From LISTSERV@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU Sun Jan 1 23:02:14 1995 Return-Path: Received: from mx5.u.washington.edu by redms.cac.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.32 ) id AA04142; Sun, 1 Jan 95 23:02:13 -0800 Received: from mx1.cac.washington.edu by mx5.u.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA22484; Sun, 1 Jan 95 23:02:12 -0800 Received: from brownvm.brown.edu by mx1.cac.washington.edu (5.65+UW94.10/UW-NDC Revision: 2.31 ) id AA11640; Sun, 1 Jan 95 23:02:02 -0800 Message-Id: <9501020702.AA11640@mx1.cac.washington.edu> Received: from BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU by BROWNVM.brown.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 2799; Mon, 02 Jan 95 02:00:50 EST Received: from BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (NJE origin LISTSERV@BROWNVM) by BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 3098; Mon, 2 Jan 1995 02:00:45 -0500 Date: Mon, 2 Jan 1995 02:00:43 -0500 From: BITNET list server at BROWNVM (1.8a) Subject: File: "SHUNABY PANEL" To: "Michael S. Johnson" Status: O SHUNABY PANEL Subject: SHUNA translation (STRICT TRANSLATION-TO-PANEL VERSION) (8/91) SPECIAL NOTE: THIS VERSION IS A STRICT, UNADORNED TRANSLATION; INTENDED PRIMARILY FOR PERSONS WHO HAVE THE MANGA. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE MANGA, GET shunaby paragraf WHICH GIVES PANEL DESCRIPTIONS AND IS EASIER TO FOLLOW ON ITS OWN. ---------------------------- cut here ----------------------------------- Subject: SHUNA translation (STRICT TRANSLATION-TO-PANEL VERSION) (8/91) SHUNA'S JOURNEY translation with page and panel breaks indicated, vers. 2 This file contains two things: * SHUNA'S JOURNEY manga review by Lorraine Savage (from THE ROSE #23) * SHUNA'S JOURNEY translation with page and panel breaks indicated The manga review comes first. SHUNA'S JOURNEY manga review by Lorraine Savage, founder of Anime Hasshin and editor of THE ROSE fanzine (from THE ROSE Vol. 4, #23): MANGA REVIEW SHUNA'S JOURNEY by Lorraine Savage Hayao Miyazaki's comic prose (no word balloons) book of 1983 is the story of a young prince in search of a special grain so he can feed his starving people. The book is another epic masterpiece by the creator of Nausicaa's polluted world, the majestic castle in the sky, and the enchanting Totoros (among other great stories). SHUNA'S JOURNEY is a little, full color manga book by AM Juju, 380 yen, that appeared with Animage magazine. Miyazaki's graceful water colors embrace this story. Shuna's village is deep within a valley surrounded by high cliffs, and peopled with old, bushy-mustached patriarchs (true to Miyazaki's style). The painted landscapes, nightscapes and sunsets are portrayed in a beautiful range of colors. Those who enjoy the water color stills from the Famous Detective Holmes episodes will adore this book. The story, as translated by Kevin Leahy, can be read and understood just as it is, without the pictures in the book. Since there is little dialogue in the book, translation consists mostly of exposition. The beginning of the story has the flavor of an old Japanese folk tale or a Brothers Grimm tale. However, the sudden introduction of an outside entity in the middle of the story didn't quite seem appropriate. Except for that mysterious force, the story could well take place in Nausicaa's era, in some land far from her valley. In many ways this is a dark story, with slavery, poverty, assassins in the night; but it also has courage, hope and determination. My only complaint: Miyazaki still needs to broaden his scope of character designing. With his helmet off, Shuna looks *exactly* like Nausicaa sans earrings! SHUNA'S JOURNEY translation with page and panel breaks indicated: Anime Hasshin presents a translation of . . . SHUNA'S JOURNEY, a/k/a THE JOURNEY OF SHUNA *written, drawn, and watercolored by Hayao Miyazaki in 1983 *published by ANIMAGE magazine's AM JUJU books in June 1983 *translated by Kevin Leahy (first mentioned in THE ROSE #23, Sept. 1990) *slotted into page and frame designations by Steven Feldman in July 1991 *corrections to #P136,BL# and #P145# by Tsao Sheng-Te, August 1991 A short note about manga and this copy of Mr. Leahy's translation: First, manga are read from right to left--not only from page to page, but from panel to panel. Second, this translation shortens "page and panel" to "#P__,__#" to allow for variations of panel placement. For example, "#P48,TR#" means "page number 48, top right panel," and "#P96,MM#" means "page number 96, middle row, middle panel." Third, only the first page of each of the manga's six chapters has an actual, typed page number (the others have no number). #P4# DEPARTURE What time is this? At the present it isn't clear. Is it in far gone antiquity? Could it possibly be in the distant future? In the bottom of an ancient valley scooped out of glaciers is the little kingdom that