Morioh (杜王町, Moriō-chō) is a fictional town located within Japan's M Prefecture in S City, and the setting of the fourth part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Diamond is Unbreakable.
While the population of Morioh is small and relatively peaceful, living there before the introduction of the Bow and Arrow are several Stand users; among them Josuke Higashikata and the villainous Yoshikage Kira. After the Nijimurabrothers take the Bow and Arrow, activity in the town takes a spike.
Morioh possesses several landmarks, the vast majority of them being connected to a Stand user.
Josuke's House, representative of Morioh's western architecture
Morioh is a small coastal town situated in Japan. Morioh is said to be near a certain "S City", in "M-Prefecture", which is a reference to Araki's own real-life hometown of Sendai, Miyagi prefecture. The town is roughly centered around its train station, with downtown Morioh being situated near the station and the largest roads spreading in a circle from the station. To the East of the train station are most of the residential areas then the coast itself. To the West South-West of the station are the more rural areas and agricultural fields. Beyond that are mountainous areas. The Hirose river crosses the South of Morioh before linking with the sea.
Despite being a Japanese town, the local architecture is mostly Western-style. The residential neighborhoods of Morioh actually resemble American suburbs with spacious tracts of land and detached houses. Morioh's downtown is also occupied by Western-style buildings, which are a couple of stories tall at most, leaving a cleared skyline.
Josuke taking the bus
The infrastructure of Morioh is well-developed, notably in the local means of public transportation. One train station links Morioh to S City and is often used by commuters. There is also a bus network that connects Morioh to other cities, for instance to Sapporo.[2] There are at least three different bus lines, as Koichi Hirose tells Jotaro Kujo to take the "bus 3".[3]
Morioh in a blizzard
A flashback of Josuke's childhood points out that Morioh could be subject to blizzards.[4]
The information below derives from The Book which was not written by Araki. As such, it may not be considered canon.
S City of M Prefecture is a city adjacent to Morioh. It was undergoing many forays to new enterprises. People working there were seeking to take residence and came to Morioh, quickly expanding the town's population.[5]
S City was much more modern than Morioh: people often compared life there with the ones seen on TV dramas. Some people that didn't want a rural life or to take a modern job went there after graduating high school in search of a job, but the market was competitive.
As Morioh is situated in Northeastern Japan, it has particularly cold winters.[6]
Concludes non-canon section.
Culture
Unless prompted to fight, most of the Stand users in Morioh lead a peaceful and mundane life
As a countryside Japanese town, life in Morioh is relatively quiet and peaceful. Most of the population consists of ordinary human beings who live ordinary lives. Most of the population belongs to the middle to middle-high class, with some residences used as summer houses for rich people who aren't locals. There is a mild obvious criminal activity in young biker gangs who break the law and drive recklessly.[7] In the summer, the town sees an influx of tourists, and the local inhabitants are said to be relatively unwelcoming of the tourists.[8]
However, Morioh is unique because of the unusually high population of Stand users who live here. This is explained by the presence of two Arrows in the hands of the Nijimura and Kira families, as well as the presence of a minor branch of the Joestar Family in the Higashikatas. Keicho Nijimura has shot many people with his Arrow in the months preceding the events of Diamond is Unbreakable, and Yoshihiro Kira also has shot a number of people with his Arrow, resulting in a high concentration of malevolent Stand users. Josuke Higashikata also has acquired a Stand thanks to his blood connection with the Joestar Family. Finally, the town has known a natural influx of Stand users who have come for unrelated reasons, such as Tonio Trussardi and Aya Tsuji. Josuke and his companions often clash with malevolent Stand users, resulting in regular occurrences of mayhem across Morioh.
The residents of Morioh are somewhat superstitious without being truly religious. Whenever they narrowly escape trouble, they think "I was saved thanks to my good conduct". People over 30 will also mutter an old saying: "With faith, even a sardine's head can be sacred".[8]
The anime adaptation adds a local radio show named "Morioh-cho Radio", hosted by a man named Kai Harada. The radio offers local news and broadcasts songs.
