Joketsuzoku

The Joketsuzoku (女傑族) (Nǚjié zú in Mandarin), more commonly known by their Viz Media English translation as Chinese Amazons, are a social group in the world of Ranma ½. Natives to the Byankala Mountains of China, they live in a village close to Jusenkyo known as Nyucheizu. Despite being one of the most important social groups in the series as three of their are among the main supporting characters, little is actually known about them.

Known details
The Joketsuzoku train many, or possibly even all, of their womenfolk in martial arts - this is the source behind their Japanese name, which translates roughly and directly as "Village of Woman Heroes", and the reason why their "dub name" is Chinese Amazons. These female martial artists are encouraged to take a great deal of pride in their skills and to be honorable, courageous warriors, though the referenced and displayed conducts of the Joketsuzoku suggests a rather brutal and amoral code of honor that encourages ruthlessness. Joketsuzoku women take such pride in their skills that they are deeply ashamed to be defeated by women from outside the village, and even have a law referred to as the Kiss of Death. Performed by giving the outsider who defeated the Joketsuzoku warrior a kiss on her cheek, it symbolically declares that the Joketsuzoku will continue to challenge the outsider, chasing her to the ends of the earth if need be, until one of them is dead.

Despite this, the Joketsuzoku do not seem to have any stigma against men practicing martial arts. While only one male Joketsuzoku character, Mousse, is given any detail in the series, all grudges and disdain born for him by his fellows stems from his, frankly, Tatewaki Kuno-like personality and his constant harassment of the uninterested Shampoo. In truth, the Joketsuzoku seem to welcome strong martial arts practitioners of the male sex, as their law states that women who are defeated by outsider men must marry those men, and Shampoo makes it clear on several occasions that she finds Ranma's formidable fighting skills to be quite attractive indeed. Though there is no formal name to this law given in canon, it is sometimes referred to in fanworks as the "Kiss of Marriage", due to its apparent nature as the counterpart to the Kiss of the Death and the apparent formality with which Shampoo kisses Ranma after his first defeat of her as a male.

In fact, despite common fan belief to the contrary, the Joketsuzoku do not seem to hold any contempt for men, except when they are fighters who prove weaker than the Joketsuzoku they challenged, as is seen in the anime introductory episode for Ling-Ling & Lung-Lung. Ranma is treated with considerable respect by both Shampoo and Cologne, the latter of which even refers to him as "Muko-dono" in the Japanese, and both of them are polite and respectful towards both male customers and men in general. The only man who is ever seen being mistreated repeatedly by the Joketsuzoku is Mousse, whose mistreatments are relatively mild (he is made to do menial tasks at the Nekohanten and sometimes is swatted for being particularly annoying/insulting) and who, it must be noted, has an established bad relationship as a person with both Cologne and Shampoo.

The Joketsuzoku do not seem to know very much about Jusenkyo - at the very least, they do not interact with it much. Residents of the village were unable to recognize the Jusenkyo guide, despite his visible presence alongside Ranma and Genma Saotome when they first visited the village. Shampoo was, similarly, unable to realise the truth about Ranma's Jusenkyo curse even after he revealed that he was cursed to her, being forced to return to China and speak with Cologne before acquiring the knowledge of Ranma's true gender. Information about Jusenkyo may alternatively be restricted, rather than simply unknown. The Joketsuzoku also use Jusenkyo as a means of punishment, as seen when Shampoo returns to China in disgrace and is taken to Jusenkyo to be retrained as punishment for breaking the law by coming home in defeat.

While very little is known about the other residents of the Byankala Mountains, the Joketsuzoku seem to have or have had dealings with other villages and peoples. They are allied with a nameless village which trades herbs to them, both medicinal and toxic; it was here that Shampoo made enemies of Pink and Link. They also seem to have had some interactions with the Musk Dynasty in the past, as Cologne was able to provide Ranma with the details of that group's history and nature. While they are evidently not closely aligned, as Cologne was surprised to discover that the Musk still lived and had been of the impression that they had died out about a century ago, they are also evidently not hostile towards each other, as Herb displayed no hesitance in speaking to Cologne about his quest to discover the Kettle of Unlocking. From Cologne's own words, they have had no major contact with the Phoenix People and believed them to only be legends until Kiima and her underlings came to Nerima in pursuit of Plum.

