Skogsrå – the fatal nymph of the Scandinavian forests
The Skogsrå (Swedish: lit. 'the Forest Rå'), Skogsfrun ('the Mistress of the Forest'), Skogssnuvan, Skogsnymfen ('the Forest Nymph'), Råndan ('the Rå') or Huldran, is a mythical female creature of the forest in Swedish folklore.
It appears in the form of a small, beautiful woman with a seemingly friendly temperament. She appears like a woman from the front but seen from behind she often has a tail and a hollow back or skin like tree bark.
Those who are enticed into following her into the forest are never seen again. It was said that any human man who had intercourse with the Skogsrå became an introvert, as his soul had remained with her. If the seduced man is a hunter, he may be rewarded with good luck in the hunt, but should he be unfaithful to the Skogsrå, he will be punished with numerous accidents. He may put an end to a stormy night caused by her vengeance by firing a shot against her. Late folklore in Nyland, Finland describes silver bullets as effective means of killing a skogsrå.
Tolkien describes the Old Forest, a space filled with deep-rooted mysteries and danger in Middle-earth, as follows:
“The ground was rising steadily, and as they went forward it seemed that the trees became taller, darker, and thicker. There was no sound, except an occasional drip of moisture falling through the still leaves. For the moment there was no whispering or movement among the branches; but they all got an uncomfortable feeling that they were being watched with disapproval, deepening to dislike and even enmity. The feeling steadily grew, until they found themselves looking up quickly, or glancing back over their shoulders, as if they expected a sudden blow.”
Words in bold are particularly relevant to the story, and words in italics seem like they’d be worth remembering outside the context of the manga. Bold and italic together means they’ve probably appeared somewhere in Noragami more than once. [Though it's been a kajillion years (okay three actual years) since I read it so I can't promise I can highlight them well anymore...]
暇, 閑, 遑 ひま, いとま, ヒマ spare time, free time, leisure, time (e.g. time it takes to do something), time off, day off, vacation, holiday, leave, quitting (one's job), firing someone, divorcing (one's spouse), (being) inactive, (of one's business) slow, leaving, departing / tiempo libre
果報者 かほうもの lucky fellow / persona dichosa, persona afortunada
父君 ふくん, ちちぎみ father / padre
経, 歴 ふ to pass, to elapse, to go by, to pass through, to go through, to experience, to go through
穿る ほじる, ほじくる to dig up, to dig out, to pick (nose, teeth, etc.), to clean (ears), to pry into, to examine closely, to dredge up / escarbar, hurgar, rebuscar
ひん剥く, 引ん剥く, ひん剝く, 引ん剝く ひんむく to strip, to peel, to tear off / pelar, mondar, descortezar
尻子玉 しりこだま, しりごだま mythical ball inside the anus that is sought after by kappa
無作法, 不作法 ぶさほう ill-mannered, rude
逸らかす はぐらかす to dodge (e.g. a question), to evade, to sidestep, to give (someone) the slip / esquivar, evadir, escabullir
幼気 いたいけ young and sweet, adorable, cute, tender, innocent, pitiful, touching, pathetic, helpless
童 わらべ, わらんべ, わらわ, わっぱ child / niño, crío, bebé
手管 てくだ wiles, trick, artifice, coquetry, lover (male) (esp. of a prostitute)
使い魔 つかいま familiar (spirit or otherwise magical creature which aids a magician or sorcerer), familiar spirit
斯う こう in this way, thus, such, uh… / de esta manera, así, tal, pausa verbal
縛め いましめ bonds, bondage, binding / atadura, amarradura, ligadura
斯 シ / か, こう, か.く, この, これ, ここに this, thus, such, verbal pause [this is written as 'saku' in the manga]
死に際, 死にぎわ, 死際 しにぎわ verge of death, brink of death / postrimerías, últimos momentos de la vida
溺れる おぼれる to struggle in the water, to sink below the surface and become unable to breathe, to (nearly) drown, to indulge in, to lose one's head over something, to be addicted, to wallow in / ahogarse, zozobrar, abandonarse
100+ vocab terms from Ch 1, Vol 1 of the 5-part manga series.
Mostly Catholic terms in Japanese and unique usage related to the series.
