Sekiro Monogatari Emaki ● Translation Rejuvenated is an update of the English version of Sekiro. While remaining respectful of the original localization, its goal is to hopefully provide a more authentic translation, as well as a harmonized, more coherent display of text and subtitles.
Check the changelist here
(Note that this does not include the countless formatting changes,
error corrections and other minor modifications.) IF YOU NOTICE ANY LINGERING MISTAKE OR MISTRANSLATION,
PLEASE SHARE IN THE COMMENTS.
Installation
- Download Sekiro Mod Engine and extract the content in the same folder as your sekiro.exe.
- Open modengine.ini in a text editor and enable mods by setting useModOverrideDirectory= to 1. Save the document.
- Download your preferred version of the mod.
- Extract the archive's content directly into your game folder.
● Mod features ●
Translation revised
Quite a bit of discussion has been had about some of the choices, interpretations and compromises made by the localization team for Sekiro’s English version. This mod aims to correct the more egregious cases of mistranslations, while also providing its own take on the less obvious ones. Please be aware that this is, ultimately, another interpretation of Sekiro’s original Japanese. You may dislike or disagree with some of the choices made here. (A few detailed instances of retranslation can be found below.)
Grammar, orthography & wording corrected
This mod corrects the typos, oversights and other clumsy sentences found in Sekiro’s English version. Barring said instances, the original English is kept whole.
Paragraph & text formatting standardized
Sekiro’s text formatting is a giant mess where the only consistency is inconsistency, a true OCD catastrophe. Double-space here, single-space there; line-break, no line-break; capital letter for a specific name or term, then later none… It never seems to follow one single rule. This mod conducts a huge overhaul by applying the same guidelines for every description and menu text. Some compromises had to be made because of UI limitations, but the consistency should provide a much more comfortable reading experience.
Subtitles cleaned up & optional SDH
Same as with its descriptions, Sekiro’s way of handling subtitles is unmethodical at best. This mod standardizes the layout and, on top, removes the deaf & hard-of-hearing captions such as “(cough)” or “(pants)”. For the people who do need the additional information (or just prefer it that way), an SDH version of the mod is available for you as an optional download.
Lore-friendly novelties
Although very rare, this mod adds its own snippets of descriptive text where the original game provides none - as well as some home-brewed changes. (You can find the instances of these few taken liberties in the changelist linked above.)
● Retranslation examples ●
- Fountainhead → Fountain
This one has been at the forefront of the Sekiro translation topic. The original Japanese word used is Minamoto 源, which translates as “source”, or “origin”. But it is also the name of one of the Heian period’s most prominent clans. The double meaning aimed at by the game is made even more obvious by the Heian architecture of the Fountainhead Palace, as well as the nobles’ type of clothing. But unless you are well-versed in Japanese History, “Minamoto” will probably mean nothing to the average westerner. So, as a translator, should one keep the name and forego the implication, or favor the meaning over the obscure historical reference? Activision’s translators chose option three, which was coming up with a clever term, Fountainhead, to carry both literal meaning and the name of a location/faction. Though I respect the intent, I think this was, overall, a weird choice. What even is a “fountainhead”? A place? An object? I think that many people, myself included, were initially puzzled by the name; especially since the first letter of the word isn't even consistently capitalized in-game. So after a fair bit of consideration, I simply chose to remove the unnecessary suffix. Fountain, as in “Fountain Palace” or “the Fountain waters”, serves the same purpose of both vague mysticism and literal descriptiveness, while erasing the oddity of the original translation; the consistent capital “F” should be enough of a hint towards the unique nature of the place. Besides, the Fountain Palace is, quite literally, a palace built upon a giant fountain. As for the Minamoto Clan inspiration, I’ve worked out a couple of instances where the name is kept as is in reference to the palace - a subtle way to preserve the lore’s historical roots, and a nice nod still to those of know their Japanese History.
- Divine Dragon → Dragon of the Everblossom
In the Japanese version of Sekiro, the dragon is called Sakura Dragon 桜竜, whereas the full English name would be “Divine Dragon of the Everblossom”. I think this is a perfectly good translation, but the boss title was simply shortened to Divine Dragon. I changed it to Dragon of the Everblossom so as to preserve the essential connection with the sakura tree. Divine Dragon is kept in every other place where the full name would end up causing convoluted sentences. Using Sakura Dragon, while more accurate, would feel redundant with the “Everblossom” part of its name. “Divine” at least builds a connection with the Divine Realm where the dragon resides.
So, this one is tough. The original Japanese name 獅子猿 seems to reference the golden lion tamarin, a species of small monkeys, but also has a more mythical connotation, since the Guardian Ape is obviously not a tamarin. He’s not a guardian either though, that much is certain. Guardian makes it sound like some grand duty of safeguard was given to the ape, when in reality he protected the white lotus for himself, so as to attract females of his kind. Perhaps it was the translators’ aim to reference the komainu, traditional statues of lion-dogs often placed at the entrances of Buddhist temples to ward off evil spirits, seeing as the ape’s watering hole is located just beneath a giant Bodhisattva sculpt. At any rate, “guardian” makes the ape sound like way more than a passionate animal following its instinctive urges. So I’ve restored the “Lion” part, which is a subtler way of alluding to guardianship anyway, if that was indeed the intent. Some would also swap Ape for Monkey to stay even more true to the Japanese, but the beast seems to have a sufficient amount of physical similarities with apes to be characterized as such. Lion Ape just rolls off the tongue better, and easily sounds like something a Japanese mythical monster could be named.
