<p>In season 1 episode 6, Shirogane was taking a psychological test from Fujiwara:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Imagine there's a cage of pets in front of you. How many kittens can fit in there?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The number given, as explained by Fujiwara, would reveal how many children the test taker subconsciously wants to have. The kitten quiz is obviously a reference to &quot;cats have nine lives&quot;.</p>
<p>Then in season 2 episode 1, the student council members were playing a custom board game, and Shirogane and Fujiwara stepped onto the &quot;marriage&quot; and &quot;childbirth&quot; spaces, which resulted in them having nine children in-game. I believe the &quot;having nine children&quot; gag is based on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_sons_of_the_dragon" rel="nofollow noreferrer">nine sons of the dragon</a> lore, and incidentally, dragons and cats are symbols of fertility and sexuality, respectively.</p>
<p>I don't know if one could make an additional connection to the imagery of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Yi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hou Yi</a> &quot;shooting down&quot; the nine yellow, oval &quot;suns&quot;, but his wife, Chang'e, is the Chinese counterpart of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Princess Kaguya</a>, our titular character! This <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HEFLEGvv-Er3CGgM57-ccTYuDnwBKLh0YnQKJXTmBdg/edit" rel="nofollow noreferrer">doc</a> explores the series' references to the Japanese folklore in more details.</p>
<p>Although both Hou Yi and the nine sons of the dragon originated from Chinese mythology, <a href="https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/57625/8486">it's not the first time that <em>Love is War</em> has borrowed Chinese elements</a> in its storytelling, so it's very likely that these are what are referenced in the joke.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-11-23T13:26:42.443Z
2023-12-17T05:14:24.760Z
2023-12-17T05:14:24.760Z
Gao
<p>In season 1 episode 6, Shirogane says that he wants to have 9 kids during a psychological test; the same is referenced in season 2 episode 1, when Chika and Shirogane have 9 kids (when playing a game). So what does having 9 kids refer to other than a baseball team?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-29T08:30:16.443Z
There are nine fielding positions in baseball. That's part of the joke. What else is there to infer.
кяαzєя
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-30T16:58:45.637Z
@кяαzєя Well, why don't you post as an answer?
BCLC
<culture><kaguya-sama-love-is-war>
What is the significance of Shirogane having 9 kids?
# What is the significance of Shirogane having 9 kids?
Posted by: username_0 on 2020-07-28
In season 1 episode 6, Shirogane says that he wants to have 9 kids during a psychological test; the same is referenced in season 2 episode 1, when Chika and Shirogane have 9 kids (when playing a game). So what does having 9 kids refer to other than a baseball team?
**Tags:** culture kaguya-sama-love-is-war
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There are nine fielding positions in baseball. That's part of the joke. What else is there to infer.  
> **username_2**: @кяαzєя Well, why don't you post as an answer?  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_3 on 2023-11-23. Score: 1 | Accepted answer
In season 1 episode 6, Shirogane was taking a psychological test from Fujiwara:

> Imagine there's a cage of pets in front of you. How many kittens can fit in there?

The number given, as explained by Fujiwara, would reveal how many children the test taker subconsciously wants to have. The kitten quiz is obviously a reference to "cats have nine lives".

Then in season 2 episode 1, the student council members were playing a custom board game, and Shirogane and Fujiwara stepped onto the "marriage" and "childbirth" spaces, which resulted in them having nine children in-game. I believe the "having nine children" gag is based on the [nine sons of the dragon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_sons_of_the_dragon) lore, and incidentally, dragons and cats are symbols of fertility and sexuality, respectively.

I don't know if one could make an additional connection to the imagery of [Hou Yi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Yi) "shooting down" the nine yellow, oval "suns", but his wife, Chang'e, is the Chinese counterpart of [Princess Kaguya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Bamboo_Cutter), our titular character! This [doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HEFLEGvv-Er3CGgM57-ccTYuDnwBKLh0YnQKJXTmBdg/edit) explores the series' references to the Japanese folklore in more details.

Although both Hou Yi and the nine sons of the dragon originated from Chinese mythology, [it's not the first time that *Love is War* has borrowed Chinese elements](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/57625/8486) in its storytelling, so it's very likely that these are what are referenced in the joke.
---