This list is not exhaustive. I focused on terms that would be unfamiliar (or unfamiliar as used in this series), and/or directly relate to Catholic terminology in Japanese.
I list part of speech, pronunciation, and simple definitions. I have not included additional of these if they are not relevant to this series.
Character names will have titles where applicable and those will be in brackets to minimize confusion; titles will be listed under general vocab as well.
At the end of the list I’ll have a few sources for some of the more obscure terms in case you want to read more or get better context.
As of now I have things listed in the order in which they appear, roughly, in the manga.
Note: This will be a long post since it’s the first chapter in the series and 31 pages long.
~#~
Character Names/Places
Note: I’ve chosen to spell names close to the katakana spellings; keep in mind some may be transcribed with slightly different spellings (like Joseph instead of Josef).
平賀•ヨゼフ•庚 [神父] - Hiraga, Josef Kou [Father], Franciscan order
ロベルト•ニコラス[神父] - Roberto, Nicholas [Father], Franciscan order
良太 - Ryota (Josef’s younger brother)
サウロ[大司教] - Saul [Archbishop] , Franciscan order
ニコラス[枢機卿] - Nicholas [Cardinal], secretary of the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints (also potentially the head of the miracle examiners), also known as “the prefect (of the Curia)” in English
ドンナ•ドロレス - Donna Dolores, a nun from St Rosario Church
[大天使]ミカエル - [Archangel] Michael
[聖]ペテ - [Saint] Peter
パウロ[大司教] - [Archbishop] Paul, Dominican order
アントニウス[神父] - [Father] Antonius
セントロザリオ教会 - St Rosario Church, a church in South America where Josef & Roberto are sent to investigate
バチカソ市国 - Vatican City, the City state of the Vatican
Other Vocab
奇跡、きせき (n; の adj) miracle
常識、じょうしき (n) common sense, common knowledge, common practice
確かめる、たしかめる (Ichidan v; trans v) to ascertain, to check, to make sure
神父、しんぷ (n) Catholic priest [Note: this is the term used when speaking to someone , like “Father” So-and-So, as opposed to a general word for priest, 司祭, which you don’t use when speaking TO someone but rather about them.]
ルルドの泉、いすみ (n) Fountain of Lourdes, aka home of “Lourdes Water” in France
奇跡調査官、きせきちょうさかん (n) miracle examiner
調査、ちょうさ (n; するv; trans v) investigation, examination
聖痕現象、スティグマータ (n) stigmata (phenomenon)
未知、みち (のadj; n) the unknown
知れる、しれる (ichidan v; intrans v) to become known; to be discovered; to be known; to be understood
舞い込む、まいこむ (godan v む ending; intrans v) to happen unexpectedly
大司教、だいしきょう (n) archbishop
キリスト (n) (Jesus) Christ
聖書、せいしょ (n) Bible, scriptures, holy writ
黙示録、もくしろく (n) book of revelation; the apocalypse
悪魔が書いた魔法書 - literally, “magic writing written by the devil” [see additional notes below]
古文書、こもんじょ (n) historical document, ancient manuscripts
断片、だんぺん (n) fragment
読む、よむ (godan v, む ending; trans v) to decipher, to read, to recite (a sutra, prayer)
原文、げんぶん (n) original text
会、かい (n; n suffix) meeting, assembly, conference, clerical order
イエズス会 (n) society of Jesus, aka Jesuit order
ドミニコ会 (n) Dominican order
フランシスコ会 (n) Franciscan order (which Josef and Roberto belong to)
派閥 (n; のadj) faction; used in the manga as in orders of priests
破門、はもん (n; するv; のadj) excommunication
枢機卿、すうききょう (n) Cardinal (title)
執行部、しっこうぶ (n) leadership (for example, the Roman Curia, that is the administration of the Vatican)
列聖、れっせい (n; するv) canonization (of a Saint)
列聖省長官、れっせいしょうちょうかん (n) literally, “canonization ministry secretary”; I believe this is intended to refer to the Secretary/Director of the Dicastery of the Causes of Saints; a position in the Vatican overseeing things related to canonization [see additional notes]
祈り、いのり (n) prayer
