Hell Teacher Nube 95

Spiritual power can come in any form, whether formalized or on the street. One of the strangest may just be someone who may not seem like the type who knows of the spiritual...and may be a new inspiration for Makoto to believe in!

#95: The Old Woman is a Witch!?

167.
Narrator: It’s been said since long ago: a broom is a tool that sweeps away evil…
Narrator: Patting with a broom the belly of a pregnant woman near childbirth protects the soul of a baby from evil spirits.
Narrator: And a broom is stood up so evil spirits don’t enter into a corpse during a funeral. Those are examples.

168.
Narrator: A broom was the most familiar powerful talisman tool long ago.
SFX: Za za
Narrator: And…even in the present, its users have survived while being a fraction of them…
Sign:
Cheap Sweets | Toys | Stationary: Genkotsuya
(TN: “Genkotsu” stands for “Fist”, thus it’s the “Fist Shop”)
Freezer: Unin Ice Cream

169.
Hiroshi: Uh~~it’s hot, it’s hot.
Kyouko: I’m thirsty~~~
SFX: Uda—
Miki: I want to drink jui~~ce, right now!
Hiroshi: ……Genkotsuya~~~that shop is a bit~~
Kyouko: Don’t talk in luxuries at this occasion.
Hiroshi: Pardon u~~s.
SFX: Gara…
Old Woman: Heeeeeey!!

170.
Hiroshi: Huh…uh…!?
Old Woman: You can’t step on the threshold! Men won’t have successful careers and women will come to have difficult deliveries!
Caption: Here
Hiroshi: Huh?
Miki: What’s that--!? Haven’t you seen these big-hips for easy deliveries!!
(TN: Yeah, this was a weird joke considering their ages, but basically here’s what it was: the shopkeeper complains that women who step on the threshold will become “Nanzan”, which is for “a difficult childbirth”. Miki retorts that she has “anzangata no biggu hippu”, which is the “big hips for easy deliveries”)
Old Woman: N? Your clothes are inside-out.
Miki: What? This is reversible. Can’t I wear it in reverse?
Old Woman: “If you wear your clothes in reverse, a fox will appear”. Change it.
Miki: Kya—kya—
Hiroshi: Really…the old woman here is annoying—for thing after thing.
Kyouko: She’s pushing on children just old superstitions.
Miki: Let’s buy this quickly and go home.

171.
Hiroshi: Ge, a spider! She has to sweep this away, really.
Old Woman: You can’t kill that spi—der! “A morning spider will run from enemies”!!
Hiroshi: It is evening but
Old Woman: So—then kill it, kill it.
SFX: Bashi bashi
Old Woman: “A night spider will kill its parents”
Hiroshi: Old lady, hurry up—
Old Woman: A corkscrew--? Ge!! It’s “Eat By This Date” is…
Makoto: This ice cream pre—ase.
(TN: Makoto sort of screws up “kudasai” as “kurasai”, thus I adjusted it accordingly)
Old Woman: N? That’s a sty.
(TN: A “Sty” is a “monomorai”, which is a wound on the eyelid)
Makoto: It is. It hurts.

172.
Old Woman: As its name states, a sty will be cured by giving it a thing. Here, I’ll give you a manjuu from this God.
(TN: A couple things:
-The “give a sty a thing” bit is a pun tied to “monomorai” mentioned prior: “giving it a thing” is “ mono wo morau”, which is close to the “monomorai” for “sty”.
-A “manjuu” is a popular confectionary bun with a rice, flower and buckwheat bun and an anko/red bean filling)
Makoto: Heh, it is? I’ll try it out.
SFX: Paku paku paku paku
Hiroshi: Ke
Old Woman: Hey, “it will rain if earthworms appear on the road”. An evening shower is coming; hurry and get home.
Kyouko: Yeah yeah.
Miki: That’s—annoying.
Miki: Really, that superstitious old lady…
Hiroshi: She’s intolerable.—

173.
SFX: Botsu…
SFX: Doza—
Kyouko, Miki & Hiroshi: Za—wa—hi—kya—
Makoto: ………
Makoto: ………………
Makoto: The sty is healed…amazing: that old woman is a witch.

