Jappa, now known as Japan, is an archipelago of mountainous, temperate islands in the very east of Asia, further east than even Chin.
Located here is the village of Higuchi, which is the hometown of Akemi and her family. Xena accidentally started a fire here, which swept through the town and killed 40,000 people. Xena was not aware of this when she left Jappa. The souls of the deceased were then devoured by Akemi's father, Yodoshi, who was killed by Akemi days before the fire.
When she returned more than 30 years later, due to a request from Akemi from beyond the grave, she realised what she had caused, and her current path of redemption led her to put things right. In order to fight and defeat Yodoshi, she had to be a member of the deceased herself. Once the souls were released, she had to stay dead to keep the souls safe from Yodoshi's grasp.
Background[]
- The name "Jappa" appears to be a vague attempt by the writers to utilize a familiar name for the audience – in the real world, "Jappa" was never used as a place-name. "Japan" in Japanese is "Nihon" or "Nippon". Prior to the arrival of westerners, Chinese texts consistently refer to Japan as "Wa".