The Wikipedia Twelve Kingdoms entry translates Kasho no Yume (華胥の幽夢) as "The Dream of Prosperity." The word kasho (華胥) comes from the legendary Chinese "Yellow Emperor" (黄帝) who dreamed of a utopian "Land of Kasho" (華胥の国).

Its etymological equivalent in English might be "Shangri-La" or "la-la land." Kasho has also come to mean "siesta."

The Kasho Kada (華胥華朶), the "resplendant branch of Kasho," is the Imperial Regalia of Sai. The person holding it sees in dreams a vision of the ideal kingdom.

So I've translated the title as "Dreaming of Paradise." The first story from the collection is "Winter Splendor" (冬栄), which I'll begin posting next week.

Labels: 12 kingdoms, kasho, translations