Today, I want to talk about this -
- this very questionable decoration in Gintoki’s home.
A lone plate, shown to be placed on a surface, super randomly shown at the beginning of Shinigami Arc, along with a shot of his phone, some sukonbu and a clock. (The clock shows 9:10 by the way, a time that clockmakers choose to make the clock appear like it is smiling.)
Where is the plate placed? Not on his table.
Not on the table between the couches.
Somehow it looks like it is standing on the ground
The placement of the plate.
I wanted to find out where the plate and clock are located. In episode 279 we can’t see that. Judging from the image, I also guessed the plate could be on the ground. I thought I could check episodes after the plate appeared and I ended up with the episode right after the arc, episode 282. It had me a little disappointed because there seems to be no place for the plate judging from this shot:
Clearly, there is no cupboard placed on the left side.
Then I saw this shot and thought it might be placed up there. The color of the furniture and the background is correct.
I checked the Kintoki arc and I was disappointed again. There are just two Justaways and some boxes with みかん (mandarin orange) written on it.
I just continued with the episodes after Shinigami Arc and the shock of my life hit me:
There it is..Episode 294, I couldn’t believe my eyes.. In the same episode you can see the clock hanging on the opposite wall by the way. So that mystery is also solved. Here is another shot of the cupboard:
The blue and orange colors are really standing out here. I’m also interested in the other things placed in and on that cupboard, but that’s something for a different post. The tortoise is cute though.
You know what? Tortoises in japanese mythology:
The turtle we see is a small black statue. In fact, it is not a depiction of a 蓑亀 (Minogame) because those have long seaweed attached to their back, symbolizing their longevity and felicity. Generally, it symbolyzes longevity, good luck, and support.
Tortoise and cranes are a favored motifs by netsuke-carvers and other artisans, and is featured in traditional Japanese wedding ceremonies in the edo period.
Read this for more infos.
A possible wedding statue. Next to that damn plate.
Here is also another plate showing blue swirls and orange leaf like patterns….. I don’t know what to say anymore.
After seeing that, I thought I should check the other episodes where you might see the plate. The only other time where you can see this spot is in episode 286 and.. weirdly enough it is deliberately shown to NOT be there just for a split second.
I was confused again. But then I thought about checking the manga timeline (it doesn’t appear in the manga) and let that sink in:
Plate first appearance: Shinigami Episode 279 - Manga Chapter 463
Missing: Episode 286 - Manga Chapter 411
Missing: Episode 282 - Manga Chapter 456
Other Appearance: Afro Arc Episode 294 - Manga Chapter 487
Did you notice something?
The episodes after Shinigami Arc where you technically could see the plate take place before Shinigami Arc in Manga canon. Only Afro Arc is after that. That means the animators were really mindful of not including it in those episodes and they are even showing it to us.
Let’s look at the plate in detail.
It is white and has a blue swirl pattern and some different colored maple leaves drawn onto it. We have 3 leaves colored in Tsukuyo’s kimono ornaments, 1 yellow, 2 yellow-blue mixes and two silver(!) leaves with slight orange tips.
Now obviously, the white plate with the blue swirls is like Gintoki’s Kimono. The straight lines kinda look like his sword, especially the one in the middle!
What I find interesting is the Yellow leaf, which could stand for Tsukuyo’s hair color and fading between yellow and blue on the leaves.
I don’t think I need to elaborate more on the silver leaves.. That’s too obvious.
That plate is so cliché, it’s almost like someone made it up in a fanfic. It’s literally combining their colors and their patterns and more importantly: Yellow and Silver/Blue like.. damn you Sorachi/Animators.
The whole existence of the plate is indeed very questionable. But you know what’s even more interesting? Right before Shinigami Arc we have one of the rare filler episodes.
And you know what that episode is about? And what is said??
The Manga canon has COAN Arc before Shinigami and Love Potion Arc after it. So something must’ve happened inbetween..we will never know.
I don’t think I have to say more about this. Could it be a present from Hinowa? From Tsukuyo? Did he buy it himself? We will never know.
But I know, this damn plate took away a whole evening of skipping through episodes and screaming about it.
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