time abandoned. #P6,R# Why would anyone want to live in this land? #P6,L# Time and again the winds blow thin air down from the mountains. Nor are the days of the sun so kind as to warm the valley. #P8# Scratching at the dry soil, planting Hiwabie seedling, but the barren earth begrudges them so much as the smallest harvest. #P9# The Yakkul are always hungry for the scant Grass and don't produce very many offspring at all... #P10,T# But the people give thanks for their little harvests... #P10,B# In the end they're just living to work, to die... #P11,T# Why is the life of man so pathetically poor? #P11,M# Why is nature so beautiful but cruel? #P11,B# The young man's name is Shuna. Before long he'll have inherited this kingdom from his father. #P12# The man was from a foreign land, in garments like he's never seen, and dying of hunger and fatigue. #P13# Visitors to this valley were few. And so it was the custom of the valley to treat these rare guests with courtesy. #P14,R# But the spells and medicinal herbs of the valley's foremost old woman couldn't tie the life to the traveler. #P14,L# "As the moon sets this very night he shall be released from his lengthy torment," she said. #P15,T# The traveler beckoned Shuna to his death bed. "I am the prince of a small country far off in the eastern part of this world. It's a poor country. My subjects were always worried about starving. #P15,BR# One day, when I was young, like you, I ran across a lone traveler." #P15,BL# The man took the little bag he wore around his neck and showed it to Shuna. #P16,T# Seeds like Shuna had never seen came flowing from the bag. "This is what that traveler gave me. If only I had this grain, there's no way the people could starve. They could live in abundance, in peace..." That seed was of great importance. #P17# Shuna said, "Our Hiwabie seeds are small and meager. Could we not have this species?" "Giving you this is fine but sowing it in the soil is useless... The husk on this seed is peeling. It's dying already. While living, this species is wrapped in a gold-colored husk. Sparkling as beautifully as anything you've ever heard of. I wanted to keep the people from pain. Until today, I was searching for the golden species. The journey continued on and on. Quickly, I grew old...and my strength, too, was spent..." #P16,B# "Over yonder, to the west, where the ground has been used, the golden grain makes fertile waves roll across the land..." #P18,T# When the traveler died, he left within Shuna's heart a burning idea. Since then, Shuna frequently would look firmly in the direction of the west. #P18,B# Troubled at heart, his father and the elders addressed Shuna. "If we are poor it is only because it is our destiny. It is the duty of a person to be buried here, to be embraced by this land." #P19,T# But as the time to depart approached, it looked like no one could convince him...and the elders were gravely disappointed. #P19,B# The women were always gathering, and seeing the excessive number of bullets he had, they knew of the rigid nature of his determination. #P20# Violating the law while everyone slept on the night of the new moon, Shuna saddled his yakkul and left. #P22# TO THE WEST In an area where the earth was rotting into pits and rust floated on the surface of the water, he continued on to the bitter end. The wind came and it carried a stench. So many days, day after day, Shuna and his yakkul walked to the west without seeing a single living thing. #P25# There were only the things that people had left behind. Some time ago, they must have moved far away from there... #P26,T# In the first month after emerging from the valley, standing far off on the horizon, Shuna saw smoke rising from human habitations. #P26,B# It was a ship constructed of wood and stone. #P27# It was exceedingly large. Possibly, it was damaged some time after its departure. Now, it seems to have reached a port. #P29# "I'm one suffering the hardships of a journey. Would you be so kind as to permit me one night's lodging?" Shuna asked. #P30,T# The place where a woman pointed looked like the entrance to a cave. #P30,B# At his feet there was a dry crunching sound. The muscles of his back turned cold as ice. #P31,T# Shuna vaulted onto his yakkul and left there at full speed. Behind him, the shouts of the woman could be heard. #P31,R# The scattered pieces of bone were clearly human. There were signs that they had been burned and broken right to the marrow. #P31,L# "These must be the ghouls, the cannibals I've heard rumors about..." #P36# Just as they had come, the attackers were gone, without a sound. #P37,T# No, that wasn't entirely true. He could hear the whimpering of the badly maimed one. #P37,B# The whimpering voice went beyond the sand dune, and little by little, grew fainter and fainter... #P39,T# The provisions they took out of the valley had been consumed. Shuna and his yakkul were starving. #P38,M# In order