Mappara is working again in kmt_beta_081014_8.
Also, as far as I can tell, the names are now fixed while saving at the elder. Good job!
Also, I think the compromise of 8 tiles as opposed to 9 tiles and crazy amounts of work is the right choice. It's not like tons of officially released snes games didn't make far worse compromises and, honestly, the difference between "tu" and "tsu" in an english game is hardly a big deal. I'd stick with 8 tiles.