Exploring Tamamo's JP lines in Extra (Week 7)
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Legend: JP: Original Japanese text. EN: Official English localization. RE: My attempt at a (usually more literal) translation.
This week: Hakuno-san, gameplay mistranslation, mofumofu, and a really long backstory session. This will be the longest entry by far.
W7D1 Early day pep talk
In the classroom, Tamamo says her Master is the best in the world, better than any king or god. If you choose to thank her:
JP: 私、ご主人様[マスター]のほとんどぜんぶを 好きですけど、自分のコトが 分かっていないところだけは不満です。 EN: Master, the only thing I don't like about you is just how little you understand about me. RE: Master, I love almost everything about you, except for how little you understand about yourself.
What frustrates Tamamo is not Hakuno not understanding her, but rather Hakuno not undertanding themselves (自分のコト). As in, Hakuno's modesty.
Then we get an important line:
JP: でも、それがはくのさんなんですよね。 ご主人様[マスター]。そのお言葉、 私は決して忘れませんから。 EN: But, I will always treasure your words of thanks, Hakuno. RE: But then again, that's just who you are, Hakuno. Master. I shall never forget those words.
This is the first and only instance in the game of Tamamo referring to Hakuno by name. While she will do this a few times in other games too, it's always a very rare occurrence.
And even more notably, I've double checked in both Japanese and English, and in both versions she uses the given name you gave the character (for example "Hakuno" instead of "Kishinami"), although in Japanese she also appends the -san suffix ("Hakuno-san"). And that is very significant, because in Japan, using a given name instead of the family name indicates closeness. Also, she goes down from -sama (goshujinsama, dannasama) to -san, which is still polite and formal, but given how overly formal Tamamo always is with her Master, it is noticeable.
W7D1 On the way to the Arena
Hakuno stops to absent-mindedly look outside the window while reminiscing. Tamamo also looks outside, and is disappointed to find nothing of interest.
JP: ……まったく、 ムーンセルも使えないって言うかぁ。 私とご主人様のフラグ立てのため、 桜の木でも梅の木でも 咲かせろって話です。 EN: …Jeez, so not even the Moon Cell can be useful. Don't you know that you triggered a flag under those sakura blossoms with me, Master? RE: …Jeez, the Moon Cell is completely useless. I'm saying it should make some cherry or plum blossoms bloom, just to set up a flag between my Master and I.
Cherry and plum blossoms (sakura and ume) are often associated with romance.
Skill review: Land of Eternal Bane
She just learned her last skill.
JP: 常世咲き裂く大殺界 EN: Land of Eternal Bane
The skill's name is the same as her Matrix entry, which I already reviewed in week 5. So "Great Killing Field that Rends the World of the Dead". Good luck fitting all that in English text. "Land of Eternal Bane" basically gives the same idea, except it fits the screen.
Also, infamously, this skill's description:
JP: 魔力ダメージ+猛毒 発動制限：HP30%未満 EN: Inflicts damage and poison when HP is above 30% RE: Magic damage + Deadly poison Activation restriction: HP below 30%
That requirement can only be read as "less than 30%". There's no possible confusion here. This is a genuine mistranslation.
W7D2 Mofumofu
On the way to the Arena, Tamamo seems uncharacteristically sullen. If you ask "Do your ears itch or something?":
JP: おっと、ストップ・ザ・イヤータッチ！ダメですご主人様！ EN: Master! No bad touch on my ears!
In JP, she's saying in Engrish "Stop The Ear Touch!".
JP: ええ、このタマモめのふわふわ触感をモフモフしたいキモチも分かりますが、ここばかりはスイッチが入りますので！ EN: I know how appealing Tamamo's fluffy ears are, but doing that makes my no-no bits all tingly! RE: Yes, I understand the desire to fluff up the soft ears of this humble Tamamo, but this is exactly what flips my switch on!
She uses mofumofu (モフモフ), which has become an extremely famous internet meme for stroking or rubbing something fluffy, or for fluffy things in general. Something like "fluff up", except more.
Also, that idiom of "getting switched on" refers to suddenly getting enthusiastic or passionate. It's not exclusively sexual, but, I mean:
JP: こんな廊下で触られたら即・倫理アウツ！でございます。触るのでしたら、どうかお部屋で、ひとつ。 EN: Also, doing…that…where we can be seen makes it worse! Can't you wait until we're alone?! RE: If you touch them here in the hallway, that's an Immediate Ethics Out! If you will. If you're going to touch them, please do so in our room.
Fun line. She creates a construct like "Immediate Ethics Out". She then adds degozaimasu, which is an extremely formal version of desu (so formal that not even Tamamo uses it usually). It sounds very silly, but I don't think there's a proper way for that to carry to English.
W7D2 The Moon Cell gets angry
Halfway through the Arena, it becomes very obvious that your Servant is worried about something. Since she's trying to keep it to herself, you have two options. One: You can ask her to trust you. Two:
JP: いつもみたいに本音で喋って。 EN: Be true to your feelings, like always. RE: Just tell me what you truly think, like you always do.
As in "Your true feelings are always leaking out, so do just that". Which is why she responds:
JP: いつもみたい、ときましたか！うう、なんてドＳなご主人様でしょう。そりゃあ、常に本音ダダもれな私ですが！ EN: But I always have! Gah! I didn't know you had a sadistic streak, Master! And I AM honest about my feelings! RE: "Like I always do", uh? Ugh, you're such an S (sadist), Master. I mean, it's true that my real feelings are always leaking out, but still!
In the English version, Tamamo calling Hakuno "sadistic" comes a bit out of nowhere. But in Japanese we see that it's because Hakuno is sort of teasing her. Also, the English letters S and M are used in Japanese for sadist and masochist (S&M).
Regardless of your choice, Tamamo insists that she doesn't want to drag her Master into this. Which prompts another two choices (which lead to the same dialogue, but still). The first is "I cannot let her struggle alone". Sure. Okay. But look at option number two:
JP: この駄狐、水くさいにも程がある！ EN: Don't treat me like I'm a stranger! RE: You no-good fox, there's a limit to how reserved/distant you can be!