to eat, he killed. #P38,B# In order to survive, he had to make every effort possible. #P39,B# Little by little, time lost its meaning. How many days had passed since he left the valley? Shuna no longer knew. #P40# The air grew thick. Before long, he had seen oh so many abandoned villages. #P41,T# The people who lived here, where on earth could they have gone? #P41,MR# The fields of crops had returned to a completely wild state. The meager seeds had become nothing more than Hiwabie. #P41,L# He thought, "The seed I'm searching for isn't here..." #P43# Traveling westward again, Shuna ran across a huge vehicle drawn by a team of horses. But when he called up to them from the road, the men only ridiculed Shuna's old-fashioned gun and gave no information. #P44,T# An offensive odor came drifting from the armored vehicle. Seeing the cargo, Shuna received a shock. People had been herded into it. What on earth for? #P44,B# Some number of identical vehicles also passed. A town, sprawling across the devastated plain, came into view. #P45,R# IN THE CASTLE TOWN #P45,L# Forty thousand lived in the castle town. People and vehicles were coming and going constantly through the main gate. #P46# Inside the castle, a forest of towers that had begun to collapse, was the liveliest, noisiest place Shuna had ever seen. #P47# How could you describe it... If you do business in this town, your main stock is people. #P48,TR# The seed he desired couldn't be in this place. #P48,TL# If he got some provisions, he could leave here soon. #P48,B# Shuna offered the jewel adorning his sword hilt to the merchant and his attitude promptly changed. In the front of his shop all sorts of beans and grains formed mountains. #P49,T# Shuna's eyes became riveted to one mountain in particular. There was the seed he desired. But threshing had made it completely lifeless. Shuna inquired of the merchant if there wasn't any living seed. "There really aren't any other dealers of farm-related goods. When wheat is needed, it's just brought from someplace else." "Well, isn't that wheat grown in this vicinity?" "The slave traders are waiting to exchange their people, so why don't you go ask the slave traders?" #P49,BR# "Did you say slave traders? We're man hunters," #P49,BL# "The ones he bought it from, do you know where they brought that booty from?" #P50,T# The lips of the men became hostilely stiff and they were as silent as stone statues. #P50,B# Shuna was exhausted... #P51,M# "Even this little girl..." he thought. #P51,B# "Eat." #P52# "My good traveling man, that pair has caught your eye, and an eye for quality it is. #P53,TR# These sisters are blood descendants of a certain royal family, you know. #P53,TL# Make a fine wife for a noble man. Make a fine serving girl. #P53,MR# And they come incredibly cheap. Well, what will it be? Your mount in exchange - I can't think of a deal more to my disadvantage..." #P53,ML# Shuna began to ponder, "If I gave these two their freedom..." Shuna was perplexed. "But if I part with the yakkul, this journey can't continue. I don't have any more jewels," he told himself. #P53,B# "You seem satisfied," the merchant said. "Congratulations. Say, that's a really old-fashioned gun, but I'm sure I can give you something in exchange." #P54,T# "You shouldn't do that!" Suddenly, the young lady sprung up. #P54,MR# "If you trade away your weapon you'll be hunted down, too. #P54,ML# What's more, we aren't from any royal family, but we don't want to be bought by you." #P54,BR# "Shut up! #P54,BL# I'll show you who's the master here." #P55,TR# When it looked as if he would try to stop it, Shuna was surrounded by patrolmen. #P55,TL# "If you don't want to, die, hold your tongue." #P55,M# Get out of here, you penniless bastard, or you'll be serenading me with more screams of that sort." #P55,B# He couldn't help but leave... #P56# Suddenly, the tears began to fall, on and on, and they would not stop. #P57# "Oh, that's not a fire, is it? I'm frozen. You'll be so kind as to let a miserable old man warm himself, won't you? #P58,T# Well, this old man certainly has the good luck to run into a kind person. Isn't that right? Wouldn't you say? Can I have one of those Nan? Ha ha ha!" #P58,BR# "At the slave market..." he repeated. "I'm searching for the golden seeds to help the people of the valley. That was my intent. In front of my own eyes, just a little girl, and I couldn't save her..." #P58,BL# "He he he... And because of this you say you've lost your confidence? #59,T# Why don't you run back to your homeland? You lived the pampered, protected life of a prince there, didn't you?" #P59,MR# "Ooh, that's hot... You shouldn't want the golden species and things like that." #P59,BR# "Old man, do you know where the golden seeds are?" "I might." #P59,BL# "Please tell me where I should go." "Ha ha ha... I'll take another of those Nan first..." #P60# "Once again, it's best to proceed westward, until