The Joketsuzoku are an old society and steeped in much martial arts lore; Cologne routinely mentions techniques that date back over three thousand years, and at one point in at least the anime comments she's never heard of anyone being so disrespectful in five thousand years of Joketsuzoku history. How their society is organized is unknown: the anime episode that introduces Cologne has an English title of "This Ol Gal's the Leader of the Amazon Tribe?", but whether the Joketsuzoku truly are matriarchal, or whether Cologne is an important authority figure either way, is never made clear. Given that Cologne so freely left China to come to Japan, and both Shampoo and Mousse's referance to her by titles of familial respect, it seems doubtful that Cologne is the leader of the Joketsuzoku.

Known members
Shampoo: The first member of the tribe introduced, Shampoo had just been declared the winner of a yearly tournament held for Joketsuzoku women when Ranma and Genma thoughtlessly devoured her prize.

Shampoo's Father also, very occasionally, appears as a character seen in the background working in the kitchen at Nekohanten. At least going by an early 90s Ranma fighting game he is a considerably more formidable opponent than his daughter, as he was the final boss of the game, and he is apparently quite protective of her - his motivation for fighting was anger at how Ranma was breaking his daughter's heart.

Cologne: Shampoo's great-grandmother is a wise old woman who is rich in lore both martial and mystical.

Mousse: Having been in love with Shampoo since they were three years old, Mousse annoys her considerably with his constant insistence on trying to woo her, despite her frequent and frequently violent attempts to deter him.

Ling-Ling & Lung-Lung: Only present in the anime, these two young girls are non-identical twins who look up to Shampoo as an elder sister, though the dubbed anime specifies that this is a "social" relationship and not an actual genetic relationship.

Two unnamed anime only girls, one using a spiked club and the other utilizing a trident and shield, who appeared at the end of Ling-Ling & Lung-Lung's introduction episode.

Martial Arts
The Joketsuzoku have developed and incorporated countless martial arts techniques and training methods over the centuries of their existence. While many doubtlessly remain secret, a considerable number of these techniques are revealed over the course of the anime and manga. While no specific "Joketsuzoku style" seems to be in evidence, except perhaps that used by Shampoo and Cologne, they evidently incorporate other fighting styles into their arsenal: in the manga, Shampoo makes usage of techniques from Martial Arts Takeout, while in either canon Mousse is a stated practitioner of Hidden Weapons Style.

Pressure Points & Moxibustion: The Joketsuzoku have a wide variety of techniques that revolve around manipulating the body with the application of pressure or heat to specific points. Three of the most notable are the Xi Fa Xiang Gao (which combinations manipulation of points on the head with the application of herbal extracts to modify memories), the Full Body Cat's Tongue (which renders the victim's whole body ultra sensitive to heat, so much so that Jusenkyo victims can't bear the water they need to resume their true form), and a nameless technique that allows the user to manipulate their victim's body like a puppet.

Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken: By repeatedly striking with bare hands into an open flame in an effort to retrieve roasting chestnuts, the trainee eventually boosts their striking speed to the point where they may not only achieve this task without being burned, but strike a target hundreds of times in a matter of seconds.

Bakusai Tenketsu: By repeatedly beating themselves against a solid boulder, the trainee both hardens their flesh to make them almost immune to blunt impacts and gains the ability to see the "breaking point" in any mass of stone. With training, one can similarly see the breaking point in wood and metal, though, despite legends to the contrary, there does not appear to be any way to use this technique on living flesh.

