BANANA YOSHIMOTO'S OKOKU (KINGDOM) SERIES 1 - 4

Banana Yoshimoto shot to prominence with the publication of her first novel Kitchen in 1988. Since then she has published many novels, short stories, travel books and maintaines a blog on her website. Whilst her writing has been infleuenced heavily by Japanese popular culture she has also been infleunced by Western writers such as William S. Burroughs, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Stephen King. She has written stories that explore alienation but she has also explored New Age themes such as spirituality and healing as well as a Jungian communication with nature.

The destruction of the environment is a theme that has emerged in Yoshimoto's writing in more recent years. For example, in Ôkoku Sono 1. (2002), Shizukuishi, the narrator, lives with her grandmother on a mountain where they make herbal teas with healing properties. Despite being poor, people bring them food such as wild rabbits and pig while they can get fish from the river (p 21). In some ways, Shizukuishi reflects, it was a ‘luxurious life’. They also had a television, a video, a big stereo and the internet (p 25). The mountain is ‘fatally changed’, however, when the river is dammed. Shizukuishi reflects that the people who ruined the mountain are ‘hateful’ and it is observed that although the flow of the river has been altered only a little, the mountain will take decades to recover (pp 32-3). When asked by Sugiyama Yumiko (2002) what kind of reader she had in mind when she wrote Ôkoku Sono 1., Yoshimoto replied ‘People who are tired of living in big cities’. In response to Sugiyama’s suggestion that it is an ‘ambitious’ work, Yoshimoto replies that she would like it to be part of a long running series. She sees it as ‘philosophical’ in nature and compares it to Sophie’s World (1991) and the writings of Carlos Castañeda. By ‘philosophical’ Yoshimoto is presumably referring to the increased amount of authorial commentary in her writing on topics such as the impact of environmental destruction on the lives of her characters.

Plants play a special role in the Okoku series. In Ôkoku Sono 1. (2002), Shizukuishi watches her grandmother’s cactus closely and says that cacti have a ‘pure spirit’ that is rarely seen. If you open your heart they will soothe you. When she visited a ‘famous’ cactus garden Shizukuishi looked respectfully at a ninety-year-old-cactus which emitted a smell ‘full of vigour and the power to endure’ and she felt ‘possibilities’ that she hadn’t yet learnt from the cactus (p 78). This is communicated through the senses rather than spoken. Kaede, her psychic employer, tells Shizukuishi that when a cactus befriends you it is ‘forever, unlike people’ (p 110).

In Okoku 2. (2004), Shizukuishi tells Kaede about how her grandmother came to like cacti. When she married she had moved with her husband to the city, but she wanted to return to the mountain where she was brought up (p 106). When her husband died a ‘green man’ appeared and her grandmother thought she was going to be with her husband. The green man, however, disappeared in the direction of the study. Her grandmother followed and she could smell her husband. She switched on the light and, to her surprise, a cactus tree which had not flowered in fifteen years was in full bloom (p 109). Kaede explains that the cactus tree had flowered possibly to comfort her grandmother and maybe even at her husband’s request. He explains that there are ‘all sorts of possible connections’ (p 116). Kaede asks Shizukuishi to bring the cactus, which is now in Shizukuishi’s apartment, to him. He wants to hear its ‘story’. He feels that the cactus wants to talk to him (p 112).

Yoshimoto’s interest in plants can be traced back to Kitchen (1988, English translation 1993) when Mikage says of her ex-boyfriend Sotaro ‘for some reason I keep getting connected to men who have something to do with plants’ (English translation 1993, p 23). Another character who is connected to a man with ‘something to do with plants’ is Shizukuishi who, unlike Mikage, however, consummates her relationship with Shinichiro in Ôkoku Sono 1.. The question then is, has the wait been worthwhile? For readers with a predilection for sex and drugs, they are probably better served reading hard-edged authors like Dazai Osamu, Ishihara Shintaro, Murakami Ryu and Yamada Amy, as Yoshimoto’s interest remains focussed elsewhere. Shizukuishi thanks the cactus for introducing her to Shinichiro (p 82) and thus ‘intelligent plants’ can be seen as another character type that Yoshimoto has introduced into her writing like the ‘fantasy woman’ and ‘wise child’ characters. This new character type, like the ones that preceded it, gives Yoshimoto’s female characters strength and courage.

