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bnhaobservation · 7 months

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BNHA Observations, speculations and assorted info: Todoroki Mansion (Part 4: Dining Room)

So, in order to write my fic, I spend much time observing canon scenes, comparing the manga and the anime version, take note of details, translations and info in them as well as finding out how are some things called.

Since what I noticed/speculated/found out can be of use for other fic authors I thought to share as well.

Resources:

Chap. 192 “The Todoroki Family” (轟家 Todoroki-ke) Chap. 249 “The Hellish Todoroki Family” (地獄の轟くん家 Jigoku no Todoroki-kun-chi) Chap. 250 “Ending” (エンディング)

Ep. 90 “Vestiges” (面影 Omokage) Ep. 105 “The Hellish Todoroki Family” (地獄の轟くん家 Jigoku no Todoroki-kun-chi) Ep. 106 “The Unforgiven” (許されざる者 Yurusarezaru-mono)

OBSERVATIONS, SPECULATIONS AND ASSORTED INFO:

The dining in the Todoroki Mansion is a washitsu (和室), which means "harmony room" but which is the name used to mean "Japanese-style room".

It's a room characterized by a tatami flooring (Tatami (畳) is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms)...

and sliding doors, be they Shōji (consisting of translucent or transparent sheets on a lattice frame) or Fusuma (vertical rectangular panels often painted)...

....and, if the particular room is also meant to serve as a reception room for guests, it may have a tokonoma (床の間), an alcove for decorative items.

HOW ONE REACHES IT?

In the manga from the Genkan, taking the corridor on the left, though we aren't shown more about how to reach it...

In the anime it's possible to speculate it's reached always taking the corridor on the left but then we're shown you've to walk through the engawa...

We know that in the anime the Shōji door with a lower door panel of the room doesn't open on the open part of the Engawa because, outside of the door, we always see a closed corridor.

Natsuo takes the way on the right and then curves again on the right and then we'll see he has reached the engawa so we can assume that's the way one has to take to reach it.

It's a little harder to say if the same applies to the manga as what's behind the characters entering in the room is left white... but since the wall isn't drawn it's possible the room opens on the outside...

...but let's look at how the dining room is in details.

THE DOOR AND THE WINDOWS

As said before it's a large Shōji door with a lower door panel and some small Shōji windows above it.

In addition to the two small windows on top of the door, we've a marumado (円窓), a circular window with a flat bottom edge, on the left.

Outside the Marumado there's another corridor, which is probably not the engawa as we don't see it having round windows. By the way, that corridor lead to the Butsudan room, though it's evidently in opposite places in the anime and in the manga as Enji is walking in opposite directions to reach it.

On the wall opposite to the door, on the left, there's a Shōji window the Shoin (書院) with, below it, a power point.

The Shoin (書院) is considered a decorative window-style structure which is usually located to the left of the Tokonoma in formal ones (since the Todoroki one is collocated to the right I guess their own isn't formal). A Shoin with an overhang toward the porch area is called “Tsuke-shoin” (付書院), and those without an overhang are called “Hira-shoin” (平書院).

SIZE OF THE ROOM

In the anime is clearly of 12 tatami mats.

In the manga is harder to say but maybe it's 10 tatami mats?

WALL IN FRONT OF THE DOOR

As shown in the images above and as said before, on the wall in front of the door there's a Shōji window, then an alcove, which I'm not sure could costitute a Tokonoma as what's displayed in it is a television.

The anime also adds, hung on the wall on the side opposite to the window, a picture.

WALL ON THE RIGHT

As said before and as shown in the images before, on the wall on the left there's only the marumado window.

WALL ON THE LEFT

The wall on the left is the one of the Tokonoma. A formal Tokonoma structure is called Hondoko (本床) and consists of the following three parts: the Shoin (書院), a decorative window, the Tokonoma (床の間), an alcove and the Tokowaki (床脇), a space with shelves.

In the manga we've already seen that the tokonoma structure isn't a formal one as the Shoin window is placed in the opposite side. Let's focus now on the Tokonoma, which contains a kakemono (掛物 "hanging thing"), more commonly referred to as a kakejiku (掛軸 "hung scroll"), and a vase on the right. We can also catch a glimpse of a flower arrangement which should be in front of the scroll.

