About Hyakka as a name of the lonely boy

（日本語）

I'm just trying to explain a little bit more what I think about Hyakka as the character's name in MAO.

Hyakka is a beautiful name: a hundred of fire. Although his parents might wish a girl since he has seven old brothers, his birth should be celebrated as the birth of the youngest son in the family of fire magic. Now, all of them are gone. He himself remains alone... 10:23 PM · Aug 20, 2021

The naming of characters always matters. Some might think a name is just a name like a letter for math such as x, y, or z. Who, however, can deny the significance of the inspiration of naming a protagonist in a space saga Skywalker? Naming contributes to a story in various ways as a symbol, allusion, or connotation. So, Naming always matters. 

In MAO, written by Rumiko Takahashi, an older disciple of Mao, Hyakka (百火) has a beautiful name: a hundred of fire. The kanji of hyaku (百) for Hyakka is used to describe a situation in which there are many quantities, numbers, or types of something while it is used for the exact number of one hundred. So, his name means a lot of fire. 

Also, the sound of Hyakka is the same as a part of an idiom, hyakka-ryouran (百花繚乱). This ka for hyakka-ryouran uses a different kanji for MAO's Hyakka, which is flowers (花) instead of fire (火). This idiom, hyakka-ryouran means various types of flowers are blooming. So, imagine fire is blooming instead of flowers on a field or in the sky. That is what his name evokes. Just like launched fireworks, the name indicates the situation that a lot of fire with different colours is spreading around you.

Let's back to the meaning of the name. His family name, Ootori (鳳), means an imaginary male bird in China that may appear when a saint is born. A bird belongs to fire in the five elements philosophy, so it simply matches his family that utilizes fire magic. Although his parents might expect a girl since Hyakka has seven old brothers (Chapter 97), his birth should be celebrated as the youngest son's birth in the family. The family wishes him a talent for controlling a lot of dazzling fire.  

Now, all of them are gone; Hyakka himself remains alone because of the curse. I am surprised at what an ironic name he has. Staying as a low teen, he never has an opportunity to have his own child. Without the curse, he could have hundreds of descendants of him during the 900 years that he lives. Instead, Hyakka is alone, being surrounded by the fantastic fire that he creates. His name certainly emphasizes the beauty and sadness of his existence.