📚📚 Read every day challenge - Spring 2022 🌸 🌱

[Zakarius]

Tanuki Den (aka Homepost): Date 20220403

Tanuki Scroll III: 弁慶

Today I decided to read about the legend of Benkei.

Though now I really can’t remember if I did the same in the last challenge or I just thought about reading about Benkei and then never got around to it, I think it’s probably the latter

Anyway, I definitely didn’t read from this source before. The page is kinda big so I just read as much as I could. It was pretty hard and there was a lot of words I had to look up, so I will run away back to children’s stories tomorrow and cry about my Japanese abilities

(though saying that I am always surprised at how much I can read and recognise)

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Japanese found in the tall grass

New Things

郎従「ろうじゅう」ー A servant who serves a samurai or kokushi.
称する「しょうする」ー To take the name of; to call oneself
没年「ぼつねん」ー The year of someone’s death
殉じる「じゅんじする」ー To sacrifice yourself; to become a martyr
基いて「もとづいて」ー Based on; grounded on
草子「くさし」ー Written work (especially a bound book rather than a scroll), seems to be more commonly written as: 草紙
登場人物「とうじょうじんぶつ」ー Character in a drama or a play
脚色「きゃくしょく」ー Dramatization
英雄豪傑「えいゆうごうけつ」ー Hero, but like an unparalleled hero of greatness.
具体的「ぐたいてき」ー Concrete; definite
大納言「だいなごん」ー chief councillor of state. Also a type of adzuki bean!
奥歯「おくば」ー Molars / back teeth
前歯「まえば」ー Front teeth
哀願「あいがん」ー Plea; appeal; petition
疱瘡「ほうそう」ー Smallpox
垂髪「すべからし」ー Hair tied up and hanging down; long flowing luxurious locks
元服「げんぷく」ー Male coming of age ceremony
度々「たびたび」ー Often; over and over again
放逐「ほうちく」ー Expulsion; Ousting; Banishment
剃髪「ていはつ」ーTonsure; to shave one’s head upon entering Buddhahood
太刀「たち」ー Long sword
悲願「ひがん」ー One’s dearest wish

Historical Stuff
吾妻鏡「あずまかがみ」ー Japanese text from the middle ages that chronicles events from the Kamakura Shogunate (12C - 14C)
義経記「ぎけいき」ー Collection of tales about the legends and war stories of Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
幸若舞「こうわかまい」ー Style of dance popular during the Muromachi period.

Places
紀伊「きい」ー A former province. Now present-day Wakayama and south-Mie.
比叡山「ひえいざん」ー Mt. Hiei, in Kyoto