Translator’s Notes

Welcome back to this latest edition of Weird Trivia. I’m Zihan, the translator for Reincarnated as the Piggy Duke! I’d like to share some background about some of the more obscure terms we had to localize this time, so let’s jump right into it!

Prologue: Rebuilding Kirsch Mage Institute

Once on shore, we pray no more

Alicia comments on how quickly the students of Kirsch regained their carefree attitudes despite being in great danger just a short while ago. The original phrase used here is nodomoto sugireba atsusa wo wasureru (“once it’s past one’s throat, they forget how hot it was”). It describes the fickle nature of humans and how easily one can forget events very quickly after they happen, even if they were significant to them at the time. This phrase can also refer to gratitude to someone or one’s debt to someone, and not just suffering or danger in the case above.

This proverb is also used in the Edo variant of iroha karuta, a card-matching game for children. In iroha karuta, each yomifuda (the cards that are read aloud) has a proverb starting with a different syllable of the Japanese hiragana alphabet. Each yomifuda corresponds with a torifuda card that illustrates this proverb with the starting syllable written in the corner of the card. In a game of iroha karuta, the torifuda cards are spread out for all the players to see. When the yomifuda is read, whoever taps the correct torifuda gets to keep that card. This process repeats until all the cards are gone, and whoever has the most torifuda wins.

As for the iroha part of iroha karuta, iroha is one arrangement of the kana alphabet, compared to English’s A, B, C, D, and so on. The current most widely-used system is the gojyuuon (“fifty sounds”), and the modern version of this system was defined around the end of the Edo period (1603-1868). In education and textbooks, gojyuuon began to be implemented at the start of the Meiji period (1868-1912). The iroha order is based on the famous Japanese poem of the same name, and before the Meiji period, Japanese children used to write in the iroha order when practicing hiragana.

The iroha system still persisted well into the Showa period (1926-1989) and it still sees usage today. In Japan’s Road Traffic Act, for example, some lists start with i, ro, ha, like how English uses A, B, C. In an article from 2016, the Japan Pension Service apparently still used the iroha system to arrange their files in the office!

Chapter 1: The Forgotten Events of the Anime

Like a fleeing hare

After Slowe’s (rather tactless) shout at the party, Charlotte ran away from the hall at lightning speed. The phrase used here is datto no gotoku (“like a fleeing hare”), reminding the reader of a rabbit running away at top speed. The phrase is derived from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, an ancient military Chinese treatise dating back to roughly the fifth century BCE. The original quote is, “At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you” (Sun Tzu).

Kuuru

When Slowe refers to the first twelve or so episodes of Shuya Marionette, he calls it a kuuru. Kuuru, also commonly written as “cour” in English-language anime spaces, is an industrial term in the Japanese broadcast industry that refers to three months or a quarter of the year. What makes this a little complicated is that one kuuru does not equate to one season of an anime, also known as one ki.

A ki (“season”) refers to all the episodes spanning from the start of a continuous broadcast period through to the last episode. It can be twelve, twenty-four, a hundred, and so on! Kuuru, meanwhile, refers to a specific time period. Most anime airs weekly, which translates to around twelve or so episodes in a three month period, or one kuuru.

Undei no sa (“like night and day”)

Slowe compares the immaculately dressed Royal Knights to the tattered Marco, saying that the difference between the two was like night and day. The original phrase used here is undei no sa (“the difference between cloud and mud”). Here, the clouds allude to the sky and the mud alludes to the ground, and the phrase refers to the great distance between them.

The phrase is believed to have been derived from the poem Shang You by Bai Juyi, a famous Chinese poet from the Tang Dynasty. The latter half of the poem laments the loss of an old friend whom the speaker used to share a great comradeship with back when they were both poor. The friend then went on to work in the imperial court. However, when they met on a road in Chang’an, the old friend didn’t even turn back to the speaker, as if they were strangers. The speaker feels as if there is now a large rift between them, like the divide between the clouds in the heavens and the mud on the earth.

Se ni hara wa kaerarenai (“one can’t substitute their stomach with their back”)

Slowe decided that he would strike a deal with No Face and pay a small price for what he needed to do. The original phrase used here roughly translates to “one can’t substitute their stomach with their back.” The “stomach” here refers to all of the vital organs of the body, not necessarily just the stomach. Even for the sake of protecting one’s back, it wouldn’t do one much good to harm their organs instead. Thus, to protect something precious, small sacrifices have to be made.

There is a second interpretation of this phrase. The stomach may actually refer to oneself, and the back may refer to other people. In this case, the phrase means that when someone is in a desperate situation, they don’t have the leisure of caring about things or people other than the issue at hand.

This phrase is also used in the Edo variant of the iroha karuta!

Doku wo kurawaba sara made (“might as well lick the plate if one already ingested poison”)

Before attacking the hydra, Slowe says that he was “in for a penny, in for a pound,” implying that he was willing to put in the effort needed to get rid of the monster. The phrase used here roughly translates to “might as well lick the plate if one already ingested poison.” If someone ate poisoned food and they were going to die either way, licking the poisoned plate wouldn’t make much of a difference, would it?

This phrase is commonly used in two ways. The first way often refers to someone who has done an evil deed and decides to further devote themselves to that evil road since they were going to be punished either way. The second refers to someone who has already completed something halfway, and since they’ve already come so far, they might as well see it through to the end.

Chapter 2: Huzak

Sukedachi

Slowe offers his assistance to the orcs during their first meeting, and the word used here is sukedachi, which can mean help, aid, backup, or an assistant in a fight. This word literally translates to “a helping sword.” The dachi part of the word refers to tachi, a type of traditional Japanese sword worn by samurai in feudal Japan.

The sukedachi originated from feudal Japan and has existed since around the Muromachi period (1336-1573). There was the concept of adauchi vendetta, where one took revenge for their family or lords in a battle of swords. For legal adauchi, one had to get a permit from the magistrate offices, and their details were recorded in the Kougi Gochou. (There were a lot of strict rules for the whole process!) However, some avengers were women and children, and it was difficult for them to carry out their revenge. In these cases, they were allowed to enlist the help of others. These helpers were referred to as sukedachi. Like the avengers themselves, these sukedachi had to ask for permission from the magistrate offices first before helping. A random stranger couldn’t just show up and help.

By the time the Meiji period came around (1868-1912), the term simply meant “to help” or “to aid” since the samurai were no more.

Afterword

NasuD

The Great Adventures of NasuD as mentioned in the afterword is a TV program featuring the TV director Takahide Tomoyori, nicknamed NasuD. (In Japan, directors’ and producers’ names are commonly suffixed with D or P.) The series has an official YouTube channel and some episodes are available on there, including his adventures in the Amazon rainforest area. Some even have English subtitles! Search for “CrazyD’s survival” and you should find it.