A Koumyou thought

[louiselux]

I am a slow thinker. This morning I had a fragment or two of thought about the Koumyou bit of the Reload Burial arc,
the bit where Koumyou meets Kenyuu for the first time. I'm sure this occured to everyone ages ago.

Kenyuu listens to the students gossiping about Koumyou and his pretty young boy. Kenyuu is bored by them, but he's listening anyway because I'm sure he doesn't like to miss out on things.

Later, with this in mind, when Koumyou says that Kenyuu reminds him of his Kouryuu it strikes me that initially Kenyuu might consider this to be a chat-up line, if he thinks that Koumyou likes boys.

Plus, randomly, I always think it's so sweet that Koumyou says 'I'm 39' when Kenyuu then asks 'How old?

And another thing. The Ukoku Burial arc appears to show that sanzos are chosen by seeing which of the students can kill (is this right, or have I misread it?) the old sanzo. So a sanzo has to die before another can be made. Does this mean then that Kouryuu would have had to kill Koumyou or just wait until Kouryuu died of natural causes? And is Kouryuu being unconventional when he simply passes on the sutra. Either way, Koumyou dies on the night that Kouryuu is crowned Sanzo thus carrying on the tradition.  So either Koumyou was breaking with tradition, or more likely he knew he was going to die that night, or soon. How or why did he think that? I think this must be a vital plot point.

I should probably stop thinking now. It's not helping.

Comments

[yukie1013.livejournal.com]

I think Goudai was fucking batshit. Deathmatches are...not teh Buddhist.

I suspect that Gou' was from a rather warriory family and the idea of dying in bed as a feeble old fart freaked Gou' out, so he called a deathmatch. That would give him a warrrior's death, and also soother his concerns about his students - of they can defeat HIM then surely they can fight against any other trial that comes their way.

I suspect Koumyou knew what was going to happen also.

But I also suspect that the sutra has a hand in choosing its possessor. They're not just scrolls - they're living vital Words with a capital W, as in 'in the beginning was the'.

So while Kenyuu got the sutra, he isn't truly ready to bear/carry/comprehend it. His eyes aren't really open, ergo no bindi/chakra mark. He's not a true Sanzo; he's the sutra's transportation.

If he woke up and got a clue and stopped being a jackass it might choose him for real and he'd get the damn dot but...yes.

I...suspect Kenyuu has it baaaaad for Koumyou as well. He seems to pick on Kouryuu on purpose. XD Jealous little punk.

[kintail.livejournal.com]

You make some really good points -- particularly about Goudai possibly being from a warrior's family, he rather has that "look" from stylized woodblock prints of samurai, no? That can't be coincidence.

Also a very good point that a sanzo would have to be able to fight well enough to survive and keep the sutra out of the wrong hands -- even if sutra-stealing hasn't become such an immediate and widespread threat yet.

But I also suspect that the sutra has a hand in choosing its possessor. They're not just scrolls - they're living vital Words with a capital W, as in 'in the beginning was the'.

This is really fascinating too. I've often wondered about sanzos' relationshps with the sutras (ack, not like that, mind out of the gutter), and how connected they are at what level. And yet it's not a connection such that Sanzo is always consciously aware of the sutra (in the way that he usually seems to know intuitively where Goku is and whether he's ok), because in the desert scorpions arc he has to ask the scorpion youkai where it is and then search through the chest of drawers for it.

He's not a true Sanzo; he's the sutra's transportation.

I agree. There's been no sign that Ukoku could actually activate his sutra, either... which may be why he got frustrated and stopped being a sanzo for a while. For the resurrection, Nii may not only need the sutras, but a real sanzo, ie, Sanzo, to activate them... which makes me think once again that KARose was really on to something in "In My Father's House."

it might choose him for real and he'd get the damn dot

I think the chakra gets referred to as the mark of Heaven's Chosen or something like that, which would imply that it's Heaven rejecting Ukoku, but I like the idea that it's the sutra that chooses its sanzo.

Which now has me thinking about it in terms of a symbiotic relationship of some kind... which may be why a sanzo can't outlive being a sanzo anyway.

I've got more thoughts on this brewing, and some I'd already been thinking of last night, that I should just post in my own journal, I think. *^_^* But right now, gotta run for an appointment.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

The idea of the sutra choosing its owner is fascinating. It also gives me a touch of fandom whiplash because it puts me in mind of the one ring in The Lord of the Rings. XD

But yes, Ukoku's lack of dot means that the sutra hasn't 'chosen' him, or that heaven has rejected him as kintail says below - that makes perfect sense to me.

I...suspect Kenyuu has it baaaaad for Koumyou as well.

I have to say, I love that idea. I think Koumyou is the only person he's ever been honest with.