174.
Nube: Huh, you were cured by a superstition?
Makoto: That’s right: I can have confidence in her superstitions.
Miki: Du—mmy, that was chance. That’s because Makoto gets deceived immediately.
Nube: No, it isn’t a lie altogether. For example they say “a home where a snake lives under the floorboards will be prosperous” but snakes know instinctively about homes that are bankrupted by fire and disaster and they come from places which are settled into being secure houses. If you deeply think about any superstitions, then there may be a reason in itself.
Makoto: Right: it was true after all!!
Nube: Ah, hold on Makoto!
Nube: (to himself) My…my appearance was scarce…! (In spite of being the main character…)

175.
Old Woman: Hoo, the sty was healed? I’m glad.
Makoto: Old woman, you’re amazing. You possess a broom and seem like a witch.
Old Woman: Ho ho ho, right, this is my most important thing. This broom is amazing.
Makoto: How so is it amazing!? I want you to tell me!
Old Woman: Ho ho ho…I rarely tell this to people but…
Old Woman: Because I can depend on you, Makoto-kun, I’ll particularly tell you.
Makoto: Yes!!!
Old Woman: Fine, listen carefully.

176.
Old Woman: This broom is a thing that sweeps away the world of superstition…It had meaning said to be a thing that sends them away. In particular, it can sweep spirits and have them go in from this world to that world. It’s been believed to be a tool of magic.
Makoto: You can do exorcisms with that!?
Old Woman: Hahaha, it isn’t that grandiose a thing; it’s a talisman.
“Frankenstein”: Hey, old woman.
“Baseball”: We’ve come to have a discussion, peacefully.

177.
Makoto: Old woman, who are they?
Old Woman: They’re realtors. They’re annoying me in selling this land.
Old Woman: So, I’ll show you a bit of this: use the power of this broom on these guys: secret technique:
SFX: Kuru kuru kuru
Old Woman: Reversing Broom
(TN: “Reversing Broom” in Japanese is “Sakasabouki”, which literally has the meaning stated)
SFX: Ton| Ka
SFX: Pi—pi—

178.
“Frankenstein”: We’ll be back, old woman!
Old Woman: When I stand my broom in reverse, the bad customers go home. It’s similar to dispersing evil spirits…it’s a charm for wiping away calamity.
Makoto: It’s true: that old woman is a witch!
Nube: Hee.
Miki: Really: you’re a brat and you believe in that superstitious old lady.
Boy: Nube-sensei—
SFX: Wa—h wa—h
Boy: When we did Kokkuri-san in the gym warehouse with everyone…

179.
SFX: Ban!
Girl: Kekeke
SFX: Gaba
Kyouko: Nube!?
Nube: Its fine: it’s a vulgar animal spirit. I’ll clear this immediately; wait outside.

180.
Nube: Namu Daiji Daihi Kyuugu Kyuunan Koudai Reikan Byakue Kanzeon Bosatsu…
SFX: Bari bari
Girl: Garururu…
Miki: This time seems to be finished simply.
Makoto: If it’s an exorcism of that standard, it can be done by the old woman too.
Miki: Du—mmy, what that old lady said is all a lie. How about we test it? If you wear clothes in reverse
Miki: I’ll summon a fox…Wha~~t a stupid superstition…
Nube: What…? The spirit suddenly is starting to be excited.
Girl: Uuh…uuh~~…

181.
“Fox”: Kekekeke
Nube: What!?
SFx: Bashu
Makoto: !?
Miki: Kekekeke
SFX: Goki goki goki
Makoto: Wa—wa—
Miki: Garururu…
Makoto: Uwa—old woma—n!!

182.
SFX: Za!
Makoto: Old Woman!
Old Woman: Namamugidaizu Nishougongou!
(TN: Like Nube’s chant, somehow I think her yell here is akin to a chant. It translates into: “Fresh Barley and Soy Beans 2-Masu 5-Go; “Masu” is a unit of volume of 1.8 liters; “Go” is 0.18 liter, thus “2-masu, 5-go” = “4.5 liters” and the proper way to say it would probably be “2-masu and 5-go of fresh barley and soybeans”)
Miki: Ke—

183.
Kyouko: Wh…what? Is that strange spell!?
Nube: ………
Old Woman: Namamugidaizu Nishougongou!
SFX: Basa
Miki: Gya
Nube: Namu Daishi Nishou Kongou…the sutra is one that is arranged in civilian-style…
(TN: Nube lists here an actual sutra here which was “arranged” by the shopkeeper leading to…her weird version)
Old Woman: Namamugidaizu Nishougongou!
SFX: Supa---n! | Ke—

184.
Nube: Ha!
SFX: Bashu
Hiroshi: Amazing…that old woman really exorcised with her broom… (Ha--…)
Kyouko: We can’t be quite dumb with superstitions.
SFX: Shuu—
Nube: Thank you very much: we were saved thanks to you.
Old Woman: You that’s quite young did quite a bit too.
Makoto: That old woman is a real witch after all.

