Blogging about my Torikae baya manga translation project.
More thoughts from Episode 65: The End
The time has come! As promised last week, this post goes over the second half of the 65th (and final) chapter, with a bit of commentary on where we’ve ended, why it’s interesting and what comes next for this project.
Thoughts from Episode 65: NEARLY the end
Here we are, at the last chapter of Torikae baya – officially not titled “episode 65” but “final episode”. There are a few different plot threads that get their conclusions here, and for that reason, I’ll only write about the first half or so today, with another post to cover the remaining pages.
We’ve been firmly in coda territory for a few chapters, but to give Episode 65 at least some sense of climactic drama, a cliffhanger was set up last time, with the pregnant Sara suddenly falling unconscious. As the Emperor prays, he encounters Sara in a dream, held underwater by some mysterious beads. Sara fights off the beads, the Emperor helps him out, and when he awakens, it turns out the child has been born!
Thoughts from Episode 64: What shall I call you?
The gradual denouement continues in this chapter, with Sara’s marriage to the Emperor being confirmed, to (almost) everyone’s delight. Elsewhere, Yoshino no Miya recovers and has an awkward and ambiguous reconciliation with Suzakuin, while Suiren is implied to tell Mitsuko… something about the two men’s past. As time goes by, the Emperor ponders who could’ve got Sara pregnant before – ruling out several options including the person we know to be responsible – but seemingly stops worrying about it following the exciting news that Sara is pregnant again!
Thoughts from Episode 63: Context is everything
As the end of the story nears, this chapter sees the plot begin aligning once more with the plot of the original Torikaebaya monogatari, but as we’ve seen before, the differences in how those story beats are reached have an impact on how it all comes across. And on that note, I’ll get a bit into how poems from the original story are recontextualised in the manga.
In the aftermath of the palace fire, Sara and the Emperor are now an item (finally! a successful workplace romance for Sara!) and Marumitsu’s residence is to be used as a temporary palace. While Sara shows the Emperor around, Suiren tells Marumitsu, Nishi and Higashi that the Emperor knows the truth about the siblings; Nishi then prepares Sara for his private audience with the Emperor.
More thoughts from Episode 62: Dear Dairi…
I have a bit more to say about Episode 62 today, because it’s just an eventful chapter! From the perspective of most of the characters experiencing it all, the biggest event is the arson attack on the palace, where they all live and/or work. And understandably, during the evacuation, there are many references to specific different parts of the palace and its surrounds. So let’s get into some more detail about the palace as it appears in Torikae baya.
Thoughts from Episode 62: Back to the Daigokuden
There’s a fire in the palace! After seeing Genkaku starting the fire last time, Sara now comes running to alert the Emperor – dressed in Suiren’s spare clothes. That means that throughout the chapter, both Sara and Suiren are recognised by others as “Sarasoju”.
Thoughts from Episode 61: Heavy clothes to fill
For the first time in two months, today’s post concentrates on just one chapter, with the thirteenth volume being one of the eight included in my translation. Plenty has happened in the story since Episode 35, covering about a year of in-story time by my estimation. I did summarise volumes 8-12 in the last few posts, but let’s begin with a brief reminder of where we are right now.
Sara took over Suiren’s position and worked as Togu’s naishi no kami together with San no Hime. Togu, who later stepped down, is now known as Ichi no Himemiya (or Mitsuko). Sara is now the Emperor’s naishi no kami, working closely with people like the imperial archive keeper. Suiren, in turn, took over Sara’s position and now works as a general in the Imperial Guards, though she left the capital for a while after a thwarted attempt to visit Mitsuko. The Emperor has worked out that Sara is not really Suiren, but hasn’t truly confronted him. Tsuwabuki is now married to Shi no Hime, and has zero understanding of what has happened with Sara and Suiren. And finally, during the search for a new Togu, two monks have arrived to cause problems: one, Ginkaku, was banished but continued to cast curses from far away, and his disciple, Genkaku, is now ready to carry out Ginkaku’s evil plans.
Summary and observations on Volume 11: An eventful couple of weeks!
We have another volume taking place over a particularly short time period, beginning shortly before the summer purification at the end of the 6th month, and ending just after Tanabata (famously the 7th day of the 7th month). Major plot points this time include the conclusion of the Ginkaku storyline, Togu stepping down, and Suiren going missing.
Summary and observations on Volume 10: Machinations and calculations
Volume 10 distinguishes itself from most previous volumes by explicitly taking place over a limited period of time. We begin fairly soon after Tango no Sekku – which occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month – Togu reveals that she plans to step down after a ceremony at the end of the 6th month, and this volume ends before that has happened. So that means that a lot needs to fit into six or seven weeks!