Hiryu Shoten Ha: By projecting an aura of cold energy, and goading the opponent into both projecting an aura of hot energy and leading them into a spiral pattern, the martial artist may mix the two energies together to create a violent, spiral-shaped wind current that carries the victim aloft in a miniature tornado.

Shark Fist: Presumably by usage of her ki, Cologne is able to generate violent bursts of water by touching the surface of a body of water, using these pressurized gouts to knock her opponents flying. This move appears in the manga version of the climatic battle for the Phoenix Pill saga.

Fist of the Ice Bear: Using her ki, Cologne levitates multiple boulders of ice and directs them as guided missiles. The name may be because she uses this technique while mounted on a life-sized ice sculpture of a bear, which is also manipulated with this technique. This replaces the Shark Fist in the anime, as the Phoenix Pill saga ends in the mountains rather than on the beach.

Dance of the Great Fire Dragon: Ling-Ling & Lung-Lung's first "super secret attack". In a badly-made Chinese dragon intended to be carried by the two of them, they conceal a tape deck player which is running a tape bearing a recording of a magical melody that causes whoever else hears it to dance uncontrollably.

Great Dragon Fireball: The aforementioned "Great Fire Dragon" conceals a flamethrower in its mouth, which the twins may use to burn enemies that are hypnotized by the music.

Great Dance of the Super Phoenix: Ling-Ling & Lung-Lung's second "super secret attack". The twins take to the skies in a rattletrap pedal-powdered bird and proceed to drop exploding eggs on their foes while safely out of reach. If this fails, they erect a previously constructed and concealed plywood painting of an intimidating phoenix, which is then allowed to fall onto their foe.

Smiling Three-Year Death: A technique only mentioned in the manga, and the subject of a filler mini-arc, the Smiling Three-Year Death is a psychological warfare tactic used in a relationship when one partner has made the other extremely mad in some fashion (typically portrayed with the woman as the "attacker" and the man as the "defender"). The "attacker" puts on a smiling, cheerful facade and pretends to go about their daily business as if nothing is wrong, but whatever they do that involves interacting with the "defender" is twisted in some fashion so as to to cause them pain and discomfort; paralysis powder in their tea, cutting up all their clothes for scrap cloth, spilling hot water on their side of the bed, etcetera. This continues until the defender is so terrified and broken that the attacker feels they have achieved their vengeance; as the name notes, in exceptional circumstances, such an assault can last for as long as three years. Cologne proclaims in the story that this technique requires the user build a concentration of hateful, wrathful energy inside of themselves, but if this can be disrupted (by a technique that consists of rubbing the user's buttocks), then they cannot perform the move. It remains unclear if she was serious or merely pulling the legs of Ranma Saotome, Akane Tendo and Mousse, especially seeing as how it turned out that Shampoo not only did not know the move, but had never even heard of it before.

Shampoo and Mousse were both playable characters in the roleplaying videogame "Ranma 1/2: Treasure of the Crimson/Red Cat Gang", released for Super Nintendo. As such, both had a selection of special techniques available in that game which do not appear in other media. Shampoo made use of the Chiryo, Hengo Shiatsuken, Gorikki Nanka, Fukkatsu, Reppu Kikoheki, Gowanriki and Koteki Seiryuken techniques. Mousse made use of his canonical Hakushoken technique, as well as the new techniques of Mokumetsudama, Gyakuko Mashoken, Shippo Kikoheki and Ryuo Gowanriki.

Chiryo: A healing technique that allows Shampoo to restore a small amount of health to herself or an ally, which may be based around pressure points, herbal remedies, or a combination of the two.

Hengo Shiatsuken: Despite its name suggesting that it is a pressure point strike, the (admittedly limited) game sprite depicts Shampoo blowing herbal poison powder at her foe when she uses this technique. It allows her to daze and confuse a foe, rendering them unable to think clearly and forcing them to act randomly until

Gorikki Nanka: Uses a special sort of flute music to paralyze a foe temporarily.

Fukkatsu: A more powerful healing technique than the Chiryo.

