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vennmui · 1 month ago

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Chapter 102 Translator's Notes Thoughts

You know what, I sort of thought I wouldn’t have much to say about this chapter, considering I’d already pored over all the details from Makuragaeshi arc and Yoseito, and in comes Tanaka Mai with a metal bat!

Summary:

Stuff about the color page

Actual translation note about the divine magic stuff

Stuff about the time travel

That theory I have about Haruaki’s exorcism power

(future op after writing the whole thing: jesus christ this is 3000 words. somebody stop me before i come out with a 70 page peer reviewed thesis one of these days)

Color page

The one with purple hair is Akira LOL I think everyone got got by it for at least a second because we’ve been seeing Douman so much, especially with that half the face blacked out, but look at the hair part. Also I only realised because of this art that Kurai and Akira have a mole by the mouth in the exact same spot, makes sense why he wants to cover it up now. (Irrelevant but I also have a mole in that same spot)

Also, the red string of fate…

Hey remember what happens in Makuragaeshi arc. yeahhhhh hahaha just stab that knife right into me hahaha sensei you would do this to them? to me?

A lot of the original folklore for the red string of fate is pretty mean, but the important common thread (heh) is that the two people meet long ago briefly and part ways, until they eventually get married while not remembering that first encounter, then they find out they knew each other from that first encounter. (Hey why does this sound like almost all the things that happen pre-main story in yohaji. Who is making spiderwebs with the threads of fate up there.)

Red string… Hatanaka’s red scarf, which Ibara knitted for him… His scarf, which isn’t present in the Makuragaeshi world… Tanaka Mai you are fucked up and evil for this. I am going to lie in the sand now.

The scarf… which she knitted for him maybe because she saw him with it 100 years ago…

Divine Magic

Ok I’ll be real I hate translating it as “divine magic” because it’s so vague but translating it as the actual Buddhism term is too specific and technical, when the word in Japanese and Chinese uses very common characters so it’s vague enough while still being the actual Buddhism term.

This chapter specifically calls back to chapter 22, and I totally didn’t recall any mention of anything divine so I had to double check with the JP. Sure enough, it’s used here, translated as “divine youkai magic”. But the thing is, in this situation “divine” just sounded like an adjective for “youkai magic”, rather than the whole phrase being a proper noun which is obvious in JP. (This is sort of why I’m going with “divine magic” instead, and that there’s nothing in the JP word that says “youkai” anyway) (By the way, it’s also on the blackboard in Miki’s class in chapter 96. I translated it as “divine power” then because there was no context)

The word is “神通力 jin-tsuu-riki”, and the Buddhism concept it’s referring to is Abhijñā, or the “six types of higher knowledge”.

Breaking down the word,

神 jin: god/divine

通 tsuu: connection/understanding/knowledge

力 riki: power

Exactly as Hatanaka explains it, in the most literal sense, it means “power that has connection to the gods”. “Jintsuuriki” is also another word for psychic powers in general, but it’s definitely this Buddhism concept because of the names of the six types.

Hatanaka just summarized it, so I think it’s safe to assume there’s more to all of them, and also I want to explain what each of them does anyway, even if they definitely won’t end up being the exact same in the manga.

^ Putting this here so it’s easy to refer to.

1. 神足通 Jin-soku-tsuu (Divine step)

Literally translated, it is “god step connection” (all of them end in “tsuu”). The specific name for it is Iddhi, and is generally called “higher powers”, or “powers of transformation”? I went with a name that’s almost a literal translation of the JP.

The specific abilities attributed to it include:

Replicating and projecting images of oneself

Becoming invisible

Passing through solid objects

Going through solid ground

Walking on water

Flying

Touching the sun and moon

Chinese and Japanese descriptions of it also mention “teleportation” or “being anywhere at will”, though strangely English descriptions of it almost never have this part.

The principal uses this one, and Hatanaka thinks Tamao used it (spoiler: he was wrong).

2. 天耳通 Ten-ni-tsuu (Clairaudience)

Literally translated, it is “divine ear connection”. Fairly self explanatory. Also described as “god-like hearing”, it’s the ability to “hear gods or humans, near or far”.

