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And so you have reached the last page, which I admittedly enjoyed drawing the most (and longest). The style is quite different from the rest of the comic, more detailed and softer. This is merely due to the fact that I wished to show at least a hint of respect for the character of Yamato-Takeru, as he is an important folk tale figure to the Japanese. If I failed to do so while he was still alive and rather well in the story, I shall do it now that I show his final resting place.
In case there is any confusion: Yamato-Takeru is portrayed dead here. The story admittedly makes a rough skip
from being cursed with an illness to being already dead. In all honesty, I just was not interested enough in all those fatigued footsteps and the songs he sang recalling his homeland or the Kusanagi sword to draw them into a
comic.
As a minor point of interest, the picture on the left is modeled after a photo I took in one of the oldest temples in Kamakura, though admittedly Sugimoto-dera (the name of the temple in question) is around 900 years too young to give a very authentic background reference for the legend of Yamato-Takeru.
In addition, I very much enjoyed listening to this folk song from the Amami Islands while completing the very last page of the comic, as it helped me get into the mood of actually thinking of Yamato-Takeru as a tragic hero who died before he could completely pacify the lands and the deities: おぼくり・ええうみ
In case there is any confusion: Yamato-Takeru is portrayed dead here. The story admittedly makes a rough skip
from being cursed with an illness to being already dead. In all honesty, I just was not interested enough in all those fatigued footsteps and the songs he sang recalling his homeland or the Kusanagi sword to draw them into a
comic.
As a minor point of interest, the picture on the left is modeled after a photo I took in one of the oldest temples in Kamakura, though admittedly Sugimoto-dera (the name of the temple in question) is around 900 years too young to give a very authentic background reference for the legend of Yamato-Takeru.
In addition, I very much enjoyed listening to this folk song from the Amami Islands while completing the very last page of the comic, as it helped me get into the mood of actually thinking of Yamato-Takeru as a tragic hero who died before he could completely pacify the lands and the deities: おぼくり・ええうみ