Morioh
Morioh Town (杜王町, Moriō-chō) is a fictional community located within Japan's M Prefecture in the city of S, and the setting of Part IV: 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 Nijimura brothers take the Bow and Arrow, activity in the town takes a spike.
In the manga, at the conclusion of a significant battle, its site is named a place of importance, contributing to the town's legend.
Morioh itself has a counterpart in the SBR universe, also named Morioh.
Backstory
The information below derives from the Light Novel The Book: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 4th Another Day, which was not written by Araki. As such, it may or may not be considered canon.
Morioh is a suburb of S City. Even though it quickly developed during the 1980s, it was inhabited even in the ancient days of the samurai. It had many martial arts training grounds and vacation homes, where its summer attractions may have come from.Even now, there are still many villas of samurai left. Not much earlier Morioh had been just a rural town where you could find only rice and vegetable fields. The country town was run mostly by agriculture business, 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 a old summer retreat.
Morioh eventually undergone a transformation. In an age where places all over Japan were getting better. M Prefecture's government officials decided to invest money in Morioh to develop it, as its population was quickly increasing with workers from the adjacent S City. The streets were repaired, shoppings 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 what would later be bound to the stand Super Fly).
With the development of town much of the people came back to live in Morioh, between them was Akari Hirai.
S City
Even though S City is mentioned multiple times in the manga, the information below derives from the Light Novel The Book: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 4th Another Day, which was not written by Araki. As such, it may or may not be considered canon.
S City of M Prefecture is a city adjacent to Morioh. It was undergoing lots of forays to new enterprises. People working there were seeking to take residence and came to Morioh, quickly expanding the town's population.
S City was much more modern than Morioh, people often compared life in there with the ones seen on TV dramas. Some people that didn't want a rural life or take a modern job went in there after graduating in high school in search of a job, but market was competitive. It is a reference to the city of Sendai, Miyagi prefecture.
Summer Attractions
Every year on July 1st, rivers and beaches open up to the public in Morioh. Because of this, the date range from July to August is the season for travelling 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.
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.
Morioh Landmarks
Angelo Rock
The Stone of Angelo. A famous landmark. It was created when Josuke pummeled a rock and Anjuro "Angelo" Katagiri and integrated them together during the healing process. Despite it's scary and grim looking appearence, it is suprisingly familiar with the townspeople and has gained popularity as a meeting point for lovers. People say they can hear the rock growl "Agios" at times.[1]
Directions: Take the bus in Morioh, go towards the direction of Jouzenji road. get off at the third stop and walk for one minute.
Budo-ga Oka Middle & High School
Indicated on the map on the cover page of Chapter 303, "Budo-ga Oka Middle & High School" appears to name the middle/high school that Josuke, Koichi, Okuyasu, Keicho, Toshikazu, Yukako, Shigechi, Mikitaka and Yuya all attend (based on circumstances in the story and similarities between their uniforms).
Boing-Boing Cape
A fisherman started the rumor when he saw Yukako falling from the cliff and Koichi using Echoes Act 2, to place a bounce sound on the 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 you ask any local fisherman where 'Boing-Boing Cape' is. They'll gladly point it out to you.[2]
Rohan Kishibe's House
Residence of famous manga artist, Rohan Kishibe. Total Area: 3.4 Acres (340 SQ. M) The house features a living room, dining room, kitchen, and attic, plus seven other rooms. The house was rebuilt due to a fire with repair costs exceeding 7 million.
Directions: Don't bother. He'll pretend to be out anyways.[3]
Ghost girl's Alley
The alley is where Reimi Sugimoto and her dog Arnold's spirits resided. It is also the border between the world of the living and the afterlife, essentially a purgatory. To get there: take the number 11 bus from Morioh station, get off at the Kokodai shopping district, and search near the side of the Owson grocery, 2nd block. Most people can't see the hidden path, but if you have enough supernatural presence you can enter it. The area inside is a maze, but can easily be escaped if given directions. There is only one rule, however, and that is never to look back, or else hundreds of hands will drag you into the afterlife.
Man Living in Tower
On an abandoned telephone tower lives a man by the name of Toyohiro Kanedaichi. He bought the metal tower 3 years ago for $100,000 and has not touched the ground since. He lives a life of complete self-sufficiency, but is missing things such as salt and sweets. He'll let you take pictures if you give him food and spices.[4]
Other Places
Trussardi Italian Restaurant
Trussardi is a recently established Italian resaturant owned and managed by Tonio Trussardi. 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 customers 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 Mozerella cured Okuyasu of his stiff shoulder.) The restaurant uses only the finest Italian ingredients in its meals.
