Kinmoku
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| Kinmoku |
The planet Kinmoku (キンモク) is the homeworld of Sailor Star Fighter, Sailor Star Healer, Sailor Star Maker and Princess Kakyuu in Sailor Stars.
Not much is known about the planet, aside from the fact that it is situated somewhere in the galaxy, and that it was destroyed by Sailor Galaxia. At the time of the destruction, the injured Kakyuu fled, eventually landing on Earth, and in the care of Chibi-Chibi. To find her, the Starlights disguised themselves as men.
Very little information was given about Kinmoku prior to its destruction by Galaxia in either the anime or the manga. In the manga Kakyuu was said to have been the princess of the Tankei (丹桂; meaning "orange osmanthus") Kingdom on Kinmoku, but it is unknown if this was a worldwide kingdom (similar to Elysion or the Silver Millennium) or one kingdom out of several. The anime, on the other hand, seemed to imply that Kakyuu was the princess of the entire planet. The anime also showed Kinmoku flanked by three tiny satellites, possibly the Starlights' home planets, or the moons of Kinmoku that they represent. The anime never actually mentioned Kinmoku by name; it was simply referred to as "our home planet" or "our world" by the Starlights.
The phrase Kinmokusei (キンモク星; lit. "Kinmoku star"; meaning "planet Kinmoku") is an elaborate pun on the plant that is known as kinmokusei (金木犀; meaning "golden osmanthus"), which refers to Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus, a fragrant shrub in the olive family that is native to Asia. The plant is known in English by several names: golden osmanthus, sweet osmanthus, tea olive, or sweet olive. Golden osmanthus is known in Chinese as dānguì (丹桂; meaning "orange osmanthus"); these kanji are pronounced "tankei" (たんけい) in Japanese and make up the name of her dynasty. Naoko Takeuchi might have chosen this because there is a variation of the Rabbit on the Moon myth which involves an osmanthus tree.
The fragrant flowers are edible and are used in jams, tea infusions, wine infustions, and perfumes. Princess Kakyuu's costume mimics the small orange-yellow flowers of the plant, and the Sailor Starlights searched for her by her distinctive fragrance.
