----- Original Message -----
From: "Hocha no Baka" <puppet_master@darkmail.com>
To: <ffml@fanfic.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 1:13 PM
Subject: [FFML] [you call this spam?]a Ranma question
if Genma is the head of teh Saotome clan.
why does his wife have so much power?
I mean Saotome is HIS family name not hers.
sure her clan might be rich and more powerfull and his clan may have a
debt to her clan yet this wouldnt give her the sort of power many fanfic
writers have given her.
Any one care to explain?
Well I'm not one hundred percent clear on the marriage conventions
in Japan, but from what I understand, either the bride or the groom
can 'adopt' into another clan, taking the name of their spouse. So
Nodoka could be head of the clan(such as it is). Genma was probably
a Ronin with no name when he met her. This is just a guess, but it's
the theory I've always ascribed to.
Also, traditionally, Japanese women took care of the finances, and
let the men have enough for spending money. This is pretty well-known
on the FFML. Go read Daigakusei-no-Ranma. :)
Oh and you're missing something very important. That damn katana. :)
Nodoka is really quite inept with it, and there's the constant fear
that it will slip out of her grasp in a over-zealous display over
her son's manhood. The introduction of Nodoka in the manga was really
quite illuminating.
Thomas Hood
thood@cs.mun.ca