What Do the Mongol and Islamic Cultures of the TV Anime Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Reveal? A Roundtable With the Voice Cast

— Seen from the perspective of Japanese history, the Mongol invasions of Japan in the Kamakura period loom large, don't they?

Sekine: The Japanese culture and etiquette of the time, of announcing your name before fighting, was pushed back by group tactics.

Koshimizu: The Mongolian horses themselves and the way of riding them were also distinctive: there is little vertical bounce, so the burden on the rider is small. Learning that this stability was what gave them the advantage in long-distance travel and in fighting with bows and arrows is just one of the many things I gained from encountering this work.

Suzuki: The way meat is butchered differed from culture to culture as well, didn't it?

Shimono: When I heard that Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia was a work centered on the Mongol Empire, I thought I was glad I had done that narration work — not that I had done it for this purpose.

Saito: That story was so impressive that I have nothing to say...

Shimono: Mine is a special case!

All：（laughs）

Koshimizu: How was Mongolia taught in your generation, Saito?

Saito: For me, Mongolia was more or less just the Mongol invasions of Japan; I was taught about it in a single class and that was the end of it.

Suzuki: Just Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan?

Saito: About all I had done was see pictures of their faces.

— So as you joined this work, you read the original manga and learned about it all over again.

Saito: Including the fact that they wear turbans, there was so much I had never seen and did not know, so I read the original manga while looking things up online. It was all new to me, and that was really stimulating.

Shimono: Reading while doing your utmost to look up what you do not know — that is exactly like Muhammad.

Koshimizu: That is wonderful. But even when you search online, there is not much information.

Suzuki: Sound director Konuma might be the one who knows more about it.

Sekine: The things I could not find out even by looking them up were explained to me on site. What left the deepest impression was ultimogeniture, where the youngest child inherits, which is the exact opposite of Japan.

Koshimizu: It even made me think there might be cases where that would be better for Japan too. The older brothers first build up territory and keep the economy turning, and the last child inherits the property while protecting the parents — there is a good deal about that which makes sense, and I found myself nodding along.

— Before this interview I looked through the reference works as well as the original manga, and what struck me was that once I knew this series, reading the history of the Mongol Empire, simply knowing the names made the historical facts sink in easily.

Shimono: Just like Saito, the more I learned, the more I really wanted to know how things worked, and I came to think that this is a series that teaches you a little at a time. It is interesting precisely because you do not know.

Koshimizu: All sorts of food shows up as well, but Mongolian restaurants are not something I am very familiar with. Maybe I simply have not been paying attention. This work has made me very curious, and I want to try the food that is depicted in it.

Sekine: When I hear milk tea I picture something sweet, so I keep wondering what salty milk tea tastes like.

Koshimizu: And since it is basically goat's milk, the character of the flavor must be different from cow's milk too.

Shimono: It might be delicious, you know? With that touch of salt.

Saito: Something like a sports drink?

All：(laughs)

Saito: I am sorry!

Shimono: Please make sure that stays in the article!

— We will (laughs).

Shimono: (searching on the spot) If you look it up, there are quite a few.

Koshimizu: Wow, I want to go! I would love for everyone reading this to look for one nearby and go as well!

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