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In Okoku 2. (2004), it is explained that Shizuku Ishii’s name comes from her grandfather who liked growing cacti (p 16). It’s the name of a type of cacti. She has no parents and doesn’t want to know what happened to them. She lived with her grandmother in an out of the way place inaccessible by car. She doesn’t know much about her grandmother except that she has married several times and was a beauty.

Her grandmother is famous for the healing properties of the tea that she makes from plants that grow on the mountain. Of course, when people drink the tea the healing process takes time but some people try to speed this up. Shizuku’s grandmother warns here to beware of greed and avarice (p 32). All religions have to wrestle with desire but you can’t speed up nature. Even though her grandmother wasn’t a doctor some of her ‘patients’ expected her to give them an overnight miracle cure (p 33). This kind of thinking is identified as being the same as that which the people who destroy the mountains possess. It makes Shizuku angry. If people think they can destroy mountains with impunity… life itself is diminished. Her grandmother gives up on Japan and decides to move to Malta. She wants to live where there is lots of nature. “I don’t want a stale, unchanging life” she tells Shizuku. Shizuku is impressed. She wonders if she will be able to say the same thing at her grandmother’s age.

Shizuku leaves the mountain and gets an apartment in the city. A year before she starts working for Kaede, Shizuku studied kanpo (Chinese medicine) but had no plans to pursue it in the future (p 36). The ingredients are imported and for some reason lose their power and don’t always suit Japanese people. She got a headache being surrounded by people she didn’t know. She used her grandmother’s tea and gradually got used to a life without soil and trees.

Her apartment was on the 1st floor of a four storey building and Shizuku had a small garden. She kept her cacti there. She was happy but wasn’t really used to the lifestyle. She watched it grow. She also watched the sky. A golden dandelion was a help (p 38). After leaving the mountain she found it hard to make friends. She didn’t like her next door neighbors much at first. The apartment next door was empty for a month. And then, one day, a truck arrived and a shabby woman came to introduce herself… She had a young lover she called her son. He looked like the type to steal women’s underwear. Shizuku tried to avoid them (p 40). They smelled of chemicals, maybe speed? This is when Shizuku heard about the blind fortune teller who was looking for an assistant (p 44). She knows the job is for her. Her conversation with him on the phone is short but she believes he is the real thing.

At her interview, Shizuku tells Kaede about how she makes tea he asks to see her herbs. She refuses. He looks at her ring and sees the magician of the cacti (her grandmother). She says she is a disciple. He tells her her grandmother’s lifestory (p 49). He says that her grandmother thinks she chose the cacti but that the cacti chose her. Shizuku observes that to be told that you are liked by cacti would normally be an absurd proposition but she understands and she starts to cry. She feels the security once again she found with her grandmother. He translates for her the feelings of the cacti. She gives him anything he wants to touch. He tells her nothing about the job. Kaede continues with her story and tells her that the mountain spirits loved her. He says that she can heal people with plants. She has magic powers. She can see things. And then he tells her that she has got the job (p 51). He has a patron who will finalise the details. Like all of Yoshimoto’s narrators, she will be an assistant.

Shizuku loses a lot of weight while she living in the apartment (p 73). One day she goes to a saboten (cactus) park. She looks at the monkeys and then goes to the cactus house. She sees some strange animals and nearly has a nose bleed (p 76). She cries when she sees all of the cacti from all over the world so well looked after. Shizuku starts to understand the path that her grandmother has taken (p 77). She looks at a 90 year old cactus for a long time in respect. The cactus begins to emit a smell full of vigour and the power to endure. Shizuku feels possibilities that she hasn’t yet learnt from the cactus. She feels her future is bright (p 78). She can use her skills even though she isn’t living on the mountain anymore. She can live in the city and cure people using potions made from her cactus. She finds a cactus named after her. She looks forward to travelling the world… to seeing things that she has never seen. She can’t believe how big the pelicans are (p 80). In the light she can’t tell what country she is in as she is surrounded by the sounds of the monkeys and pelicans. Shizuku meets Shinichiro who is in charge of the cacti. He looks after her blood nose and she thanks the cacti for introducing them (p 82). He speaks quietly and has a nice smell (p 85). He smells of trees. He is separated from his partner. She can tell by his smell that he lives alone. Shinichiro always talks about cacti. When he visits she heals his pain with tea (p 88). They eat, sleep, visit the zoo, climb mountains together, etc. When Shizuku tells Kaede about Shinichi he says that her relationship with Shinichiro is not love.