- Lady Butterfly → Phantom Butterfly
This one is a direct translation from the Japanese まぼろしお蝶. The reason it was changed to Lady Butterfly is because that is how Wolf addresses her in dialogues. Her shinobi name, just like Wolf and Owl, is an animal one: more specifically a species of insects known as phantom butterflies. I changed her name everywhere but in her dialogues with Wolf, who still calls her Lady Butterfly.
- Corrupted Monk → Fallen Monk
The original Japanese, Hakaisou 破戒僧, were “depraved monks” of the Sengoku period who had abandoned their ways. I think the term Corrupted is inappropriate. It does the job, but “corrupted”, especially in Western fiction, often serves to describe malfeasances of a supernatural or magical nature - when it is not used to define political corruption. And even then, “depraved” does not necessarily imply corruption of the soul or body. I’ve ended up choosing the word ‘Fallen’ as an umbrella term for any possible kind of way this monk could have fallen out of her teachings. Plus, it makes the horror of her true form even more of a revelation.
- Folding Screen Monkeys → Seeing Monkey, Hearing Monkey, Speaking Monkey,
The original Japanese name for this puzzle boss is 見る猿、聞く猿、言う猿、, literally Seeing Monkey, Hearing Monkey, Speaking Monkey, . The comma at the end is supposed to hint towards the fourth, invisible monkey that stalks the player. From a UI perspective, I understand the choice not to do a direct translation, since it makes the title of the boss so long. It was probably unthinkable from a localizing point of view. But I think it is too much of a fun idea not to be reintegrated. To be clear, Folding Screen Monkeys is still used in item names and descriptions that refer to the four monkeys. Only their boss title was changed.
When I first played Sekiro, I thought that Emma was a weirdly westerner name for a game set in Japan’s Sengoku period. I thought that, maybe it was a plot point, or a hint about her origins. Maybe she had been adopted by Portuguese merchants? Or had connections to Europe in some ways? Well, no. She hasn’t. She’s very much Japanese, but the European orthography of her name misguided me as well as many others. A minor issue, but I see no reason not to have gone for Ema エマ which is a real Japanese given name.
Through what’s called the Nanban trade, we know Japan had more contact with Portugal than any other Western country throughout the 16th century. Robert’s father, the Armored Warrior, wears a full plate late-medieval/Renaissance armor as well as a two-handed greatsword - both of European craftsmanship. We also know from descriptions that he traveled to Japan over the southern seas seeking Rejuvenation for his son. Now, nothing outright rules out the two of them being from France or England where Robert is a common first name - but the warrior’s helmet is most evocative of the classic cabasset/morion which originated in Spain during the 16th century. In fact, the entire face-mask + helmet combination was likely inspired by a specific museum relic combining Japanese and Southern European armor styles, believed to have emanated from the Nanban trade with the exchange of armor-making knowledge and traditions. This, consolidated with our knowledge of Japan’s trade history with Europe, pretty much settles the question of Robert’s baptizing region. Whether it be Spain or Portugal, either way his name would be spelled Roberto.
- Memorial Mob → Memorial Flock
This is another tough one. The original Japanese 供養衆 doesn’t have an exact translation, but refers to a group of people who make offerings to the dead, a service of sorts. Calling them a “mob” is, in my opinion, a bit unseemly. A mob is a large group of people who are physically reunited in a specific place at a specific time; whereas the Memorial Mob merchants are all scattered. What they are a part of is a people of common beliefs and practices. Seeing how they are connected to the crows’ presence, and how their pursuits are of a religious or reverential nature, I personally find Flock to be a fitting name for this spiritual group of individuals.
- O’Rin of the Water → Lady Rin of Mibu
Kind of a tricky one. The original Japanese is 水生のお凛, Mibu no o Rin. Mibu means “water”, or “water-life”. So, literally, her name would translate as “Rin of Water”. But Mibu isn’t translated anywhere else in the game. It is the name of the water-dwellers’ village discovered far into the Ashina Depths - where O’Rin is found and fought. As for the “o” お in “Mibu no o Rin”, it serves to mark politeness or formality. But it was translated to O’Rin as if she was an Irish barmaid. Lady, which is used for Ema, Tomoe and Phantom Butterfly in-game already, is the most logical title of politeness I can think of.Other retranslations or reinterpretations can be found in the changelist document linked above.
A good part of these changes I've plainly or partly stolen from the work of the people who took notice of Sekiro's translation issues in the first place. This document and its linked sources in particular were extremely helpful in listing these issues - some I agreed with, others not. My understanding of Japanese is close to zero, so I had to rely on the knowledge of others as well as my own research and judgment to make this mod. Hence it will be to my taste first and foremost, and might still have glaring inaccuracies that I'm not aware of - in which case I do want to be informed.Feedback of all kinds is very much welcome. If I can make this mod a better revision even in the most insignificant of ways, I'll be happy to.
(If you are at the source of any of these finds, please let me know and I'll properly credit you!)
Credits
- katalash for developing Sekiro Mod Engine.
- TKGP for developing UXM Selective Unpacker and Yabber, and Meowmaritus for updating the former.
- All contributors to Sekiro's localization topic for their research and knowledge.
- Sekiro's localization team for their work.
- Shrimp1995 for the dialogue-background-with-no-text-displayed tip!
