In the Armored Core VI mission “Eliminate V.VII” you are presented with a choice before killing the mission target (Swinburne); he grovels for his life and you (“the player”) can “ACCEPT” or “DENY” this grovelling; if you “ACCEPT” and spare his life a new opponent comes flying in, screaming “PAY THE SANZU TOLL!”
This “PAY THE SANZU TOLL” is entirely unexplained in game; as such, i was unsure if it was in-game lore or just some random-cool-sounding-phrase; but after some #OnlineSearching i found it’s actually a reference to the Japanese myth of the “Sanzu River”
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Per wikipedia,
The Sanzu-no-Kawa (三途の川, lit. “River of Three Crossings”, or the “Sanzu River”) is a mythological river in Japanese Buddhist tradition similar to the Chinese concept of Huang Quan (Yellow Springs), Hindu concept of the Vaitarani and Greek concept of the Styx.
Before reaching the afterlife, the souls of the deceased must cross the river by one of three crossing points: a bridge, a ford, or a stretch of deep, snake-infested waters. The weight of one’s offenses while alive determines which path an individual must take. It is believed that a toll of six mon must be paid before a soul can cross the river, a belief reflected in Japanese funerals when the necessary fee is placed in the casket with the dead
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The pilot who comes in guns-blazing shouting "PAY THE SANZU TOLL" is named "Rokumonsen" which translates to "six sen coins," completing the referential-circle.
What I found especially funny about this interaction -- after putting all the pieces together -- is that Rokumonsen is described in the game's arena as "well versed in long-lost classical theater, he has a particular interest in "ninjas" and "kabuki," relics of the past that he learned of from the Japanese immigrant culture which now heavily influences his eccentric style."
Basically, this pilot is a FULL-BLOWN-WEEB shouting OBSCURE-JAPANESE-REFERENCES at his opponents.
