Hell Teacher Nube 62

An object that exists for a long time could potentially become a youkai...but what about the forgotten ones? For the materialistic Shuichi, the truth regarding transformed youkai may make him learn a lesson about connection to things...

#62: Hyakki Yakou

49.
Caption: Midnight
SFX: Boko
SFX: Za—
SFX: Dokun dokun
Narrator: Since long ago, “things” were said to become youkai after 100 years pass…but however there can be strange half-youkai such as those midway between “thing” and “youkai” without becoming a perfect youkai a year earlier, in other words, at 99 years.
SFX: Dokun dokun

50.
Narrator: People call them “Tsukumogami”.
(TN: This is probably a better explanation of the Tsukumogami phenomenon than what we got prior, just noting as such. Also, note that while it reads as “tsukumo”, that section literally uses the three kanji for “99”. (the kanji for 9, 10 and 9 in that order)
SFX: Byuooo

51.
Caption: Bazaar
Nube: You must take care of things. Once every half year, Doumori Elementary gathers things that we’ve come to not use and open a bazaar.
Hiroshi: It’s a soccer ball. Buy it!
Ball: 200 yen.
Boy: Disgusting~~
Kyouko: It’s second-hand but pretty.
Kyouko’s outfit: 300 yen
Sign: Old books
Nube: Oh, this is fine—I could use this. Hey, discount this to 10 yen. (He he he)
Hiroshi: By the way: Nube buys 90% of his life supplies here.
Kyouko: He’s haggling for bazaar goods.
SFX: Don!

52.
Shuichi: Here!
SFX: Gara gara gara…
Nube: He…hey, Shuichi, these are just new-seeming things, but are you selling them!?
Shuichi: N? Yes: it’s because we immediately buy a replacement when a new product comes out at our place.
Nube: So isn’t that a new thing that isn’t damaged anywhere or anything!
Shuichi: N? Aah, this? That’s right.
SFX: Gachan
Shuichi: Here, it’s damaged.

53.
Nube: I’ll spank you, I’ll spank you~~
SFX: Pishi—
Shuichi: Aah, teacher, what are you—
Student: It’s S&M--!
Kyouko: It’s not unreasonable: Shuichi’s home is really rich from managing a number of high-class restaurants.
Hiroshi: They can immediately buy what they want and eat just a feast every day.
Katsuya: It’s different from the world we live in!!
Miki: I’m aiming into marrying rich—huh!
(TN: Miki uses an expression of “tama no koshi”; while it literally has a meaning of “a palanquin set with jewels, it is an expression more notably used for a female who ends up marrying a rich husband. I could have probably used “aiming to be Cinderella” due to the “Cinderella complex” of the poor girl falling for and marrying the rich man but didn’t know if people would understand that context)
SFX: Po…po…
Student 1: Hya—it’s rain, it’s rain!
Student 2: We have to close up shop!
Student 3: Perhaps it’s better to sell it later.

54.
Shuichi: Hmph
Student 1: Hya—
Student 2: Run, run.
SFX: Za—za—
Shuichi: Everyone’s dumb…going home getting wet in the rain…isn’t it better to call a taxy if you don’t have an umbrella?
SFX: Pipapo
Voice: Shuichi

55.
Shuichi: What is this worn-out umbrella? Further, isn’t this an umbrella used by kindergartners?
SFX: Ban!
Shuichi: Well, that’s nice. Somehow I have a feeling I’ve used an umbrella of this color.
Handle: Shuichi
Nube: ………
SFX: Poooo

56.
“Child”: Rain rain, fall fall my mom will
SFX: Za—za—
“Child”: Meet me with an umbrella
SFX: Za--
“Child”: It will be fun…
(TN: The song that the child is singing is a traditional preschool song about the rain known as “Ame Ame Fure Fure” or, as sung here “Rain Rain Fall Fall”)
SFX: Picha
Shuichi: N?
Shuichi: !!
“Umbrella”: Gyugyugyu
SFX: Moko moko

57.
Shuichi: Uaaa!!
SFX: Basa
Nube: Shuichi~~Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan Koudai Reikan
Nube: You, evil spirit, let go of my student—
SFX: Gotsu

58.
SFX: Pita
Nube: What…? You’re…
SFX: Ba
Shuichi: Save me—
SFX: Pyon pyon
Nube: That youkai is…

59.
Shuichi: This is…? Isn’t this trash mountain? Why am I here…
SFX: Chindon Gacha gacha Dondokodon
Shuichi: What is this: some festival?
SFX: Chinchin Dondoko Gatsuchakacha
Shuichi: Ge!!

60.-61.
SFX: Za za za za za za za

62.
Shuichi: Hieee! Wh…what are these junk monsters~~!?
Nube: A Hyakki Yakkou of Tsukumogami.
(TN: A “Hyakki Yakkou”, which literally translates into a “Night Parade of 100 Demons” but also has meanings of “veritable pandemonium” or “scandalous scene”, is a belief in Japanese culture that youkai gather together and parade into a procession, usually on a summer night. Those who come across this procession are said to die unless they have a sutra protecting them.)
Nube: Long ago, things were thought to transform into youkai when 100 years have passed…with that, people would throw things away if they’ve been used for 99 years. Although they would become youkai in one more year, these thrown-away things are called Tsukumogami that hate humans; they become half-youkai and walk as a group night after night attacking humans…