Activities
Commuters at Morioh Station
Morioh is a commuter town and a suburb of S City, which means a large part of the working population commutes to the larger S City to work. However, Morioh is not devoid of local business. The town has a number of small businesses operating, such as the Kameyu market hall, a bank, and other mundane businesses. Morioh also has an industrial port and has a local fishing industry (seen with the fishermen who witnessed the incident Yukako Yamagishi at Boing-boing Cape).[9] The town also has a small number of unusual businesses. Tonio Trussardi's "Trattoria" and Aya Tsuji's "Cinderella" Beauty Salon's activities are based on their owners' respective Stand powers, resulting in highly unusual services.[10][11] Tamami Kobayashi, a local resident, also operates as a loan shark and uses his The Lock to guilt-trip people into giving him back his loans immediately.[12]
Morioh's tourism industry is booming in the summer
Every year on July 1, rivers and beaches open up to the public in Morioh. Because of this, the date range from July to August is the season for traveling and tourism. 70% to 80% of the total tourism revenue of Morioh is brought in during this time. The number of domestic and international visitors coming from the Tokyo area or S city nearly doubles the population.[13] Each year, the town attracts around 200,000 tourists. However, the residents generally do not mingle with the tourists and local vendors approach them with an unwelcoming attitude like "If you're going to buy something, I'll sell it to you". Despite how their nature can be off-putting, the people of Morioh are generally good people after getting to know them.[8]
Popular Activities include vacation resorts, golfing, camping, fishing, picnicking, yachting, windsurfing, tasting local seafood and traditional Japanese products, and visiting the mysterious underwater palace. All are main attractions that ensure a good time in Morioh over the summer.[13]
History
Morioh's development since Josuke's childhood
The area around Morioh has been inhabited for a long time. There are remains of villages dating back to the Jomon Period (c. 14,000–300 BCE). It was then inhabited by samurai with many martial arts training grounds and villas.[1] In the 1980s, the town quickly developed into a small yet significant commuter town with a middle-class population who commutes to S City for work.
Kira secretly follows and kill victims of opportunity for years
On August 13, 1983, the story of Morioh takes a turn for the worse.[14] A young Yoshikage Kira commits his first murder, killing Reimi Sugimoto and her family. Kira will kill 48 women over 15 years, remaining unsuspected all this time due to leaving no evidence save for his first murder, as well as keeping a low profile. As of 1999, Morioh has 81 missing persons, 45 of which are children, which is seven to eight times greater than the average for similarly-sized cities in Japan.[1] At the start of the year, Keicho Nijimura and Okuyasu Nijimura arrive in town. They use the Bow and Arrow to create several Stand users, leading to a spike in criminality.[14] Months earlier, Keicho has turned the criminal Anjuro Katagiri into a Stand user[15] and Anjuro moves to Morioh.
Warned about this criminal, Jotaro Kujo arrives in town and meets with Josuke Higashikata.[16] For a while, Josuke and Jotaro gather allies and proceed to protect the town from all the malevolent Stand users created by Keicho. Keicho is killed, and the Arrow temporarily stolen by Akira Otoishi, who is eventually arrested. The heroes also retrieve his Arrow.[2]
The heroes finally manage to stop Kira for good
However, on June 13, Koichi Hirose and Rohan Kishibe meet the Ghost of Reimi Sugimoto, who warns them about a serial-killer.[17] The search for Yoshikage Kira accelerates when he encounters Shigekiyo Yangu and leaves a clue about his identity when he is forced to fight the little boy. Although he is found out, Kira manages to steal someone's identity and face.[18] Yoshikage Kira's father, Yoshihiro Kira, uses his own Arrow to create another group of Stand users, leading to a couple of fights. Meanwhile, Kira tries to live a normal life but the son of the Kawajiri Family, Hayato Kawajiri, manages to tip the heroes about Kira's identity. After a brutal fight, Kira is accidentally killed by an ambulance. His ghost is prevented from roaming free by Reimi and her dog Arnold, who make it so Kira's soul is taken away by the malicious spirits of Ghost Girl's Alley.[19]
With Morioh now rid of Kira and with a generation of benevolent Stand users to protect it, Jotaro and Joseph Joestar leave Morioh, confident that it is in good hands.