Hakuno is using dagitsune "no-good fox" again! Last time was week 2! This is that made-up term that Suzuka uses too.
Then, SE.RA.PH. sends literally one dude to stop you (???) and Tamamo says:
JP: 私の隠しきれない恋心が、ついにメーターを振り切ったと見ました！ EN: It looks like the hidden stats that govern my affection towards you have been maxed out! RE: It seems like my impossible-to-conceal love has finally pushed the meter past the limit!
Rather than her love simply maxing out, she's using an expression that's more like "breaking the scale". Also, she uses koigokoro (恋心), which is a longing romantic love, a yearning.
Just for fun, her pre-asskicking one-liner:
JP: それではご命令を、ご主人様[マスター]！このタマモのスーパー勇姿、ご覧あれ。燃えてきたぁぁぁぁぁっ！！ EN: Now, just sing out a command, Master! I'll show how brave I can be! I'm getting SO EXCITED! RE: Now, give me your orders, Master! Behold Tamamo's super brave figure! I'm getting fired uuuuuuup!!
That "super" is written there in Engrish.
W7D3 Yellow chat: Backstory
Welcome to the longest Tamamo-centric scene in the game.
It begins, as most scenes do, with Hakuno monologuing.
JP: 霊子で造られた虚構の世界。未練はないが、まだ少しだけ興味はある。 EN: While I have no attachment to this virtual world created from ones and zeroes, I am intrigued by it.
Actually, it's "world created from spiritrons".
JP: ムーンセルは、どんな記憶[ゆめ]と記録[れきし]を紡[つむ]いで、第二の天[ほし]を象ったのか。 EN: Whose memories and what world's history was used to create this artificial reality? RE: What memories/[dreams] and what records/[histories] did the Moon Cell weave together to create this second heaven/[star]?
This is one of those lines with meaning over reading, where the kanji and the furigana read differently.
Tamamo:
JP: おや、なにか考え事ですかご主人様？いま、リスが甘酒を飲んだようなお顔をなさっておりましたが。 EN: Master, what are you thinking about? You look dazed and confused.
She's saying something like "looking like a squirrel that drunk sweet sake". I don't recognize this expression, or any expression it could be spoofing. Maybe it's made-up?
Hakuno asks if she's okay with serving anyone. She says yes, but:
JP: ぶっちゃけ、今回は一目惚れでした！でもでも、私はこう見えて一途ですから！ EN: But this time, it was love at first sight! Seriously, I'm being completely honest! RE: Honestly, this time it was love at first sight! Because, despite how I seem, I'm actually very devoted / single-minded!
She calls herself ichizu (一途), which describes a singular devoted focus.
Also, in this line she uses the casual terms butchake ("honestly") and demodemo ("but"). She's used both of those a lot through the game, but I don't know if I've commented on them.
Then she throws a random line that took me far too long to parse:
JP: ええ、六道輪廻の果ての果て、主の魂魄[こんぱく]が尽きるまで陰に日向にお守りする……それが私の、玉藻の前の願いなんです！ EN: To stand by my Master until their spirit transcends reincarnation; that is all Tamamo-no-Mae wishes for!
Let me talk Buddhism. I'm simplifying irresponsibly here, but in Buddhist tradition there exist Six Realms where beings can be born, from hell, to realms of animals, humans, all the way to gods (devas). Here, samsara is the cycle of death and rebirth through which a being can move between realms. The ultimate goal in Buddhism is to pass into nirvana (to free oneself from samsara).
Now, in this line, Tamamo is talking about the specific circumstances under which she is willing to serve and protect Hakuno.
She first mentions the Six Realms of Reincarnation in Buddhism (in JP: 六道輪廻). But then she adds hate no hate (果ての果て) "beyond the beyond". So, this is: "through the furthest reaches of the Six Realms of Reincarnation". As in, even beyond death, even beyond reincarnation. This is a pledge across lifetimes: whether they are reborn as humans, animals, gods, whatever, she will still serve her Master all the same, even as they are reborn again and again.
She then adds another pointer: she will serve until her Master's konpaku (魂魄) is completely spent. You will see konpaku translated as "soul". Well. I don't know nearly enough about Chinese cosmology, but according to Weblio, they distinguish between the spiritual soul (魂) and the corporeal soul (魄), which disperse upon death. And konpaku combines both kanji! So this isn't just a boring old "soul", but the full spiritual essence that makes up an existence.
By saying she will serve until the konpaku is exhausted, she means she'll be there until there is absolutely nothing left of Hakuno's existence. Not just death. Not just reincarnation. Not just nirvana. Not even the mere destruction of the soul. But until the very essence of their existence completely vanishes from the universe.
Lastly, she uses the common idiom "in the shadow and in the sunlight" (陰に日向に), which means to assist no matter the circumstance, openly and behind closed doors, in public and in private.
Finally, she speaks "as Tamamo-no-Mae", and writes her own name in kanji, which is somewhat rare for her, and makes her oath seem more solemn.
All put together:
RE: Yes, through the furthest reaches of the Six Realms of Reincarnation, I will protect you, in the shadow and in the light, until your very existence is completely spent… That is Tamamo-no-Mae's wish!
Or a bit more plainly: "Forever, across lifetimes, until no trace of you remains".
And then a little later… she begins to narrate her backstory.
JP: 遙かな過去、神代にまで遡[さかのぼ]る、誕生の物語を。 EN: It's an ancient tale of her birth that had endured the years to become a part of folklore. RE: In the distant past, dating all the way back to the Age of Gods, the tale of her birth.
There's a mention here of the Age of Gods (神代), a relevant lore term in Fate.
JP: まずは私の発端から。実のところ、私は天照大御神の一人格みたいなものなんです。 EN: Let's start with my origins. I'm an embodiment of one facet of the personality of the goddess Amaterasu. RE: Let's start with my origins. To tell you the truth, I'm something like one persona of Amaterasu Oomikami.
