Abstract Eden

Holy crap, extended notes? It’s been like… ages! Or something. RL is hectic and crazy and all that, buuut seeing as I ended up writing various notes while translating, I figured I’d do one this week. The format’s a little different, though, so bear with me.

[page 1]
Saitan (再誕) / Fukkatsu (復活)

Both of these words refer to a revival or resurrection, but there’s a slight nuance in the Japanese that doesn’t carry over to English. Saitan, which is the word used here, generally connotes the revival of a company, organization, etc. which has fallen into disuse. Fukkatsu, which has been used rather frequently in previous chapters, primarily refers to the resurrection of a person who has died.

[page 2]
Nue (鵺), White’s thrush, and Genzanmi Yorimasa

First off, the picture and its text are basically a reproduction of one from Toriyama Sekien’s Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki (lit. The Illustrated One Hundred Demons from the Present and the Past). Genzanmi Yorimasa was another name for Minamoto no Yorimasa, an actual historic figure who shoots down the Nue in folklore. Now for the interesting part. In ancient Japan, “Nue” was originally the word used for a bird believed to be White’s thrush. This site has a wonderful and thorough analysis of the evolution of the word that is definitely a must-read.

[page 8]
My children (息子ども) / My father (父)

Technically, Seimei says “my sons”, but I thought readers might get confused and opted for this translation instead. The only notable thing about how the Second refers to Seimei is that he uses no honorifics. He simply calls him chichi, which is relatively low on the formality spectrum. I was honestly expecting him to use the -ue suffix, so I’m a bit surprised.

[page 16]
Mukaete kureta (迎えてくれた)

This verb can mean both “to greet/come out to meet” and “to accept or welcome into a group/family”. I felt that using just one or the other wouldn’t do the original intent justice, hence why I included both.

[page 17]
Hanyou (半妖)

Technically, hanyou primarily means “half-yokai”. However, since Rikuo says that the term also applies to him, I opted to translate it as “demi-yokai” instead. For reference’s sake, the “han” part of Rihan’s name comes from the fact that he’s a hanyou, and the “kuo” part of Rikuo’s name comes from the fact that he’s a quarter-yokai (クォーター, kuootaa).