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While Houseki no Kuni has already been known for being rife with Buddhist theming and symbology, I feel like there's another school of thought that's mostly underlooked or outright unknown to most people. And I think it's only natural since its manifestations within-
the series is much more subtle than the explicit Buddhist references it's littered with. What I'll be exploring in this thread is the Taoist concept of the Yin and Yang, how the series relates to this idea, and the possible implications of it in the story going forward.
Yin and Yang basically describes how contradicting forces actually complement each other, and thus creating harmony. A very simple example would be light and dark. In real life, this idea can go from the cycle of day and night, to how casting shadows require a source of light.
In Houseki no Kuni, the most fundamental representation of this idea is how the series discerns physique and psyche. While these two define completely opposing aspects of an individual, the gems that mostly make up the characters of the story have these two concepts-
completely intertwined. Physique reflects psyche and the same goes the other way. This allows the series to illustrate a character's state of mind more tangibly through visuals. The creative freedom it provides the author with is one of the greatest strengths of this series
— and Haruko Ichikawa definitely takes this advantage. Arguably some of the best and most impactful panels in the series come from moments where the characters are being displayed in extreme psychological distress and conflict. They're beautiful yet equally tragic.
Still in line with aesthetics, Yin and Yang is also present with Ichikawa's style. Her knack for symmetry and brilliant use of negative space create simplistic yet striking imagery. She takes on the monochromatic limitations of the medium and creatively utilizes it.
Now, onto the main dish of this analysis; the story. We'll start with the initial premise, and slowly work our way up from there.
Houseki no Kuni opens by introducing a society set in the far future comprised of immortal, sentient beings known as the Lustrous.
Houseki no Kuni opens by introducing a society set in the far future comprised of immortal, sentient beings known as the Lustrous.
Each gem is assigned a particular role that best suits them to contribute to the survival and betterment of this collective, with the most valued job being fending off the Lunarians, a mysterious entity that constantly threatens their peace and existence.
Duality can be seen here in regards to how patrol assignments are decided upon. It's always comprised of a pair of gems who are strategically chosen (well, most of the time) to cover each other's weaknesses. A fairly decent example of this would be Diamond and Bortz.
Despite their personalities being incompatible (I mean who tf is Bortz even compatible with, but that's another rant for another day), they form the most important combination in their defensive line being the hardest gems. Though their "pairing" is usually just Bortz covering up
-for Diamond, I feel like the intention here is for Diamond to live up to her name and grow as a stronger gem by learning from a gem stronger than her. This, however, slowly backfires with how Diamond gradually becoming more insecure of her weakness as a result of being with-
Bortz, which leads to more serious events later on such as her leaving for the moon. Physique reflecting psyche applies to this once more. Despite diamonds being one of the hardest known minerals, they can't really handle pressure very well.
I can probably give more example pairings, but the main takeaway here extends beyond just duality. Despite the Lustrous not having the best interpersonal relationships, one could say that when looking at the initial state of the story in retrospect,their way of life is relatively
-much more harmonious than what transpires later on in the story. If anything, the everyday life they had fighting off the Lunarians gave the gems reason to value to their own individual existences and the other gems they've grown attached with. Despite the occassional losses-
they are dealt with, they've always managed to move forward and continue living together. Perhaps, this is why Kongou-sensei has left things as is for thousands of years.
In Taoism, it is believed that suffering is an inevitability of life, as opposed to the Buddhist belief-
In Taoism, it is believed that suffering is an inevitability of life, as opposed to the Buddhist belief-
of being free of suffering (by attaining Nirvana, a state of being detached from desires) as the final goal to achieve enlightenment. The Taoists believe that the universe is governed by natural order, and to live means going with the flow of things as they naturally are.
Kongou-sensei may not be able to express it, but I believe the way of life he's chosen to live by as he discovered the Lustrous closely resembles — or perhaps is exactly — a Taoist one. Being Buddhist in nature, Kongou's original purpose was to help the Lunarians turn into-
nothingness (Buddhist way of enlightenment). His discovery of the Lustrous, however, changed something in him which made him incapable of saving the Lunarians. The Buddhist believe that the constant cycle of death and rebirth only inevitably leads to suffering.
Therefore one must achieve enlightenment to break away from this curse. The Taoist however believe that this is an eternal cycle, and that the soul will continue to be reborn until they become one with the Tao (which is basically the center of the universe).
I believe, that Kongou witnessing nature giving birth to a life for the first time was the main cause of his change in perspective. By nurturing life itself with this own hands, he lost the will and reason to extinguish it with a clasp and prayer.
The Taoist inside of him can also be seen with his efforts in seeing value and preserving life, and his ability to let go of things. Part of the Taoist belief is to be able accept things as a part of nature. This becomes apparent when he steps down as the leader of the gems,
and suggests to the remaining Earth gems to just abandon him.
At this point, it's still unclear which direction the story's heading towards, but now that I've considered many things it could be a possibility for Phos reaching the same view towards life as Kongou.
At this point, it's still unclear which direction the story's heading towards, but now that I've considered many things it could be a possibility for Phos reaching the same view towards life as Kongou.
We can really only speculate at this point, but I'm hopeful for a positive ending. Please Ichikawa-sensei.
I hope I did a good job writing my thoughts down, and I hope you picked up something from this thread. Thanks for reading!
I hope I did a good job writing my thoughts down, and I hope you picked up something from this thread. Thanks for reading!
I swear I'm not gonna fucking do this again up until 5am but if you have comments, I'll probably get to them by tomorrow. Good night for now.