This is complicated. So jinkaku (人格) is the personality, character, personhood. But Tamamo calls herself a ichi jinkaku (一人格), which is one personality. Except she then adds -mitai which is like "or something like that". So, she's not claiming to be the entire deity. This implies that Amaterasu is a multi-aspect being, with multiple personas or faces, and Tamamo would count as one among them. Or something like that.
The localization, "embodiment of one facet of the personality of Amaterasu", is… I suppose technically correct? But horribly confusing. It think it's easier to understand this as "one persona of Amaterasu".
JP: 出雲にでかけた時ですかねー。 自分を崇める人間を見て、 ふと思っちゃったのです。あの有象無象の連中は、 何が面白くて生きているんだろうって。 EN: My fascination with humanity began when I first left for Izumo. Observing those who worshiped me, I became curious about the lives these ridiculous little mortals led.
An issue with these lines is that there's no explicit subject. Is she talking about herself, or about Amaterasu? Like, from context she's obviously talking about Amaterasu. But in the previous line she did use a explicit "I", and here she uses the reflexive pronoun jibun "myself". And as we'll see, she will later use a normal "I" to refer to Amaterasu. So I think that "I" flows more naturally here.
I just wanted to point out that many of these sentences will have no explicit pronouns.
Also, she's calling humans riffraff or rabble (有象無象). Hakuno thinks it's a little harsh to call humans riffraff.
JP: えー。だってそこを誤魔化したら、話が進みませんし。真実は耳に痛いもの。多少の苛つきは我慢してくださいませ。 EN: Huh? I thought you wanted to hear my story? The truth is often painful; you'll just have to deal with it. RE: Huh? But if I sugarcoat it, the story won't move forward. The truth is often painful. Please bear with a little bit of irritation.
JP: ……まあ、そんな上から目線のヤツが 一番ダメだっていうのは、 神さまも人間も変わらないですけどね。そんなダメダメな大本の私は、人間を見下しながら、人間の不自由さを知りたくなったんです。 EN: …And anyway, the relationship between humanity and divinity will always be one of inequality. Even as I looked down on mankind, part of me wanted to know more about the human condition. RE: …Well, although those who arrogantly look down on others are the most worthless, whether they're gods or humans. And my completely worthless original self, while looking down on humans, started to want to understand their limitations.
This is the first instance of a construct she will use a lot to refer to Amaterasu: oomoto no watashi (大本の私), "my original self". The source, the foundation, the basis. This usage is interesting, because this isn't "that one god over there that I just so happen to come from", but it's somewhat personal, "my self at the source".
Tamamo is saying that arrogant folks are dame, an extremely generic negative term for no-good, useless, worthless. Then she describes her original self as being damedame, so completely worthless. She's very hostile when describing Amaterasu, which I think is lost in the localization.
JP: ……でも。ずっと見ていくうちに、大本の私は尽きない興味を湧かしてしまった。 EN: …However. As I continued to watch mankind, my curiosity grew more intense.
This is another line that uses "my original self", but they localize as "I".
JP: 私が見えもしないのに、全身全霊で私を信じて、祀[まつ]ってくれる。 EN: And though most of them will never see me, they not only worship me, but do so with their bodies and souls.
And yet, here we suddenly have a line where she DOES use a normal "I" (watashi) in Japanese! Twice in the same line, in fact! And she's speaking of worship and belief, of people being unable to see her, so she's clearly still referring to Amaterasu. That's what makes this all so confusing.
JP: ……うん。 大本の私は、 そこで思ってしまったんでしょう。 EN: …That's right. It was then that I had an epiphany, for lack of a better word.
In the next line, we're back to using "my original self".
JP: 自分に尽くす人間たちが、それはもう幸せそうだったから。私も、誰かに仕えてみたい、と――― EN: I mean, humans were so happy devoting themselves to me that I wanted to serve someone in the same way—
But in the next line, she goes back to using the normal "I".
Then Hakuno begins to narrate the legend of Tamamo-no-Mae.
JP: 以後は伝説通りの流れになる。 彼女は藻女[みずくめ]というカタチに、興味本位で転生した。一人の、人間の少女として地上に降りたのだ。 ……自分が何者であるかも、完全に忘れたまま。 EN: It's from this point the legend begins. Driven by curiosity, she poses as the courtesan Mizukume. And as she was incarnated as a young human girl on Earth— She lost all memories of herself as a goddess. RE: From here, it follows the course of the legend. Driven by curiosity, she reincarnated herself into the form of Mizukume. She descended to this world as a single human girl …having completely forgotten who she was.
In a previous Matrix entry they mispelled Mizukume as Misukume, but it's written correctly here. The term used for that incarnate/reincarnate is tensei (転生), which is… complicated. It's the same term Andersen uses when analyzing Tamamo in CCC. Also, in Japanese there's no mention of her role in court, since a Japanese public would be familiar with the legend. But an English public wouldn't be, so they added a reference. The only issue is that, as we already saw in that Matrix entry, Tamamo-no-Mae was a nyokan (court attendant / lady-in-waiting), not a courtesan.
Something missing in the localization is the mention of her descending (降りた) to the surface world (地上).
Then Tamamo speaks a bit of her experience after her ears popped out. Just like in the localization, in Japanese she narrates those events in this very casual and easygoing way, with lots of slang and colloquialisms. More than usual, I mean.
About Abe:
JP: あー、思い出すだけで耳にきます、 あの切れ長目の超絶美形！ あいつ、日本人の骨格してないです！ EN: It makes my ears twitch just thinking about that shifty-eyed jerk! He was gorgeous, though. RE: Aah, just remembering him makes my ears twitch, that super-handsome guy with long-slitted eyes! He didn't even have the skeletal structure of a Japanese person!
Totally missing is the mention of Abe not having the skeleton/build/physique of a Japanese person.