Examples of Dishes
- Mozzarella and Tomato SaladFile:Tomato and Mozzarella.pngTomato and Mozzarella
Ingredients: Mozzarella cheese (4 Thin Slices), Tomatoes (5 thing slices), Tonio's Special Dressing (Anchovy Fillet (1), Seaweed, Olive Oil, White Wine Vinegar, Lemon juice, Salt, Pepper, A bit of Basilico (flakes), a piece of toast, lettuce (as a side).)
- Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca
Ingredients: Spaghetti, Seedless Black Olives, Olive Oil, Garlic, Small tomatoes, Hot Pepper, Anchovy Fillet (1), Parsley, Salt, Pepper, Parmesan Cheese.
The Beauty Salon Cinderella
The salon's motto is "Using Make-Up For Finding Love." The manager and chief beautician is Aya Tsuji, a stand user who has the ability to switch out certain parts of the physical appearance. Unlike other salons, the establishment is different in that it uses a technique called Physiognomy, where, depending on the exact shape of your face, your fortune changes accordingly. Basically, by changing the customer's face, the fate of the customer is changed as well. To determine the finished product, the salon uses high-tech computer generated images.
Prices:
| Style | Cost | (In USD) |
| To find love | 16400 ¥ | $160 |
| To capture love | 24700 ¥ | $240 |
| To be proposed to | 32900 ¥ | $320 |
| To make him submit | 49400 ¥ | $490 |
| To marry into money | 82300 ¥ | $810 |
| To marry a celebrity | 115000 ¥ | $1135 |
The salon is located two minutes from Morioh Station. Closed on Thursdays.
Twin Forests Tunnel
Completed in Kaei 5 (1852), the tunnel is used for vehicular road traffic coming from the north into South Morioh. On the front of 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. Morioh resident, Josuke Higashikata, passes through this tunnel when taking the bus going home from school.
It was renovated in Show 58 (1983), and has an approximate length of 450 meters. At some point in time, the tunnel had a secret side room only visible to stand users. The room was created by Yuuya Fungami's stand Highway Star, and was used to lure other stand users where he could kill them.
Map
Cropped map of Morioh presented as the cover page of Chapter 303.
Residents
- Josuke Higashikata
- Koichi Hirose
- Okuyasu Nijimura
- Rohan Kishibe
- Reimi Sugimoto and Arnold (dog)
- Tamami Kobayashi
- Toshikazu Hazamada
- Yukako Yamagishi
- Tonio Trussardi
- Shizuka Joestar
- Shigekiyo "Shigechi" Yangu
- Aya Tsuji
- Yuuya Fungami
- Tomoko Higashikata
- Hayato Kawajiri
- Shinobu Kawajiri
- Keicho Nijimura
- Ken Oyanagi
- Gatta
- Masazo Kinoto
- Anjuro "Angelo" Katagiri
- Akira Otoishi
- Toyohiro Kanedaichi
- Terunosuke Miyamoto
- Yoshihiro Kira
- Yoshikage Kira
Video Games
Yoshikage Kira's residence and the street location of the last battle serve as the two stages representing Part IV in All Star Battle.
Trivia
- The "town's flower" is the Adonis; and its speciality is Miso-flavored Beef Tongue.[5]
- The town is actually based on Hirohiko Araki's hometown, Sendai. He states that Sendai was an old historical town, but began residential construction in the 80's, 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.Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; invalid names, e.g. too many Morioh is instead a town within S City in M Prefecture, still referencing the real life city of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture. - Due to a Japanese-to-Chinese-to-English translation error in the first released online scans of Part IV, "Morioh" was incorrectly translated as Duwang; this name eventually becoming synonymous with the scanlation.
References
- ↑ Chapter: 321 Josuke Higashikata! Meets Angelo (4)
- ↑ Chapter: 302 Yukako Yamagishi is in Love (9)
- ↑ Chapter: 324 Let's Go Play at the Mangaka's House! (7)
- ↑ Chapter: 333 Rohan Kishibe's Adventure (4)
- ↑ The Nijimura Brothers (1)