cliffs mark the end of the land. That's the point where the dead are born of the moon in the land of the god-like ones." "God-like ones...?" "They're the ones who used to have the golden species. Harvest from the water, plant in the water, water's what gives it life. Now, only the god-like ones have that species. What they trade to the human race, that seems to be just dead seed that they get." "The god-like ones won't be glad to associate with a person. I'll head to that region - I won't bother them." #P61,TR# "You'll go? You will go, won't you? Then it's decided." Having said that, the old man went to sleep. #P61,B# Around daybreak, Shuna awoke, but the form of the old man was no longer there. Shuna departed, facing himself first to the east... #P62,TR# THE ATTACK #P62,TL# Shuna returned to the city of greed, sleeping behind a firmly barred main gate. Ascending the castle wall, he went to that alley from the previous day. At the wall, the manacles were left undone and he didn't see any sign of the sisters. #P62,BR# "Get up! Those sisters, where are they?!" #P62,BL# "You...you little bastard, that I can only guess." #P63,TR# To hear the truth from the mouth of the villainous slave merchant, Shuna didn't hesitate to exercise his strength. #P63,TL# During the night, the sisters had been sold to a slave trader going south. #P63,BR# To the south, the yakkul began to give chase like the wind. #P63,BL# Shuna's body felt as if it were overflowing with a ferocious strength. #P65# Discovering the slave trader's vehicle, Shuna wheeled around to the front and suddenly started firing from very close range. It was a perfect surprise attack. Hunting snow leopards was just like this. Firing repeatedly with the coolness of a fiend, he did laps around the vehicle, shooting down the slave traders all the while. #P66,T# Shuna searched out the key ring and opened the iron door. "Even though you may be chased for the rest of your life, anyone who wants his freedom should be good enough to get out." #P66,B# Only those two sisters stepped down. Fearing revenge, the other people would not stand up. #P67,T# "Freedom can't be bought and sold. Pride is the sword you fought with. You are free." #P67,B# There was no more time for conversation. On the horizon, the shape of pursuers from the town appeared. "Let's go!" Shuna hoisted the two sisters up into the saddle. #P69# Burdened with three people, and heading east, the yakkul displayed magnificent running ability, immediately pulling out of the range of vision of the pursuers. But Shuna's adversaries were skilled. The pursuers recovered their senses. By no means would they hurry. #P70,T# They were counting on the yakkul growing tired. While they made a respectable pace toward the horizon, Shuna was conscious of the pursuers plodding along behind them. #P71,R# They slept while they ran. They ate while they fled. #P71,L# After two nights, the ground in front of them suddenly disappeared. They had arrived at the limit end of the earth that the old man had talked about. #P72,T# The yakkul was frothing and needed to lie down. Since three people had been put on it, and it had run excessively, it might die. #P72,B# "The yakkul can be ridden with just you two. I'll stay here and hold them off." The young lady said that they, too, would stay. Shuna told them, "If I can kill our pursuers, then I can go to the land of the god-like ones as I intended." #P73,T# Knowing the purpose of Shuna's journey, the young lady bent forward. Presently, she raised her face. "If you return from the land of the god-like ones, please be certain to advance north, up to the north. We will wait there forever for you to return." The young lady said her name was Tea. Shuna divided the water and provisions in half. The time for separation had come. Tea and her younger sister waved once and were already looking back as they went quickly north and melted away. #P73,BR# Shuna remembered how they set traps hunting goats in the valley. He built so many small mounds of little stone surrounding the edge of the cliff, and set powder cartridges. #P73,BL# Digging into the sand, he buried himself and waited in silence. #P75,T# When they entered the trap at the end of the path, Shuna sprang up. #P75,B# Time after time, he shot bullets precisely where he'd buried the powder cartridges, and with flashes and deafening roars, the traps were all set off. The animals panicked, and without a second thought, rushed toward the cliff. #P77,T# That time did it. Shuna was enveloped in a bluish white light, like the collected brilliance of a hundred moons. #P77,B# There was a huge gleaming face on it. At an incredible speed, it shot across the sky. It was the moon. #P78# It left a broad trail of light behind it that melted away as it went over there. In an instant, it was a light that flitted through the darkness to the opposite shore. It was the land of the god-like ones that the old