JP: 性格最悪、外見最高、魂はもう性根まで 根の国[ネノクニ]色の陰陽師がやってきて、 あっさり、私の正体を暴いたんですよぅ。 EN: This horrid, yet handsome diviner with a soul as black as the underworld just blurts out my identity. RE: That onmyouji with the worst personality, the best looks, and a soul of the color of the underworld to its very core, comes along and exposes my true identity just like that.
She later mentions being chased by inugami (dog-spirits), then this very strange line:
JP: 日本の生態系的に、狼が犬に駆逐された最初の事件ですね、アレは。 EN: It must have been the first time in the history of Japan's ecosystem that a fox had been hunted by hounds.
She actually says it's the first time that "wolves were driven out by dogs". The dogs are of course the inugami, but is she calling herself a wolf here? The only thing I can think of is that both "wolf" and the honorific for "god" are pronounced the same way (ookami). Maybe a play on words? Could also be because of the jackal thing.
When talking about the foxes that gathered around her in the fields of Nasu, she calls them kotachi (子たち), "little children". That term is both honorific language but also colloquial, and it's a form of Kansai dialect, which Tamamo uses from time to time.
The rest of the story mostly goes the same. I'll single out this line:
JP: けれど追撃の手は止まず、人間たちの一方的な憎しみは消えなかった。……その中で、彼女は悟ったのだ。 EN: However, the assault never slackened and the hatred of the humans never lessened. It was then she realized…
This specifically says "one-sided hatred of the humans" (一方的な), to be clear.
Hakuno ends the story with this thought:
JP: それが玉藻の前の物語だ。 人間以上である神さまが、 人間ひとりにすら成れなかったなんて、笑いぐさだ。 ……早い話。 この神さまは、人間に憧れた、ただの夢見る少女だった。 EN: That is the story of Tamamo-no-Mae. It can be dismissed as a tale of a goddess deemed unworthy of the gift of humanity. …To boil it down, it's a story of a delusional child-goddess who admired humans too much. RE: That is the story of Tamamo-no-Mae. A goddess who was superior to humans, yet couldn't even become a single human being. Almost laughable. …To boil it down, this goddess was nothing more than a dreaming girl that (yearned to be human / admired humans / was drawn to humans).
That part near the end can be interpreted in far too many different ways, but it's always a nuance of "yearning".
And then Tamamo decides this is too much drama and pounces on Hakuno.
JP: ぴょーん、とのしかかってくる駄狐。 重い空気にしないため、あえてふざけている……のではない。なぜなら、いま、目下リアルに押し倒されている。 ああもう、どこまでもシリアスが続かないんだな、 うちのサーヴァントはっ！ EN: Even as she finishes her sentence, the wild fox-girl leaps at me. She's obviously playing around in order to lighten the mood…or not. Because she's actually pouncing on me. Argh! Why can't my Servant stay serious for more than a few seconds?!
Instead of "pouncing on me", that's more like "pinning me down". And also, Hakuno doesn't call her "wild fox-girl" but dagitsune "no-good fox". That marks the third and last appearance of dagitsune! And this is the only time it doesn't appear in an optional dialogue choice, but in actual narration. So Hakuno calling her a dagitsune is canon regardless of your choices!
JP: きゃっ、叩かれた!? つーか逃げられた!? うそ、マウントから脱出する高等技術を、 どこで習ったんですかマスター!? EN: Eek! I've been…rejected?! And even run away from?! No way! Where did you learn how to escape my super-secret concupiscent vulpine mounting technique? RE: Kyaa, did you just hit me!? Actually, you ran away!? No way, where did you learn such a high-level technique to escape a mount, Master!?
Yes, that's "mount" as in animal behavior. Beyond that, the original Japanese line is kind of plain.
Then she regains just an ounce of seriousness:
JP: はい。この私はそのように生まれたもの。それに―――誰かの人生に寄り添うのは、嬉しいのです。 EN: Yes, because that's just how I am. That, and it brings me joy to be an important part of someone's life. RE: Yes, because that's just how I was born. That, and it brings me joy to walk beside someone in their life.
Bit of a double entendre at the end. That term can be used emotionally as in standing by someone and sharing in their life journey, but also physically for snuggling and cuddling.
JP: 私は貴方のサーヴァントです。 私が仕えたいと焦がれる魂を持ち、 好きになってしまったお方です。 EN: I am your Servant. My soul yearns to serve, and I have to confess that I've come to truly like you. RE: I am your Servant, my dear. You possess the kind of soul I most yearn to serve, and you are the person I came to love.
This is an awkward sentence. The localization reading of "my soul yearns to serve" might be okay? But her saying "you possess the kind of soul I yearn to serve" is a more natural reading. You know, as in the ikemen soul thing?
Also, for the first time, Tamamo calls Hakuno anata (貴方), with no suffix. This is extremely close and affectionate. It's practically like saying "honey" or "my dear".
JP: かつて、私は人間になりたい、なんて我が儘のせいで世界を敵に回しました。それは摂理への逆行であるからです。 EN: I once made an enemy with nature due to my desire to be human, which went against divine providence.
Good, but I need to mention this line in order to explain the next one. She speaks about making an enemy out of the world. And about going against setsuri (摂理), which is divine providence, or the laws of nature. Then:
JP: 神が人を愛し、私欲で護る事を摂理が 正そうというのなら、私は今度こそ、 自分の意志で、世界を敵に回します。 EN: But if us gods who love humans have to protect them in spite of divine providence, then so be it. RE: A god that loves a human, and seeks to protect them out of a selfish desire… If that is something that providence seeks to "correct", then this time, of my own volition, I shall make the world my enemy.
This is a difficult sentence, so I'll try to explain. The laws of nature, or divine providence, dictate a set of rules. Gods cannot become human. Gods cannot love and protect humans. If you break one of these rules, nature itself tries to "correct" you. You become an enemy of the world, an enemy of nature.
In the past, Tamamo had a selfish desire to become human. That broke the rule of "gods cannot become human", and so she accidentally became a enemy of the world, even though she never meant to.
