There is a "Geiko" in Kugane

I was running around doing the (!) yellow quests in Kugane, and I noticed one of the NPC givers is a geiko (gay-ko) where she is searching for something.
The word geiko is Kyoto dialect for Geisha.
So is Kugane based off of Kyoto to some degree?
Also, the quest "A Geiko for All Seasons" A crafter quest, where you have to make a gift for a famous geiko is more of a nod to it a Kyoto influence.

The only things I can find is that Kugane is a defunct word for "Gold".

Any help would be appreciated.

I'm sorry I don't know what any of my SAM abilities are called. I just make sure to keep banana up.

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Originally Posted by juicybug

So is Kugane based off of Kyoto to some degree?

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https://i.imgur.com/aAS7vVu.jpg

The amount of parallels you can draw between Hydaelyn and Eurasia is astounding, not just in culture or appearance, but in geographical location.

Kugane/Koshu <> Kyoto/Japan: Same appearance, similar cultural identity, same general geography.
Doma <> China: Similar appearance, similar cultural identity, same general geography.
Azim Steppe <> Mongolia: Do I even need to explain?
Thavnair <> India: Similar cultural identity, similar general geography.
Ilsabard <> Eastern Europe: Similar cultural identity, same general geography. Plus, I can draw comparisons to WWII :^)
Aldenard <> Western Europe: Same general geography, similar (by a stretch) cultural identity. Also feeds into eurocentrism.
Old Sharlayan <> Great Britain: Two nations that make colonies, hoard resources, and get isolationist when things go south? Say it aint so

Is this intentional? Maybe, but you aren't in the wrong for drawing the connection between Kugane and Kyoto.

The kanji for "Shirogane" (白金) literally mean "white gold," although this term actually refers to silver (or platinum if you pronounce it as "hakkin"; white gold is just "ホワイトゴールド"); there's actually a "Shirokane" in Tokyo. Kugane (黄金), on the other hand, is an older term that refers to gold (the kanji literally mean "yellow gold"). In terms of culture, I think that it is quite obvious for anyone who knows anything about Japan that Kugane is supposed to be FFXIV's take on Kyoto. The fact that there are people dressed in traditional Japanese garb should give it away, but that weren't enough, the quests there (e.g., the geiko stuff you mentioned) should be enough to solidify that conclusion. The really telling point is the whole "Sekiseigumi" thing - this is clearly a play on the "Shinsengumi" which famously patrolled the streets of Kyoto during the Bakumatsu era and, among other things, prevented the city from being set on fire in connection with the Ikedaya incident.

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Originally Posted by DoH

The kanji for "Shirogane" (白金) literally mean "white gold," although this term actually refers to silver (or platinum if you pronounce it as "hakkin"; white gold is just "ホワイトゴールド"); there's actually a "Shirokane" in Tokyo. Kugane (黄金), on the other hand, is an older term that refers to gold (the kanji literally mean "yellow gold"). In terms of culture, I think that it is quite obvious for anyone who knows anything about Japan that Kugane is supposed to be FFXIV's take on Kyoto. The fact that there are people dressed in traditional Japanese garb should give it away, but that weren't enough, the quests there (e.g., the geiko stuff you mentioned) should be enough to solidify that conclusion. The really telling point is the whole "Sekiseigumi" thing - this is clearly a play on the "Shinsengumi" which famously patrolled the streets of Kyoto during the Bakumatsu era and, among other things, prevented the city from being set on fire in connection with the Ikedaya incident.

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ok thank you for answering my question!

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Originally Posted by van_arn

I'm sorry I don't know what any of my SAM abilities are called. I just make sure to keep banana up.

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Fun fact: Higanbana is the name of a particular poisonous flower associated with the underworld and death. It's also known as the red spider lily.

So when you're in a certain trial and the boss proclaims "IN DARKNESS BLOOMS THE SPIDER LILY!" she's just politely reminding any SAM in the group to refresh their DoT after the phase transition! :D

Hingashi is just not-Japan from the pre Matthew Perry era.

Back when the entire nation was entirely isolationist and had exactly one open port for trade.

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Originally Posted by NegativeS

https://i.imgur.com/aAS7vVu.jpg

The amount of parallels you can draw between Hydaelyn and Eurasia is astounding, not just in culture or appearance, but in geographical location.

