"Flesh&Blood" Pirate Series Reading Club 🏴‍☠ ⛵

Japanese Language Book Clubs
1

Welcome to the “Flesh&Blood” Reading Club!

This is a BL series by 松岡なつき about a boy who time-travels back to the time of pirates! Despite the series being labelled as BL, it starts off very lightly on that topic and rather dives into English and Spanish history of the time as well as famous pirate and non-pirate figures.

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See also: https://learnnatively.com/series/6ef3726b00/

This series has spawned some interest recently in the Read Every Day Challenge, and so I thought we might as well have our own thread to keep track of who is interested in reading, and maybe to also discuss the books.

This turned out to be more popular than I expected (yay :tada:) so I’ve decided to go with one thread per volume to avoid too much confusion:

List of Extra Side Stories
WK Post - feel free to suggest info that may have been missed!
Google Sheet with a more detailed breakdown of bonus story stats

A spin-off Drama CD listening-club for this book series has also been set up; home thread here:

Flesh&Blood is set in real-life locations, and we’ve got photos of them! Thank you to our readers who’ve been able to walk through history and give us a glimpse!

Interest Poll

  • Yay, I’m in!
  • Keep me in the loop, but I won’t promise anything.
  • I’m good, thank you.

0 voters

Volumes Read

  • I’ve finished Volume 1
  • I’ve finished Volume 2
  • I’ve finished Volume 3
  • I’ve finished Volume 4
  • I’ve finished Volume 5
  • I’ve finished Volume 6
  • I’ve finished Volume 7
  • I’ve finished Volume 8
  • I’ve finished Volume 9
  • I’ve finished Volume 10

0 voters

  • I’ve finished Volume 11
  • I’ve finished Volume 12
  • I’ve finished Volume 13
  • I’ve finished Volume 14
  • I’ve finished Volume 15
  • I’ve finished Volume 16
  • I’ve finished Volume 17
  • I’ve finished Volume 18
  • I’ve finished Volume 19
  • I’ve finished Volume 20
  • I’ve finished Volume 21
  • I’ve finished Volume 22
  • I’ve finished Volume 23
  • I’ve finished Volume 24

0 voters

Discussion Rules

Discussing anything is fine, be it about language questions, about the contents or about real historic events! Please state clearly which volume and chapter you’re referring to, and please hide spoilers. Also, don’t forget the forum etiquette, of course.

Buying the Books

If you’re planning to buy the books on Bookwalker and if you’re outside of Japan, you will need a VPN to buy them. Afterwards, you can download them to the app without the need for a VPN. I think you cannot read them in the browser without VPN, though. Please see the individual threads for direct links to the volumes.

Nautical terminology

Ships

Revenge, Sir Francis Drake’s flagship, wikipedia article more extra stuff from wikipedia