Now, she wants to love and serve a human. That breaks another rule. But she's saying that, this time, if providence makes her an enemy of the world, she's okay with it. By her own volition, she will make the world her enemy, if providence would have it that a god cannot love a human.
JP: ご主人様が何者であれ、 私の愛は変わりません！ EN: Regardless of what kind of person you turn out to be, my love for you will never change!
I need this line in order to make sense of the next one:
JP: この水天日光天照鎮石[すいてんにっこうあまてらすのしずいし]、 邪[よこしま]な私利私欲で砕け散るその時まで、貴方の守[もり]を勤めます！ EN: Until my selfish desires shatter it to pieces with my Eightfold Blessing of Amaterasu, I will protect you! RE: Until the moment this Eightfold Blessing of Amaterasu shatters under the weight of my own wicked, selfish desires, I shall serve as your guardian!
First, she's using anata again. Also, recall that the "Eightfold Blessing of Amaterasu" is a mirror.
The localization here is weird. What is it even trying to say? That her selfish desires will make use of the mirror to shatter her love? What sense does that even make? The most natural reading is that she's speaking of her selfish desires shattering her mirror. (Other readings are possible, I guess, but would feel forced. There's no marker changing the subject.)
This is a hard line to parse, and given Hakuno's following reaction, I think this line is obtuse on purpose.
Interpretation 1: A god loving a human is wicked and selfish, per the providence. And one day, she will be punished for that, her mirror crushed (metaphorically, or literally, recall that the mirror is the embodiment of Amaterasu). But, until that occurs, she will keep protecting her Master.
Interpretation 2: This might be an extremely early, subtle nod to CCC and specially Extella. It's in her soul to be wicked and selfish, if left to her own devices. Perhaps she fears that one day that will come to crush her. But, again, she will keep protecting her Master until then.
Tamamo Matrix: Dakini Deva
Last Matrix entry!
This entry is very complex due to its many mythological and Buddhist references, and perhaps because of this, the official localization rewrites and skips and reorders a lot of it, which makes it difficult to do a one-to-one comparison. So I will simply analyze the JP text directly.
But first, I need to introduce a lot of deities, as this will make zero sense otherwise:
Amaterasu: In Shinto, chief deity and goddess of the Sun.
Inari: In Shinto, god or goddess or group of gods related to agriculture, rice, and foxes. Can receive the honorific "Inari Myoujin". Identified with many deities of food and foxes. Very occasionally, Tamamo-no-Mae is identified with Inari.
Ukanomitama-no-Kami: In Shinto, goddess of agriculture and rice. Often identified with Inari.
Vairocana: In Buddhism, a major (male) Buddha associated with the Sun. Certain doctrines identify him with Amaterasu.
Dakini-ten: In Hinduism, the Dakini were cannibal she-demons. But in Japan, Vairocana converts them to Buddhism, and they combine into the single deity Dakini-ten. This Dakini-ten is often pictured riding a jackal, which was interpreted as a fox in Japan, since Japan has no jackals. Because of this, Dakini-ten came to be associated with Inari. Due to complex reasons, she's also identified with Amaterasu.
And next, I need to introduce a few Buddhist concepts. And you're starting to see what they didn't bother to localize this part:
Manifested form (垂迹): A Buddha could manifest in the world in order to save people. In Japan, it was believed that Shinto deities were the manifested forms of Buddhist deities. For example, Amaterasu was believed to be the manifested form of Vairocana.
True form (本地): As a counterpart to the above, this is the actual form behind the manifestation.
Three bodies: In some branches of Buddhism, there exist three bodies: the dharma body, the reward body, and the manifested body. Two are mentioned in this entry:
Dharma body (法身): The truth itself of a Buddha, beyond physical form.
Reward body (報身): Celestial form of a Buddha as a "reward" for their spiritual practice and merit. Unlike the dharma, this is a form, but is transcendent.
Finally:
JP: 元来、“玉藻の前”は巷間に九尾の狐といわれるが、厳密には野干（ジャッカル）であり、本来は「アマテラス（垂迹）＝（本地）大日如来（法身）＝（報身）ダキニ天」として崇拝された稲荷明神……宇迦之御魂神（うかのみたまのかみ）であると考えられる。ちなみに源平盛衰記には、平清盛がこのダキニ天の力を用いた修法によって権力を握った伝承もある。 RE: Originally, "Tamamo-no-Mae" is believed to be a Nine-Tailed Fox, but strictly speaking she is a yakan (jackal). She is believed to be the Inari Myoujin, or Ukanomitama-no-Kami, who was worshiped through the concept of: 「Amaterasu (manifested form) = (true form) Vairocana (dharma body) = Dakini-ten (reward body)」. By the way, in the Genpei Jousuiki there is a legend that Taira no Kiyomori seized power through rituals using the power of this Dakini-ten.
Even after everything I've explained, the above probably still doesn't make a lot of sense. All you need to know is that there does exist a real mythological chain that connects Tamamo-no-Mae -> Inari / Ukanomitama -> Dakini-ten -> Vairocana / Amaterasu.
About that footnote, Taira no Kiyomori was a Heian-era samurai and military leader, who would later establish the first samurai government of Japan. The Genpei Jousuiki tells his story. And, at least according to Wikipedia, the anecdote about the Dakini-ten ritual does indeed happen:
JP: ＥＸＴＲＡにおける玉藻の前はアマテラスから分かれた御魂であり、その正体は九尾の狐ではなく神の表情の一つとして扱われている。 EN: The Tamamo-no-Mae in EXTRA is a soul split from Amaterasu. Her true identity is not a Nine-Tailed Fox, but rather she's treated as one of the deity's facets.
Tamamo is said to be a wakareta mitama of Amaterasu, which would be a soul that split or branched off. The terminology isn't exactly the same, but I suppose this is meant to refer to a bunrei or Divided Spirit.
Then she's said to be a single hyoujou of the god. That literally means "facial expression". Just like you can show different facial expressions (happy, angry) so could a god show different facets (benevolent, punishing). So this would be "a single facet / aspect / manifestation". The localization also translates this as facet.
