📚📚 Read every day challenge - Winter 2023 ☃❄

Zakarius · January 7, 2023, 6:11pm

January 7th
新書太閣記 progress: 00.53% // Volume I: 06.10%

I said it yesterday but again, the descriptions are really good. It’s impressive how much emotional weight Yoshikawa can express in such few words, really makes the scenes feel very real.

Also managed to finish the chapter.

Words found under the kotatsu

旗指物「はたさしもの」ー The small flag that some samurai carry on their back in battle
騎「き」ー Counter for horsemen
荷駄「にだ」ー Pack; horseload
野薔薇「のいばら」ー Multiflora Rose / Japanese Rose
兵馬「へいば」ー Arms and cavalry; troops; military affairs
前線「ぜんせん」ー Weather front; the front lines; action zone
床几「しょうぎ」ー Folding stool; camp stool
籠手「こて」ー Gauntlet; bracer
颯々「さつさつ」ー Rustling; murmuring; whistling
恍惚「こうこつ」ー Rapture; ecstasy

Forms
酬いる＝報いる「むくいる」(to reward; to recompense; to repay)

Alt Meanings
駒「こま」ー Shogi/chess piece // But has an archaic meaning: horse; foal

Character Name List

for easy referencing later, because these will take some remembering
Also probably some spoilers, but this is a historic novel, so can spoilers really exist for things that have (for the most part) actually happened

Main
Hideyoshi: 豊臣秀吉「とよとみひでよし」// 豊太閤「ほうたいこう」

Volume I Characters
日吉「ひよし」
(Hideyoshi as a child)

Friends
仁王「におう」- Big kid friend
於福「おふく」- Timid kid friend

Family
弥右衛門「やえもん」- Father
加藤清正「かとうきよまさ」- Ojisan (only distantly related)

Others
織田信秀「おだのぶひで」(Daimyo) (Foreshadowing drum noises)
– 織田与三郎「おだよさぶろう」(Younger brother)
今川義元「いまがわよしもと」(Daimyo)

五郎大夫「ごろだゆう」// 祥瑞「しょうずい」(Goro’s Chinese name)
– Servant of Goro: 捨次郎「すてじろう」
– Mother of Goro’s child: 梨琴「りきん」
– Rikin’s & Goro’s child: 楊景福「ようけいふく」

Historical People

阿倍仲麻呂「あべのなかまろ」ー Japanese scholar & poet (around 700AD)
白楽天「はくきょい」ー Late 700s Chinese poet (Bai Juyi / Bo Juyi) also known as: 白楽天「はくらくてん」in Japan.
道元「どうげん」(or 道元禅師「どうげんぜんじ」ー Japanese Buddhist Priest, writer & poet (Early to mid 1200s) (also known as 栄西禅師「えいさいぜんじ」)
空海「くうかい」ー The one and only Kukai or Kobo Daishi - a Buddhist monk. Posthumously given the title of: 弘法大師「こうぼうだいし」born as: 佐伯眞魚「さえきのまお」(late 700s to early 800s)

Replies

Congrats! This is great!

Congrats this is also great!