A great mountain towers over the land of Kitakami, and the people live at its base. It is a place of tranquil natural expanses, featuring rice paddies and apple orchards.[1] The PokémonOkidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti were revered as a trio of heroes (the "Loyal Three") by the people of the village for having allegedly protected the land of Kitakami in the past.[2]
The player is taken to Kitakami on a school trip to join an outdoors study opportunity held jointly between the Naranja AcademyS/Uva AcademyV and Blueberry Academy.[3] The trip coincides with a seasonal festival that is regularly held in the village in Kitakami, during which the village is bustling with various street vendors and stalls.[1] During the trip, the player meets Blueberry students Kieran and his older sister Carmine, who both grew up in Kitakami.[4]
Geography
Kitakami is a landlocked region that is mostly mountainous, as a large mountain comprises most of the region, though some rivers are present at the top of the mountain and around it on the east side, some even leading outside of the region. There is a town at the base of the mountain, being the only town in Kitakami.
Kitakami is described as being far away from Paldea, where the main player is originally from, to the degree of a plane being required to travel there.
Demographics
Most of the people there are naturally born citizens there, like Ogerpon's mask-maker, though rarely do they see tourists. Apart from farming, a significant amount of income comes from tourism. Most of the residents of Kitakami do not appreciate this. (with both Trainers and main characters referring to those not from Kitakami as "outsiders") though following the events of The Teal Mask, many warm up to them.
Notable locations
Some notable locations around Kitakami include:
Mossui Town, the only major settlement in Kitakami.
The culture of Kitakami resembles Japanese culture with the main characters of the story wearing clothing known as a jinbei (甚平). The architecture of the houses as seen in Kitakami also resemble typical Japanese houses.
Food stalls (or Yatai (屋台)) can be seen around the shrine, of Shinto style. The path is flanked by stone lanterns similar to Ishidoro (石灯籠) in Japanese culture. Paper lanterns called Chōchin (提灯) can also be seen.
The main characters of the story also participate in the Festival of Masks in Kitakami Hall, similar to matsuri (祭り) in Japan with its ties to spirtual animals, spirits, and/or deities according to ancient folklore. In the case of Kitakami, the summer festival celebrates "The Loyal Three" (Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti) the Pokémon that protected Kitakami from the "Ogre" (Ogerpon). This story is similar to the Japanese folk tale of Momotarō (桃太郎), where a boy born from a peach who grows up to vanquish some ogres.
The name of the Iwate Prefecture in the Tohoku Region means Rock (Iwa) Hand (Te). This comes a story where a deity names Mitsuishi (Three Rocks) vanquished an ogre called Rasetsu, who left an imprint of its hand on a large boulder on Mt. Nansho.[5] This bears resemblance to the Loyal Three vanquishing Ogerpon.
The culture of one of the largest festivals in the Tohoku region, Aomori Nebuta Matsuri, is very similar to the themes explored in The Teal Mask (i.e. ogres appearing in many floats, which are typically depicted by humans by wearing a mask, reminiscent of Ogerpon). Alongside these cultural similarities, a real life nebuta float of Pikachu and Ogerpon appeared at the 2023 Aomori Nebuta festival.
Ogerpon wears a mask, which could be a reference to Onikenbai (鬼剣舞) (lit. Ogre's Sword Dance), a traditional mask-wearing folk performance from the real-world Kitakami, Iwate. This city is also home to a large traditional mask museum called Oni no Yakata (lit. Ogre's Museum).[6]
The Loyal Three are revered through small statues wearing red bibs, similar to that of Ojizo-sama (お地蔵さま) or Kitsune (きつね) found across Japan. The colour red is believed to ward off evil spirits in Japanese culture.[7]
Okidogi may be inspired by the large Japanese dog, Akita. The Akita dog also originates from Akita Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan, where Kitakami may be inspired from.
Fezandipiti may be inspired by the Japanese Green Pheasant, Kiji. The Kiji is also Iwate Prefecture's symbolic bird[8]. Fezandipiti's Japanese name is "Kichikigisu", which contains the word "kigisu". Kigisu is an archaic reading for pheasant.
Dipplin, the evolution of Applin also features in Kitakami. Sweet apples are often served during summer festivals in Japan. With Aomori Prefecture being the largest producer of Apples in Japan, it is well known for its Apples around the world. As such, it is possible that Aomori's apples were the inspiration behind Dipplin. The trailer of the Teal Mask also heavily showcases an apple orchard, apple consumption, and a photoshoot with an Apple cutout board.
Poltchageist is inspired from Tsukumogami (付喪神) which is a spirit (or Yokai (妖怪)) that is born from every-day inanimate objects, which is typical concept in Japanese Shinto belief.
Only found in Kitakami, Bloodmoon Ursaluna’s Pokédex entry states that “It crossed the sea and drifted ashore in a new land.” At the start of the quest, Perrin states that the Bloodmoon Ursaluna is native to her homeland, Sinnoh, when it was still called Hisui. If Sinnoh is an analog to Hokkaido, its nearest landmass is the Tohoku region of Japan. Furthermore, Ursaluna may be based on the Ussuri brown bear, a subspecies of the brown bear native to Hokkaido and its surrounding areas.
Another Hisuian Pokémon, White-Striped Basculin, is also found in Kitakami.
Kitakami features a large mountain which can be scaled. This could be inspired by Mt. Iwaki, which means "God's Home" (カムィ イワキ) in the local Ainu language. Mt. Iwaki is also known as the "Northern Fuji" due to its similar apperance. The reference to a deity and the north is similar to Kitakami, which means "Northern God".
Name origin
Language
Name
Origin
Japanese
キタカミの里 Kitakami no Sato
From 北 kita (north), 神 kami (deity) or 上 kami (upper), and possibly a reference to 北上 Kitakami
English, German
Kitakami
From its Japanese name
Spanish
Noroteo
From norte (north) and teo- (theo-: prefix for god)
French
Septentria
From septentrional (northern)
Italian
Nordivia
From nord (north) and divinità (divinity)
Korean
북신의 고장 Buksin-ui Gojang
From 북신 buksin, Sino-Korean reading of Japanese 北神 kitakami (north deity)
Chinese (Mandarin)
北上鄉 / 北上乡 Běishàng Xiāng
From 北 běi / bāk (north) and 上 shàng / séuhng (upper)
