| rdfs:comment
| - The Joketsuzoku train many, or possibly even all, of their womenfolk in martial arts - this is the source behind their Japanese name, which translates roughly and directly as "Village of Woman Heroes", and the reason why their "dub name" is Chinese Amazons. These female martial artists are encouraged to take a great deal of pride in their skills and to be honorable, courageous warriors, though the referenced and displayed conducts of the Joketsuzoku suggests a rather brutal and amoral code of honor that encourages ruthlessness. Joketsuzoku women take such pride in their skills that they are deeply ashamed to be defeated by women from outside the village, and even have a law referred to as the Kiss of Death. Performed by giving the outsider who defeated the Joketsuzoku warrior a kiss on her
|
| abstract
| - The Joketsuzoku train many, or possibly even all, of their womenfolk in martial arts - this is the source behind their Japanese name, which translates roughly and directly as "Village of Woman Heroes", and the reason why their "dub name" is Chinese Amazons. These female martial artists are encouraged to take a great deal of pride in their skills and to be honorable, courageous warriors, though the referenced and displayed conducts of the Joketsuzoku suggests a rather brutal and amoral code of honor that encourages ruthlessness. Joketsuzoku women take such pride in their skills that they are deeply ashamed to be defeated by women from outside the village, and even have a law referred to as the Kiss of Death. Performed by giving the outsider who defeated the Joketsuzoku warrior a kiss on her cheek, it symbolically declares that the Joketsuzoku will continue to challenge the outsider, chasing her to the ends of the earth if need be, until one of them is dead. Despite this, the Joketsuzoku do not seem to have any stigma against men practicing martial arts. While only one male Joketsuzoku character, Mousse, is given any detail in the series, all grudges and disdain born for him by his fellows stems from his, frankly, Tatewaki Kuno-like personality and his constant harassment of the uninterested Shampoo. In truth, the Joketsuzoku seem to welcome strong martial arts practitioners of the male sex, as their law states that women who are defeated by outsider men must marry those men, and Shampoo makes it clear on several occasions that she finds Ranma's formidable fighting skills to be quite attractive indeed. Though there is no formal name to this law given in canon, it is sometimes referred to in fanworks as the "Kiss of Marriage", due to its apparent nature as the counterpart to the Kiss of the Death and the apparent formality with which Shampoo kisses Ranma after his first defeat of her as a male. In fact, despite common fan belief to the contrary, the Joketsuzoku do not seem to hold any contempt for men, except when they are fighters who prove weaker than the Joketsuzoku they challenged, as is seen in the anime introductory episode for Ling-Ling & Lung-Lung. Ranma is treated with considerable respect by both Shampoo and Cologne, the latter of which even refers to him as "Muko-dono" in the Japanese, and both of them are polite and respectful towards both male customers and men in general. The only man who is ever seen being mistreated repeatedly by the Joketsuzoku is Mousse, whose mistreatments are relatively mild (he is made to do menial tasks at the Nekohanten and sometimes is swatted for being particularly annoying/insulting) and who, it must be noted, has an established bad relationship as a person with both Cologne and Shampoo. The Joketsuzoku do not seem to know very much about Jusenkyo - at the very least, they do not interact with it much. Residents of the village were unable to recognize the Jusenkyo guide, despite his visible presence alongside Ranma and Genma Saotome when they first visited the village. Shampoo was, similarly, unable to realise the truth about Ranma's Jusenkyo curse even after he revealed that he was cursed to her, being forced to return to China and speak with Cologne before acquiring the knowledge of Ranma's true gender. Information about Jusenkyo may alternatively be restricted, rather than simply unknown. The Joketsuzoku also use Jusenkyo as a means of punishment, as seen when Shampoo returns to China in disgrace and is taken to Jusenkyo to be retrained as punishment for breaking the law by coming home in defeat. While very little is known about the other residents of the Byankala Mountains, the Joketsuzoku seem to have or have had dealings with other villages and peoples. They are allied with a nameless village which trades herbs to them, both medicinal and toxic; it was here that Shampoo made enemies of Pink and Link. They also seem to have had some interactions with the Musk Dynasty in the past, as Cologne was able to provide Ranma with the details of that group's history and nature. While they are evidently not closely aligned, as Cologne was surprised to discover that the Musk still lived and had been of the impression that they had died out about a century ago, they are also evidently not hostile towards each other, as Herb displayed no hesitance in speaking to Cologne about his quest to discover the Kettle of Unlocking. From Cologne's own words, they have had no major contact with the Phoenix People and believed them to only be legends until Kiima and her underlings came to Nerima in pursuit of Plum. The Joketsuzoku are an old society and steeped in much martial arts lore; Cologne routinely mentions techniques that date back over three thousand years, and at one point in at least the anime comments she's never heard of anyone being so disrespectful in five thousand years of Joketsuzoku history. How their society is organized is unknown: the anime episode that introduces Cologne has an English title of "This Ol' Gal's the Leader of the Amazon Tribe?", but whether the Joketsuzoku truly are matriarchal, or whether Cologne is an important authority figure either way, is never made clear. Given that Cologne so freely left China to come to Japan, and both Shampoo and Mousse's referance to her by titles of familial respect, it seems doubtful that Cologne is the leader of the Joketsuzoku.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)