Interestingly, Hatanaka uses “地獄耳 jigoku-mimi” to describe “having sharp ears”, which itself is a fun phrase. It means “hell’s ears”, referring to King Enma, who hears of everything you’ve done in life and judges you accordingly. Though, in everyday speech it just means “someone who hears all the gossip”, but rarely it also means “someone who remembers everything they’ve heard”.

3. 他心通 Ta-shin-tsuu (Telepathy)

Literally translated, it is “others’ hearts connection”. Also fairly straightforward. The concept of “reading minds” in English is “reading hearts” in Japanese and Chinese. There’s probably a separate essay here about the West’s scientific and medical advancements and how with it, the core of what defined a human was shifted from the heart to the brain, changing the sort of words people use with it. Oh hey wait there IS a video essay about this. (ah shit this is getting off topic)

Anyway. It’s also described as being able to “understand others’ minds/hearts as if they were your own”. I feel this is the one the karasu tengu troupe used in chapter 21/22 to conjure up the illusions of Miki, Sano and Haru’s fears. (But the “conjuring illusions” part could also be the first one.)

4. ��命通 Shuku-myou-tsuu (Memory of abodes)

Literally translated, it is “abode lives connection”, which… means what exactly? So, “宿命 shuku-mei” together means “karma” or “fate”, and it’s described as the “knowledge of oneself and others’ past existence”, referring to memory of past lives, but also refers to knowledge of karma, cause and effect and the past in general.

(Honestly I don’t like my name for it, but every other name for it I’ve seen is too long and unrepresentative, I’ll probably come up with a new translation if it comes up again and there’s more info given about it. Also I almost went with “remembrance”, which tbh is a better sounding name but I would be exposing that I’ve been playing too much honkai star rail)

I think this is the one Tamao actually used, and I’ve seen some CN comments come to the same conclusion. By the way, remember Yoseito chapter 1?

Unbelievable! Everything really is “haha jk…unless” with this manga!

5. 天眼通 Ten-gen-tsuu (Clairvoyance)

Literally translated, it is “divine eye connection”. Also pretty self explanatory. It is described as seeing the karmic destinations of others, and knowing how they’ll be reborn. It’s also called “死生通”, or “knowledge of life and death”. Sort of a set with the previous one, knowing cause vs knowing effect.

This is the one Haruaki thinks Seimei has, and he’s probably right (somewhat). I’ll elaborate in a sec.

6. 漏尽通 Ro-jin-tsuu (Affliction riddance)

Literally translated, it is… honestly idk this name itself means nothing. But translations have put it as “extinction of mental intoxicants” or “knowing the end of suffering”. Tbh this is also one that I’m not super happy with and would retranslate if it comes up again. Hatanaka couldn’t be bothered to actually summarize it LMAO it’s probably because this is a very VERY Buddhist concept. It’s described as “knowing the four truths; suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the way to end suffering”.

The thing you have to know about Buddhism is it’s really obsessed with suffering, the idea of reincarnation and that it comes from worldly impurities (including suffering), and getting out of the cycle of reincarnation by getting rid of worldly impurities. Like, that’s the thesis statement of Buddhism. Reincarnation exists but the world sucks so you want to get out of it. (gets torn to shreds by my Buddhist relatives for badmouthing it) (so far from all my reading and personal experience with my Buddhist grandparents there is nothing forbidding you from tearing someone to shreds) Anyway. This has been my bitching about Buddhism tangent.

These last three are sometimes considered as a set, and collectively called the “three wisdoms/knowledges”

Hey did you fall asleep (throws chalk at you) wake up!

If you’ve been paying attention to both this essay and the manga itself, you may have noticed that Seimei has demonstrated almost all of these to some degree. Whether this is intentionally something the story is implying and wants the reader to figure out or if it’s pure coincidence, I’m not sure, but it’s something to think about. Also, the “seeing the future” one could totally be applied to Kurahashi. Eyebrow raise?

Also, here’s this ask I answered about the ramifications of Seimei having divine magic.