Locations
Morioh has various homes, restaurants, stores, businesses, and other areas where Diamond is Unbreakable and related media such as Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan take place. There are nine iconic landmarks and places of interest in the town.
Morioh Landmark #1: The Angelo Rock (アンジェロ岩, Anjero Iwa).
A famous landmark, it was created when enraged Josuke pummeled Anjuro Katagiri along with a rock at the same time, integrating them together during the healing process. Despite its scary and grim-looking appearance, it is surprisingly familiar with the townspeople and has gained popularity as a meeting point for lovers. To reach it, take the bus in Morioh and go towards the direction of Jōzenji road. Get off at the third stop and walk for one minute.[20] It's shown saying Agi (アギ) when Koichi interacts with it.[21] In D.N.A., Angelo Rock can be seen in a playground.[22]
A fisherman started the rumor when he saw Yukako falling from the cliff and Koichi using Echoes ACT2 to place a "bounce" sound on a spiked rock at the bottom. It was assumed to be a girl who was trying to commit suicide by jumping off the cliff and miraculously bounced back up. The local fishermen all pray for good luck to this particular rock, calling it a "sacred spot." Many also believe that there is a god of the sea at work. If one asks any local fisherman where it is, they'll gladly point it out.[9]
There is a house nearby that belongs to a businessman from Tokyo who uses this house as a summer home. Yukako Yamagishi uses it to hide and lock Koichi Hirose so that she has the time to make him love her.[23]
It is a recently established Italian restaurant owned and managed by Tonio Trussardi. It is next to Kunimitōge Graveyard where Keicho is buried. As he is the only employee there, the restaurant only features two tables, each having around 2-3 chairs. Trussardi's is unique in that customers do not choose their meals. Instead of a menu, Tonio will simply look the customer down and determine their meal based on certain problems pertaining to the customer's health. From this, he is able to create certain foods, using his Stand, Pearl Jam, to appeal to each of the customer's problems. (EX: A simple dish of tomatoes and mozzarella cured Okuyasu of a stiff shoulder). The restaurant uses only the finest Italian ingredients in its meals.
Morioh Landmark #4: Morioh Grand Hotel (杜王グランドホテル, Moriō Gurando Hoteru).
It is a high-class hotel in which Jotaro Kujo and his grandfather Joseph Joestar reside during their time in Morioh. Jotaro stays in Room 324.[24] It also has a private beach.[25]
The residence of famous manga artist, Rohan Kishibe, has a total area of 3.4 acres (340 m2). The house features a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, an attic, and seven other rooms. It was rebuilt due to a fire, with repair costs exceeding 700 million yen.[26] If someone tries to visit, Rohan will pretend to be out.[4]
The house is partially wrecked by a fire during the game of cee-lo between Rohan and Josuke.[26]
Morioh Landmark #6: Ghost Girl's Alley (少女の幽霊に会える小道, Shoujo no Yuurei ni Aeru Komichi, literally "The Alley Where You Can Meet a Ghost Girl").
It is a hidden road located between the Owson grocery and Kisara Drugs. The alley acts as a purgatory for Reimi Sugimoto and Arnold, being a gateway to the afterlife, and it is invisible to most ordinary people. Should a person ever wander down the alley and look behind them in the area between the mailbox and the entrance path, ghostly hands will emerge and drag the person immediately to the afterlife.[27]
Morioh Landmark #7: St. Gentleman (サンジェルマン, Sanjeruman).
It is a classy bakery that is popular with the residents of Morioh. The bakery is most well-known for its fried katsu sandwiches, which are prepared with prime katsu, exquisite ingredients, and freshly-baked bread every day at 11 A.M. Due to their high popularity, the sandwiches are typically sold out within two hours.
The bakery was a favorite of serial killer Yoshikage Kira, who bought katsu sandwiches on a regular basis to enjoy with his "girlfriends."
