June 25, 2017

Prison of Dusk (1)

"Riri" could be transliterated "Lily," except the first character in her name (李理) means "plum," so I don't think the English reading is intended.

The Five Punishments (五刑) defined the penalties meted out by the legal system of pre-modern dynastic China. In their earliest forms, they involved (but were not limited to) tattooing, amputation of the nose, amputation of one or both feet, castration, or death.

Japan's Currency Act of 1871 defined 100 sen (銭) as equal to one yen. The ryou (両) was made equal to one yen (円) and taken out of circulation. The yen was defined as 24.26 grams of silver. At the current trading price, around US $10-$15. By the end of the 19th century, the yen was pegged at US $.50, also in the US $10-$15 range when adjusted for inflation.

The yen steeply depreciated during and after WWII. The sen was taken out of circulation in 1953 and replaced by the yen. One yen currently has a value of around one U.S. cent.

The organization of farming hamlets is described in chapter 25 of A Thousand Leagues of Wind. A hamlet typically consists of eight families who farm the eight allotments and one common area. Hamlets are usually only occupied in the summer during the growing season.

Shundatsu's tattoo uses the following characters: Kin (均) Dai (大) Nichi (日) In (尹). Tattooing is one of the penalties spelled out in the Five Punishments.

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Comments
# posted by Anonymous Lims
6/30/2017 12:37 AM   
WoW! Thank you so very much for the new chapter!
This story sounds very intriguing and I can sense it is
going to be very controvercial, even within the story plot.
Can't wait to see how it develops!

Fuyumi Ono apparently has the skill to write profound discussions on
universal problems, which always capture the readers attention.
I think that is what I like in her as an author and creator.

And your translations are amazing!