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DRT1.5.3: Me and the School and I (The Second Half), section 3
Find previous chapters at the Navigation Index.
Danganronpa Togami Volume 1: Multiple Counts of Attempted World Domination
Chapter 5: Me and the School and I (The Second Half)
3
BORGES=SEARCHRESULT
#69010922
CLASS\DATA
TITLE "KUDAN, MISC. (INFORMATION DISCLOSURE LEVEL 4)"
Day 6 - Year of the Fire Tiger - At Sensou-ji[1] in Musashi Province a being akin to a cow has suddenly arrived, rendering the temple astir. There happen to be some fifty monks of the temple congregated in the refectory. Seeing the oddity of the Kudan, a score and four people at once fall victim to infirmity, unable to go about their daily life. It is said they are still like living. It is said seven perish on the spot.
This beast known as Kudan has been told of in antiquity. The beast has appeared in the years of Bunsei[3] withal. It is said that at this time it made known to all and sundry the fortunes and misfortunes of the year altogether, but those households who bore its image in their homes averted tribulation and pestilence; it is said that it passed on its third day. Thenceforth each person, seeking what was outlined for him, came to speak with an old man. How could it be that this beast known as Kudan was born from the belly of a cow? It is recounted that its shape was that of a cow, and its face looked like that of a man, though it bore horns on its head, like a Noh mask. Therefore, the word has come to bear the character combining the symbol for human with that for cow. On this occasion in a rural area in Unshuu[4], one born in early April conveyed the fortune that, while for that year there would be a bountiful harvest seldom seen anywhere at the time, upon the arrival of autumn, a wicked illness would plague them; henceforth, from its death on the third day, events proceeded as they were laid out to the people, as I have just told you above. Each person must without fail seek out an amulet to place in their home to absorb the hardships of misfortune and illness.
The moon sank in the west, and as dawn approached, a wind came from the west like a great wave. Sniffing the sand brought by the wind, I mused, "This will be my first day as a kudan." Suddenly a terrifying thought came to me: I had forgotten that a kudan dies three days after its birth. Moreover, it prophesies good or evil for the future. Having been born such a miserable creature, I didn't mind dying so soon, but I was worried about making a prophecy.
A Kudan has been born in Kobe. He says that 'anyone who consumes red beans or bean cakes within three days of hearing this tale shall escape the air raids.'
I do not know where that which we call the Kudan makes its prophecies, but nevertheless, a Kudan is making a prophecy somewhere. Perhaps it is that there will be an outbreak of some epidemic, or that there will be a war. This monster, a cow with human-like features, prophesies the misfortune that should be coming, instructs how to prepare for it, and then dies. That which we call a Kudan does not live for long. It is said that they will end up dying in four or five, or at most seven days. The instructions it gives come from nowhere, abruptly suggesting the hanging of bundles of rice straw in every home, or the making of a special food.
When I was still young, there was a man walking around who had swaddled what was supposedly the remains of one of these Kudan in cloth, passing out scraps of paper in exchange for rice or cheap coins. The paper had been printed on in red ink with a woodblock, and it said:
"The Kudan declared only that his woman would have bountiful fertility for the next seven years before he perished."
Beneath that, there was a picture of the Kudan, a monster with a human face. The man came by while I was out of the house and left a scrap of paper, but apparently my family got to see for themselves the dried Kudan in the man's bundle of cloth, and told me it was about the size of a kitten. Judging by the print, it seemed like the Kudan was born from a human mother, but I never saw or heard anything about it after that, so in the end, I don't have the least idea.
Kudan (Spirit): A calf that understands human language. Whatever it says is true. Thus the saying "as if a Kudan had said it" was born. It can sometimes be heard even today in the Kyuushuu and Chuugoku regions. Once it is born, it only lives for four or five days. Most foretell epidemics or wars.
It seems you do not understand what "prophecy" means. It is a prophecy because however many things you might try to do, no matter what, it will happen in the end.
And so, after hearing the almighty Kudan's prophecy, the child said, "I'll take care of the world[9]. I'll put everyone at ease."
