Innocence Seekers: The Black Rose – Namari’s royal family

This blog post will detail the royal family of Namari, and its history. It is not clear where or when the Namari royal family originated (although it is known that the family is of Japanese descent, and that it included Himiko). However, the family often plays an important role in the conflicts shown in Innocence Seekers: The Black Rose.

The early history of the Namari royal family is not clear; however, it is known that in c. 600 AD, the family split into four. One line, later to be known as the Umehara line, retained the throne of Namari, while the other three lines, the Kuritani, Miyana and Akagawa lines, all but relinquished succession rights, except in the unlikely case that the Umehara line ends with no known matrilinear descendants. Each of these lineages are completely matrilinear; any sons born from these lineages are not considered to be part of them, and if they possess the same surname as the name of their ancestral lineage, they must relinquish it upon marriage (conversely, the eldest daughter must retain the name upon marriage). All four lines survive to the present day, despite the political upheavals affecting Likkra in the mean time.

The Umehara line is, as mentioned above, the line that currently controls the Namari throne. Note that very few members actually possess the surname Umehara; this is because traditionally, the queen and her immediate relatives do not have surnames, and branch members often take the names of their husbands. Known members of the main line as of April Light include Erika and Himawari, and branch members include Kaori Otohane, Momoko and Sakura Hanazono, and Aika Ōtora. Members of the Umehara line tend to have pink magic colour, although there are numerous exceptions (the most notable being the historical Likkran queen Emma, whose magic colour was orange). It is also the line with the highest proportion of members having white magic colour (the colour itself being rather rare).

The Kuritani line is one of the three lines of the Namari royal family that does not control the throne. For reasons largely lost to time, the Kuritani line typically keeps the fact that it is related to the main line of the royal family secret (in fact, many branch members do not even know of this). Known members of the main line as of April Light include Akane and Akari Kuritani, and branch members include Himawari and Aoi Higasa, Benio Shinokura, Kaede Yuzuhara, and Kotone Miyauchi. Members of the Kuritani line tend to have yellow or orange magic colour, although, like the Umehara line, there are numerous exceptions.

The Miyana line is another of the three lines of the family without control of the throne. Like the Kuritani line, the Miyana line keeps its relationship secret, and even steers away from politics to ensure this secret. As such, it historically has had little influence in Namari politics, with only one member in the upper house (the other lines of the royal family and other noble families typically have between five and ten). Known members of the main line as of April Light include Mutsuki, Kisaragi, Yayoi, Uzuki and Satsuki Miyana, and branch members include Mikako and Mirai Aooka, Sumire Shiba, and Tamaki Urushibayashi. No magic colour is associated with the Miyana line, but blue and green are the most common among members.

The Akagawa line is the last ot the three lines of the family without control of the throne. While the members of the main line know of their relationship to the royal family, the loss of records means that many branch members are often unaware that they are even part of the Akagawa line, let alone related to the Namari royal family. Known members of the main line as of April Light include Tsubaki and Inori Akagawa, and branch members include Misato and Michiru Kurosawa, Amane and Hiyori Kigawa, Mizuki Kuwaumi, Yuri Shirakawa, Yōko, Aoba, Wakaba and Momiji Harumi, and Miho Koyanagi. While the Akagawa line is associated with the red magic colour, only a minority possess this colour (notably the main line members Tsubaki and Inori, as well as branch member Momiji).

Historically, out of the lines not controlling the throne, the Kuritani line has had the most influence. This is because mages and magical girls of this line tend to be more powerful than those of the other lines (although there are many exceptions, such as the historical magical girl Tomoyo Akagawa, and the events of Innocence Seekers: The Black Rose has affected the power difference), and the other lines tend not to involve themselves in the kingdom’s administration.

I will write more in a later post.


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