Mihawk's Unusual Word Tone Is Classical Poetic

## introduction

It is amazing such a strange character.

The author is by far the greatest of drawing. Besides, he is a marvelous magician of language with few parallels in history.

Have you ever seen "storyboard presentation!! #10" in vol.6 comic book?

The auther worked on his manuscript to improve the wording of Mihawk to make a poetic couplet like Ikkyu poem as mentioned in the introduction.

> この剣を越えてみよ!!!
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> Kono Ken wo / Koete miyo!!! 5/5 mora
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> この己を越えてみよ!!! \*己=おれ in original, my triming column
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> Kono Ore wo / Koete miyo!!! 5/5 mora
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> *Here the sword, try to go across!!!*
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> *Here I, Mihawk, try to go across!!!*
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The poetic couplet reminds me a well-known mantra;

> 羯諦羯諦、波羅羯諦、波羅僧羯諦、菩提薩婆訶
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> Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
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He chanted such as poem (in classical tone. I cannot mimic him completely in English).
mimic Mihawk speaking of the duel;

> Look at the bird / ask, seek, knock / sow the seeds of fun / never reap himself
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> Look before leap! / Look before heap! / just hunt and shunt / only sink and think
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> He is a lad insane / He is a mad Arhant
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> just race and chase / only rant and chant / Think before rant! / Think before cant!
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> He is a rad insane / He is a mad Arhant
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He is crazy strong or crazy.

## Mihawk background

His words are really comfortable and luscious in a singsong tone with some syllable/mora:拍(haku in Japanese) rhythmical patterns and poetic terms.

Even if he speaks "Saana...", he is accepted.

Even if he drinks "Gubit...", he is accepted, because of his poetic background scenery.

His unusual word tone such as at the duel is full of classical poetic sounds. He can tell us huge complex profound meaning by few words using traditional poetic rhetoric and landscape architecture technique, 本歌取り:Honka-dori (adaptation of a famous poem) and 借景:Shakkei (Borrowed scenery, making use of the surrounding landscape in the design of a garden).

#### **本歌取りと借景: Honka-dori and Shakkei**

Mihawk is the very true sun inherited huge and high quality images from 昔男:Mukashi-Wotoko (a man in the past, anonymous famous) of 伊勢物語:Ise-monogatari (The Tales of Ise) in Heian-period of Japan, more than 1000 years ago.

It is good enough to show the story of Zoro and Kuina in childhood. It suggests "筒井筒:Tsutsu-Izutsu(a round well-curb)" of 伊勢物語:Ise-monogatari.

Zoro and Kuina story is an advance covert reference of it. Their comparing memory of childhood is also based on the chapter "筒井筒:Tsutsu-Izutsu(a round well-curb)" of Ise-monogatari.

> 筒井筒　井筒にかけし　まろがたけ
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> Tsutuizutu / Izutu ni Kakeshi / Maro ga Take
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> 生いしけりしな　{妹}見ざるまに
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> Oisi keri sina / Imo Mizaru Ma ni
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> *Tsutsuizutsu, to the izutsu, my stature,*
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> *it has grown taller, while not seeing {my younger sister} or {my girl friend})*
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> - Japanese-English Bilingual Corpus of Wikipedia's Kyoto Articles
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That poem is very famous as there are whole translation in the Kyoto Corpus. Ise-monogatari is introduced in the junior high-school textbook of history or classical literature. Besides, this story became the exquisite classic Noh play, "井筒:Izutsu". It is so complex configuring of mixture role playing drama that the author 世阿弥: Zeami blew his own trumpet, "the best".

##### **世阿弥:Zeami**

childhood name:鬼夜叉:Oni-Yasha(literally Ogre-Buddhist guardian), aesthetician, actor, playwright, wrighter of treatise on Noh.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeami\_Motokiyo

##### **時衆:Jishu**

Thus, the author does not need drawing/writing in detail clearly. It is good enough to show Noh mask on Mihawk face.

Mukashi-Wotoko is an archetype of the beauty, a classical ideal man in Japan. To be frank with you, he is a man of men, sex symbol in Japan.

## Mihawk context

Mihawk is not only calm but also emotional. too emotional. too exclamation.

He reveals his emotions by Waka poem methods, few words full of hidden meaning.

He also reveals his expression by Noh play styles, less move full of emotions.

At the first entry, his tone of words are not contemporary spoken Japanese but 文語:bungo(archaic written style) or 雅語:gago(polite expression, sophisticated words).

Figuratively speaking;

> I have found it!!! -> Eureka!!!
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> hasten slowly -> festina lente
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> remember you must die -> memento mori
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> life is short, art endures->  vita brevis, ars longa
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Well, I am a stranger of classical Greek/Latin.

Mihawk is the only one who speaks archaic written style language we don't hear usually, but we sometime read books, rarely chant at the ceremony in the shrines/temples.

He speaks as he sings in archaic verse style tone like old 和歌:waka(Japanese poem with some mora/syllable pattern using Kana) or 和讃:wasan (old Japanese translation of sutras with some mora/syllable pattern, a kind of hymns using Kana) during the duel on the original Japanese text.

Many poetry rhetoric, exclamatory expressions are frequently used in his words. He didn't use such a direct word "die!" in the original Japanese text. He likes indirect euphemistic symbolic words such as "scatter", "sink", "fall" often used in the poem.

The author also used such poetic words in the cover message of short stories collection.

#### **和歌と仮名:Waka\_and\_Kana**

Japanese really love rhythmical mora(拍:beat) pattern.

Recently, we love syllable pattern under the influence of rap music.

Mihawk words resonate in my mind like sounds of biwa-playing minstrel. And Zoro words beat my body like tapping a hand drum with his finger tip, or a drum roll. They move me primitive passion with nostalgia for my childhood deeply.

Japanese old top-quality warriors sometimes composed 連歌(renga: linked verse of short waka, first half 5-7-5 + last half 7-7) each other on the battlefield.

Someone called the opponent with his half, then the opponent answered to link the another half. The caller stopped chasing him and left him alive in praise of his grate half.

Besides, they offten left behind their 辞世(Jisei: farewell Waka composed on the eve of their death).

#### **連歌と辞世: Renga and Jisei**

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