JP: また、彼女を英霊としてカテゴライズするのは大きな間違い。玉藻の前の“良妻になりたい”という願いを実現させる為に英霊になったため、本来のスペックを発揮できずにいる。悪霊、荒御魂として再現された場合、彼女は百の英雄すら返り討ちにする大化生へと変貌を遂げるだろう。日本三大化生の一人の名は伊達ではない。 EN: Also, categorizing her as a simple Heroic Spirit would be a grave mistake. Since she became a Heroic Spirit specifically to realize her wish to "become a good wife (ryousai)", she cannot display her true specs. Should she be reproduced as an Evil Spirit, as an ara mitama, she would transform into a great monster capable of turning the tables on even a hundred heroes. Her title as one of Japan's Three Great Monsters is no empty boast.
In Shinto, a soul is divided into four parts. The ara mitama or angry soul, is one of them. Tamamo specifically comes from Amaterasu's ara mitama.
Now, you already know of Heroic Spirits. But this entry mentions Evil Spirits (悪霊, akuryou), and says that if Tamamo were reproduced (summoned) as an Evil Spirit instead of as a Heroic Spirit, she could take down hundreds of heroes. I think we don't know much about Evil Spirits, but they're part of Fate's lore (Ushi Gozen and Black Marie are Evil Spirits).
W7D3 Meeting Leo in the Arena
JP: ここは一つ、お姉さんがお灸を据えてやりましょうかねぇ。 EN: This cute girl will teach him a thing or two!
Here, Tamamo actually calls herself onee-san "big sister", a bit in a condescending way since she called her opponent a child before.
W7D5 After Gawain fight
After fighting with Leo and Gawain:
JP:そんなに乱暴に剣を振り回しても、当たらなければ意味が無いですよ。てか、赤外線扇風機かっつーの！ EN: Look, you can swing that sword as wildly as you want, but there's no point if you don't hit anything. RE: (The above, followed by:) What are you, an infrared electric fan?!
One of those cases where they had to drop a joke because it wouldn't fit the textbox.
W7D6 Last night conversation
The last My Room night conversation in the game.
She closes with this line:
JP: さあ、良妻狐のデリバリー、見事、最後に一花咲かせてご覧に入れましょう！ EN: I'm your companion, your beautiful wife who will always, always try her best. RE: Now, your 'delivery for one good-wife fox' shall put on one last spectacular show for you!
Do you recall her intro in the prologue? How she said something like "your delivery for one good-wife fox has arrived"? She's using the same exact phrasing here. It's a sweet callback, a sort of book-ends.
W7D7 VS Leo/Gawain (audio)
Battle dialogue:
Tamamo: そも日輪は私の源。天照大神もご照覧あれ！ Leo: 貴女は太陽神の荒魂[あらみたま]でしたか。どうりで愛らしいハズだ。
The Perfect Patch translates this as:
Tamamo: Incidentally, the sun is *my* origin. Bear witness, Amaterasu Omikami! Leo: You are the raw spirit of a sun goddess? Your beauty makes perfect sense then.
What Leo calls her is "ara mitama", the angry soul. Just like in the Matrix entry from before.
Also, when Tamamo says the sun is her origin, the term used for origin is minamoto (源), which is origin as in source. This is actually different from the Fate lore concept of Origin (起源). Don't you just love it when things make sense.
My Room chat: 100k damage
JP: 斬られたり焼かれたり撃たれたり痺れたり叩かれたり、どんな拷問かって話です。 EN: You don't understand the torture I endure, do you? I've been stabbed, burned, poisoned, shot…you name it. RE: Being slashed, burned, shot, electrically shocked, beaten… honestly, it’s like some kind of torture.
For whatever reason, they change a single one of the "tortures", going from electrically shocked in Japanese to poisoned in English.
JP: これ以上ダメージを受けるようなら、 それはご主人様がそういう嗜好なんだって 決めつけますから、気をつけてくださいまし。 EN: If you keep allowing me to take so much damage, I'm going to just assume you're in to this sort of thing. So, please try to be more careful.
The term she uses here (嗜好) means taste or preference, and it's also used specifically in the context of sexual preferences. So it's possibly a bit of an euphemism for "fetish".
My Room chat: 500k money
JP: 所得マネー・Ｎｏ１！貯めたり買ったり拾ったり売っぱらったり、地道な努力、お見事です！ EN: You're the wealthiest Master here! Your obsessive dedication to scavenging and saving has paid off! RE: Earner Nº 1! Saving up, buying, scavenging, selling off… bravo for your steady efforts!
JP: ……でも、タマモ的には複雑なのです。今のご主人様は高年収の勝ち組。 EN: …I have mixed feeling about all of this. As of now, not only are you rich, but you're a winner as well. RE: …However, from Tamamo's perspective, it's complicated. Right now, Master is a high-income winner.
The term she uses for "winner" (勝ち組) is pretty much slang for "winner at life" (social status, wealth, stability, etc).
JP: 世が世なら、ダンナ様にしたいマスターＮｏ１に選ばれてもおかしくありません。 EN: Considering how this world is now, I wouldn't be surprised if you're the most desirable person around. RE: If circumstances were different (If we weren't in the Moon Cell), I wouldn't be surprised if you were voted the Nº 1 Master that people would want as a husband.
JP: なので、悪い虫がつかないか心配です。 EN: In fact, I'm a little worried that the evil harpies still loitering around will try to hit on you. RE: Because of that, I'm worried that some "bad bugs" (homewreckers) will attach themselves to you.
There's some wordplay in this and the following lines, so I'll explain. This idiom has already come up a few times, but in Japanese, "bad bug" (悪い虫) refers to bad influences, specially in a romantic context. Basically "homewrecker".
JP: まあ、そんなのいたらプチッと潰しますけどね。 EN: Well, should that happen, I'll just crush them like the cockroaches they are. RE: Well, should that happen, I'll just crush them flat.
