Ghost Hunt Volume 1 Translation Notes
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sera131Table of Contents
Translation Notes
Prologue
Namu Amida Butsu
なむあみだぶつ (南無阿弥陀仏) - Namu Amida Butsu: This is a prayer to the buddha Amida, also known as Amitabha. It involves chanting ‘Namu Amida Butsu’ several times. Some possible translations are: Hail Amitabha Buddha; Homage to Amida Buddha; I sincerely believe in Amitabha; Lord have mercy on me.
Needle of a Compass
コンパスの針 - Konpasu no Hari: I think Mai is talking about a drawing compass rather than a compass used for navigation.
Senpai
先輩 - Senpai:
San
さん - San:
Tape Dubbing
テープのダビング - Tēpu no Dabingu: Tape dubbing is the process of playing back one tape and making a recording of it on another tape machine.
Chapter 1
Shi
氏 - Shi: This is a type of honorific added to the end of a person's name. It's actually quite common, but only in very formal writing such as newspapers, legal documents, and academic journals. It's rarely used aloud, though Mai does this once, and is considered very formal speech. This is used for referring to a person who is unfamiliar to the speaker, typically a person known through publications whom the speaker has never actually met. It’s level of politeness is apparently between -san and -sama.
Joshi
女史 - joshi: This is a type of honorific added to the end of a woman or girl's name. It's equivalent to Ms. / Miss / Madame and has a nuance of status. Mai might be using this because Kuroda is the class representative.
Gōsuto Hanto
ゴースト・ハント - Gōsuto Hanto: This means 'Ghost Hunt'. He's using Japanese syllabary to pronounce the English words. He goes on to explain that the literal translation would be 幽霊退治 (yūrei taiji), which translates as ghost extermination.
Saikikku Risaachi
サイキック・リサーチ - Saikikku Risaachi: This means 'Psychic Research'. I assume Shibuya originally said it in English and this is what Mai heard or he pronounced it using Japanese syllabary, but Mai didn't know what it meant because he didn't use the Japanese words until later in the chapter.
Chapter 2
Doctor's Medical Record
お医者さんのカルテ - Oishasan no Karute: Apparently, Japanese medical terms are a combination of kanji, English, and German. Germany had a large influence on Japan, and Japan borrowed a lot of medical terms from the German language when Japanese doctors studied medicine in Germany during the Meiji period (1868-1912). There is some talk that Japanese medical records used to be written all in German. So, perhaps these factors contribute to why Mai says Naru's notes, which are written in a Western language, look like a doctor's medical record. Or it could just be because Japanese medical jargon is like a foreign language to Mai. I don't think it's likely that Mai is saying Naru has an unreadable penmanship like doctors tend to.
Naru-chan the Narcissist
ナルシストのナルちゃん - Narushisuto no Naru-chan: Narushisuto (ナルシスト) means narcissist. And Naru-chan is actually another term used to call someone a narcissist. It's a shortening of narushisuto (and similar spellings) with the -chan honorific added to the end. Chan is used for girls, very young boys, and nicknames. In the case of nicknames, the full name will be shortened and -chan is added. There are different reasons you might use -chan for a guy, but sometimes it's just because it sounds better with the name than -kun (commonly used for males). However, since Naru-chan is already a set word used for narcissist, there isn't really a strong implication behind Mai referring to Naru with the -chan suffix.
Parabolic Microphone
集音マイク - Shūon Maiku: This is a microphone that uses a parabolic reflector (think satellite dish) to collect and focus sound waves into a receiver. They have a high sensitivity to sounds in one direction, along the axis of the dish, and can pick up sounds from many meters away. They're commonly used for nature sound recording and eavesdropping.
Rapping Sounds
ラップ音 - Rappu-on: This refers to the knocking sounds caused by poltergeists (noisy ghosts).
Open-Reel Tape
リール - Rīru: In this kind of tape, the magnetic tape used for recording is wound on a open reel rather than being securely contained within a cassette. These are used in reel-to-reel tape recorders, which have a supply reel and an initially empty takeup reel that must be manually threaded. Reel-to-reel systems use tape that's wider than that used in cassette tapes and record at a faster rate. Due to this, the audio is recorded over a greater length of tape, which offers a much higher quality reproduction of sound (higher fidelity) than the much cheaper and convenient cassette tape systems.
Knocking on a Strong Stone Bridge
石橋を叩いて渡る - Ishibashi wo Tataite Wataru: This is an expression that means being overly cautious. Basically, you're testing an obviously safe bridge before crossing it. Naru doesn't know what this expression means.