Intermission

This is something I’ve only come to realise with Yohaji, it’s really so fascinating to see the author in a work (in moderation of course). When viewing a piece of work, especially something framed as lighthearted like a manga, it’s so easy to forget the author behind it and treat the work as if it came into existence by itself. Perhaps because Yohaji contains so many references to real-life mythologies and stories, or perhaps because I’ve been poring over every detail, reading about every reference, reading sensei’s tweets and experiences, that what sorts of topics Tanaka Mai is interested in has become apparent and Yohaji is all the more fascinating for it.

Every one of her previous oneshot/short-serialization works before Yohaji has either made mention of Buddhist terms, or is entirely based on it.

Karma Karma, a 3-shot from 2014 (a year before the start of Yohaji), is about the Buddhist concept of hell and a king of hell who accidentally brought sinners from hell back to the living world.

Gokuraku Joudou no Hotoke-san, a oneshot from 2013, besides obviously referencing the Buddhist pure land in the title has wisdom king Acala and Yakushi Nyorai be its protagonists.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever get to read any of these, since they’re from 10 years ago and I’d have to contact a collector about it or something.

In any case, this is clearly something she’s interested in and knows a lot about, and it’s always so interesting to see. It’s always been present in Yohaji too, from the early drafts being more Buddhism-themed, to Sano’s magic circles featuring sanskrit and resembling a mandala in early chapters, to busting out a sutra excerpt in chapter 85.

Maybe it’s a fiction faux pas to pull back the curtain and look at the inner workings of a work like this, but I think I get to decide how I interact with a work.

Time Travel

YEAHHHH I CALLED IT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!! ITS SO OBVIOUS IT WOULD HAPPEN ITS BEEN SO OBVIOUS FOR A YEAR I SHOULDN’T HAVE LET PEOPLE TALK AUGUST 2022 ME INTO THINKING ITS STUPID!! ITS SO REAL!!! IM A GENIUSSS yeah anyway had to get that out of my system

First of all, we get a good look at the schoolhouse. This is probably the old schoolhouse, or at least in the location of the old schoolhouse. Architecturally it does look different from both times we’ve seen it, in volume 5 and Yoseito’s Izuna flashback arc. It’s entirely possible that the principal had it rebuilt and more floors added in the 100 years he was using it. By the way, based on the turtle map and being able to see the mountain behind the school, it’s likely that this is where it is.

The beam of light on the mountain opposite the school is almost certainly because the gang ended up at the location of the current schoolhouse, which is still just forest at that point. And there is not a single doubt in my mind that the teacher is Ranmaru.

Ok tbh I don’t have that much to say about the time travel half of the chapter mostly because it was just establishing the premise for what’s about to happen for the rest of the arc, so here’s some disjointed thoughts.

First off, even if it’s not obvious, Haruaki does indirectly cause this to happen. Besides nudging the world into the situation at the start of the chapter in a million cumulative little ways, he’s the one who brings up whether Tamao can use any other type of magic.

Also, this chapter made me realise something about Yoseito chapter 28. It makes sense that Yamazaki wouldn’t have recognized Hatanaka before that moment when he made the connection, because for all intents and purposes he knew Hatanaka as just this delinquent kid who even dyed his hair. Even the name “Hatanaka” doesn’t help, mind you, since he’s got dozens of siblings and extended family whose surnames are all “Hatanaka”. Unless they specifically told the Meiji trio the exact situation, and even then, this is probably just “that weird story from when we were in school” to Takahashi and Yamazaki. (a la teacher trio not making the connection that they met years ago until it was specifically pointed out) It was only at that moment that he started to resemble the version of him a year from then, when the time travel would happen.

Anyway, what in the world could possibly happen to Takahashi that he ends up like he does on the color page and looking so shaken in chapter 98… I sure hope the stuff on his face is actually just shading and not blood…. We do have precedent of that half of the face being covered in blood….

And one last thing that might be addressed, something in this arc will probably cause Ranmaru to quit being a teacher (based on makuragaeshi arc), though like the Takahashi thing, I couldn’t even begin to guess what. I can’t see the future, after all! (I feel like I've made this joke before)

The True Nature of Haruaki/Seimei’s Exorcism Power

(sounds like a clickbait title lol)

This is something I realised while answering this ask, but it’s a realisation that could have come way sooner because it doesn’t really hinge on info from chapter 102.

