Kenshin's gift of gab AKA Japanese 101

[Lord Henry]

Hiyoku must know this one.

Why does Kenshin always using the word 'gozaru', or some derivative of this?

Is it an old, or flowery manner of speaking, or something particular to Kenshin?

How's about filling me in 'o Japanese scholars?

[Ko Hakaisha]

O.o

De gozaru basically just adds a peaceful tense to whatever he said. Same for 'na no da.' But, just to make sure, I'll point this thread out to Hiyoku next time I see her. ^^

[Isuldor]

In the shishio series, the fight with kenshin and "the dude with the hair", the baby he's holding captive (tied on to a tree) is calling kenshin 'gozaru' too. I figured it meant hero (at least under the circumstance), maybe? :goof:

[Yumiko]

'de gozaru' and 'de gozaimasu' is an older, more polite way of saying 'desu' which means 'to be'.

so you can use 'de gozaru' in place of 'desu'.

[Hiyoku]

Aaa, I hate bein' inactive...>.<
But, yes, Ko and Yumiko, you've both got it--it's a polite form of "to be."
Kenshin says this, I suppose it could be said, in order to help himself put his past aside. It's certainly one over-board way of doing it, but it works nonetheless.
It's got a similar function to Chichiri's "Na no da" in Fushigi Yuugi. ^_^

~TnM

[Yumiko]

example:

Watashi no namae wa Yumiko de gozaru.


[Edited by Yumiko on 30-11-2000 at 08:21 AM]