The season of Fall-2023 (October-December) brought with it the premiere of a long-awaited anime adaptation: Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries). The story takes place in ancient China, where the young Maomao, forced to work as a servant in the emperor’s palace, manages to demonstrate her skills as an apothecary and attracts the attention of the palace administrator. This will begin her journey where she will make a name for herself by using her knowledge and eccentric personality to solve different medical mysteries.
However, this new franchise has attracted attention not only for fantastic animation work, but because sparked a controversy that is now pitting Japanese, Chinese and South Koreans alike against each other. It all started when Natsu Hyuugathe author of the franchise, shared an update on Twitter noting that The style of the story and the characters are, in fact, based on “the entire Asian continent.”:
- «A small comment about Kusuriya no Hitorigoto. It’s just a continental-style fictional world, so I put in a lot of things that knowledgeable people will understand. The culture is modern, but the outfits are modeled on those of the Tang Dynasty, and there are things from the early days like chocolates. Additionally, there are many uses of katakana».
This led to comments beginning to emerge against the author’s vision, pointing out that the vision of the story is evidently based in China. This explains comments like:
- «Why do you say this is continental when it is clearly Chinese style? Why do you use Chinese style but avoid admitting that it is a Chinese element? Would it be okay if I classified your Japanese clothes as continental clothes? Please describe it clearly! Stop this cultural appropriation!».
- «Why don’t you want to admit that it’s based in China? If saying China’s name makes your lips burn, then you shouldn’t make money using China’s distinctive elements, which is cultural appropriation.».
- «Is it so hard to say it’s “a style based on China” when you have a world featuring the Forbidden City and a bunch of characters dressed in Chinese attire? What are you so scared of? What does it mean that you are making money using China’s culture without directly mentioning it? When will you stop being so intolerant of China?».
- «The clothing in Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is not only from the Tang Dynasty, but also from the Ming Dynasty. The outfit that Maomao wears is a hanfu from the Ming Dynasty».
And what do South Koreans have to do with all this? Well, they intervened in a completely different controversy that arose when A Twitter user claimed that Kusuriya no Hitorigoto was based on Jang-geum, the first royal female doctor in Korean history.. Some sources attest that Jang-geum was a real person and it remains a topic of debate among scholars.
Jang-Geum is considered an important person in Korean history, although there is little information about her. Because the king trusted her so much, her people began to respect her and pay attention to her. «Kusuriya no Hitorigoto reminds me too much of the drama “Jewel in the Palace”», referring to a television series based on the life of Jang-geum.
This obviously only added fuel to the fire of controversy, a story similar to the life of a Korean, established in the culture of China, and written in Japan? Clearly uniting three countries that hate each other (at least among their most nationalist population) was not a good idea, which was evident in the comments of the Japanese:
- «Fighting with China again? This is why Koreans can’t stand out».
- «I don’t understand, where are the Korean items?».
- «Maybe love for origins is an Asian trait».
- «Did Korea also have eunuchs?».
- «Korea remains a shadow of its former self.».
- «Somehow I knew this was going to happen».
- «Until now, the author’s Twitter has never been a war of controversy. It was a place for fans to talk friendly. Now That There’s An Anime Adaptation, This Is The Damage It’s Doing».
- «Sure they can fight all they want, but as a viewer all I can think is that he’s Chinese either way. No emperor in Korea, including Goguryeo, would have such a palace or power».
- «To be honest, there isn’t a shred of reality in this story, but I think it will stick with people who like this kind of drama. Anyway, the lies and bluffs of history are very basic»
- «I don’t think fantasy and reality should be mixed. I’d feel a little antagonistic if someone called an obviously Japanese-style cityscape Korean or Chinese».
- «To begin with, Korean style never caught on in Japan.».
- «No wonder, because opportunities to watch Chinese dramas are rare».
- «Both Chinese and Koreans are problematic».
- «Koreans are totally unaware of the reality that their culture is made of Japanese and Chinese rip-offs».
Fountain: Yaraon!