Translator's Notes
(First and foremost - I'm like 90% sure I made mistakes since there was a lot of archaic language in the beginning particularly, but I'm also 90% sure it won't matter that much in the grand scheme of the novel since these are just reference quotes that are mostly from real life publications, so just, go for the holistic picture of what's being described.)
[1] Sensou-ji - a famous and long-standing Buddhist temple. Musashi Province is the archaic province that included the Tokyo area.
[2] Azuma Kagami - a famous medieval text in Japan. This is more or less an actual quote (with the disclaimer above that it was probably mistranslated in places).
[3] Bunsei - a Japanese era spanning April 1818 through December 1830.
[4] Unshuu - a variant name of Izumo Province, another archaic province that today is part of the Shimane Prefecture, a sparsely populated area.
[5] kawaraban - these were early Japanese newsletters made with woodblock printing. This is also a real quote—you can see the kawaraban being quoted in the first picture here.
[6] Hyakken Uchida - I completely stole this short story's translation from Nancy Beckman. Thank you Nancy Beckman.
[7] RAMPANT RUMORS - this translation I pilfered from Wikipedia instead.
[8] Pasiphaë - the mother of the Minotaur, the bull/human hybrid in Greek mythology.
[9] take care of - though this is seifuku, the word used in the phrase "world domination", it is written here in hiragana, inviting the reader to think of different kanji the word could take. Seifuku could also mean various other things; the alternative that makes most sense in context is "happiness", making it "I will make the world happy." It should be noted that the "happiness" kanji is not as often turned into a verb, but I think the double entendre is intentional. Therefore, I used "take care", which can be interpreted as either a threat or a genuine offering of assistance. Bonus trivia to chew on: the character saying these lines uses "boku" and more effeminate language than Byakuya ("ore") uses.
Stay tuned for the next update next Sunday (PST)!
Feel free to comment, keeping these rules in mind!
Danganronpa Togami Volume 1: Multiple Counts of Attempted World Domination
Chapter 5: Me and the School and I (The Second Half)
3
BORGES=SEARCHRESULT
#69010922
CLASS\DATA
TITLE "KUDAN, MISC. (INFORMATION DISCLOSURE LEVEL 4)"
Day 6 - Year of the Fire Tiger - At Sensou-ji[1] in Musashi Province a being akin to a cow has suddenly arrived, rendering the temple astir. There happen to be some fifty monks of the temple congregated in the refectory. Seeing the oddity of the Kudan, a score and four people at once fall victim to infirmity, unable to go about their daily life. It is said they are still like living. It is said seven perish on the spot.
—Azuma Kagami[2]
This beast known as Kudan has been told of in antiquity. The beast has appeared in the years of Bunsei[3] withal. It is said that at this time it made known to all and sundry the fortunes and misfortunes of the year altogether, but those households who bore its image in their homes averted tribulation and pestilence; it is said that it passed on its third day. Thenceforth each person, seeking what was outlined for him, came to speak with an old man. How could it be that this beast known as Kudan was born from the belly of a cow? It is recounted that its shape was that of a cow, and its face looked like that of a man, though it bore horns on its head, like a Noh mask. Therefore, the word has come to bear the character combining the symbol for human with that for cow. On this occasion in a rural area in Unshuu[4], one born in early April conveyed the fortune that, while for that year there would be a bountiful harvest seldom seen anywhere at the time, upon the arrival of autumn, a wicked illness would plague them; henceforth, from its death on the third day, events proceeded as they were laid out to the people, as I have just told you above. Each person must without fail seek out an amulet to place in their home to absorb the hardships of misfortune and illness.
—Kawaraban "Picture of the Beast Kudan"[5]
The moon sank in the west, and as dawn approached, a wind came from the west like a great wave. Sniffing the sand brought by the wind, I mused, "This will be my first day as a kudan." Suddenly a terrifying thought came to me: I had forgotten that a kudan dies three days after its birth. Moreover, it prophesies good or evil for the future. Having been born such a miserable creature, I didn't mind dying so soon, but I was worried about making a prophecy.
