A Japanese student explains an important Ghost of Yotei historical error found in the trailer
It seems like Ghost of Yotei has quite a historical error in its first trailer, and its name, as pointed out by a Japanese student.
There is no doubt that Ghost of Yotei was the biggest announcement during the latest State of Play presentation. The sequel to Ghost of Tsushima, which will arrive on PS5 in 2025, has opened all kinds of speculation about what the story will be about, which is set centuries after the adventures of Jin Sakai. However, A Japanese student has pointed out an important piece of historical inaccuracy of what little has been seen about the game.
The historical error of Ghost of Yotei that a Japanese student deconstructs: “It must be intentional”
Ghost of Yotei is set in 1603 in the region known today as Hokkaido, around Mount Yotei. But the sleeping volcano was not known by that term at the time the game is set. The Ainu, the indigenous population of the region at that time, knew it as Mount Machineshiri. It was not until the Meiji era, a period between 1868 and 1912, that the Japanese began to call it Mount Shiribeshi. From this term little by little over the years it evolved into Yotei naturally. The user points out that the anachronism that occurs may be an intentional error, since at that time “Mount Yotei” was practically a “ghost toponym”, as mentioned by Automaton.
製作発表が出た『ゴースト・オブ・ヨーテイ』の舞台が1603年の北海道というのはすごい。いろんな意味で「ゴースト」です。絶対にわざとですね。「ヨーテイ」の元の「後方羊蹄山」という山名は明治以降のもので、アイヌ語では「マチネシㇼ」です。「1603年のヨーテイ」は「ゴースト地名」ですね。
— 丹菊逸治 (@itangiku) September 25, 2024
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The historical implications of the title are significant. The area around Mount Yotei was not part of Japan, but belonged solely to the Ainu, an ethnic group that had its own culture and customs different from those of the Japanese (something that the studio takes into account in the game). The conflict between clans exploded in the following years until the land ended up being conquered by Japan.
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