Completed in Kaei 5 (1852), the tunnel is used for vehicular road traffic coming from the north into South Morioh. On the front of the tunnel, the Morioh Logo is visible. It is located on the outskirts of Morioh, next to Trussardi's and the cemetery. One must pass the tunnel if they were traveling from Morioh High School to downtown Morioh. Josuke Higashikata passes through this tunnel when taking the bus going home from school. The tunnel is 450 m long.[28]
It was renovated in Showa 58 (1983) and has an approximate length of 450 meters. The tunnel's curvature has resulted in a lack of proper lighting and a plethora of accidents.[29] At some point, Yuya Fungami's Stand, Highway Star, created a room within the tunnel to lure unsuspecting victims through the use of illusions in order to capture and drain them of their nutrients.
Toyohiro Kanedaichi lives in an electric pylon. It is actually bound to Toyohiro's Stand, Super Fly. He claims to have bought the metal tower 3 years ago for $100,000 and has not left it since (although it is explained by the power of Super Fly imprisoning him inside. He also claims to not having touched the ground for a month when he meets Josuke Higashikata. He lives a life of complete self-sufficiency, but he is missing things such as salt and sweets. If given food and spices, he'll let people take pictures with him.[30]
Northwest of Morioh is six mountains that Rohan buys to investigate before a subway bypass could be built there. The Osato family has lived in a mansion located in the mountains for three hundred years, producing miso for the local village. The entirety of the mountains belonged to them in the past. The place is haunted by the Mutsu-kabe Hill Yokai.[31]
The Millionaire Village is located in the middle of a forest 80 km Northwest of Morioh. It is isolated from Morioh, with its own infrastructure and no roads leading to the village. There are eleven mansions along with one villa up for sale. The residents of Millionaire Village are all wealthy, consisting of leaders of shipbuilding, drug manufacturing, cosmetics, etc. The village is actually overseen by the gods of the mountain. Those who breach rules of etiquette in the village are punished with a loss for each offense, often the death of a loved one.[32]
A reef inhabited by abalones and apparently owned by the Higashikatas situated North of Boyoyoing Cape. Rohan and Tonio Trussardi once poached several abalones for use in a meal for Tonio's lover Virgina.[33]
A shrine belonging to Mutsu-kabe Shrine Priests whose ancestors protected a 800-year-old Japanese yew tree, known as a "Sacred Tree". The tree contains an entrance blocked by a stone to a cavity that formed 500 years ago which contains a mirror where Yabubako-Hoshi lives. If someone and/or their Stand get caught in the mirror's reflection, then they get replaced by it for 3 months. In order to undo Yabubako-Hoshi's actions, a person needs to flip the mirror 360 degrees to the left without getting caught. It can also be undone by letting someone else flip the mirror which makes them the new victim.[35]
A fossil fuel power plant that an eco-terrorist tried to blow up in order to reduce CO2 emissions. Since it would cause irreversible damage to Morioh, his plan was prevented by Rohan.[36]
Cube House is a huge white cube that was moved from Nishi Akatsuki in Fukui to Morioh at some point in 2004. It is in reality the manifestation of a Stand power belonging to Penelope de la Rosa. The Stand's main body is a teenage girl named Reimi Sugimoto (Universe 37) who controls the materialized house.
Cube House has no windows, doors, or any visible entrance until it evolves into Arrow Cross House after Reimi is stabbed by the Arrow. Both Cube House and Arrow Cross House are able to exist simultaneously as long as the Arrow remains in Reimi. It is an important place that the characters use to travel through space and time.
A house purchased by Rohan Kishibe (Universe 37), where Reimi Sugimoto (Universe 37) also resides. It is situated atop the tallest hill near Morioh, overlooking the town.
The house is actually a Stand that evolved from Cube House. As its name suggests, the house is shaped like an Arrow Cross, with four arrows surrounding the north, south, east, and west walls of Cube House. If the Arrow is removed from Reimi, the house reverts back into being Cube House.
Arrow Cross House becomes the site of three murders. Jorge Joestar and later George Joestar II investigate the strange deaths that occurred here at separate points in time.
A temple in Morioh. It is burned down when its occupants are affected by the Mass Hysteria and set themselves on fire. The walls were covered in drawings of Mothmen drawn in charcoal.