One day there is a strange smell near Shizuku’s apartment and she finds that her apartment has burnt down. The woman next door murdered her lover and was trying to burn his body when the apartment caught fire. Shizuku worries about her cacti, her 'brothers and sisters'. They are all gone. Shizuku suddenly remembers the other occupants including a new born baby and a grandfather. She feels embarrassed at having ignored the plight of her neighbours. But the plants have helped her cure people. She’s not sure whether plants or people have a higher priority in her life. Shizuku sees a silhouette and thinks about the dead man. She prays that her cacti may soothe the dead man’s spirit for a while. She prayed for the air to be purified and a clean wind brought with it the smell of greenery from the mountains. Shizuku’s bad feelings disappear. Shizuku remembers her bankbook is at the real estate agents and her favourite cacti are at Kaede’s house.

Kaede apologises for not having forseen the fire (p 127). Shizuku is glad that she has left the mountain because she has met Kaede and Kataoka (p 128). Kaede offers her a home and she realises how much she has grown.

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In Okoku 3. (2005),Shizuku and Shinichiro are initially described as being happy like in a dream. Shizuku wants to live near Kaede’s house, however. She reflects that the role of people like Kaede is to open people’s eyes. She is nervous about moving in with Shinichiro but they plan to get married. On the other hand, she doesn’t want to leave Kaede’s house, it feels like leaving home (p 23).

Shizuku meets Atsuko who was a childhood friend of Kaede’s. She learns that Atsuko’s first husband fell in love with her cousin (p 51). Atsuko laughs at her problems. Her cousin wore her husband’s ring and she didn’t even notice… Now she is in love with an Australian (p 53). There is a childhood photo of a trip to the beach with Atsuko and Kaede’s families. Kaede had a happy childhood. Atsuko’s grandfather imported jade from Taiwan and she buys and sells jade. When she was younger she helped her grandfather. At that time both Tokyo and Taipei were big cities but closer to people’s rythms. They lived in suburbs and went on walks. Nature helped her grandfather get better. Atsuko remembers Kaede’s words when she got her divorce. He told her that she didn’t need to marry and that she could follow in her grandfather’s steps. She realised the truth of his words and left her husband to her cousin. After a year, as Kaede said, her husband left her husband and came back to her but it was too late (p 63).

Atsuko plans to go to Australia. Her meeting with Shizuku feels like it was planned. Shizuku misses her grandmother. She has Shinichiro but now she feels she has to give him back (p 67). There is a story she doesn’t want to tell but she has to, it is about Shinichiro’s best friend Takahashi. He was in a wheelchair since childhood and he had green thumbs. Shinichiro got his love of plants from Takahashi. After Takahashi died Shinichiro didn’t visit his house for a long time (p 69). But there was an amazing garden and he needed to see it to find a way forward. When Shinichiro told Shizuku that Takahashi’s mother was his first love she discovers that somehow she had known from the start, she had smelt it. Shizuku felt the stirrings of jealousy (p 73). Takahashi’s mother was good looking. Shizuku felt like she had lost. Takahashi’s mother ‘looked like a plant’ (p 74). Shizuku wanted to disappear. Takahashi’s mother is more Shinichiro’s type (p 75).

The garden was amazing, it showed the balance between knowledge and nature. Shizuku wonders why people never tire of depicting nature in paintings and photography. The garden is a combination of Takahashi and nature… She feels she can help Shinichiro despite Takahashi’s mother. She is jealous of Takahashi. The message of his garden was ‘I want to live’. The garden looked both big and small. It looked like his heart had been in some other place than this dirty world (p 80). His mother is the garden’s keeper and she plans to open the garden to the public. She wants Shinichiro to help. Shizuku realises that she can’t pull him away. She is an obstacle. His garden is as close as you can get to nature. In the garden she can see Takahashi’s face… Even his smell is apparent… He is overwhelming presence… It’s a beautiful place of healing but the garden is also a wicked spell. Shizuku doesn’t have the will to fight (p 84).