| 無敵艦隊 | むてきかんたい | Spanish Armada (invincible armada (Vol 3, Ch 5, p. 110) |

Ship terminology

Word Reading Meaning
錨 いかり anchor
船の腹 ふねのはら belly of a boat (Vol 2, Ch 7, 175)
船底 せんてい/ ふなぞこ / ビルジ bilge, ship’s bottom Vol 3, Ch 8, p. 175)
淦水溜め かんすいため bilge water, cesspool (Vol 3, Ch 8, p. 175)
船首 せんしゅ bow, prow, stem
斜檣 しゃしょう Probably 船首斜檣, bowsprit (Vol 2, Ch 1, p. 9) Bowsprit - Wikipedia
舷側 げんそく broadside, side of ship (Vol 2, Ch 7, 174)​
ケーブル cable, short for cable length (Vol 3, Ch 2, p. 40) Wikipedia article
船長 カピタン Capitán (Spanish) (Vol 2, Ch 4, p 88)
船長室 せんちょうしつ
キャプテンズデッキ		 Captain’s Cabin (Vol 1, Ch 5, p 151)
- キャプスタン capstan (Vol 3, Ch 6, p. 125 Capstan (nautical) - Wikipedia)
僚船 りょうせん consort ship​ (Vol 1, Ch 1, p. 29) Consort (nautical) - Wikipedia
大横帆 コース course sail (Vol 3, Ch 2) Course (sail) - Wikipedia
甲板 かんぱん deck (Vol 4, Ch 2, p. 36)
横揺れ防止装置 フィンスタビライザー Fin Stabilizer (Vol 2, ch 1, p. 9) Marine insight article; Wikipedia article
フォアマスト Fore-mast (links see below)
総帆 short for 総帆展帆 そうはんてんぱん full sail, decked out in full sail (Vol 2, Ch 8, p. 202)
舷門 げんもん gangway (Vol 1, Ch 5, p. 155)
台座 ジンバル gimbal (Vol 2, Ch 7, 174)​ Wikipedia article
鉤棹 かぎざお grappling hook (Vol 3, Ch 2) Grappling hook - Wikipedia
船縁 ふなべり gunwale​, side of boat (Vol 2, Ch 3, p. 68)
ハリヤード halyard (Vol 1, Ch. 9, p. 286) Halyard - Wikipedia
上下動 じょうげどう or here ヒービング heaving (Vol 2, Ch 2, p. 9) also vertical motion during earthquakes Wikipedia article on ship motions
舵 かじ helm, rudder (Vol 2, Ch 1, p. 22) Spanish galleon helm
舵柄 かじづか helm (Vol 2, Ch 7, 175)​
舵輪 だりん helm, ship’s steering wheel (Vol 2, Ch 7, 175)​
船倉 せんそう hold, hatch (Vol 2, Ch 7, p. 166)
衣裳箱 シーチェスト locked chest for clothing (Vol 2, Ch 1, p. 9)
ラバーズ ホール lubber’s hole (Vol 6, Ch 9, p. 192) Lubber's hole Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
メインマスト Main-mast (Vol 1, Ch 9, p. 286) (links see below)
メンセル Mainsail (Vol 2, Ch 1) Mainsail - Wikipedia
ミズンマスト Mizzen-mast ミズン (Vol 1, Ch 9, p. 286) (links see below)
船影 せんえい outline of a ship, silhouette of a ship (through fog) (Vol 2, Ch 7, p 174)​
砲身 バレル or ほうしん barrel, gun barrel (Vol 3, Ch 5, p. 107)
船尾楼 せんびろう poop deck (short form of below), “stern tower” (Vol 3, Ch 1, p 28)​
船尾楼甲板 せんびろうかんぱん poop deck Poop deck - Wikipedia
取り舵 とりかじ port (left side of a ship)
私掠船 しりゃくせん privateer (ship) (Vol 3, Ch 2, p. 35)
縮帆 しゅくはん reefing a sail; bringing in a sail​
縮帆索 リーフポイント reef point (Vol 2, Ch 1, p. 22) Reefing - Wikipedia
座礁 ざしょう running aground, beaching, grounding (Vol 2, Ch 8, p 205)
シー・アンカー sea anchor (Vol 8, Ch 9) Sea anchor - Wikipedia
汚水槽 おすいぞう sewage tank (Vol 3, ch 8, p. 176)
船舶 せんぱく vessel; ship; shipping; seacraft​ (Vol 14, ch 7, p 152)
横静索 シュラウド i.e. よこせいさく shroud; (horizontal) standing rigging (Vol 2, Ch 1, p. 23) Shroud (sailing) - Wikipedia
小型艇 こけいてい? small boat (Vol 8, Ch 5, p. 85
静索 せいさく standing rigging
面舵 おもかじ starboard (right side of a ship) (Vol 2, Ch 7, p 185)
操船 そうせん steering a ship (Vol 2, Ch 7, p 171)
船尾 せんび stern of the ship (Vol 2, ch 7, p. 165)
艫 とも or ろ stern, bow of the ship (Vol 8, ch 5, p. 85)
方向転換 タック or ほうこうてんかん to tack, change of course (Vol 2, Ch 7, 184)
タッキング tacking (Vol 2, Ch 7, 185) Wikipedia article
檣楼 しょうろう top (of the mast)
前部帆柱の檣楼 フォアマストのトップ top of the foremast (Vol 1, Ch 5, p 151)
トプスル topsail (Vol 3, Ch 2) Topsail - Wikipedia
起錨 きぴよう? きびよう? weigh anchor, raise the anchor (Vol 2, Ch 7, p. 174) Wikipedia article
直角に屈折する ウインド ア ビーム meaning ちょっかくにくっせつ する wind abeam meaning right angle turn measured clockwise from the ship’s bow (Vol 2, Ch 8, p. 202)
大檣行 ヤード Yard (Vol 1, Ch 5, p 151) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yard_(sailing)