Reppu Kikoheki: Presumably by pressure point manipulation, Shampoo is able to temporarily bolster the resilience and durability of herself or an ally. Shippo Kikoheki is a variant that affects multiple targets at once.

Gowanriki: By bolstering a person's aura, this technique makes that person's attacks far more powerful. The Ryuo Gowanriki allows the user to bolster multiple people at once.

Mokumetsudama: The user unleashes a flurry of smoke bombs laden with paralysis powder.

Gyakuko Mashoken: A lighting fast series of feinted blows intended to confuse multiple opponents.

Koteki Seiryuken: With a mighty expenditure of ki, an ethereal dragon takes form and savages multiple foes before vanishing.

Magic Items
In addition to having acquired many martial arts secrets, the Joketsuzoku are quite familiar with magic and a number of items that have enchanted natures are revealed as either in their possession or as having belonged to them.

Love Pill Bracelet: This beautiful bracelet has three pearl-like gems on it, each of which is a different hue of blue in the anime. The darker the hue, the more potent its magic: each gem can be plucked from the bracelet and then fed to somebody to cause them to fall in love with the first person of the opposite sex that they saw, for either a moment, a day, or an entire lifetime. Happosai stole this item after visiting the Joketsuzoku in his youth, though he tried to claim that it had been given to him by a girl he wooed there. In the manga, two of its pills were wasted when it appeared; the Instant pill was swallowed by Ranma (who fell for Cologne), and the Lifetime by an octopus after Akane accidentally swallowed it and then regurgitated it (the octopus fell for Happosai, Akane avoided its magic entirely). Shampoo tried to persuade Ranma to take the Day pill for her, but unsuccessfully, so they probably still have it. In the anime, Shampoo makes a last moment appearance when Ranma has rescued Akane from falling for Happosai, throwing the Day time pill at Ranma in an effort to make him finally fall for her. It bounces off of Ranma's head again and into P-chan's mouth, whereupon he falls into the sea and then coughs it up, letting it sink into the salty water below. Shampoo is shown diving into the sea to try and retrieve it, but it's unknown if she succeeded. Given her curse robs her of opposable thumbs, it's probable that it was lost forever.

Nanban Mirror: Only present in the anime, this magical mirror can take any person nearby to any point in time or space they want by having a human tear shed on it. Happosai also stole this item from the Joketsuzoku in his youth; it is, in fact, a family heirloom of Cologne's. In the episode in which it debuted, Nabiki stepped on it by accident and broke it. Though Ranma, Genma and Happosai would make use of the broken mirror in a later episode, the episode turns out to all be a dream.

Woman Repelling Incense/Girl Away: In the anime, this mystical incense, which produces a stink that only girls can detect and which drives them away, was given to Ranma by Shampoo as a way to protect himself. In the manga, Ranma bought it himself at a Chinese drugstore. It was used as part of a plan to weaken and punish Happosai. According to the anime, its name is "Nyokenko".

反転宝珠 - lit "Hantenhoushu", English "Reversal Jewel": When this ornate broach is placed on a person right side up, it forms the image of a smiley face with a curved ornament on its forehead. In this position, it strengthens the bearer's feelings of love, presumably by transmuting whatever feelings of dislike they may normally have for a person. Upside down, it forms the image of an angrily grimacing face with teeth bared; in this position, it converts love to hatred. Shampoo accidentally put this ornament on herself wrong side up and absolutely detested Ranma; Mousse describes her as hating Ranma "120 times more" than she normally hates Mousse in this state. Towards the end of the story, Akane Tendo had it placed on her right side up, which caused her to declare she loved Ranma and truly wanted to be with him.

Suggestion Incense: When inhaled, this incense renders the victim extremely open to hypnotic suggestions, allowing others to take advantage of their mental malleability. Ranma uses this on Happosai in the manga version of the first Pantyhose Taro story, in order to enhance the play he put on in an effort to convince Happosai to change Taro's first name.