After Shizuku and Shinichiro separate she puts kumazasa (bamboo) in the bath and remembers her grandmother (it has the smell of her hometown (furasato) (p 103). It was a nice feeling, like being in light. She says thank you to the bamboo with feeling. Being with the plant is like being with another person, drawing together in the bath. Kaede says he is looking forward to seeing Shizuku. She hasn’t told him about Shinichiro. Kaede doesn’t divine the truth about those things that are close to him. He is very happy when she says she will keep working for him (p 106).

Thinking that she would not want to die before Shinichiro, Shizuku accepts that Kaede will die before her and that she will need to nurse him (p 106).This is the difference between love and something much bigger. With Kaede she keeps bubbling up like a spring while she and Shinichiro share their pain (p 108). Kaede knew what had happened however. Kataoka is the last to find out, however, and he keeps joking about her living with Shinichiro. She just wants to be left alone and speculates that it is not a complete break (p 111).

When Kaede looks at the jade carving he says he can see where her grandmother buried a piece of bone in the backyard. He says that the bone did not belong to her parents but it is part of a human skull (p 115). She is worried that there is a connection between her grandmother and the bone (p 116). Kaede doesn’t think that her grandmother killed anyone. Kaede is of the opinion that the jade snake wants to help. He says that before it was carved, it was used as a block in the doorway. Somehow it absconded from its owner. When Shizuku takes the stone back to Taiwan she feels sure that it will feel thankful and return the favour (p 117).

Shizuku asks her grandmother on the telephone who the bone belongs to? (p 142). She doesn’t know. It was given to her by her husband’s previous lover. It belonged to someone who died in a car accident or maybe was murdered. The jade also came from that person. They were Taiwanese. Grandma gave it to Shizuku to protect her after her failed relationship (p 143).

Shizuku goes to Taiwan and on her walks sees some unforgettable flowers (p 158). You become yourself on a trip, she reflects. She gets the snake fixed, it has a handsome face that will be here when she is gone. All these things were separate and yet somehow connected (p 161). Shizuku will set up her own business selling tea. She will look after Kaede’s house when he and Kataoka are away on trips. She has to look at how to find quality ingredients like they had on the mountain (p 172). She feels a sense of personal growth and acceptance. She is growing like Takahashi’s garden, like a precious stone that has been polished. She is struck by the smell of the greenery in Taiwan that is lost in Japan’s big cities (p 173). The power of nature was nostalgic.

In Taiwan, Shizuku is reacquainted with various types of insect life. In nature people’s sense of perception deepens and their nerves come alive in a way those in big cities cannot imagine. She was always being bitten by something. The sense of smell is overpowering (p 174). It has stained the cells of her being. It knew how much she had loved the mountain. Her senses are alive to nature and satisfied with the smallest things like the sunrise and sunset. She realises she will never go back to the mountain and grieves but also grows. At the waterfall everybody is liberated. There is a sense of quietness on the Buddha’s face.

In the bath (p 176) Shizuku observes that bathing with strangers is no problem. A lady with broken Japanese helped her out and everyone was smiling. The sounds made by the people waiting their turn were like any those made anywhere else in the world. Kataoka smelt like the sun. She will start to forget things… The body first then the mind (p 177). Kataoka asks Shizuku if she is over her heartbreak? She says yes and he says that is what he likes about her, she is not tepid like Shinichiro. She realises that she always wanted the garden not Takahashi or his mother (p178). Kataoka has never seen the garden so he doesn’t understand. She doesn’t miss the good old days just the the heat of the sun and the cold of the water. A life lived through the senses is like having sex with the environment (p 182). If it wasn’t for Atsuko, Shizuku would never have come to Taiwan. She has a discussion with Kataoka about having Kaede and Takaoka’s baby (p 184).

In her heart Shizuku will rediscover the girl on the mountain. But she won’t find it on the mountain again, she is too busy absorbing new things (p 188). She does not want a story with a ‘happy end’ (p 186). Because she is her grandmother’s child she will look after herself. In her room she has a bath and remembers Shinichiro in the bath (p 191). The bath was made of black stone which contrasted with the milky white water of the bath. She looked at the pattern on the wall and couldn’t take her eyes off it. It was like a landscape. She felt like she was on the edge of a forest real than the forest she had been in that day (p 192). It was a little scary. She drew a line through it with her finger and it disappeared leaving behind an ordinary wall. Shizuku had a revelation about Takahashi’s garden, the drawing of nature is a prayer for enlightenment (p 193).