申請書、しんせいしょ(n) Written application
申請、 しんせい (n; する v; trans v) application, petition, request
教会、しょうかい (n) church, congregation
修道女、しゅうどうじょ (n) nun
大天使、だいてんし (n) archangel
神の子、かみのこ (n) son of God (Jesus Christ); child of God (Christian)
処女懐胎、しょじょかいたい (n) virgin birth, such as Mary with Jesus (immaculate conception)
受胎、じゅたい (n; するv; intrans v) conception
聖母、せいぼ (n) Virgin Mary; holy mother
カソリック (n) Catholic, Catholicism, Catholic Church [note there are a couple diff katakana spellings of this word, but this one is used in VME]
受肉、じゅにく(n) (Christ’s) incarnation (as Jesus of Nazareth)
降臨、こうりん (n; するv) descent to earth (of a god); advent; epiphany
罪、つみ (n; なadj; のadj) sin
永遠、えいえん (n; なadj) eternity; immortality
贖う、あがなう (godan v, う ending; trans v) to atone for
最後の審判、さいごのしんぱん (n) judgment day; final judgment (religious sense)
聖、せい (n) Saint (may also be written with katakana, as in 「セント」, like “St Rosario’s Church”
ローム (n) Rome
司教、しきょう (n) bishop (catholic)
代理人、だいりにん (n) proxy, representative
存在意義、ぞんざいいぎ (n) raison d'être, reason for existing
天罰、てんぼつ (n) divine punishment, wrath of God, judgment of heaven
主よ、しゅよ (なadj; n) Lord, head (of a group)
信仰、しんこう (n;するv; trans v) (religious) faith, belief
印、しるし (n) a sign
聖所、せいじゅ (n) sanctuary, inner sanctum
邪悪、じゃあく (なadj;n) wicked, evil
~#~
Additional Notes
Holy year, 聖年 ; Great Jubilee, 大聖年
“Devil’s book,” 悪魔が書いた魔法書
I did a lot of searching trying to figure out what book, specifically, was meant here, and came up with 2 possibilities:
the Gigas Codex, ギガス写本 or 悪魔の聖書, a book that is not held by the Vatican but was supposedly written with magical assistance from Satan himself;
the Grand Grimoire, 大奥義書 or 大いなる教書, not written by Satan but that is held by the Vatican.
It’s possibly intended to be vague, but the exact phrasing here is different than used for either of these actual books and I couldn’t find any other possible real option. Note the anime does call a book “the devil’s book” and describe it as a “Bible written by the devil” but it doesn’t seem to really be a reference to Gigas, so maybe it’s intended to be a fictional book inspired by these real texts for the purposes of the story.
Secretary of Dicastery of the Causes of Saints - 列聖省長官
Yorokobi ga moshi bai ni natta tte
Kanashimi wa hanbun ni nattari shinai
Hontou no imi de itami wa wakachiaenai
Dare ga tachi agarunda
Toki ni yowane koboshitatte kamawanai
Sore demo nani ga shitai?
Sontoku mo sontaku mo shinu magiwa ni dakishimeru you na mon ka yo
Tada sutte haiteiru dake de juubun naraba kimi wa kurushimanai
Ai toka yume da toka kibou toka mirai no koto
Sotto koe ni shite
Chiisana kakumei wo mune no uchi wo akasu yuuki
Chiisana kakumei wo kawaritai to nozomu no nara
Chiisana kakumei wo jibun wa dou aritai
Chiisana kakumei wo toujisha de are toujisha de are
Ooki na sekai wa kawaranai toshitatte
Kimi no yoake no kikkake ni naretara
Jama shinai kara jama wo suru natte omae
Hito no shiawase wa jibun no fukou janai
Tobacchiri no namida wo umidashita seigi wa uso da
Jama shinai kara jama wo sunna tte
Sontoku to sontaku ni itsumade suki katte ni sasete yarunda yo
Tada sutte haiteiru dake de juubun naraba kimi wa kurushimanai
Ai toka yume da toka kibou toka mirai no koto
Umaku ikanai koto darake kamo na
Demo shinitai toka zetsubou toka kyou made kotaeta no mo, dare da
Chiisana kakumei wo mune no uchi wo akasu yuuki
Chiisana kakumei wo kawaritai to nozomu no nara
Chiisana kakumei wo jibun wa dou aritai
Chiisana kakumei wo toujisha de are toujisha de are
Ooki na sekai wa kawaranai toshitatte
Kimi no yoake no kikkake ni
Ongaku de sekai wa kawaranai toshitatte
Kimi no yoake no kikkake ni naretara
Ongaku
Toujisha de are toujisha de are
Saa nani ga shitai? Dou aritai?
