Category Archives: writing

Views of an Imaginary City 20: A Street in the Najirèh District

20. A Street in Najirèh The outer district of Najirèh (“Empress”) is so named in honour of the empress Aritokèh, during whose reign the area’s first streets were laid out. It is located on a raised plateau surrounded by rice … Continue reading

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Views of an Imaginary City 34: A Nizimoamuàri

Two people walk past each other on a quiet street corner, both looking about their surroundings in an apparent state of reverie. The inscription tells us that we are looking at a nizimoamuàri, which could be translated as “a past … Continue reading

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Views of an Imaginary City 38: Along the Nachilagolu

The Nachilagolu (“Long Canal”) connects the Juminta River just above Cherufi Falls to the imperial shipbuilding yards at Kulidaseh. After descending a number of locks near the falls, the canal runs for the rest of its course through a flat … Continue reading

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View of an Imaginary City 48: The Stairway to Nowhere at Tanaliska

According to Chogya beliefs, it is possible for individual souls to reincarnate into lives chronologically antecedent to the ones that they have just lived through. This would seem to open the door to a number of potential temporal paradoxes, were … Continue reading

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Views of an Imaginary City 44: Bird Temple in Peleosti

The view is from a hill in the Peleosti district, overlooking a skyline dominated by the dome of the Chogyan Temple of Tofa, the Luck Goddess. Occupying the majority of the picture plane, however, is a close-up depiction of what … Continue reading

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Views of an Imaginary City 33: View of Orepi Tower

Orepi Tower is perhaps Sensuka’s most iconic building. Even those foreigners who know next to nothing about the city may recognize it as “that barber’s pole tower.” The tower was built under the empress Nanéh as a monument to her … Continue reading

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Views of an Imaginary City 37: Inside the Imperial Library

The Imperial Library in the Kaduyorma (See n. 4) holds the largest collection of books in all of the empire. Indeed, it is supposed to house all of the books ever published in the imperial domains since the advent there … Continue reading

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Views of an Imaginary City 32: Along the Tizabu Canal

The Nefirobe neighbourhood sits on a small hill at the northern end of the Lekaro district, just to the west of the much larger hill of Labetachi. In the reigns of Bulodi II and of the empress Aritokéhhe neighbourhood was … Continue reading

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Views of an Imaginary City 29: A Schoolyard in Topla

In Sensuka, some very basic primary education is offered free of charge by monasteries and temple organizations. For those families who can afford the moderate fees, however, there is also the option of sending their children to a kadilu (from … Continue reading

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Views of an Imaginary City 15: Hot Air Lantern Display

For centuries, it has been a tradition throughout the empire to mark the eve of Midsummer (considered to be the first new moon after the summer solstice) with a nighttime display of takarnalu. These are paper lanterns mounted around a … Continue reading

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