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In Okoku 4. (2010), Noni is looked after by Noni plants (p 26). She doesn’t get sick. Her father (Kaede) knew when he was going to die (p 22). It was an unusual family and her mother (Shizuku) lived with two men who are in a same sex relationship Kaede (papa 1) and Kataoka (papa 2), (p 18). It was a happy household, she didn’t know which one was her father until she got older. Her mother talks to plants (p 25). Her father’s death was beautiful (p 24). On Mikonos, a stranger, Kinoshita, introduces himself to Noni. He is in a wheelchair. But he can see (p 11). When she sees Kinoshita he reminded her of her father (p 6). He also looks like her mother. Curses are for good as well as for bad (p 28). She learnt magic from her mother and grandmother (p 28). She was born from the magic of stones. (p 28) She is different to her mother and her friends.

Noni has lived in both Okinawa and Tokyo (p 28). At school she was quiet with fat legs and tanned. She gets strength from plants. Plants won’t betray you (p 26). Her mother has as much feeling for her plants as she does for her children (p 26). She went to Mikonos with her dad when she was ten years old (before he was in a wheelchair) (p 32). There is a shop there run by her mother in summer called Little Venice. It is owned by father no 2. Every summer they come here on holidays. Her mother and father no 2 like going to Milan for holidays. There are lots of gay men on Mikonos so her two fathers look normal (35).

Compared to Mikonos, gay couples have to hide their feelings in Japan (p 35). Noni hates Japan… Hard looks and not much conversation. The sun is good for you, her dad says, on a trip to the beach… look how the plants respond (p 39). The pain of childbirth, her grandmother got used to it because of the plants (p 43). Making presents for parents from ??? and stones. Her jewellery is all her own design. She makes a pendant for Shizuku (p 44) Her mum = plants, Noni = stones, coral, etc. Noni doesn’t have special powers but she got something from her father. She is her mother and her father’s child (p 46). Papa 2 was ok with it after some initial misgivings (p 47). At ten years old she has had interrupted schooling and plans to study at her mum’s friend’s studio (p 50). She can make jewellry and sell it in the shop (p 51).

Kino wants to introduce her to a friend’s disciple. He has a studio in the south of France (Nice) and he uses scenery from the Mediterranean as a motif. Unlike her mother, Noni has magic (p 52). She is an artist whereas her mother loved farm work (like her grandmother). She will be kerai (servant) to the 'queen of cats' (p 53). Her father looks into her future and tells her about Kino and while he doesn't know what their future will be exactly he says that Kino is a good person and Noni will save his life. They will have a white house protected by cactus (maybe not married). He warns her about… He will be important to her (p 54). She can’t believe that she can do everything and be married with kids. Her father says she can't have everything all at once. Having a family and children has made him happy (p 55). He is kind and she feels in possession of a treasure (p 57).

Noni takes Kino to her studio. She has had an unconventional schooling. Kino buys a sea horse she made (p 63). He has some aches and pains so she decided to use some of mother’s herbs to ease the pain (p 64). Noni recalls her mother’s first meeting with a lover (Shinichiro) when she was pecked by a pelican (p 65). Noni asks Kino what he does for a job. When he says to guess she replies “A seer” and he says “Close” (p 67). Lately he is like that but he really is a well known illustrator (p 67). She has seen some of his pictures and they make her laugh (p 68). He draws cats, rainbows and girls. His wife cared more about cats than people and he still lives in her house. She died in a car accident. He couldn’t sleep (p 70). Every night he dreamed of her (like Orpheus). He sees her in his dreams reunited with cats that have also died (p 71). She died while trying to save a cat (p 72). There is a map and on the map his wife shows him where the cats that need help will be (p 75). It is a hard job says Noni, saving all the mistreated cats. There is much cruelty that is terrible (p 82). As well as being an illustrator, Kino is also a psychic. He doesn’t know if he is gay or straight (p 86). Noni has had a history of same sex relationships (p 87). She ended such a relationship recently. He wants to know if her ex-lover is dead?