Chiisana kakumei wo
--
If happiness can be doubled
It doesn't necessarily follow that sadness can be reduced to half
What it really means is that pain can't be shared
Will there be someone who'll stand up
Who'll see no problem if I let out all my complaints
And then asks what do I want to do?
(things like) Considering one's losses and gains, as well as being too considerate - it's not like you're embracing something that'll put you on the verge of dying
If just breathing in and out is enough, you won't be suffering
Things like love, dreams, hope, and the future
We gently speak of it
A small revolution - a courage to speak one's mind
A small revolution - If you desire change, you have to really want to change
A small revolution - How do you want that to happen?
A small revolution - You can take part in it, you surely can
Even if this big, wide world won't change
With each daybreak, you'll (always) have a chance to do just that
Hey you - I don't bother you, so don't bother me
Another person's happiness isn't our misfortune
That "(sense of) justice" which brings about tears - that's a lie
I told you - I don't bother you so don't you bother me
Thinking of losses and gains and being too considerate - until when will you be letting them do what they want?
If just breathing in and out is enough, you won't be suffering
Things like love, dreams, hope, and the future
It may not always go as smoothly as we want
But there are still some who fight against thoughts like wanting to die or despair
A small revolution - a courage to speak one's mind
A small revolution - If you desire change, you have to really want to change
A small revolution - How do you want that to happen?
A small revolution - you can take part in it, you surely can
Even if this big, wide world won't change
With each daybreak in your life as a start…
If even music won't change this big, wide world
With each daybreak, you'll (always) have a chance to do just that
Music
You can take part in it, you surely can
Well, what do you want to do? How do you want it to happen?
A small revolution
には an emphatic version of the particle は, here used to show respect towards the subject of a statement.
頼り切り 〖 たよりきり 〗 overreliance, overdependence.
from a noun-y form of the verb 頼る (related, of course, to 頼む and 信頼) and 切る, meaning to cut, slice, truncate, end…
こそ used after a word or phrase, emphasizes it. think 'especially ~' or 'very much so ~'.
凡人 〖 ぼんじん 〗 ordinary, average or mediocre person.
for some reason, translated in crunchyroll's english localization for MP100 as 'commoner'... this word has almost no positive connotations in my native tongue.
向き合う 〖 むきあう 〗 face off against, confront.
努力 〖 どりょく 〗 effort, hard work, striving.
避難(する)〖 ひなん 〗 taking refuge, finding shelter, evacuation. you may recognize 難 from 難しい。
関係ない 〖 かんけいない 〗 unconcerned, unconnected, irrelevant.
関係 can mean connection, relationship, concern...
災害 〖 さいがい 〗 calamity, disaster, misfortune.
中心部 〖 ちゅうしんぶ 〗 in medias res; in the heart of, central part of.
発作(する)〖 ほっさく 〗 fit, spasm, seizure.
例文(れいぶん)のを読み続けてください。
example sentences below the cut.
本章から例文
言葉が届いてない…?
my words aren't getting through to him...?
止むを得ない… 保護するよ。
there's nothing else to be done. i will keep you safe!
力が収まるまで… このまま拘束。
until your power subsides... this will hold you.
(literally: until [your] power subsides, in this way restraint.)
影山君には… 大事なことを教えてもらった。
kageyama-kun-niwa… you taught me some important things.
この”力”に頼りきりの僕こそが凡人だってコト…
that i, too dependent on these powers, am just an ordinary person…
超能力の無い自分と向き合うことの大切さ……難しさ…
that confronting the me without psychic powers is necessary… and difficult…
(literally: psychic powers-without-self confronting-thing importance of... difficulty of...)
僕は知ってる。影山君はその努力をしている。」
i know. you are making that effort.
(literally: i am knowing. kageyama-kun [teru is directly addressing ???% here], that effort...)
まだ避難していない人がいるよ…
there are still people here who haven't evacuated…
って関係ないか今のキミには…
does that mean nothing to you right now… ?
