Khura'in


 * This page is about the country known as Khura'in. For the similarly-named village near Los Angeles, see Kurain Village. For other uses, see Kurain (disambiguation).

The Kingdom of Khura'in is a monarchy at the western edge of the Far East ruled by Queen Garan Shigataal Khura'in and her spirit medium daughter, Princess Rayfa Padma Khura'in. It is a deeply religious land of spirit mediums, whose founder, the Holy Mother, is revered and worshiped as a deity. The religion of Khura'in tells of people's souls, represented by "mitamah", going to the "Twilight Realm" after the body has passed away. Among the country's myths is a story of a bird princess who protected Khura'in during a time of conflict. The show  is based on this legend.

Court system

 * Main article: High Court of Khura'in

During the course of Khura'in's history, its process for murder trials did away with arguments between a prosecutor and a defense attorney. A "Pool of Souls" is instead used to reveal what the victim saw and felt in the moments before their death. Due to the perceived indisputable decisiveness of such trials, Khura'in's court system is sometimes referred to as the "Court of Resignation". The legal system is overseen by the office of the Minister of Justice, a position currently held by Rayfa's father, Inga Karukul Khura'in.

With the implementation of this "Divination Séance" system, it became a capital offense to be a defense attorney. Lawyers in the country were rounded up and executed in a widespread purge, though some remnants have formed a resistance group called the Dragons of Rebellion. There seems to be a religious element to the purge, as Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, a prosecutor from the country, speaks as though the defense attorney profession is a sinful and unenlightened walk of life that insults the victims of crime, deferring to the founder to "pass judgment" on rogue defense attorneys who are stood before him. The culture of Khura'in likewise shuns defense attorneys, casting hateful scorn upon those who would stand behind the bench in their present society. Although some defendants beg for representation and their cries go unheeded by the court, others, such as Ahlbi Ur'gaid, make opposite pleas, asking their court representatives to cease their defense as a result of this distrust and ridicule.

Development

 * According to Janet Hsu, Khura'in is located near Nepal and is based on countries in the general vicinity of the Himalayas, such as Bhutan and Tibet. Japanese trailers of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice originally described the country as being located in the far west of Asia.
 * The characters for the Khura'inese language are stylized hiragana turned upside-down. An example of this is a curse spoken by Nahyuta Sahdmadhi that, when turned upside-down, is revealed to be the following hiragana: "さとら・いまおまん・どもさまし・でたしぬけ・たれがさよ・そのか!" (Satora imaoman domosamashi detashinuke taregasayo sonoka!).