Title translation: Iga Ninpouchou

Door gdx

Enlighted (5324)

07-07-2019, 16:38

Hello!

Iga Ninpouchou - Mangetsujo no Tatakai (伊賀忍法帖　満月城の戦い) is a game released by Casio.
https://www.generation-msx.nl/software/casio/handbook-of-iga...

There are several translations of this title but I translate it as follows:

Iga (伊賀) is a region is known for his ninjas.

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%8A%E8%B3%80
https://www.city.iga.lg.jp/

Nin or Shinobi (忍) means intrusion, spying (Ninjas are guys doing the dirty work that's been ordered to do secretly)

Pōchō (法帖) means manuscript notes (manuscript that contains memoirs) (this word is obsolete)

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E6%B3%95%E5%B8%96&client=fi...

Mangetsu (満月) means full moon

Jō or Shirō (城) means Castle

Tatakai (戦い) means Battle

So I translate this title with: "The Ninja manuscripts from Iga - Battle of Full Moon Castle" and you?

Iga Ninpouchou is a story wrote by Futaro Yamada(山田風太郎)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futaro_Yamada
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%8A%E8%B3%80%E5%BF%8D%E6...

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Van shram86

Expert (109)

07-07-2019, 17:15

gdx wrote:

Iga Ninpouchou is a story wrote by Futaro Yamada(山田風太郎)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futaro_Yamada
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BC%8A%E8%B3%80%E5%BF%8D%E6%B3%95%E5%B8%96

Cool, I had no idea!
Apparently this is also the inspiration for the manga/anime Basilisk.
I ordered Iga Ninpouchou and two of Yamada's other novels in the series, Makai Tensho 1-2 from Amazon.jp for some light reading ^^

Van Takamichi

Hero (542)

08-07-2019, 11:49

Western translation tends to prefer "ninja scroll" as the translation for ninpouchou, and I prefer scroll too. Example 1 2
Ninpoucho refers to a writing on ninja technique/ninpou such as how to disappear or creating your own double. In the fictions ninjas use it as a tool to activate ninpou by biting a scroll between his teeth (like this), much like Potter waving his wand. Later artists began taking liberty of calling their works Ninpouchou implying their work is a record of ninjas' deeds and probably this title is one such example.

Van gdx

Enlighted (5324)

08-07-2019, 12:30

ninpouchou (忍法帖) and ninpuuchou (忍風帖) are two different things.

Van Timmy

Master (187)

08-07-2019, 13:24

Or you could try the official movie translation:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089691/releaseinfo

Van Takamichi

Hero (542)

08-07-2019, 17:40

@gdx: You probably agree ninpUuchou is not a standard Japanese word but an intentionally modified word adding "wind" essence to ninpOuchou to reflect the protagonist's ability to attack with wind. On the same line with James Pond.
I personally find your thesis pouchou part is derived from the calligraphy textbook very interesting. "Textbook for ninja" sounds quite natural.

Scroll/manuscript is purely an English issue, like the dead sea scrolls/Voynich manuscript. Reflecting chou's implication "you are looking at a recorded incident" to the translation would be very difficult. For reference the word torimonochou, literally "record of arresting", is affluently used in the jidaigeki titles and has been translated like this. Edit: How about "Iga Ninja's Tale"? And your translation gets the point that it hints an ancient manuscript found in Iga.