—Hyakken Uchida, Kudan[6]
A Kudan has been born in Kobe. He says that 'anyone who consumes red beans or bean cakes within three days of hearing this tale shall escape the air raids.'
—"RAMPANT RUMORS OF MARCH"[7]
I do not know where that which we call the Kudan makes its prophecies, but nevertheless, a Kudan is making a prophecy somewhere. Perhaps it is that there will be an outbreak of some epidemic, or that there will be a war. This monster, a cow with human-like features, prophesies the misfortune that should be coming, instructs how to prepare for it, and then dies. That which we call a Kudan does not live for long. It is said that they will end up dying in four or five, or at most seven days. The instructions it gives come from nowhere, abruptly suggesting the hanging of bundles of rice straw in every home, or the making of a special food.
—Katsunori Sakurada, "Islands of Matsuura"
When I was still young, there was a man walking around who had swaddled what was supposedly the remains of one of these Kudan in cloth, passing out scraps of paper in exchange for rice or cheap coins. The paper had been printed on in red ink with a woodblock, and it said:
"The Kudan declared only that his woman would have bountiful fertility for the next seven years before he perished."
Beneath that, there was a picture of the Kudan, a monster with a human face. The man came by while I was out of the house and left a scrap of paper, but apparently my family got to see for themselves the dried Kudan in the man's bundle of cloth, and told me it was about the size of a kitten. Judging by the print, it seemed like the Kudan was born from a human mother, but I never saw or heard anything about it after that, so in the end, I don't have the least idea.
—Nishi-Harima Folklore Anthology
Kudan (Spirit): A calf that understands human language. Whatever it says is true. Thus the saying "as if a Kudan had said it" was born. It can sometimes be heard even today in the Kyuushuu and Chuugoku regions. Once it is born, it only lives for four or five days. Most foretell epidemics or wars.
—A Complete Dictionary of Japanese Folklore
It seems you do not understand what "prophecy" means. It is a prophecy because however many things you might try to do, no matter what, it will happen in the end.
—Mickey Bird, Pasiphaë's Banquet[8]
And so, after hearing the almighty Kudan's prophecy, the child said, "I'll take care of the world[9]. I'll put everyone at ease."
—Journey Under the Midnight Sun
Translator's Notes
(First and foremost - I'm like 90% sure I made mistakes since there was a lot of archaic language in the beginning particularly, but I'm also 90% sure it won't matter that much in the grand scheme of the novel since these are just reference quotes that are mostly from real life publications, so just, go for the holistic picture of what's being described.)
[1] Sensou-ji - a famous and long-standing Buddhist temple. Musashi Province is the archaic province that included the Tokyo area.
[2] Azuma Kagami - a famous medieval text in Japan. This is more or less an actual quote (with the disclaimer above that it was probably mistranslated in places).
[3] Bunsei - a Japanese era spanning April 1818 through December 1830.
[4] Unshuu - a variant name of Izumo Province, another archaic province that today is part of the Shimane Prefecture, a sparsely populated area.
[5] kawaraban - these were early Japanese newsletters made with woodblock printing. This is also a real quote—you can see the kawaraban being quoted in the first picture here.
[6] Hyakken Uchida - I completely stole this short story's translation from Nancy Beckman. Thank you Nancy Beckman.
[7] RAMPANT RUMORS - this translation I pilfered from Wikipedia instead.
[8] Pasiphaë - the mother of the Minotaur, the bull/human hybrid in Greek mythology.
[9] take care of - though this is seifuku, the word used in the phrase "world domination", it is written here in hiragana, inviting the reader to think of different kanji the word could take. Seifuku could also mean various other things; the alternative that makes most sense in context is "happiness", making it "I will make the world happy." It should be noted that the "happiness" kanji is not as often turned into a verb, but I think the double entendre is intentional. Therefore, I used "take care", which can be interpreted as either a threat or a genuine offering of assistance. Bonus trivia to chew on: the character saying these lines uses "boku" and more effeminate language than Byakuya ("ore") uses.
Stay tuned for the next update next Sunday (PST)!
Feel free to comment, keeping these rules in mind!