Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Dec 3, 2006 03:45
17 yrs ago
English term
Kimagure
English to Japanese
Art/Literary
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
The movie "Elektra"
Hello, all. I have a question. In the movie Elektra (see link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0357277/), they refer to "kimagure" (see link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimagure), which is supposed to be a martial arts or Japanese-style religion/spiritual thing, which enables Elektra's master to bring people back from the dead, among other things.
I have been trying to figure out, is "kimagure" something that actually existed in Japanese culture that maybe they are bastardizing, or is it something that was only made up for the movie?
And if so, what are the Japanese characters for it?
And what actually is "Kimagure"?
Thanks!
I have been trying to figure out, is "kimagure" something that actually existed in Japanese culture that maybe they are bastardizing, or is it something that was only made up for the movie?
And if so, what are the Japanese characters for it?
And what actually is "Kimagure"?
Thanks!
Proposed translations
12 hrs
Selected
気紛れ
You asked if **"kimagure" is something that actually existed in Japanese culture that maybe they are bastardizing, or is it something that was only made up for the movie?**
My answer is the latter.
No matter what Wikipedia said, such usage is not even "basterdization" of what exists or existed in Japanese culture.
When you see reliable J-J dictionaries such as "Kouji_En" which I frequently refer, "kimagure" does have NO connotation whatsoever that implies your first reference in your above question.
I declare that is made up for the movie, and it is painfully clear Wikipedia author does not know much about Japanese language and culture. Remember anyone can author that e-dictionary without much credential (although I am not saying all their authors are created equal).
Please see Kanji for kimagure here. It means "whimsical", "capricious", or "fickle" (although these are all in adjective form. "kimagure" itself is noun. So if you need to know what are adjective form of this, it is 気紛れな."
HTH
My answer is the latter.
No matter what Wikipedia said, such usage is not even "basterdization" of what exists or existed in Japanese culture.
When you see reliable J-J dictionaries such as "Kouji_En" which I frequently refer, "kimagure" does have NO connotation whatsoever that implies your first reference in your above question.
I declare that is made up for the movie, and it is painfully clear Wikipedia author does not know much about Japanese language and culture. Remember anyone can author that e-dictionary without much credential (although I am not saying all their authors are created equal).
Please see Kanji for kimagure here. It means "whimsical", "capricious", or "fickle" (although these are all in adjective form. "kimagure" itself is noun. So if you need to know what are adjective form of this, it is 気紛れな."
HTH
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, Cinefil & Susan. This was funny, especially all the sites with Japanese people saying they couldn't figure out what kimagure was... Lol. （やっぱり）"
Discussion
葉隠れ、木隠れ は、忍者漫画に登場する忍者の術の一種です。「葉隠」は、Susanが指摘している通り。
映画『エレクトラ』は、映画『Dear Devile』から発生した作品で、さらにこの映画は、マーベルコミックの原作がありますね。私は、原作コミックも日本の映画も見ていませんのでよくわかりませんがこれらの関係者の中に日本の忍者漫画やアニメに触れたスタッフがいたと言うことではないでしょうか。
http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=ja&inlang=ja&ie=Shift_JIS&...
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/mirror/classics.mit.edu...
http://www.hyoho.com/Hagakure1.html
As for 木隠, it simply means "under tree shade".
Neither words are to do with martial arts.
Neither is anyway
My question to you is, what is 葉隠れ or 木隠? I looked in ALC but didn't find any actual terms. Are these actual words? Just curious if you know.
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/xina-shin/e/7e2c63c7f38e3155a6bae3c7d1...
http://www2.alc.co.jp/ejr/index.php?word_in=�C�܂���&word_in2=�...