man had talked about, where the moon returned the dead to life. It was none other than the place where the golden species he searched for was. #P80,TR# TO THE LAND OF THE GOD-LIKE ONES #P80,BL# The end of the night wasn't clear. Floating dust hid the opposite shore and thick clouds were expelled from the bottom of the valley, making it impossible to see. Shuna fixed his will and began the descent of the vertical cliff. #P81# He discovered innumerable ancient gods carved in the cliff, unseen from the top. But shortly, the gods and their forgotten names were lost as Shuna's hands lowered him downward. #P82# Entering the thick clouds, the light of the sun was blocked and visibility was low, making a world of darkness. The shapes of the gods disappeared and the skeletons of the dragons of ancient times were jutting from the stone walls. Shuna dropped down on the bones, on top of bones that had lived through the very first night. #P84# In the afternoon of the next day, the light of the sun slipped through a rift in the clouds for only a second, and for the first time, the bottom of the valley was visible. There was a beach there. #P85# What could he say... #P87,T# The land of the god-like ones stretched out on the other side of the stormy sea. #P86# Wouldn't it be nice not to be thirsty anymore! An exhausted Shuna staggered into the water and washed his face, hands and feet. The water was bitterly cold. #P87,B# Squatting down in that place, the strength left his body, and like sinking entirely into a thick sea, Shuna slept. #P88,T# Shuna awoke with clear warm water lapping about him. How long - the tide was rising. #P88,B# It was like another world, calm and bright. The waves of the day before were nowhere to be seen. The shape of the sandbar was visible. #P89# A walk along the sandbar brought him to an island. The tide had begun to fall. The sea was teeming with living things. Species that had become extinct in distant antiquity were living there. #P90# The island, too, was completely covered by signs of life. Shuna had finally set foot in the land of the god-like ones. #92# This island was unspoiled by human footprints. Pressing on into the dense forest and entering into the heart, the very heart. #P93# Oh, that place should be so fruitful, such a peaceful world. #P94# There wasn't a single thing here to threaten him. Shuna was enveloped in tranquil feelings from the very bottom of his heart. #P95,TR# "It's someone!" he thinks. #P95,TL# Could it be one of the god-like ones? The god-like ones came from the human race, he was glad to say. The words of the old man were swept from his mind. #P95,B# It was a green giant. Silently and staggeringly it walked. After it, a great number of beasts and bugs followed. #P96,MR# When it came to an open space in the forest, the giant stood still. #P96,MM# Slowly thereafter, it collapsed. #P96,ML# What would come next, Shuna really didn't want to see. A horde of small animals covered the giant and began eating it. #P96,BR&L# Before long, the horde moved away, and of the figure there was not so much as a bone remaining. #P97# Just as he started down the path the giant had come plodding along, another giant appeared. Though Shuna was in front of its eyes, the giant was unaware of his presence. With a tranquil expression, this giant passed by, being wounded. "It went to, die," Shuna muttered, trembling. #P98# Again the giant proceeded, passing by, following one another in tranquility, just like people. The giant swayed back and forth, disappearing into the forest. All of a sudden, it was there before his eyes. A strange, building- like thing towered from the center of bare farmland. The farmland itself was well-ploughed, and something like waterways ran through it in every direction. #P100,R# This thing wasn't stone and it wasn't metal, and to the touch it was mysteriously warm and flexible. #P100,L# He found an entrance, where the waterway continued into a cave, and began his tour of the building. #P101,T# The interior was profoundly dark and a sweet perfume was drifting there. Just as Shuna took another step toward the center of the cave, he was stricken with panic that stood every hair on his body on end. Like a little critter, he ran back out into the forest. #P101,B# That was no kind of building. It was a living thing. Certainly, it was breathing... #P102# In the dead of night, the moon returned and halted right over the top of the building. #P103,T# Something began to be poured out of the mouth area of the moon. It was people!! #P103,B# Everything the old man had said was true. The god-like ones collected people from the slave traders, and nothing else. #P105# That enormous clot of people was completely swallowed, and the body began to shake slowly. How much time could have passed? When the light of the moon finally subsided, phosphorescent fluid came gushing forth from those holes, circulating through the waterways