Kugane/Koshu <> Kyoto/Japan: Same appearance, similar cultural identity, same general geography.
Doma <> China: Similar appearance, similar cultural identity, same general geography.
Azim Steppe <> Mongolia: Do I even need to explain?
Thavnair <> India: Similar cultural identity, similar general geography.
Ilsabard <> Eastern Europe: Similar cultural identity, same general geography. Plus, I can draw comparisons to WWII :^)
Aldenard <> Western Europe: Same general geography, similar (by a stretch) cultural identity. Also feeds into eurocentrism.
Old Sharlayan <> Great Britain: Two nations that make colonies, hoard resources, and get isolationist when things go south? Say it aint so

Is this intentional? Maybe, but you aren't in the wrong for drawing the connection between Kugane and Kyoto.

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Reminds me of the Ragnarok Global Project

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Originally Posted by van_arn

I'm sorry I don't know what any of my SAM abilities are called. I just make sure to keep banana up.

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I love you LOL

*stares at SaberMaxwell's signature*

It's always surreal to encounter a quote of your own almost two years after the fact and out of context, and have a second or two of "...when on earth did I say that?"

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Originally Posted by NegativeS

Doma <> China: Similar appearance, similar cultural identity, same general geography.

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Many of these might be right, but to say that Doma is "culturally similar to China" feels a tad close to the level of calling all East Asians Chinese.

They have ninjas, samurai, Japanese names and clothing and even worship Kami with Japanese names. At most the region of Yanxia sounds Chinese. I'd say it's a heavily leaning towards Japan mix of both at best. Wouldn't be surprised if there were some aspects of other cultures from the region as well.

Not an expert though, so if somebody is more familiar with the cultures, then feel free to correct.

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Originally Posted by van_arn

I'm sorry I don't know what any of my SAM abilities are called. I just make sure to keep banana up.

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And do the three shinies so you can do the big shiny

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Originally Posted by Satarn

Many of these might be right, but to say that Doma is "culturally similar to China" feels a tad close to the level of calling all East Asians Chinese.

They have ninjas, samurai, Japanese names and clothing and even worship Kami with Japanese names. At most the region of Yanxia sounds Chinese. I'd say it's a heavily leaning towards Japan mix of both at best. Wouldn't be surprised if there were some aspects of other cultures from the region as well.

Not an expert though, so if somebody is more familiar with the cultures, then feel free to correct.

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You'll find in real life that the whole east-Asian area spent a lot of time borrowing from eachother's cultures.

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Originally Posted by Averax

You'll find in real life that the whole east-Asian area spent a lot of time borrowing from eachother's cultures.

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Yea of course, many folk-tale creatures are nearly the same just with different names for example. It's the same for various European cultures influencing each other. However when you see very clearly Japanese-specific elements (samurai, ninjas) and language(every name p much and those aren't too similar between them honestly) and no aspects you'd typically see in Chinese fantasy, then it's pretty weird to call it Chinese rather than Japanese. It's like seeing an obviously Arturian-inspired setting and saying "oh yeah, that's fantasy-France".

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Originally Posted by NegativeS

Is this intentional? Maybe, but you aren't in the wrong for drawing the connection between Kugane and Kyoto.

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The whole reason they hit the nuclear button on the entire voice cast in 3.0 and use an almost entire new cast was to give all of them "accent" similar to their real life counterpart based on the parallel geography. It's not maybe, it definitely is intentional.

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Originally Posted by juicybug

I was running around doing the (!) yellow quests in Kugane, and I noticed one of the NPC givers is a geiko (gay-ko) where she is searching for something.
The word geiko is Kyoto dialect for Geisha.
So is Kugane based off of Kyoto to some degree?
Also, the quest "A Geiko for All Seasons" A crafter quest, where you have to make a gift for a famous geiko is more of a nod to it a Kyoto influence.

The only things I can find is that Kugane is a defunct word for "Gold".

Any help would be appreciated.

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Kugane is very roughly based on a mix of Kyoto and Nagasaki near the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate into the early Meiji Restoration. The "Shinsengumi", Kabuki actors, and actual non-prostitute Geiko are all Kyoto. The isolation of the port and city itself is much the same as historical Nagasaki as that was the only port Europeans were allowed to have permanent residence in in large numbers and even then it was limited.