Hōnteddo Hausu
ホーンテッドハウス - Hōnteddo Hausu: Naru initially says haunted house as if he was saying an English word using Japanese syllabary, but then he corrects himself using the Japanese word for haunted house (幽霊屋敷).
Infrared Camera
赤外線カメラ - Sekigaisen Kamera: The type of infrared camera that Naru is talking about uses active infrared night-vision. These types of cameras use an active source of illumination in the near infrared (NIR) or shortwave infrared (SWIR) band. A detector then receives the light as it bounces off objects. Dark scenes are then displayed as a monochrome image on a normal display device.
Thermographic Camera
サーモ・グラフィー - Sāmogurafī: Thermographic cameras require no source of illumination and are able to function in complete darkness. They detect the heat signatures of surrounding objects. In other words, they can sense the thermal infrared radiation emitted from an object. But they also detect subtle differences in temperature. Different materials absorb and radiate thermal energy at different rates, which thermographic cameras can detect and form an image from. So, even objects close in temperature show up clearly as distinct objects. The image is usually displayed with an artificial color gradient.
Ultra-high Sensitivity Camera
超高感度カメラ - Choukoukando Kamera: High sensitivity cameras use high-dynamic-range imaging to produce an image with a range of luminescence similar to that experienced through the human visual system. This works by capturing several identical images of a scene, each with a different exposure value, and combining them to create a single image. To obtain nearly identical images with HDR videography, the different exposures need to be captured concurrently, or as close to concurrently as possible. These cameras work well in low-light levels.
But...
けど - kedo: Japan is a society that often uses indirect communication. A lot of the time, things are left unstated and assumed to be understood. There are many times a speaker will end a sentence with 'but' and sometimes this only functions to soften the sentence, but it's also used to convey an implied meaning. In this case, Naru is most likely saying, "I'd explain further, but... you probably wouldn't understand."
Gōsuto Hantā
ゴースト・ハンター - Gōsuto Hantā: This means 'Ghost Hunter'. Again, Japanese syllabary is being used to pronounce the English words.
Chapter 3
Internal Advancement
内進 - naishin: This doesn't seem to be a standard term. I believe it's a shortening of 内部進学 (naibu shingaku), which basically means internal advancement/admission. This refers to what's known as the Escalator System (エスカレーター方式 - Esukarētā Hōshik). Schools that offer this type of internal advancement are known as escalator schools. This is a school that offers education from elementary or middle school until university. Students usually rise to the next grade without having to take entrance exams.
Chekku Dēta
データのチェック - dēta no chekku: This means 'check of data' or 'checking the data'. Japanese syllabary is being used to pronounce the English words again and Mai doesn't understand since she claims to be bad at English.
Miko
巫女 - miko: In Shinto, a miko is a shrine maiden or young girl/woman (traditionally an unmarried virgin) who assists priests at shrines. This term also is defined as a medium, sorceress, or shamaness.
Old Veteran
大先輩 - dai senpai - This means 'someone who is greatly one's senior' or 'veteran'. I translated this as 'old veteran' to make it more insulting to Ayako since just 'veteran' seems like a good thing.
Bou-san
ぼーさん - Bou-san: This means 'Monk' (as many fans of the anime know Takigawa by). A Buddhist priest is a 坊主 (bouzu) and just the kanji 坊 (bou) can mean 'monk' (among other things). The honorific -san is added to the end. A person's job title + san is a common way to refer to people.
Lifeless Smile
能面のようなわらい - nōmen no yōna warai: This would actually translate literally as, "smile like a Noh mask." It seems 能面のような (nōmen no yōna) can mean expressionless, so I thought 'lifeless smile' might convey this. But 'expressionless smile' seemed contradictory.
Without Honorifics
呼び捨てにした - yobisute ni shita: Not using honorifics with a person's name means the speaker is addressing the person in an intimate and familiar manner usually restricted to family, spouses or one's closest friends. Doing so without permission is generally considered a grave insult. Often times (more in recent years), exceptions are made for foreigners.
Mai doesn't think she used Naru's name without honorifics because Naru is a nickname she gave him unrelated to his name.
Tanuki and Kitsune
タヌキ, キツネ - tanuki, kitsune: These are actual species of animals. The tanuki is also known as a raccoon dog and kitsune is the word for fox. But they are also shape-shifting supernatural creatures in Japanese folklore. Apparently, it is said that the fox has seven disguises while the tanuki has eight, making the tanuki superior. I believe this is what Mai is referring to when she calls her principal a tanuki since he "changes his form" depending on who he's talking to.
Japanese Pronouns
わて - wate: I/Me, Kansai dialect.