斬毒刀- lit "Zhandudao", English "Poison Cleaving Sword": This enchanted sword appears as a dao with a flower on the tip of its blade, with a small mouth in the center of its flower. It can speak and calls out to warn of the presence of poison; it may be used to absorb a poison attack utterly once, then it wilts and "dies". Whether this is permanent or it will eventually restore itself is unknown. Loaned to Ranma by Cologne in order to help rescue Shampoo from Pink and Link.

破毒盾 - lit "Podudun", English "Poison Crushing/Breaking Shield": This magical shield wards off poisoned attacks, but can be destroyed by applying medicine to it. Loaned to Ranma by Cologne in order to help rescue Shampoo from Pink and Link.

熱愛抱擁香 - lit "Netsuai Houyoukou", English "Incense of Passionate Embrace": A variant form of the Suggestion Incense, those who inhale this incense are compelled to embrace anyone who says a word specified by the user of the incense. Offered to Ranma by Cologne when he asked for a love potion to use on Ryoga Hibiki so that he would fall in love with Akari Unryu.

風神扇 - lit "Fengshenshan", English "Wind God Fan": A magical fan that creates powerful winds when waved. Loaned to Ranma by Cologne in order to help rescue Shampoo from Pink and Link.

火炎杖- lit "Huoyanzhang", English "Flame Staff": A magical staff that projects burning flames, like a flamethrower. Loaned to Ranma by Cologne in order to help rescue Shampoo from Pink and Link.

不死鳥丸 - lit "Fushichougan", English "Immortal Bird (Western Phoenix) Pill": The medicine that counteracts the dreaded Full-Body Cat's Tongue pressure point attack. The introduction of Cologne saw Ranma struggling to recover this item from her. The kanji used differ from the typical 鳳凰 ("Houou") kanji, because those kanji refer to the Eastern Phoenix (the Chinese Fenghuang), which lacks the cultural associations with fire that the Arabic Phoenix possesses.

無敵鏡 - lit "Mutekikyou", English "Glasses of Invincibility": Magical glasses made by the Joketsuzoku to protect those who lacked knowledge of martial arts or who were too weak to defend themselves. Anyone who meets the gaze of somebody wearing these glasses is compelled to start crying before falling to their hands and knees before the wearer and begging for forgiveness. Mousse accidentally used these on Ranma, then proceeded to repeatedly defeat him with them, delighted in actually winning for once.

友好電撃環 - lit "Yuukou Dengekikan", English "Shocking Ring of Friendship": Magical ring made by the Joketsuzoku to protect those who lacked knowledge of martial arts or who were too weak to defend themselves. Allows the wearer to deliver powerful electric shocks by touching their opponent, such as with a handshake. Ranma got this item from Cologne to use against Mousse after the latter constantly beat him with the Glasses of Invincibility.

杉花粉口罩 - lit "Sugikafun Masuku (Kouzhao)", English "Cedar Pollen Mask": Magical hygenic mask made by the Joketsuzoku to protect those who lacked knowledge of martial arts or who were too weak to defend themselves. Allows the weaer to produce a cloud of dust that causes severe allergic reactions by breathing forcefully through the mask. Ranma got this item from Cologne to use against Mousse after the latter constantly beat him with the Glasses of Invincibility. This item's name uses the Chinese characters for "Mask" that specifically refer to a hygenic mask and the Japanese furigana for the word "Masuku", the Japanese rendition of "Mask".

火炎橡皮奶嘴 - lit "Kaen Oshaburi (Xiangpi Naizui)", English "Flame Pacifier": Magical pacifier made by the Joketsuzoku to protect those who lacked knowledge of martial arts or who were too weak to defend themselves. Allows the person who sucks on it to then spit flames at their opponents. Ranma got this item from Cologne to use against Mousse after the latter constantly beat him with the Glasses of Invincibility. This item's name uses the Chinese characters for "Rubber Nipple" and the Japanese kanji for "Pacifier"