As for the Tokowaki, instead than an upper and lower cupboard with, in the middle some shelves, we've what seems to be a closet with a lower cupboard.

The anime instead went for a traditional Tokowaki.

It has in the middle a Chigaidana (違い棚) which is decorative shelves consisting of two different levels and two cupboard-like shelves with sliding doors placed above and below the Chigaidana, which are called Tenbukuro (天袋 "top shelf") and Jibukuro (地袋 "bottom shelf").

CEILING

The ceiling is a Japanese Saobuchi tenjō (竿縁天井 "rod edge ceiling") ceiling, a flat wood ceiling supported by narrow wood beams.

ON WHAT DO THEY SIT?

In the anime they're always sitting on Zaisu (座椅子) chairs, Japanese chairs with a back and no legs.

In the manga, when Enji comes home after beating a Nomu and when he dreams his family eating together they're all sitting on Zabuton (座布団) Cushions.

Only Fuyumi seems to be sitting in a seiza (正座) position (on her heels with her legs tucked underneath her). As she's a female her other option would be to sit with her legs tucked on one side. Males can also sit in a seiza position but the Todoroki males all seem to sit in agura (胡坐) position (cross-legged). Stretching the legs directly out in front of themselves is something one must not do so nobody does it.

The table should be a Zataku (座卓) table, a low, rectangular table suitable for sitting on Zabuton or Zaisu.

SEATING ARRANGEMENT

Seating arrangements is very important in Japanese culture: The guest-of-honor is seated upon the kamiza (上座 "Chief seat" or "seat of honor") which is typically situated farthest from the entrance. The middle of the table is the most honored position, and the second most important person is seated next, at his right, the third most important person at his left. When there is a tokonoma in the room, the guest-of-honor is seated in front of it. The host or lowest-ranking guest is seated closest to the shimoza (下座 "lower seat").

So let's give a look at how the Todoroki sit...

To make things simpler I made a scheme showing the floorplan of the dining room and the seating arrangement.

Enji, the family head, is always at the head of the table. I'll assume the first time they put him near the door because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to watch the tv.

The second time in fact, when the tv is not turned on, he's at the chair farther form the door.

The first time Shouto is placed at his right, which is the second most important place. It might be because Shouto is being a guest in a way, as he's temporally living at the dormitory, or it might be because this, in a way, remarks Shouto's status as Enji's heir, despite Shouto being the youngest.

The second time at Enji's right there's Bakugo, which makes sense as he's a guest. Technically the third most important place would be the one at Enji's right, but they've probably left Bakugo, Midoriya and Shouto all seated at the same side of the table so that they would be more comfortable. From what I could understand in theory in such scenario, Enji should have seated opposed to them, between Fuyumi and Natsuo (the middle place is the most important spot in this kind of arrangement), but this is no business dinner so I guess they didn't bother.

So the most important spot after the one Bakugo is having goes to Fuyumi's Enji's eldest child.

Interesting enough, when Enji came home from fighting the Nomu, that spot was given to Natsuo.

What's interesting to notice though is that the Todoroki's dining room comes with a problem.

Guests should be placed facing the Tokonoma but this here doesn't happen. In order to place Bakugo at Enji's right, they give their back to the Tokonoma.

That is unless Enji gives up his place as the head of the table and sits on the middle of the table between Fuyumi and Natsuo.

Now, Enji's dream in the manga.

The manga doesn't give us a way to figure out how the characters are placed in the room but the anime confirms the scene is seen from Enji's point of view as he enters in the room, so Rei and Fuyumi are next to the tv. In this arrangement, there's no spot for him and no head of the table.

In theory the most important person should be Rei, as she's the oldest (and she's placed far from the door)... which makes Shouto the second most important person again with Fuyumi coming third.

The anime added a dream sequence which has Rei seated at the head of the table but this time Natsuo would get the second most important place, then Fuyumi, then Shouto.

On a sidenote there's to say families might chose not to be so strict about seating arrangement and just go with what makes them comfortable so...

Still, to sum it up, manga and anime this time are pretty similar in how to represent the room, the biggest difference being merely how the anime, differently from the manga, decided to go for a traditional Tokowaki.

#boku no hero academia #Todoroki Enji #Todoroki Shouto #Todoroki Natsuo #Todoroki Fuyumi #Todoroki Rei #Midoriya Izuku #Bakugo Katsuki #bnha observations

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