Since in JP she was already talking of "bugs" in the previous line, it flows more naturally.
JP: メル友の清姫ちゃんに手を貸してもらって、鐘楼[むしかご]ごと大炎上です。 EN: Or better yet, I'd do what my e-mail friend Kiyohime would do and trap them in a bell and then set it on fire. RE: I'll get some help from my email penpal Kiyohime, and I'll set the entire bell/[insect cage] ablaze.
Kiyohime mentioned in 2010! Her legend has it that her lover Anchin tried to escape her, and eventually hid under a temple's bell. Kiyohime chased after him (transformed into a serpent) and melted the bell with a breath of fire, killing Anchin.
Here, Tamamo does the furigana double-reading thing to write "bell" but read it as "insect cage", to continue the "bad bug" wordplay from the previous lines.
My Room chat: 300k damage
(Venting time: An ordinary endgame Tamamo will have around 2k health, so unlocking this chat requires her to receive enough damage to kill her 150 times. Even if you carefully maneuver against an enemy to receive like 1.5k damage per battle without killing her (which is already risky enough), that would still imply 200 battles. I cannot envision how any player, no matter how bad they are, could possibly unlock this chat by just playing normally. That is to say, you HAVE TO go out of your way to unlock this chat. Which might actually explain its contents.)
JP: キャー、もうサイッコォー！祝・累計ダメージ３００，０００以上！私、一周まわって楽しくなってきました！ EN: Wow. This. Is. So. AWESOME! I've taken over 300,000 points of damage! I'm REALLY enjoying myself now! RE: Kyaa, this is just the BEST! Congratulations on reaching over 300,000 total damage taken! I've come full circle and actually started enjoying this!
JP: いやあ。これだけサーヴァントに被弾させた方は他にちょっと見あたりません。 EN: Seriously, in all of my eons of existence I have never seen a Master who hated their Servant this much! RE: Wow. I've ever seen anyone else let their Servant take this much damage.
JP: もうこれは人智を越えた才能。 アナタが神か、と言わざるをえません！ 当事者兼、被害者的に！ EN: It must be a gift beyond human ken. You must be a god of some kind! Take it from your favorite victim! RE: This is a talent beyond human understanding. I have no choice but to ask if you're a god! I ask both as the interested party and the victim!
Hakuno then says that it was worth holding back, no matter how strong the opponent was. No, no, wait:
JP: あ、いや、訂正。 どれだけ弱い相手だろうと頑張ってきた甲斐があった。 これもひとえにタマモにいい声で鳴いてもらいたかった故である。 狐だしな。 EN: Let me rephrase that. I meant to say my dedication to battle, no matter how weak the enemy, has paid off. That, and I wanted to hear Caster's cute little yelp. She IS a fox, after all.
Hakuno actually calls her Tamamo here, not Caster. Anyway, the verb used here for "yelp" is naku (鳴く), which can innocently refer to an animal's cry, but can also less innocently refer to a whine or moan. That's why Hakuno says "She IS a fox", to imply they're using the innocent meaning. But Hakuno also specifically says that they like hearing the yelp/moan of Tamamo's "nice voice" (いい声), so…
End of the War: Final conversation
While walking to the final boss, Tamamo has a long conversation.
JP: あの時は……あは、白状しちゃいますと、最後まで残るのは無理だろうなあって思ってました。 EN: Although back then…I have to admit that I thought you'd lose immediately. RE: At that time… aha, I have to admit that I didn't think I'd actually make it to the end.
This line has no explicit subject, so it can be assumed that Tamamo is talking of herself.
JP: 本気でお守りしていましたけど、私、英霊だと弱い方なので。あ、でもでも、悪霊のカテゴリなら本気で最強なんですよ！？ええ、これまでの相手なんて指先一つで片づけられます！ EN: I've tried to protect you, even though I'm one of the weaker Heroic Spirits. Ah, but when it comes to evil spirits, I'm the strongest woman in the world! Against that kind of enemy, I can take them down with one finger! RE: I've tried to protect you, even though I'm one of the weaker Heroic Spirits. Ah, but if I were in the category of Evil Spirits, I'm the strongest, okay!? Yes, I could've finished off every opponent we've faced so far with just one finger!
What Tamamo is saying here is that as a Heroic Spirit she's one of the weakest, but if she had instead been summoned as an Evil Spirit she would've been one of the strongest. (Recall her Matrix saying exactly this, that she could take on hundred of heroes as an Evil Spirit). The localization confuses this with her saying she can take down Evil Spirits.
JP: でもご主人様……いえ、貴方がマスターになってくれて良かった。 EN: But, all in all I'm glad that I had you as a Master. RE: But, Master… No, my dear, I'm glad that you were the one to become my Master.
Another usage of anata. In fact, she first calls Hakuno goshujinsama, before correcting herself to anata. (She will use anata a couple more times, but I won't point out each instance.)
JP: 玉藻の前という名前のまま、私を英霊として育ててくれて、ありがとう。 EN: For raising the Heroic Spirit Tamamo-no-Mae, I thank you. RE: For nurturing me as a Heroic Spirit while letting me remain Tamamo-no-Mae, I thank you.
This line's a bit tricky, but I think she's thanking Hakuno for treating her not as a monster or as a tool, but as a Heroic Spirit.
Her last exploration lines in the game:
JP: 行きましょう、我が主。どうか貴方の手で応えてほしい。人類たちの繁栄に、千年をかけただけの価値はあったのだと――― EN: Now, my Master, let's get going. I want you to be the one to end this. For thousands of years, the prosperity of mankind did serve a real purpose— RE: Now, my Lord, let's get going. I want you to be the one to prove it with your own hands… that the prosperity of humanity was worth the thousand years it took to achieve it—
This is the only instance in the game of her calling Hakuno waga aruji (我が主). This is an archaic and extremely formal way to say "my Lord" or "my Master".
