Hi, Vetch.
Sanju = 30. Ro = boy, male, retainer, etc…
Sanjuro = a guy in his thirties.
1.As you aware, he assumed a false name. In the film, Yojimbo, one greedy gangster boss, who run a brothel, asked the name of a mighty ronin played by Mifune. Then, he reluctantly answered his name was Kuwabatake, Sanjuro, looking at the large mulberry field out of the window. Kuwa-batake means the very mulberry-field. He was tough but his speech was always seasoned with wit and humor. As you mentioned, there were some samurais whose name was Juro ( Ju=10 or 10th ) like Kaneko, Juro, one of heroes of the Gempei war, but most of them happened to be just a 10th boy of their fathers.
2.My ENG-JPN dictionary also translated vetch into karasunoendou, or yahasuendou. I am unfamiliar with the plant names whether they were English or Japanese. Anyway the translation was correct though I do not know what the plant is like…Sorry but I do not even know this plant is popular in Asian…
3.It is our great pleasure to answer your questions. Actually, it is very fun for me to remember the old films I once watched in my school days. I have to thank you all.
Kikuchiyo: kiku = chrysanthemum, chiyo = millennium
A samurai changed his name several times or at least once when he came of age, became a priest, drove out evil spirits, won a great victory, etc. With that in consideration, the name, Kikuchiyo in Seven Samurai was very funny for a matured/veteran warrior, because it was a typical name for a baby boy, which the parent must have named their son, hoping for his long life. Do you remember the scene Heihachi terribly teased Kikuchiyo? He picked up the stolen family tree and shouted at him “ Hey, come on, 13years-old!! “
Ushi-tora Ushi = cattle, tora = tiger
His name sounds very strange. But the bar owner explained Sanjuro about the ground he has come to have such a unique name. The mother of Ushi-tora started labor on the last day in the year of cattle and born him on the New Year Day of Tiger. It is based on the twelve signs of the Asian zodiac.
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18 years ago
[deleted]
18 years ago
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tenazuchi
18 years ago
Hi, all.
I will answer your questions in a few days as I am traveling abroad now. Sorry! Anyway I will get back to you before long! Thanks!
(^ _^)/””””
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jamescarmack
18 years ago
Well, Vetch, since your questions haven't been answered yet, I thought I might lend a hand.
First, the word you're hearing as "bakaro" and "bageiro" is "baka yarou." "Baka" is "stupid" and while "yarou" literally means something close to "guy," it's generally translated as something a bit stronger, as it's been explained above. ("Yarou" combines "ya" ["wild"] with the "rou" suffix you see in boy's names.) Now, when you get to the coarse dialects of rough folks, "baka yarou" gets slurred into "bakyarou" (your "bageiro") and occasionaly "barou" (though I've only observed this in Rurouni Kenshin's Yahiko).
As for what Toshirou means, there's quite a few possibilities. You have to realize that Japanese has a ton of homophones, but in the case of Toshirou Mifune, his name essentially means "clever boy." And before you ask, Mifune means "three boats."
Next, you "sho" word. Actually, it's "chikushou," but people have a habit of raising their voice on the "shou" part. While "chikushou" is translated as various swear words, it literally means "beast" or "animal." It's an old Buddhist classification for animals other than humans. While it's occasionally directed at people (e.g. "Kon' chikushou!"), it mostly a general use interjection.
Taking a slight digression to another thread, people were wondering about the accuracy of the translation when the subtitles have such words as "s***head." It the one instance that stands out most in my mind was the time Matashichi called Tahei "kuso gaki." Well, the "kuso" part is tranlated with pinpoint accuracy. "Gaki" literally means "hungry ghost" and was originally a type of evil spirit from folklore. Now it almost always means "kid" or "brat." (It's common in the coarse masculine dialect and not always meant to be disparaging.) In other words, Matashichi called Tahei a "s***ty brat." I find that interesting because it was a rare occasion when the age difference between our two rogues was highlighted.
Going back to the original topic of this thread, Yuki-hime does yell quite a bit, but her imperiousness is all part of being in the nobility. For fans of Rumiko Takahashi, check out her Ningyou series in the original Japanese sometime. The way Mana talks in the beginning of the story is the same dialect (and much of the same manner) as Yuki-hime.
Well, that was fun. And now I ride off into the sunset. Saraba.
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