Translation Notes

Translation Notes

 

1 Financier: A French almond cake.

 

2 Dokudami cha: A tea made with Houttuynia cordata herbs and other tea leaves. It is also known as “heartleaf” and “lizardtail” in English, and dokudami, gyoseisou, or juuyaku in Japanese. Used for medicinal purposes and as a health beverage.

 

3 Teki ni katsu: “Defeat the opponent”—a pun derived from steeki katsuretsu (steak cutlets). Japanese people tend to use puns involving food items as lucky charms for certain events, such as college entrance exams, sports competitions, and work projects. In this case, Nagisa’s old elementary school served lucky steak cutlets so each class would have a good chance to win on Field Day.

 

4 Oshiruko: azuki, or sweet red bean, soup. Normally served in a bowl as hot azuki soup with mochi (rice cake) for dessert, but in this case Chikaru hands Miyuki the canned beverage version.

 

5 Taisho Era: The reign of Emperor Yoshihito (1912–1926). The Japanese often use years of the Emperor as eras for official documents. (For example, the year AD 2007 is Heisei 19.) The era is named not after the Emperor himself, but to describe or predict the era.

 

6 “Kitten Waltz”: Chopin’s Waltz No. 4 in F Major, Opus 34, No. 3. In Japanese, it is known as “The Kitten Waltz” or “koneko no warutsu.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sakurako Kimino

Place of Origin: Tokyo

Blood type: O

Familiar to many as the creator of Sister Princess, a sister moe title that became a sensation in the bishoujo realm. In this series, she writes a pure, traditional yuri story freely drawn from her own experiences in an all-girls school.

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Takuminamuchi

Illustrator of the comic version of Strawberry Panic! (published in Dengeki G’s Magazine).