Seiso Academy

Seiso Academy (星奏学院, Seisō Gakuin) is a prominent location in the Kiniro no Corda series, serving as the main setting for the majority of its continuity. The protagonists often enroll to Seiso for their high school education. Originally, the fictional facility did not have a real world location for itself until the third title. If it did exist, it would be in the same city as Koei Tecmo's main company building.

Seiso is roughly translated as "stars that play", literally referring to the astronomical objects performing music. The buildings of the school are also named after different types of trees.

Role in Games
About a hundred years ago, a musician left Japan because of political propaganda and went to live in Europe. He wanted to give hope to refugees by playing classical music. One day, he happened to see a weakened Lili suffering from a witch's curse. The musician helped Lili overcome his ailment by playing his violin. The fata was grateful to his savior, taking an immediate liking to him.

After the wars ended, Japanese society began to embrace Western culture. The musician wanted to contribute to this integration, so he returned to Japan and aimed to create an academy where everyone could learn and enjoy music. Out of gratitude, Lili joined him and promised to always bring his magical blessings to the school. The musician expressed his thanks by creating a statue dedicated to his "invisible friend" once the school was finally built in 1947. The fata remembers his promise to this day, fondly calling the man "The Founder" (ソーリツシゃ).

Each year in the spring, Seiso holds a private concour. Any student from any curriculum can enter and play a single song for the concour's four selections (stages). Lili is often the one in charge of selecting the contestants, choosing anyone who fits his whimsical preferences. Since the people he chooses are often talented, the concours have a reputation of only hosting the school's brightest candidates for a promising music career. Contestants can play any instrument for their performance for the entire student body in the school's auditorium, and are judged with the same standards as professional soloists. Although the atmosphere may seem intense, concours are public events that are meant to be enjoyed just like cultural festivals or school plays.

Seiso may be famed for its musical education, but it still sponsors sports and other extracurricular activities commonly seen in other high schools. Approximately 750 high school students are in attendance each year with general ed divided into 5 classes and music ed split into 2 groups. The school itself is built in the Art Deco style and has a forest plaza where students can relax alongside nature.

Those from the general ed course are situated at the Maple Leaf Building (楓館, Kaede-kan) which functions similarly to a regular school complete with cafeteria. Meanwhile, music ed students have the privilege of honing their talents at the Cherry Blossom Building (桜館, Sakura-kan). Considered Seiso's oldest building, it features practice rooms, soundproof facilities, and an open rooftop space.

Other constructs include the Willow Building (柳館, Yanagi-kan), a three-story hall used for orchestra rehearsals and entrance ceremonies, and the Holly Building (柊館, Hiiragi-kan), which is primarily used for special classes. Starlight Orchestra introduces the Magnolia Building (木蓮館, Mokuren-kan) that serves as the main office of the titular orchestra band. It used to be a run-down manor before Ginga Ichinose used his savings to renovate it completely.

The school's own library hosts a number of music-related books large enough to outsize two normal libraries. It also contains a museum filled with all kinds of audiovisual materials such as the songs from the opera Prince Igor.

Seiso's college campuses are located at a different vicinity than the high school and have appeared in the final arc featuring the original cast. It has its own cafeteria, orchestra rooms, and vending machines. While music ed students are expected to matriculate into the program, their general ed counterparts can be accepted as well provided they have a special track record that demonstrates their worth.

An off campus training camp and off campus student dorms called Linden Hall (リンデンホール, archaically named 菩提樹寮 or Bōdai Jyuryō) are available for the music ed students, though visitors from other schools have been known to stay overnight there. It costs ¥5,000 to rent a room for one month. Both facilities provide individual rooms, a lounge area, and a kitchen for those staying. Linden Hall is locked during curfew, though students can quietly sneak in using the rear entrance. Students are free to mingle as they please in the training camp due to the school's more lax environment. While Linden Hall has a strict rule in keeping the sexes separate, it is not always enforced.

General ed and musical ed students have separate uniforms that set them apart, though the school's emblem is usually stitched on their outfit's left sleeve.


 * General Education Uniforms
 * Male Winter Uniform - Consists of a dark brown blazer with a cream-hued inner shirt, white pants, and a colored tie.
 * Male Summer Uniform - Consists of a white or dark brown short-sleeved shirt with dark blue pants and a colored tie.
 * Female Winter Uniform - Consists of a dark brown long-sleeved sailor outfit with gray collars, a white skirt, and a colored neckerchief.
 * Female Summer Uniform - Consists of an open sailor outfit with light blue collars, a dark blue skirt, and a colored neckerchief.


 * Music Education Uniforms
 * Male Winter Uniform - Consists of a cream blazer with a gray inner shirt, a black vest, dark brown pants, and a colored cravat.
 * Male Summer Uniform - Consists of an open-collar white shirt with colored linings and dark blue pants. Variations include a long-sleeved shirt and a blue-colored vest.
 * Female Winter Uniform - Consists of a cream blazer with a white inner shirt, a dark brown skirt, and a colored ribbon.
 * Female Summer Uniform - Consists of a closed sailor outfit with light blue collars, a dark blue skirt, and a colored ribbon.

The ties or stripes on the high school's uniforms also distinguish the year each student is currently at. Here are the colors' meanings in either continuity.


 * Corda ~ Corda 2, Starlight Orchestra
 * 1st Year - Blue
 * 2nd Year - Red
 * 3rd Year - Black


 * Corda 3 ~ Corda 4
 * 1st Year - Red
 * 2nd Year - Black
 * 3rd Year - Blue

Rumors and Urban Legends
The Founder chose to implement a dual curriculum in accordance with his overarching vision for the school. Nevertheless, as time passed, students from both sides of the curriculum gradually grew apart and began to discriminate each other. Musical curriculum students considered themselves Seiso's prized stars and thought general education was unnecessary. General education students were sickened by the musical ed's attitude and began to despise classical music. Lili feared the student body would soon tear themselves apart. He wanted the students to remember their love for music and therefore chose a general ed student to play in the private concour. Changed by her performances and her heartfelt devotion to her violin, the student body gradually put aside their differences. Students from either curriculum continue to coexist in friendship and harmony eight years later, though some form of discrimination arises every now and then.

Twenty five years before the first title, two violinists participated in the private concour. Both were passionate in their performances and rivalry for one another. During the competition, however, the violinists' feelings changed to infatuation for one another yet, due to their different backgrounds and conflicting personalities, neither had the courage to confess their change of heart. Lili enjoyed the richness in their performances and wanted to offer his support. The fata gave the male violinist Salut d'amour to practice.

When it seemed that circumstances would pull the person of his affections away from him after the concour, the male violinist played the song while thinking of her. Lili used his magic so that his playing would reach the female violinist, and she came rushing to the male violinist's side at once. She was able to understand his feelings for her through his performance, leading to both sharing their love for one another. The story of their experience became dubbed "Violin Romance" (ヴァイオリン・ロマンス), a popular topic with the girls attending Seiso. Girls specifically believe that two of the contestants in the private concour are fated to someday become lovers. This tale is also considered one of the academy's own seven wonders.

For one reason or another, cats love wandering into the school's private forest area, and students often find themselves enjoying their lunches with a feline companion. The cats seldom cause problems so students believe they bring good luck to the school. A rumor states that there is a cat god who lives near Seiso and grants his blessings to those playing music.

The school's forest plaza also has a pond called Gourd Pond (ひょうたん池, Hyōtan Ike) that supposedly reflects the image of a person's first love.

Gallery
Kiniro no Corda 2=