Monday, May 25, 2020
Understanding Japanese Writing in Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazakis critically acclaimed movie Spirited Away (Ã¥ Æ'㠨å Æ'Ã¥ °â€¹Ã£ ®Ã§ ¥Å¾Ã©Å¡ ã â€") won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film at the 75th Annual Academy Awards ceremony. It tells the story of 10-year-old Chihiro, who is accidentally thrown into another dimension, a spirit world. While working at a bathhouse catering to spirits and gods, she tries to rescue her parents from a spell that transformed them into pigs. It is the highest grossing film in Japanese box-office history, surpassing Titanic. When it was shown on TV in January 2013, it had the highest audience rating ever for a movie. 46.2% of households in Japan tuned in. Reading subtitles would distract viewers from the amazing visuals, and the English dubbed version features a voice cast and translators who did their jobs with sensitivity. Although the overall atmosphere of the film endures, Spirited Away is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, so something gets lost in translation for viewers who miss out on the sounds of Japanese in the original Japanese dialogue. Understanding the Japanese language a little better can help you better appreciate certain aspects of the film. Understanding the Japanese Title The Japanese title is Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. Sen (Ã¥ Æ') and Chihiro (Ã¥ Æ'Ã¥ °â€¹) are the names. To (ã ¨) is a particle which connects nouns. It translates into and. Kami (ç ¥Å¾) means god or spirit, and kakushi (éš ã â€") is the noun form of the verb kakusu (to hide). Kamikakushi (ç ¥Å¾Ã©Å¡ ã â€") means hidden by spirits, hence the English wordplay of Spirited Away. How Does Chihiro Become Sen? When Chihiro is forced into slave labor at the bathhouse which Yubaba rules, she writes down her name, Ogino Chihiro (è »Ã©â€¡Å½Ã¥ Æ'Ã¥ °â€¹) in the contract. (In Japanese the family name comes first.) Yubaba steals three characters from her name. The one character left (the third one) becomes her new name. The reading of this kanji character is sen (Ã¥ Æ') as well as chi. Translating Significant Japanese Characters The character written on the curtain at the front gate of the bathhouse is the hiragana yu. It means bath. The kanji character for yu is also seen on the chimney of the bathhouse. The bathhouse is called Aburaya (æ ² ¹Ã¥ ±â€¹). (Abura means oil, and ya is the suffix used for a store.) The kanji sign Aburaya is seen above the gate of the bathhouse. The flag on the bathhouse also has the kanji character for abura (æ ² ¹). The Theme Song, Itsumo Nandodemo Here are the lyrics of the theme song â€Å"Itsumo Nandodemo (㠄㠤ã‚‚ä ½â€¢Ã¥ º ¦Ã£ §Ã£â€šâ€š) for the movie. â€Å"Itsumo†means â€Å"always,†amd â€Å"nandodemo†means â€Å"any numbers of times.â€ å‘ ¼Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£ §Ã£ „ã‚‹ èÆ' ¸Ã£ ®Ã£ ©Ã£ “ã ‹å ¥ ¥Ã£ §yondeiru mune no dokoka oku de 㠄㠤ã‚‚å ¿Æ'è º ã‚‹ Ã¥ ¤ ¢Ã£â€šâ€™Ã¨ ¦â€¹Ã£ Ÿã „itsumo kokoro odoru yume o mitai 㠋㠪ã â€"㠿ã ¯ æ• °Ã£ ˆã ã‚Å'㠪ã „ã ‘ã‚Å'ã ©kanashimi wa kazoekirenai keredo ã 㠮å ‘㠓㠆㠧ã 㠣ã ¨ 㠂㠪㠟㠫ä ¼Å¡Ã£ ˆã‚‹sono mukou de kitto anata ni aeru ç ¹ °Ã£â€šÅ è ¿â€Ã£ ™ã ‚や㠾㠡ã ® ã 㠮ã Ÿã ³ 㠲㠨ã ¯kurikaesu ayamachi no sonotabi hito wa ã Ÿã é ’ã „ç © ºÃ£ ® é ’ã •ã‚’çŸ ¥Ã£â€šâ€¹tada aoi sora no aosa o shiru æžÅ"㠦ã â€"㠪ã é “ã ¯Ã§ ¶Å¡Ã£ „㠦è ¦â€¹Ã£ ˆã‚‹ã ‘ã‚Å'ã ©hateshinaku michi wa tsuzuite mieru kedo 㠓㠮ä ¸ ¡Ã¦â€°â€¹Ã£ ¯ 光を抱ã ‘ã‚‹kono ryoute wa hikari o dakeru 㠕よ㠪ら㠮㠨ã ã ® é ™ã ‹ã ªÃ¨Æ' ¸sayonara no toki no shizukana mune ã‚ ¼Ã£Æ' 㠫㠪る㠋らã ã Å' è€ ³Ã£â€šâ€™Ã£ ™ã ¾Ã£ ›ã‚‹zero ni naru karada ga mimi o sumaseru çâ€Å¸Ã£ 㠦ã „ã‚‹ä ¸ æ€ è ° æ »Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£ §Ã£ „ã ä ¸ æ€ è °ikiteiru fushigi shindeiku fushigi 花ã‚‚é ¢ ¨Ã£â€šâ€šÃ¨ ¡â€"ã‚‚ 㠿ん㠪㠊㠪ã Ëœhana mo kaze mo arashi mo minna onaji
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