| 転桁索 | ? here プレイス | place? (Vol 3, Ch 2, p. 34) |

Crew terminology

Word Reading Meaning
船頭 せんどう boatsman, boatman, ferryman (Vol 2, Ch 3, p. 68)
水夫長 or 運用長 ボースン boatswain, bosun (Vol 1, Ch 3, p. 111) Wikipedia article
キャビン ボーイ Cabin Boy (Vol 1, Ch 5, p. 173) Wikipedia article
コーキング Caulking (Vol 13, Ch 1, p. 23) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caulk
平水夫 へいすいふ foremast hand, common sailor (Vol 3, Ch 1, p. 7)
遡上 そじょう going upstream (Vol 4, Ch 4, p. 75)
砲手 ほうしゅ gunner (Vol 3, Ch 7, p. 164)
操舵手 そうだしゅ helmsman, coxswain (Vol 2, Ch 7, 174)​
メート mate (Vol 2, Ch 2, p. 47)
仲間 なかま mate (Vol 2, Ch 2, p. 47)
航海長 こうかいちょう navigator, sailing master​ (Vol 1, Ch 5, p 151)
相棒 あいぼう partner, mate (Vol 2, Ch 2, p. 47)
水夫 すいふ sailor, seaman​ (Vol 1, Ch 5, p. 173)
船乗り ふなのり sailor, seaman; getting onboard (Vol 3, Ch 1, p. 9)
船大工 ふなだいく shipwright (Vol 3, Ch 8, p. 173)
スプライシング splicing (Vol 13, Ch 1, p 22) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_splicing
檣楼手 しょうろうしゅ “top of the mast hand/sailor” (Vol 3, Ch 2, p. 33)
沖仲仕 おきなかし longshoreman; stevedore​ - somebody who works at the harbour and loads ships (Vol 2, Ch 2)

Misc. nautical vocab

Word Reading Meaning
べた凪 べたなぎ absolute calm, complete lull (Vol 2, Ch 6, p 143)
凪 なぎ calm, lull (Vol 2, Ch 6, p 142)
出港 しゅっこう departure, clearance (of a ship) (Vol 2, Ch 6, p 143)
船渠 せんきょ dock (Vol 15, Ch 3)
入港 にゅうこう entry into port (Vol 2, Ch 6, p 144)
一番星 いちばんぼし first star to appear in the evening (Vol 2, Ch 8, p 214)
満潮 まんちょう full tide, high tide (Vol 4, Ch 4, p 75)
港 みなと harbor, port
高潮 こうちょう high tide
船着き場 ふなつきば harbor, landing place, wharf (Vol 2, Ch 6, p 143)
母港 ぼこう home port
湾内 わんない inside the bay (Vol 5, ch 5, p 85)
レグア league (distance, ~ 3 miles) (Vol 3, Ch 4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_(unit)
干潮 かんちょう low tide, ebb (Vol 2, Ch 8, p 204)
船団 せんだん fleet (Vol 3, Ch 1, p 28)
帰港 きこう returning to port
進路 しんろ route, heading (Vol 5, Ch 5, P 85)
寄港 きこう stopping at a port
風穴 かざあな air hole; windhole; ventilator​ (Vol 4, Ch 2, p 38)
埠頭 ふとう warf, pier; quay; dock (Vol 15, Ch 3)
風上 かざかみ windward; upwind (Vol 4, Ch 2, p 37)​

Flesh and Blood ~ Character Book (minor spoilers)

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Main Characters

Character chart
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Summary

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Other Characters

Summary

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Even more Characters (Vol 9 spoilers)

Summary

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6 Likes
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I’m in but have a few other things to finish off so will likely be a few weeks before starting. Sounds fun though!

6 Likes
3

@ekg one of your favs isn’t it?

3 Likes
4

I think @eefara was planning to read Vol. 1 soon-ish as well? That sounds like a good start already :blush:

I have some reading clubs going on soon, plus JLPT is looming over my head :cold_sweat: so I will probably start Vol. 2 around August or even later. Maybe we can match our reading schedules to read Vol. 2 together then?