of the farmland. Shuna saw it, this time. From the water, enormous figures rose, and green giants were "born," as it were. #P104,B# The people that were swallowed, were they transformed into giants, or the liquid that irrigated the farmland? Shuna did not know. swayingly, the giants spread out in the field and began sowing the golden seeds from their mouths. Without resting, the giants then scooped water onto the fields they had sown. When the morning sun rose, the buds had sprouted. At midday, the flowers were beginning to bloom. #P108,T# Seeing the gun by his side, Shuna was left breathless. #P108,B# A half a day had elapsed, and it was completely rusted. His sword, too. And his clothes were falling to pieces. #P109,TR# He didn't want to waste any more time. Things would change here with each approaching hour. #P109,TL# The heads of grain were already beginning to change color. #P109,MR# Shuna crossed the waterway. #P111# Just as Shuna's hand touched the heads of grain, the giants twisted their bodies, weeping and praying in unexpected voices. "Oooh, oooh," they began to howl. And at the same time, in Shuna's mind, someone's voice was ringing - "Stop it! Stop it!" Shuna ignored this, and forcibly took the heads of grain. #P112,R# At the same time, Shuna's body was swept with shock as he fled, and a sharp pain pierced his heart. #P112,L# Clenching his teeth, clutching the grain tightly, Shuna ran out of the field. #P113# In confusion, he ran, escaping the forest. The sea was getting stormy. With eyesight dimming from the pain, Shuna jumped into the dark sea. #P114# TEA #P115# After escaping, Tea and her younger sister made their way to this poor village of the north. The days and months of a full year seemed to stream by. #P116# The two of them became good workers. An old woman took them into her home. And when they weren't doing their normal jobs, the two worked hard at reassuring the yakkul. #P117# The old woman was sort of strange and ill-tempered, but she wasn't a bad person. Tea knew well that the complaining of an unfortunate older person was common indeed. #P118,T# The two were always hungry, and in that respect they were not unlike the people of this village. #P118,BR# Tea was a brave young woman, not the sort to weep, but when the day was ended, not unlike a lover, she fell into a deep depression. #P118,BL# What could have happened to Shuna? As a sensible young lady, Tea knew that she should not wait so patiently, but she feared for Shuna's safety and it felt as if her very heart would burst. #P119,T# The villagers weren't so backward, and they warmly welcomed the sisters. These people hated slave traders and they liked people who were good hard workers just like they were. #P119,BR# That night, as always, her heart was terribly heavy and the yakkul, too, was sniffling. For the longest time, it wouldn't calm down. #P119,BL# Suddenly, Tea felt as if she'd heard something like Shuna's voice calling for assistance. #P120,R# Tea saddled up the yakkul without hesitation and went down to the to the south. But when she came to the entrance of the village, beyond which point there were no houses, she saw what looked like a wretched devil making his way up the road to the valley. #P120,L# Tea called out Shuna's name. Slowly, Shuna turned toward her, with hollow-looking eyes. #P121# Tea took Shuna to the storeroom where they themselves lived. Shuna was oblivious to everything. Without so much as a memory, a word, a name, a feeling... Fearing the fire, he crouched in the darkness and ate greedily. #P122,T# The bag that hung around Shuna's neck looked like something important, so Tea opened it for a look. #P122,MR# Golden heads of grain... #P122,ML# She felt a warmth coming to her heart, and the tears nearly fell. #P122,BR# Taking a needle and thread and cloth that she'd woven, Tea began to repair Shuna's clothes. What had his body been through? Tea could not even guess. #P122,BL# Tea only knew that this time, like she'd said, she would be watching over him to give him help. #P123# It was winter already. Except when he was crouching to eat, Shuna continued to sleep through this long and gloomy time of year. Tea told neither the old woman nor the people of the village of the thing Shuna had. #P124,T# Slowly, spring came. Early one morning, Tea brought Shuna outside with her. #P124,B# Unobserved, they plough a little garden, and with the stones unearthed, they constructed a home for Shuna to hide in. #P125# Everyday, while the people still slept, Tea brought out food and water. The old woman complained, "The food will soon run out," but Tea continued to bring out her own rations. #P126,T# Shuna was clutching the bag. He could not easily plant the seeds. Slowly, patiently, Tea taught him. And in the middle of the night, Shuna dug up the seeds he'd planted, one by one, and replaced them in his bag. #P126,BR# Despite this, Tea worked harder than ever. If