Does anyone think a small glossary would go amiss somewhere on the site? Something where we can put brief definitions of 'menpo' and 'tsuka' and so on. Or I can keep stealing articles from wikipedia and popping them in the item section. :p
Feel free. It's something that needs to be done.
I was amassing a small list in my spare time, mostly ripping stuff from wiki and some other cool sites I found. I intended to create a page somewhere here that would have a general description, then clicking into the link would give more details.
Eg.
Kabuto - The traditional helmet of a samurai.
And clicking into the link would yield:
Kabuto – traditional Samurai helmet. It features a strong bowl, the "hachi", which protects the crown of the head, a suspended series of articulated plates (the "shikoro") to protect the neck, and often a crest of the clan (mon). A Kabuto was usually constructed from 3 to over a hundred metal plates, riveted together. The plates are usually arranged vertically, and radiate from an opening in the top called the "tehen" or "hachiman-za" (seat of the war god, hachiman). The original purpose of the tehen was for the warrior to pass his top knot through.
Most Kabuto incorporate a suspended neck guard called a "shikoro". This is usually composed of semi-circular lacquered metal or oxhide lames, attached and articulated by silk or leather lacing. This system of lames is the standard technology of defense employed, along with mail, for the body protection in Japanese Armor.
Kabuto are often adorned with "Maedate" (Front Crests,) "Wakidate" (Side Crests) or "Ushirodate" (Rear Crests.) These can be family or clan emblems, or flat or sculptural objects representing animals, mythical entities, prayers or other symbols. Horns are particularly common, and many helmets sport "Kuwagata", or stylized deer horns.
• Katte kabuto no o o shimeyo ("Tighten the string of the kabuto after winning the war"): don't lower your efforts after succeeding. Could be compared to not to rest on one's laurels.
• kabuto o nugu ("to take off the kabuto"): to surrender.
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Plus a reference to wiki.
Ones I have:
Mon
Sashimono
Ashigaru
Saya
Sageo
Obi
Tsuba
Tsuka
Shakudo
Yatate
Kiri sute gomen
Ronin
Seppuku
Oibara/tsuifuku
Menpo/Hanbo and derivatives
Nodowa
Jingasa
Tantōjutsu
Mamori-gatana
Genbuku
Daisho (lit. big and small)
Yari
Wakizashi
Sōjutsu
(Honorifics)
(Naming a samurai)
kadō
Ikebana
Origami
Noshi
Washi
A site I intend to plunder: http://www.kitsunegaroo.com/
Help is welcome :)
I think in part it'll be quick reference to commonly used stuff in the Tues night campaign, and in part it'll be inspiration for Aaron. The site I mentioned above has a crapload of interesting information, covering stuff from furniture to mythology. So really I'm just grabbing stuff that looks pertinent or just plain cool that Aaron might want to consider at some point.
Here's something to do with naming samurai, which could be good with our recent OOC discussions on shifting family names away fron Rokugan:
A samurai was usually named by combining one kanji from his father or grandfather and one new kanji. Samurai normally used only a small part of their total name.
For example, the full name of Oda Nobunaga would be "Oda Kazusanosuke Saburo Nobunaga" (織田上総介三郎信長), in which "Oda" is a clan or family name, "Kazusanosuke" is a title of vice-governor of Kazusa province, "Saburo" is a name before genpuku, a coming of age ceremony, and "Nobunaga" is an adult name. Samurai were able to choose their own last names.
So I'd need to figure out what "Queen of the Yu" translates into, and decide what Sang's childhood name was o_O
Kabuto is also the shortened version of Kabutomushi, カブト虫, a Rhinoceros Beetle. You can see part of this in the designs of many of the helmets actually. It's kind of an amusing little fact.
As for translating I was more referring to actual phrases and lines, not just terms and words.
私は日本語を勉強してから、訳して復習してほうがいいです。
So I can probably have a go at bits of dialogue, everyday conversation and even battle cries or random things people would yell out in an anime during the protracted cut-scene accompanying a special move. :P
Hey… that is a rather amusing fact. o_O
(But if anyone in the party starts nicknaming Sang 'Rhinoceros Beetle' when she puts her helmet on, I will stab them in the face.^_^ )
I kinda figured you were talking about translations :) I will have to think of some Yu-ish battle cries and stuff… hm…
正義のために、てめえを絶対に倒して。
What I said was: For justice, I absolutely will defeat you!
What Machine Translation thought I said: For justice, and to beat an absolute motherfucker.
The second one might be appropriate. :P
http://bleedingworld.wikidot.com/lexicon
Feel free to put stuff in :)
I don't know if anything but romanji will be particularly useful where pronunciation is concerned (plus this computer doesn't seem to have certain character fonts installed, so everything appears in little squares), so it's your call if you choose to add that kinda thing :)
A phrases section would be cool for what Hikaizer is proposing, but we can add that on once we have some phrases XD
Well, some of the terms you have up already are not Chinese or Japanese. For example, in Japanese Majesty or Kind is 王様 (Ou-sama), and captain is 体長 (Tai-chou). In Chinese, King or Emperor could be any of 天子 (Tian-Zi), 王 (King), or the other variations for the levels of power.
So I'm guessing you're borrowing the terms from Rokugan or somewhere else?
From wiki :) Since this is for fun in spare time, I'm not being particularly zealous in researching accuracy, hehe. Odd that they're not C or J though… I was sure they were from the same page that went through 'san' and 'sama' and all the rest. Maybe I was falling asleep.
Is there a title for a governor, or just 'lady'?
(also, omg, this forum is annoying me by not letting me post then telling me I'm already logged in. grrr….)
Well, 'Taisa' is a colonel it seems.
'Kaigun' means literally Sea-Army, with 'Taishou' being General and 'Chujou' being Lieutenant General.
After doing some extra research 'Heika' does seem to mean Majesty, it is a suffix that can be added like -san or -sama. I haven't seen it used commonly so it's either an antiquated term, or a title that is entails a degree of familiarity. This is why I hadn't come across it. So for your campaign it might be appropriate, considering some of your characters seem to have personal relations with royalty.
Other variations include: Your Highness: Ousama, Jou-ousama (a queen)
Your Majesties: Ryou-heika
The term for Governor is 'chiji', although I have been unable to discern whether this is simply the word for a governor, or whether it is also a title.
So I'm finally looking at terms of address again, and found a really good page: http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/miscellany/miscellany.html (look under the 'Modes of Address' section). It seems to mix things up to incorporate the SCA though.
eg. "It is for this reason that I have no problem identifying the king of any given SCA kingdom as the tennô of that kingdom, and the queen as the chûgu (or, if she rules in her own right, kôgo). That some kings may want a more martial flavor is their own choice, but it doesn’t alter the fact that they are the royalty ruling the state, and in Japanese terms that royalty is the tennô and chûgu. Kings and queens (tennô and chûgu) are both addressed as “heika” (= majesty)."
It really is. Check out the root site ( http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/ ) if you haven't. I got most of the armour detail for the lexicon from here as well.