63.
Nube: And thus, it seems they’re aiming at their opportunity…an opportunity for revenge against the human who acted crude to these things…
SFX: Zawa zawa zawa
Shuichi: Wh…what?
Shuichi: Understood! I’ve been bad! I’ve made an error! Since I’m fine with that sermon, quickly save me!
Nube: N~~what to do~~huh~~~if I see your pained eyes for a bit since this is long-awaited~~~?
Shuichi: Nube!
SFX: Zaza—gegege
Shuichi: Waa! Save me—they’ll kill me~~

64.
SFX: Ba!
Shuichi: Uwa—y…you’re from before.
SFX: Peron
Shuichi: Hiiii!!
Nube: How’s that: will you listen with the Oni no Te to their voices of resentment?
Shuichi: I can’t! You perverted, sadist teacher!!
Nube: Well well, without saying that.
SFX: Zubo
Shuichi: Hi

65.
Shuichi: Rain rain, fall fall my mom will~~
Caption: Shuichi: age 4
Shuichi: Meet me with an umbrella; it will be fun.
Shuichi: Right…I forgot…
Shuichi: We were together…together all the time.
Woman: Well, this child has that though it isn’t raining
Man: He’s quite pleased with that umbrella.
Shuichi: I really…really did love you…you were the most valuable…
Shuichi: Right…you were bought when I was 4…my first umbrella……

66.
“Mrs. Shirato”: Please give it up already: someone mistook that umbrella for their own and took it. We’ll buy you a new one…
Shuichi: No, no, I can’t if it isn’t that umbrella—
Nube: Right…that was the umbrella that was completely valuable when you were small. I simply sent you words of the tale of Tsukumogami before but…actually, within these things is confined the love and feelings of humans, possessing them with souls.
Nube: It merely wanted to give thanks to you and came for you by becoming a Tsukumogami.

67.
Nube: Ironic: athough this is you, who is the most crude to things in the class. (Ahaha…)
Nube: A Hyakki Yakkou of Tsukumogami is rarely seen. Look at them carefully. There are miniscule souls lodged in these things; spiritually they’re extremely weak, harmless beings.
Shuichi: Ahahaha…You’re funny guys! You please me! All of you will come to my house! I’ll use you with great care!

68.
Shuichi: U…h…huh, morning already?
Nube: It’s because you were boisterous through the night last night…it’s fine, I’ll make a call to your home.
SFX: Dododo | Baki baki
SFX: Gagaga | Beki beki
Shuichi: Ah…ah……

69.
Shuichi: Aah…that TV was a foolish guy last night…and that pot and all of them were still so energetic…
SFX: Baki baki | zuzuzu
Nube: There’s nothing we can do…things have this destiny for being thrown away at any rate…the point is to use them valuably until then.
Nube: Let’s go, Shuichi.
SFX: Dododo
Nube: Oh well, don’t lose heart. Because I’m going to treat you to breakfast.
Shuichi: A sirloin steak would be nice.
Nube: Dummy, I’m Nube. Do I have that money?

70.
RETURN OF THE GREAT YOUKAI ENCYCLOPEDIA

#3: Hyakki Yakkou

Broken rice-bowls, earthen pots and plates form groups and wander around the night capital. Those who see them will have a terrible curse cast on them and their family and relatives will all die.

A Hyakki Yakkou (correctly read as “Hyakki Yagyou”) is a famous spiritual phenomenon, the subject of pictures since ancient times. This famous scene has fame with works of Toriyama Sekien and Kawanabe Kyousai.

This primarily is an act of Tsukumogami (things that have transformed into youkai), but this image was hardened generally with the Muromachi period onwards.

Its source is that commerce with the continent became prosperous and imported goods came to overflow the towns one after another and people came to see things as not really important at that time.

However, in the beginning the Tsukumogami were dreaded by the people but eventually, instead, they came to seem to be drawn as humorous, funny items. Their spiritual power as not being a great thing for just these things originally therefore gradually became understood. At present, if you do too much in grimacing your breath for even encountering the Hyakki Yakkou, then you won’t be inflicted with a particular injury.

(TN: A few things:
1. Toriyama Sekien is a notable scholar/ukiyo-e artist of the 18th century, notable for trying to catalogue and draw all youkai in a series akin to the Hyakki Yakkou, not just of these creatures but for a massive amount of youkai. We’ll be going a bit further into him at a later time
2. Kawanabe Kyousai is a 19th century artist mostly notable as a caricaturist and an early Japanese political cartoonist, in particular during the turbulent period of the mid 1800s leading to the Meiji Restoration. Among some of his ukiyo-e paintings are those of youkai.
3. The Muromachi period is the period between 1333 and 1573, also known as the Ashikaga era, it was notable with Japan’s contact with China’s Ming Dynasty leading to the massive importing periods mentioned)

TN: Is Shuichi really so rich that he has to literally replace things two seconds after buying it? I get that as the true nature of the chapter, but somehow it just did seem wasteful, especially at the beginning. There are people who are obsessed with keeping up with the latest in material goods, but they aren't so wasteful that they just dump them and throw them away moments after buying them. (yeah Nube could have had a new video camera...but that's another story) Though once you get past that intro (and can you please stop with the male fanservice? It gets disturbing), it was a nice chapter regarding the love that these types of youkai do possess even if they didn't get all of the usage that they had. In a way, the lesson Shuichi learned from his umbrella essentially was something that his parents tried to eliminate leading to his obsession with materialism and replacement ultimately. (though it was a shame we never got a look at any member of the Shirato family...strangely of all the "families" in this series, this is the only time we see Shuichi's and it's merely a silhouette when he was a kid) The message was simple yet powerful (even the ending where the garbage truck destroys everything that was alive mere hours ago)...and while I doubt he'll keep it for long, I think Shuichi may need to buy a new umbrella like the one he had...and keep it around for a while.