When she got back to Japan Noni got a call from her mum in Okinawa (p 98). Her mother's boyfriend is in Izenajima. Noni moves between Tokyo and Okinawa looking after her mother’s plants. Having been with Kino has helped Noni get over her broken heart (p 99). On Okinawa, she is welcomed home by the forest. She has no siblings but she shares a bond with the plants… The Noni hatake (field) is her true home (p 101). There is a tree there called the Noni tree (p 100). She felt like she had been breast fed by the tree. Her mother called her Noni (like the tree) so they could be life partners (p 101).

Her grandmother’s death happened at a party. She had no possessions. After her death it started raining shooting stars in the night sky and there were lots of agehacho (swallowtails) (p 103). Noni observes that her mother is very much like her cactus plants (p 105). Compared to Okinawa there are not many cicadas in Tokyo (p 106). There are none around in daylight… At night the concrete is still hot… She has a bad feeling… She never sees any Katagiri (mantis) or their eggs… And there are no usagekageru (ants)… There used to be lots of them. Even in Okinawa the fish stocks are down and one day there won’t be any fish to eat.

Noni’s father was gay but he had had a child with Shizuku (p 108). One time when they ate together she promised she would save people. They sat together in the silence except for the rustling of the noni leaves. It was a music that she couldn’t interpret… Mikonos has a different sound. The air makes things, not man. Instinct is strongest in the wild. She designs her jewellery with the power of nature. She has split up with her girlfriend Sara but they are still close (p 109). They have been friends since primary school. They saw ghosts together and found a dead body (p 110). They didn’t go to school much. She gave up her other friends to be with Sara. Sara was a hippy and her mother was in the U.S. with a Grateful Dead tribute band (p 112). She was in love with a wild child who changed her life (p 115).

Descriptions of the tea trade… The tea calls the customers (pp 117 – 118)… Her grandmother never referred to 'organics' to sell her tea. She was just like a native American woman (p 119). She only wanted to trade small amounts of her tea she did not want to make a large scale business and she didn’t want to make any big promises. Sara calls Noni. She is heart broken but ??? no longer exists (p 127). Noni doesn’t want to dig it up (the dead body?) and decides to call Kino. Noni goes on a trip with Kino to Lancelot Island (near Africa) (p 130).

Cactus plants and telepathy (p 143). Mama’s letter (pp 141 – 146). Parents love their children but why isn’t the world at peace? (p 146). Noni talks to the cactus after reading the letter. It is silent but she feels comforted (p 147). Kino misses his dead wife. She writes a letter to her mother (pp 146-147). She understands why Sara left her (p 156). She decides that she will have Kino’s baby but not now.

Noni visits the café where Kino goes everyday and sees a photo of his dead wife with the cats. She looks wild (p 160). Kino used to go to the café after her death every day and cry. The cat lady became famous after her death like Hachiko (the faithful dog who waited for his master in Shibuya). There were cats waiting for her everywhere (p 171). Noni visits Kino’s house (p 173). The catwoman was very similar to her mother and her grandmother. She wonders who she was? Kaede has told her that she should concentrate on making jewellery. But, like her grandmother, Noni doesn’t make jewellery to make money, she is answering the call of the stones (p 177). The breakup with Sara is described on (pp 185 – 186). Her boss tells Noni that her bracelet looks like cheap hippy stuff – she buys a Cartier bracelet (p 187). 

She gradually recovers from the break-up with Sara (p 189). This world is difficult; it is filled with cruelty and species pushed to extinction. The white noni tree with its smell, herbal leaves, bees and swallowtails stands in great contrast to the lack of insects in Tokyo (191). Kataoka has a dolphin watching business (p 194). Kataoka is a businessman and helps those who are not good at business like Kaede (p 203). Kataoka (Papa 2) tells Noni about her birth (p 208). Women think with their womb, says Kataoka. Muredrous thoughts are converted to love (p 211).

In Tokyo, the grave will be bulldozed (p 214)… They should take those people to the sea and show them the dolphins or sit under a tree to meditate… This is Katatoka’s advice (p 215). Kataoka helped Kaede and Shizuku to become comfortable (p 217). They look at the boat captain, there used to be modest people like this in Tokyo (p 219). Dolphins come from another world (p 219).