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5

yeah, that sounds pretty manageable! I should probably also do some studying for the JLPT sometime, it’s approaching too fast… :sweat_smile:

4 Likes
6

Ooh, a whole thread and everything? This feels so official. :sparkles:

This would be great for me as well. That should give me plenty of time to work my way through volume 1, make sure I can pick out all that juicy historical vocab.

Also, it’s not mentioned in the OP, but you can also definitely buy the books on Amazon, as usual, though that also requires a VPN for your first couple of purchases.

3 Likes
7

It is. I started in on volume one but somehow didn’t really get going.

@NicoleIsEnough Thanks for making this book club! I might finally get to reading some text only media in Japanse! :grin: Count me in!

So, are people already reading vol 1? Would be great to read with everyone else, if there was a schedule.

Having a Vocab list would also be nice I think, so we can help each other out with kanji and words we encounter while reading. :slight_smile:

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Does anyone know where to find a translated version of this. I was looking but couln’t find. I am not at the level where I can comfortably enjoy this in Japanese yet but wanted it in English.

9

I kind of doubt there is a translation of FLESH & BLOOD. :thinking:

10

@NicoleIsEnough has already finished vol. 1, I’m not sure if @eefara has started yet? If you were okay waiting a couple of weeks before starting (so maybe start of next month?) then that’s about when I’m planning on starting reading (could potentially push back a little further if that helps).

Unfortunately I wouldn’t be much help with that as I use monolingual dictionaries, sorry!

3 Likes
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Sounds good to me! :+1: :slight_smile:

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Ah! That’s fine. Everyone has their own method. I might start my own vocab list though for the time being. :thinking:

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13

Hey, lots of activity here already :heart_eyes_cat:

Thanks to @eefara for adding this to the Master List! (I keep forgetting this, grrr…)

I’ve turned the OP into a Wiki so everybody can edit it! @eefara maybe you can add the buying info for Amazon?
Also @ekg I was not planning to make a vocab list but please feel free to link yours in the OP as well - I’m sure others will contribute as well.

Also I was thinking of adding a list of Wikipedia links regarding the real historical figures and events to the OP. Of course now that I’ve already read the book, I don’t remember everything but if y’all want you can of course add to the list as well.

4 Likes
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Man, I close my eyes for short nap and there’s so much activity. :open_mouth:

I would definitely contribute to a vocab list; if you start one up, post it in the OP and I’ll definitely contribute!

There’s nothing as far as I know, not even a fan translation. There might be fan translations of some of the drama CDs still hanging around, though; you could check those out.

I haven’t started yet myself. Would you guys be interested in informally starting at the beginning of June? That’d give me time to finish up my current books as well.

:+1:

You’re very welcome, and will do. o7

That’s a really good idea! Could be fun to compare F&B vs. real versions if things start going off the rails, haha.

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Sounds like a plan! :+1:

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Vocab sheet created and added to the OP wiki! ^>^

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Thank yoouuu~ Do you know if there’s a good was to subdivide the first book @NicoleIsEnough? I took a quick peek at it earlier; seems it should be divided into chapters, but my Kindle copy doesn’t explicitly list out how many there are.

1 Like
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For sure. I merely started a couple of sheets, one per volume. But that might easily become difficult to navigate. :thinking:

I guess, one sheet per chapter makes more sense. Then maybe to create a new one for the next volume?

Edit: i remade the sheets - > chapter 1, 2 and 3. We can make more later. :slight_smile:

2 Likes
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Yes, the book is comprised of 9 chapters. After that there is a chapter called 予感 (this seems to be a preview of sorts? Is this a common thing?) and then there is a short あとがき.
(Unfortunately I juuust deleted my chapter markers :sob: so I cannot tell you the exact percentages. The chapters are of varying lengths so if you want to subdivide the book in order to have weekly allotments of roughly equal length, it might be better to go by page count in fact…)

I think that would be a reasonable thing to do.

Oh and I forgot to ping @MissDagger who is also interested iirc?

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Made 9 chapters. For some reason, it refused to accept the 8th and 9th chapter names. Dunno what’s going on with that. XD

2 Likes