わたし - watashi: I/Me, standard, gender neutral pronoun.
僕 - boku: I/Me, standard, male pronoun.
あんさん - You, Kansai dialect
あなた - You, standard
Kuchiyose
口寄せ - kuchiyose: Channeling or summoning a spirit and giving it voice.
Chirei
地霊 - chirei: This means Earth spirit. It's linked to the land and is classified as an elemental or nature spirit.
Jibakurei
地縛霊 - jibakurei: This means Earth-bound spirit. It's a human spirit that's trapped in a certain location.
Seirei
精霊 - seirei: This can be translated directly as 'spirit'. It can also refer to elemental or nature spirits. Translation from the Japanese wiki:
Supernatural beings that are believed to dwell in each plant, animal, person, inanimate object, artificial object, etc. In addition, it is said to be, “a mysterious essence believed to form the source of all things.” This sometimes refers to life energy or a “freed soul that has been released from the body.”
Supiritto
スピリット - supiritto: This means 'spirit'. Japanese syllabary is being used to pronounce the English word.
Gōsuto
ゴースト - gōsuto: This means 'ghost'. Japanese syllabary is being used to pronounce the English word.
Yuurei
幽霊 - yuurei: This is the most common Japanese word for ghost. The kanji mean 'dim spirit'.
Chapter 4
TV Sign-off
In an age before infomercials, TV stations used to sign-off for the night and cut their broadcasts to save money. Sometimes after a special sign-off song or video, the TV would go to static.
Hakama
袴 - hakama: A traditional Japanese garment that's worn over a kimono. They have the appearance of loose trousers with many pleats in the front and are tied around the waist and extend down to the ankles. A common image of hakama are the bright red trousers worn by miko.Haragushi
祓い串 - haraigushi: During purification rituals, Shinto priest wave a haraigushi, a wooden wand with zigzag strips attached to it, over the object to be purified. These are also called ōnusa (大麻). Ayako's Prayer
Ayako is preforming Norito(祝詞), a Shinto prayer or incantation addressed to a deity. Ayako addresses the "gods from all corners", but specifically calls to Marishi-ten, also known as Marici. The prayer is in classical Japanese, so it's difficult for Mai to understand. Here is an approximate translation:
| Tsutsushinde kanjou tatematsuru, miyashiro naki kono tokoro ni, kourin chinza shimaite… | I reverently offer this prayer for thy presence; deign to descend and enshrine thyself in this unhallowed ground... |
| Shingu no harai kazukazu kazukazu, tairakeku yasurakeku, kikoshimeshite nekau tokoro o kannou nouju nasashimetamae... | and purify these many offerings; I ask that my plea be heard, that peace and calm be granted... |
| Chihayafuru koko mo Takamanohara nari, atsumaritamae yomo no kamigami... | May this place be as the Heavenly Plains; may the gods from all corners come together... |
| Namu honzon kai Marshi-ten, rairin ekou kikou shugo shitamae. | Hail, Buddha of the realms, assemble and Marishi-ten approach to armour and protect. |
Relationship of Dogs and Monkeys
犬猿の仲 - kenen no naka: With a literal meaning of 'the relationship of dogs and monkeys', this saying is used to refer to an antagonistic relationship. Apparently, monkeys and dogs don't get along well. A similar phrase in English is 'like cats and dogs', but I decided to keep Bou-san as a monkey rather than change him to a cat.
Chapter 5
Tsukumogami
付喪神 - tsukumogami: These are tools in Japanese folklore that have acquired a spirit. Though the term has been applied to several different concepts in Japanese Folklore, it's generally applied to any object "that has reached their 100th birthday and thus become alive and self-aware."
Lord's Prayer
John begins his exorcism with a Christian prayer known as the Lord's Prayer. There's a version of this in the Gospel of Matthew (long form) and a version in the Gospel of Luke (short form).
A Prayer of Moses
After finishing the Lord's Prayer, John recites Psalms 90:1 - 2, which is the beginning of A Prayer of Moses the man of God. This version is from the King James Bible.
Gospel of John
After reading from Psalms, John recites John 1:1-5 from the Gospel of John. This version is from the King James Bible with some variations for John's usage of 'the Word' as the subject in Japanese rather than 'him'.
Chapter 6
Desu
です - desu: This essentially means "to be". It functions as the verb of the sentence and goes at the end. For example, in 私は～です (Watashi wa ~ desu), meaning "I am...", desu functions as "am". You don't add this when there's already a verb in the sentence. John often adds です (desu) to the end of all his sentences. In this case, John says やでです (yade desu), but the やで (yade) already functions as です (desu) in Osaka dialect.