Re: LoGH Mystery Ship
Scott Swoboda (scotswo1@airmail.net)
Fri, 14 Mar 1997 17:46:12 -0600
Walter Amos wrote:
>
> > was a sachem (chief) of Wampanoag Indians of eastern Massachusetts.
>
> You got to this before I was able to comment. I believe historically
> Massasoit was the Indian envoy to the Pilgrims. He made a peace treaty with
> them and attended the first Thanksgiving celebration.
>
> What truly amazes me about all this is that a *Japanese* author chose to use
> this figure as the basis of the name for a ship. (Sue - is this canonical,
> BTW? Is this ship in the novels or is it an invention of the anime?) I mean,
> I am sure 99% of *Americans* wouldn't remember who Massasoit was and here is a
> Japanese who clearly must be aware of him and his place in our history to name
> a ship after him. I am sure that over 99% of Americans couldn't identify a
> similar character from Japanese history, especially one from several centuries
> ago.
When I thought about it, Massasoit is about as ancient to the LoGH
characters as Ulysses and Patroklos are to us. Perhaps owing to the
peaceful public image the FPA tries to project as a counter to the
"evil" Galactic Empire, they named some battleships after peaceful
historic fugures. Now playing at the Imperial Megaplex; "SINK THE
GHANDI!"
> > P.S. My guess is that it is the worst misspelling of "van Gogh" in
> > recorded history, though it would be more believable if it had a strange
> > paint job like the "Mauria."
>
> I find this hard to believe, what with the Japanese fascination with van Gogh.
> Did you see Kurosawa's "Dreams", and the amazing van Gogh segment in it? No,
> my guess is it is probably a misspelling of some famous Chinese character.
>
It is my understanding that the gentleman who enthusiastically purchased
"Sunflowers" for the Sumitomo Bank had to find a new job. From this
evidence, I could speculate that not all Japanese appreciate van Gogh ;)
Regards,
Scott Swoboda