Here’s the parts to this theory: (anything that’s directly quoted has been double checked against the Japanese in case the nuance is slightly different)

Youkai magic is powered by spirit energy (no shit sherlock)

Clarification addendum: spirit energy is called “you-ryoku 妖力” and youkai magic is “you-jutsu 妖術”. both use the same “you” as in “youkai”, and the word on its own kinda means magic-y creature-y things (its usually used with another word to clarify what exactly is magic-y). Literally translated, “you-ryoku” is “youkai energy/power”, and “you-jutsu” is “youkai technique”. its very no shit sherlock.

This exorcism power exorcises spirit energy, and also works on gods to a lesser degree.

This implies the exorcism power has broader spanning effects than is stated, or “spirit energy” isn’t as specific of a concept as previously thought.

Spirit energy is basically interchangeable with “human life force” which is also interchangeable with “human souls”

In chapter 76, Takahashi reveals that if the mother is human, the spirit energy a half-youkai baby needs will be substituted by her life force. Also of note, he reveals that youkai can produce spirit energy and humans can’t.

When talking about youkai that eat spirit energy, “souls” are almost always brought up alongside it. Miki’s mom is said to eat both spirit energy and souls, the makuragaeshi eats both spirit energy and souls. The kasha did throw out the pure youkai Takahashi, Hatanaka and Marshmallow to leave only those with non-youkai blood or souls, but it also didn’t seem to be against attacking them.

In chapter 74, Takahashi says he sensed spirit energy in the hospital, but he examines the gashadokuro and finds it’s formed from human souls. Also in chapter 70, the ability to see spirit energy and souls is lumped together.

And now, one of the loose ends from Kyoto arc: Suzaku saying that “humans shouldn’t overuse powers like that” and was about to say something about life force.

Do you see what I’m getting at here? It sounds likely that “spirit energy” and “life force” are the same thing but in different forms, and assuming there’s not an entirely separate power system that has nothing to do with spirit energy, there’s a possibility that Haruaki/Seimei’s exorcism power runs off life force instead.

This has a few fucked up implications, namely there’s a possibility that Seimei was going to die anyway even without being (debatably) murdered, and also obviously Haruaki… um….

“Souls are equivalent to life force” and “exorcism power runs off life force” would also help explain why his intelligence soul piece could also use it: it just happened to be the biggest piece of his soul (also explaining why it’s physically bigger than the other 4), and it could be that all the pieces had the ability, just that the biggest piece had the “battery” to actually use it.

(I have Many Thoughts about the soul pieces btw, that may never get elaborated on in the story. No not just that white hair Haru is hot! I feel like there’s something more to it than just being 5 parts of his personality. Like, they say there’s a piece that’s the manifestation of his desires, but the athletic piece is into sailor uniforms too? That’s a conclusion the students came up with, after all, and it’s not like anyone present was an expert on this stuff, and anyone who might have known more aren’t saying anything (Ranmaru, Douman, SEIMEI???). Do you get this feeling? That there’s something purposely left unexplained there…)

He also calls out the similarity between his powers and the students’ powers often (off the top of my head, there’s at least a few times with Sano, also with Nyuudou, and now with Tamao). It’s probably his efforts to show he relates to them, but also… yknow…

Of course, there’s details that this theory doesn’t fully address. Both times Miki’s mom ate Haruaki’s soul, she immediately noted it tasted bad, so it’s probably not because of Seimei taking control and actively fighting his way out, rather something inherent about his soul that makes it different from regular human souls or even youkai souls.

This is all pretty fucked up and I don’t necessarily think Tanaka Mai would actually go this route….? I hope…..? But there’s nothing definitive right now that says it DOESN’T work like this, and there’s enough of these little details littered throughout the whole series that if it’s true, this would be the biggest long con sensei has pulled yet.

Haruaki’s exorcism power could also be one of those “lol he can just do this, don’t question it” things, but that’s also what I thought about Seimei’s ability to see the future, and GUESS WHAT.

Anyway that’s all, I think I haven’t forgotten anything I wanted to talk about (probably did though, this took an entire day and thats WITH having taken notes while I was translating), gonna spend a couple days combing through all the previous mentions of the time travel to see if the new concrete details about it would surface any new info.

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