避難してください!! いまここが災害中心部です!
please evacuate!! you are now in the middle of a disaster area!
影山君…それは発作か何かなのかい?
kageyama-kun… are you having a seizure or something?
(literally: kageyama-kun… this, seizure...)
NHK News Web Easy: 「今年の一皿」は「冷凍グルメ」 - some considerably lighter fare today.
Good Words:
冷凍 「れいとう」 ー refrigeration, cold storage
自動販売機 「じどうはんばいき」 ー お金を入れると、自動的に品物を出して物を売る装置
装置 「そうち」 ー equipment, device, apparatus
捨てる 「すてる」 ー to throw something away
新型 「しんがた」 ー new type, new strain (新型コロナウイルス, almost surprised it took this long to see this)
ホリミヤ ch 21
Good Words:
卑怯 「ひきょう」 ー cowardly
痩せる 「やせる」 ー to lose weight
満腹 「まんぷく」 ー full stomach
組む 「くむ」 ー to link, to cross (here, 腕. looks like same phrase can mean both crossing one’s own arms and linking arms with another person)
Quit your Band! Notes from the Japanese Underground (Ian Martin) 188 -> 244 (end) - sometimes a messy book, but probably any attempt to put a complete narrative onto the history of subcultures is doomed to be a little messy. Martin admits that he's conveniently left out some bands of historical significance which he simply doesn't care for, and some areas with their own music scenes that he isn't familiar enough with, but ends with a nice call to action: "Don't like it? write your own book" (240). Which, fundamentally, was what he was trying to do with this book. He says from the beginning he wanted this to be a starting point for discussing music in Japan, and not the final say. It's a nice sentiment and I look forward to listening to more of the bands he's mentioned here.
Rita's request for help from Himeno doesn't exactly go well
ch16:
t/n:
p5: remember when Yanma refused, Rita threatened him with an arrest?? and grab his collar and ready to fist fight versus just quipping with Himeno. They are completely speechless when Himeno questioned them. And they are even trying to find a peaceful solution this time.
p7: やむを得ん 調査は 足でするもんだ
I used a more literal translation. 足でするもんだ sounds an idiom/metaphor, but I can't find a dictionary entry to it.
Words in bold are particularly relevant to the story, and words in italics seem like they’d be worth remembering outside the context of the manga. Bold and italic together means they’ve probably appeared somewhere in Noragami more than once. [Though it's been a kajillion years (okay three actual years) since I read it so I can't promise I can highlight them well anymore...]
楽しみ, 愉しみ たのしみ enjoyment, pleasure, diversion, amusement, hobby, anticipation, looking forward to / gozo, alegría
打ち手, 撃ち手, 打手, 撃手 うちて shooter, drummer (taiko, etc.)
止む, 已む, 罷む やむ to cease, to stop, to be over / cesar, amainar, parar, estar terminado
尋常 じんじょう common, usual
うざがる to behave annoyed, to feel annoyed
化身 けしん incarnation, impersonation, personification, avatar
家捜し, 家探し やさがし, いえさがし searching an entire house, house-hunting
ぼそっと, ボソッと, ボソっと, ぼさっと, ボサッと, ボサっと absent-mindedly, vacantly, idly, lazily, in a whisper
無造作, 無雑作 むぞうさ easy, simple, ready, casual, off-hand, easy-going, careless, artless / casual, natural, sencillo, espontáneo
諸悪の根源 しょあくのこんげん root of all evil
目下 もっか at present, now
解消 かいしょう cancellation, liquidation, resolution, reduction (e.g. of stress) / saldo, liquidación, cancelación, anulación, abolición, nulidad
引けを取る, 引けをとる, ひけを取る ひけをとる to be outdone (by), to be in inferior (to), to compare unfavorably (with), to be behind / ser superado por, comparar desfavorablemente con
ささくれ立つ ささくれだつ to split finely, to splinter, to get frayed, to become irritable, to feel on edge
繕う つくろう to mend, to patch up, to repair, to fix, to darn, to fix (hair, clothes, appearance etc.), to adjust, to tidy up, to groom, to keep up appearances, to cover up (e.g. a mistake), to gloss over, to treat (illness, injury, etc.) / reparar, remendar, parchar