The gymnasium of Budogaoka High School. When Morioh begins to be affected by Mass Hysteria, the gym turns into a locked room and the people inside it begin to pour gasoline onto each other to burn themselves. Koji Hirose wrecks it by using a giant propeller to destroy a wall and the roof of the building, breaking the spell.
The ghost of a mansion. Its full address is 25-4 Katahira, Morioh District, S City, and was supposedly the home of a now-deceased soldier. It became a ghost after its destruction by a bomber during World War II 50 years ago. The ghost mansion is hidden between two buildings and appears to be flattened. It is equipped with ghost furniture and other domestic objects that make it nearly perfect as a home for a Ghost. However, it is also the nest of Spirit Cleansers that prey on ghosts. There were supposedly 56 cases of suicides and mysterious death happening near it. The ghost of Yoshikage Kira is sent there to investigate those deaths and he narrowly escapes the house.
The town library of Morioh. It is described as a western-style building situated just past the shopping district, in front of the trains station. Its walls made of red brick and covered in thorny rose vines, hence its nickname the "Thorn Building". It has a front gate made of black bars reminiscent of an ancient foreign castle, also wrapped in thorny vines. The first floor of the library has the collection; the second floor of the library houses the science, technology, and philosophy books; the third floor is where rare books and gifts to the library are kept. There are iron grating on all of the windows, except for one loose grating on a third-floor window. The Thorn Building had Western-style pointed roofs, on which were seven spires along with one octagonal dome. It has been remodeled during the Meiji Era. There is the persistent rumor of a book that calls to help being kept somewhere in the library.
Koichi Mugikari's house, the only property left in his possession after he was scammed by the Outlaw Guys Employees. Koichi bought the property after having visited it but Outlaw Guys had swapped the real ruined house with another one in Boyoyoing Cape. Koichi thus finds himself having here. B.T. partially refurbishes it with furnitures sent by his wife.
The town is based on Hirohiko Araki's hometown, Sendai. He states that Sendai was an old historical town but began residential construction in the 80s, causing new houses to be built everywhere. Intimidated by the rapid increase in strangers, Araki used this experience for the basis of the setting in Part 4. However, Araki felt using the real name of the city in his manga may anger people, so he changed the name to Morioh.[37] Morioh is instead a town within S City in M Prefecture, still referencing the real-life city of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture.
The Book: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 4th Another Day
Until recent developments as of 2000, Morioh had been just a rural town where one could find only rice and vegetable fields. The country town was run mostly by agriculture business, and as a result, people in there had hard and cracked hands. They often needed to check on the water in the paddy fields in the middle of the night. There was at least one area in the Northeast famous for an old summer retreat.
Morioh eventually underwent a transformation in an age where places all over Japan were improving. M Prefecture's government officials decided to invest money into Morioh to develop it, as its population was quickly increasing with workers from the adjacent S City. The streets were repaired, shops and markets were built, and pretty houses were lined up on the land that used to be rice fields. Power lines and telephone poles that harmed the views disappeared or were abandoned (including one that would later be bound to the Stand Super Fly). With the development of the town, many people came back to live in Morioh, with Akari Hirai among them.[38]
JORGE JOESTAR
The information below derives from a source not written by Araki. As such, it may or may not be considered canon.
Morioh in JORGE JOESTAR
An alternate version of Morioh appears in the novel JORGE JOESTAR. Morioh is situated in an alternate universe where things such as the general geography of Earth is different from the original universe. Unlike the original universe, Japan is actually on a supercontinent named Panlandia.[39]
Similar to the original manga, Morioh is also a small Japanese coastal town known for its local delicacies and tourist-friendly attractions. The town is mostly peaceful yet lively; it has no telephone lines and has room for cars and pedestrians. With most of the town being on top of a valley, the residential area overlooks the coastal docks which are lined with several souvenir shops, inns, and restaurants. This Morioh also has some of the landmarks of the original Morioh, like the Angelo Rock, Boyoyoying Cape or Budogaoka High School.