they could harvest from the small amount Shuna had, they would have even more. #P126,BL# At night, after her work at the house was done, she spun thread and weaved cloth. #P127,TR# And even when she was exhausted and saw the little light burning on the mountain, it gave her a warm feeling. #P127,TL# It was at Shuna's refuge that the wood fire burned. Gathering a small amount of firewood everyday, and kindling the fire, became the job of the younger sister. #P127,BR# One morning... #P127,BL# Creeping from his house, Shuna stared steadily at the garden. The golden species had sent forth its first sprouts. #P128,R# Seeing the green sprouts, Tea's little sister laughed in a bright voice. The child that had not laughed since the manhunters had burned her country was now spinning round and round, dancing. #P128,L# Since that time, a faint smile had come to Shuna's face. #P129# The day for the festival of the summer solstice was near. The old woman called Tea. "You are becoming of that age where you should like to become intimate with a good strong worker." She told her to select her groom from among the young men of the village. "I don't want to, and if you want to throw me out of the house, that's fine." "Just be quick," she said, not accepting Tea's words. The night before the festival, Tea sewed Shuna clothes from the cloth she'd woven. #P130,T# That day, in front of every person in the entire village, Tea would conduct the selection of her husband. #P130,BR# The old woman adorned Tea, putting her in the best clothes from her own youth. Seeing Tea's old woman, all the young men of the village began to murmur. #P130,BL# Tea said, "Whoever can handle our yakkul will be my husband." #P131,TR# The proud yakkul used its antlers skillfully, and one rider after another fell off. #P131,TL# The entire village could not stop laughing. #P131,B# After the last of the suitors had failed, Tea's little sister led a familiar youth forward by the hand. The young man wore clothes of yakkul fur. Immediately, the villagers knew that the faithful mount would not run away from this master. The old woman was mortified, but the villagers, satisfied, returned to their homes. #P133,T# One clear day, Tea was working in a distant pasture, cutting grass. Suddenly, an icy wind blew, and black clouds advanced from the mountains. #P132# The brief summer of the northern provinces had come. It was strange how lush and green the small garden became, and how, with this, there came a lightening of Shuna's expression. #P133,B# Tea ran toward it. Soon, there was thunder, and ice pellets mixed with rain began to fall. #P134# Tea encouraged Shuna to spread a cloth, protecting the field. Large pellets of hail struck them both violently, and chopped down the grass around them. At that time, it was very dark there, and the storm blew thunderously. #P136,T# The two of them had defended the field. As the storm was passing, the blue sky peeped out at her face, and Tea heard her own name being called. #P136,BL# "Tea..." #P137,R# Shuna had recovered his speech. #P137,L# Bursting the dam, Tea's tears flowed. The girl who hadn't cried since her village was burned was taken by Shuna in his arms and wept violently. #P139# Slowly, the crops took their color, and like he himself, were ripening. Shuna recovered. #P140,T# Fall... #P140,M# Finally, the day came. #P140,BR# Someone was knocking at the door. #P140,BL# Tea opened the door. #P141# Carrying the sheaf of wheat he'd harvested, Shuna stood there, looking like someone just back from a long journey. "Shuna..." #P143# Quietly, but with the profoundest joy, the two sat down side by side. It was over... Now, the moon traveled across the sky, and wandering after it were manhunters. At any rate, they'd survived that ordeal before. #P144# With a view to return to the valley of his birth, Shuna stayed in that area another year. With the villagers, he battled the attacking manhunters, driving them out into the desert. After the last harvest, the wheat field was expanded, making the next harvest much bigger. #P145# When the day of departure arrived, they were able to leave half the seeds of the golden wheat with the people of the village. The people regretfully bid them farewell. Even the old woman, who continues to lament about not having one of the young villagers as a son-in-law, gave Tea her late husband's rifle. #P147# Shuna's journey isn't over. The road back to his valley is long. No doubt, there were other problems, but that is a story that will be told another time. END THIS TRANSLATION IS NOT TO BE COPIED FOR PROFIT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. This version of SHUNA'S JOURNEY, originally translated by Kevin Leahy for Anime Hasshin members in 1990, has been made available to anime fandom courtesy of the Hayao Miyazaki Discussion Group. Please retain these credits if you post this translation anywhere or if you make hard copies.