In the text, she uses a term that means humanity (人類たち). It's a bit weird because she adds a pluralizing suffix to a term that's already collective, so this is something like "all individual humans" or so? Now, you would normally read this as jinrui-tachi. It has no furigana or anything, so you'd assume it's read normally.
But, despite having no furigana, Tamamo still reads it out loud irregularly, as anata-tachi, the plural form of anata. Basically, she's referring to humanity in an affectionate fashion. Alternatively, since she's referred to Hakuno as anata before, this might be her viewing her Master as a representative of humanity, linking her love for Hakuno to her feelings towards the species.
End of the War: Twice Pieceman
Twice proposes an eternal war, arguing that it would help humans evolve and thrive. When Hakuno disagrees, Twice asks your Servant for their opinion.
JP: ご主人様[マスター]……私は本当は人を殺す事なんてなんとも思ってません。 EN: Master…to be honest, I don't really think too much about the consequences when I kill. RE: Master… to be honest, I don't feel anything at all about killing people.
As in, she's saying she's indifferent to the act, that she has no particular feelings about it.
JP: サーヴァントになる前も、なってからも、大勢殺してますし。この聖杯戦争を含めて、もうギネス級の殺戮者です。 EN: Even before I was a Servant, I killed untold numbers of people. I might hold the world record for murder.
She specifically. says ginesu-kyuu (ギネス級), which is "Guinness world-record". Yes, she does say "Guinness".
JP: そんな私でも、なんていうか…… 誰かの為に人を殺す、なんて戯言、 口にしたくもありません。 EN: So, how do I put this… I don't want to say something ignorant like, "I'd kill for you." RE: Even so, how do I put this… Killing for the sake of another is some nonsense I couldn't bring myself to utter.
This entire sequence is a bit confusing, but basically: Twice's plan is to bring about an eternal war in order to make many humans thrive, even if that comes at the cost of many other humans dying. Tamamo cannot disagree on the basis of "killing is wrong", because, well. She admits to not feeling anything when killing, but perhaps precisely because of that, she finds it distasteful to talk about justified killings, about "killing for the sake of another", or if you will, "killing for the greater good". Killing is killing. Claiming it was done for another person does not make it not so. She does not justify her own violence, so she won't stand for others trying to justify theirs.
Then again, two lines later she says:
JP: それに……想像したくもありませんが、 ご主人様[マスター]が殺されたら、私はその相手 一族郎党悉[ことごと]く、絶対に許しません。 EN: And though I don't like even thinking about it, if you were to fall, I'd never forgive the one who killed you. RE: And… though I don't even want to imagine it, if my Master were killed, I'd never forgive the killer and their entire clan.
She's talking about "not forgiving them and their entire clan/lineage", so… a grudge for generations. I don't know if she means cursing, or outright wiping them out. This kind of contradicts what she just said about "killing for the sake of another" being nonsense. But she's not dressing up her violence in pretty words, unlike Twice.
JP: だから、あいつを許せないご主人様[マスター]は正しいんです。いえ、ご主人様[マスター]は常に正しいんですが。 EN: In this case, I must side with my Master. No, I have to admit that you've always been right, Master. RE: That's why you're right not to approve of him, Master. Or rather, my Master is always right.
I find it very interesting how each of the three Servants rejects Twice's ideology for different reasons. Nero is humanistic, praising humanity precisely because of their imperfect struggle, and wanting justice for the fallen. Archer is the most moral, recognizing Twice as a kind of selfish fool he has seen before, and he's the only one to directly call Twice evil. But Tamamo is the only one to skip the philosophical debate outright. She admits to being a murderer, so she cannot reject Twice on moral grounds, but she also cannot accept him trying to justify what ultimately is just more murder. And ultimately, she's simply going to side with her Master regardless.
NG+ Monster encounter
When encountering secret boss Shiki Ryougi, Tamamo says:
JP: つ、辻斬りですかぁ！？ EN: Are you some kind of highway robber?
What she calls her here is tsujigiri (辻斬り), which was the practice of a samurai testing a new sword by killing a random passerby.
NG+ VS Monster (audio)
Japanese:
Caster: 和風系として負けられません！ 宇宙[ソラ]の根源に追い返してあげましょう！ Monster: あら、できるかしら？ たった一尾しか現界[げんかい]していない白面金毛九尾の狐に？
Perfect patch:
Caster: I won't lose to someone who's Japanese! I'll blast you to the end of the sky! Monster: Hmm, think you can do it? An inexperienced fox with only one golden fur tail?
Retranslation:
Caster: As a Japanese-type, I can't afford to lose! I'll blast you back to the Root! Monster: Hmm, think you can do it? A White-Faced Golden-Haired Nine-Tailed Fox who has manifested with only a single tail?
Tamamo's line is odd, because according to the Log Typewriter script she says "Root of the Universe" (宇宙の根源), but pronounces it as "Heaven/Sky". But Heaven is apparently an alternative valid name for the Root, says the wikia? So I assume she's talking of the Root here?
And Shiki calls her by the full title "hakumen kinmou kyuubi no kitsune". She uses genkai (現界), which I think is the term used for the materialization/manifestation of Servants.
NG+ After defeating Monster
After Shiki leaves:
JP: うひゃあ、しんどかったぁ……。 アレは月の荒魂[あらみたま]ですね。 死んだり殺したり呪ったりする、いわゆる危険なヤンデレです。 今回は違う時間に消えたようですし、 今後は関わらない方向でいきましょう！ EN: Wheeeew! I'm pooped… Fighting Aramitama was hard— Oh, she's the dark side of the moon. Aramitama is a yandere who dies, kills and curses. But don't worry, she's going to another time now. RE: Wheeeew! I'm pooped… That was the ara mitama of the moon. A dangerous yandere who dies and kills and curses. She seems to have gone to a different time, so let's not get involved again!
This is the only instance of the localization explicitly using the term ara mitama (angry soul). And they use it incorrectly!
Anyway, I guess it takes one to know one? I know basically nothing about Kara no Kyoukai, so I couldn't say how relevant any of this is.