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Utena: Adolescence Mokushiroku Lyrics Notes
The following are in order of the duel fought.
Belladonna's Trap (music played before Toki)
The Deadly Nightshade. The name comes from the Italian, meaning beautiful lady. One
explanation is that fashionable women used it to make their pupils larger. A second is that
Leucota (Italian poisoner) used it to poison beautiful women.
Chuusei (from Saionji's duel song)
In the lyrics the word translates to "Middle Ages." But a possible pun may be involved. Chuusei is also a word used for androgyne, but in the sense of "neutral" or neither male
nor female. It "emphasizes the erasure or nullification of differences."*
Shura (from Juri's duel song)
The Japanese word shura means fighting or carnage, but it can also
be short for Ashura. Ashura is the Japanese for the Sanskrit Asura. In the Buddhist tradition they represent the
World of Anger of the Ten Worlds, and are one of the eight kinds
of lowly beings. Also, Shura or "Furious Spirit" are reincarnated warriors that died in battle and gather in the sky to battle.
* From Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Popular Culture in Modern Japan by Jennifer Robertson
CA: University of California Press, 1998