he is from another region/island of Japan. His red hair could easily just be more anime flamboyance. I didn't take it to mean that he was from 'overseas' but probably just from another island.
shareProblem is that the rest of the movie do not have any flamboyance (unless the amazing swordplay can be called flamboyance), but it has a grip on reality. So his red hair must also be based on reality. Of course, Lain already explained the director said he was European.
shareAt his focus panel at Anime Expo 2008, director Masahiro Ando was asked this very question by an audience member. Although I don't remember exactly what his words were (I was at the panel), he did make it clear that Nanashi was a foreigner, as in not from any part of what today is considered Japan, and not from any part of what we consider to be 'Asia' today. Ando said that he never exactly fixed a set country to Nanashi's identity, but when pressed more, he said that most likely (keeping in mind some traces of historical possibility, no matter how unlikely) that he would have been from somewhere like Portugal or Holland (not specifically Portugal or Holland, mind you, but "a place like" one of those countries). At any rate, he is supposed to be what is today considered Western European. However, Ando emphasized that Nanashi's nationality really doesn't matter, and what is more important is simply that he is an "outsider" that the audience can relate to. In that sense, he can be 'from' anywhere.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paprika - An Anime by Satoshi Kon and Studio Madhouse.
Paprika. This is your brain on anime.
yeah without even reading this response about the director's thoughts first, i thought he's probably dutch as portugal and holland had the most sea trades with east asia at that time, and the japanese of that time usually referred them as 'southern barbarians' with stereotypical notion of dutch having red hair, nanashi could easily be son of a dutch arquebus merchant shipwrecked near japan.
shareDoesn't he write a message in English at one point? You know, to that guy who takes them in and then tries to cash in on the Chinese bounty. Maybe it's just on the version I was watching. If not, there's a good chance he is British, or has at least come into contact with English speakers. at the very least, it would imply that he cannot write in Japanese - why would he write in English to a Japanese speaker?
shareIt's not in English, at least not in the version I have - do you mean the message scratched on a plank of wood? It's in Japanese, of course, written in kana, very rough and hard to read, but then writing on wood is not easy.
If you were watching a dubbed version, maybe a different message is substituted, I don't know if that's possible.
That's the scene, yes. I was watching a subtitled, Japanese language BD. I can only guess that we're watching slightly different versions.
Damn! Thought I was onto something there.
To me, I thought Nanashi was European in origin, like Rarou was. He has red hair, explains that he came to what we would now call "Japan" from a ship, and dyes his hair in order to keep his identity as a foreigner secret. I think the director is right on this one.
Welcome to my Nightmare- Freddy Krueger
In the version I watched (Japanese language with English subs) the message was written in English. This lead me to believe he was from England, but if it's different in other versions, I guess that's not the case.
I would still say he is European at least, simply because of the parallel between him and Luo-Lang who is clearly European.
Taiwan was colonized by Dutch and Spanish during Ming Dynasty, and is located next to Japan. Just a thought.
share"Taiwan was colonized by Dutch and Spanish during Ming Dynasty, and is located next to Japan. Just a thought."
Very interesting. Perhaps Nanashi was a mix? He clearly wasn't Japanese all the way, but he might have had mixed ethnicity, not hard to imagine him having a European father and an Asian mother (or maybe even vice versa).
"The Right Man in the Wrong Place can make all the difference in the World..."
He could be a bastard son of a sea merchant (European) and local prostitute (Japanese). Dutch, Spain, and Portugal traded extensively in that region during the Ming Dynasty (how the old dude got his fancy rifle).
I'm Chinese and we called Dutch people "Hong Mao" at that time, which literally means "Red Hair".
"I'm Chinese and we called Dutch people "Hong Mao" at that time, which literally means "Red Hair"."
Wow! :) Cool (and precise) details, thanks! Definitley shows that the director/writer did some research on history of Asia.
Strange fact is though, that he never wanted to comment too much on the movie itself, and it's obvious that people had some questions.
Whatever stuff I found online about it (interviews and such), has director saying something along the lines of "I've put a lot of things in this movie, would rather not talk about it, want for people to interpret it in their own way".
Nanashi mentions being the only survivor of the shipwreck, I think that would imply that his parents died on that ship - they were probably trying to make it to Japan (perhaps escaping for some reason?)
Very interesting to speculate. :)
"The Right Man in the Wrong Place can make all the difference in the World..."