One of the town's famous buildings was a unique house named the Cube House, which had no doors or windows, formerly residing on top of Morioh's biggest hill in 2004. In 2007, a new structure called the Arrow Cross House suddenly appeared in place of the Cube House, and it is later bought by Rohan Kishibe (Universe 37) in 2012. Other than Rohan, Reimi Sugimoto is also a tenant in the Arrow Cross House. It is later revealed that Reimi, in the form of the Arrow Cross House and the Cube House, is the Stand of Penelope de la Rosa, a character from the original universe with George Joestar II, which manifested from her desperation to find George Joestar II in the 37th universe.[40][41]
Nero Nero Island on top of Morioh
Morioh's geography is altered drastically as a giant patch of land when it separates itself from Japan and the rest of Panlandia. The land begins to move on the ocean by itself, with an invisible dome-like barrier covering the town.[42] It is further altered when another giant piece of land, the walking Nero Nero Island, collides with Morioh and sits atop the town.
Morioh, submerged and upside down
Later, Jorge Joestar, Kars, Narancia Ghirga (Universe 37), and Enrico Pucci (Universe 37), crash their spaceship from Mars on top of the Arrow Cross House, and the impact knocks the piece of land upside down. Morioh ends up being underwater, revealing the mythical land of England under it.[43] Although the town is submerged, people were still stuck to the ground with the dome protecting the town from the ocean.
Just like Morioh from the manga, this Morioh has a greater-than-average population of Stand users, who are also aware of the existence of the serial-killer named Yoshikage Kira. This Kira has also changed his face and identity and is currently pursued by some detectives.
Stage Gimmick: Lightning strikes the Pepsi sign and the puddles around the stage, damaging and stunning anyone hit as a result. Akira Otoishi takes no damage from the gimmick, which instead sets his Power Gauge to the first level.
Situation Finish: If hit towards the stage's ambulance, the loser finds themselves in Ghost Girl's Alley, confronted by Reimi Sugimoto. Ghostly hands then drag them off into the unknown.
Stage Gimmick: Yoshihiro Kira attacks characters with a knife, traveling along a curving path.
Situation Finish: If hit towards Yoshikage Kira's stack of books, the loser knocks one of the books open, revealing Yoshikage Kira's various nail clipping records and a message where he declares that he cannot be stopped during months where his nails grow more than 30 cm.
Stage Gimmick 1: Certain characters may ride Rohan's motorcycle and perform offensive maneuvers on it, allowing for surprise attacks and quick traversal of the map. The bike can otherwise be picked up and thrown as an explosive, inflicting heavy damage and setting the target area on fire.
Stage Gimmick 2: Café Deux Magots serves an espresso or other refreshment to any combatant who stops by at the glowing table, restoring their health.
Situation Finish: The last defeated combatant finds themselves in Ghost Girl's Alley, where the hands of the dead drag them off into the unknown, recreating Yoshikage Kira's final defeat.
Stage Gimmick 1: Combatants that fall off the cliff are bounced across the stage to safety by Echoes ACT2's onomatopoeia, similarly to how Koichi saved Yukako.
Stage Gimmick 2: Bouncing onomatopoeia created by Echoes ACT2 can bounce combatants to various locations around the stage.
Stage Gimmick 3: Sizzling onomatopoeia created by Echoes ACT2 can damage and knock back combatants who touch it, potentially into other onomatopoeia. They will also attract Kira's Sheer Heart Attack if it strays too close.
In addition to the Kira Estate and Morioh stages, Boyoyoing Cape from Eyes of Heaven returns. It should be noted that, if Koichi is on the stage, then neither the Stage Hazard nor Situation Finish will occur.
Boyoyoing Cape (ボヨヨン岬, Boyoyon Misaki)
Stage Hazard: Echoes ACT2 hatches and creates three SFX on the ground. Any combatant that touches them is either set on fire or sent flying across the stage, depending on the SFX.
Situation Finish: The loser falls off the cape, bounces off a rock marked with Echoes ACT2's SFX, and falls into the sea.
Due to the Japanese-to-Chinese-to-English translation process used in the earliest known unofficially-released fan translation of Diamond is Unbreakable, "Morioh" is rendered as Duwang, deriving from the Chinese reading of Morioh (杜王, Dù Wáng); the name would eventually become synonymous with and defining of the fan translation.
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Manga Appearances
Anime Appearances