185.
Narrator: As such, the superstitious old woman even now has that cheap-sweets shop in front of Doumori Elementary.
Caption:
Other Famous Superstitions
-If a cat washes its face to its ears, rain will fall.
-If you stick out your tongue in the bathroom, you’ll get a cavity.
-If a Loquat is planted in your garden, then your home will go bankrupt.
(TN: A loquat is a fruit family indigenous to Southeastern China, also known as the Japanese Medlar)
-It’s a good thing if a tea stalk stands in your cup.
-If you cut your nails at night, you won’t see the death of your parents.
-If you play a flute at night, a snake will appear.
-If you stab the head of a sardine in a holly tree and adorn it in the entrance hall, it will come to ward off demons.
-If a crow sings, a person will die.
(End of Vol. 11)

186.
RETURN OF THE GREAT YOUKAI ENCYCLOPEDIA

#27: Superstition

What is called a superstition is a thing like Pavlov’s Dog. By certainly ringing a bell before presenting feed, then before long it will come to think it will be presented feed by just ringing the bell, it’s like that. In short: by having in succession two occurrences that aren’t connected at all, somehow they’ll end up convinced that that there is a casual relationship. It is said that superstition is born from probability (what is possible) being taken by mistake as inevitability (what certainly will occur). Of course, there isn’t a reason that this can be fulfilled entirely, but a majority of superstitions should be reached for explanation with this.

Well then, the Japanese believed in an absurd superstition until just 50 years ago. That was the superstition of “Kamikaze”. That was because twice an earth-staggering storm blew through and sunk the Mongol’s warships when the Mongol army twice crossed over and invaded Japan during the Kamakura Period, there came born a superstition that said that Japan would absolutely win even in wars due to the blowing of a kamikaze and their enemies being done away with. By chance the invasions of the Mongols were just during typhoon season.

Well for that reason, what’s called superstition isn’t much of a good thing, but among them there are many numbers of amusing ones like those introduced in this chapter. You should ask your grandfather or grandmother. They may know of various superstitions aside from those. And if you have an interesting superstition, then tell us through a letter. See you.

(TN: A couple notes:
1. “Pavlov’s Dog” is a famous experiment performed by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. Although famous for his psychiatric experiments, Pavlov was originally studying the salvation methods of dogs, and discovered that there were conditions where dogs salivate before food was even delivered. He discovered through these experiments that there was a scenario where a reactive reflex occurs due to previous experiences, which was called the “conditional reflex”. While the concept was understood in the West, Pavlov’s works weren’t fully published until 1927. [during a period where, surprisingly, he actually had the full support of the Soviet government compared to other Russian scientists prior to the Revolution.]
2. As many should know, the “kamikaze” literally translates into “Divine Wind” and is most well known as the suicide attacks Japanese fighters performed on American forces during WWII. (thus the concept of it being discovered fake 50 years ago: remember the chapter came out around the end of 1995-1996, around the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II when many long standing beliefs were utterly destroyed in the Japanese psyche, including their own emperor being proven a normal man as opposed to the descendant of gods) The original Kamikaze, as depicted here, occurred twice in 1274 and 1281, when typhoons stopped Mongolian forces from invading Japan, making Japan further believe that the gods were protecting them and would help them win all wars)

187.
The 1st Annual Miss Doumori Contest (Including Youkai) Results Publication!!

Taking applications in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 38, these are the results publication for the female character popularity poll. Originally we had planned to announce this in the opening of Chp. 102, but since we weren’t given the convenience of the number of pages, we’re publishing them here.

Further, the announcement of the prize winner of the colored-paper sign with the illustrations on them was placed on the sent goods and we will accept it back.
(TN: Don’t ask me anything about this: basically this was mostly for those who were expecting the big announcement and reveal in the magazine for this contest. Besides…with what’s going to happen in Chp. 102, maybe it’s for the better that we don’t get some swimsuit image alongside it)

188.-189.
1st: YUKIME (YUKIONNA)
2nd: HAZUKI IZUNA
3rd: INABA KYOUKO
4th: HOSOKAWA MIKI
5th: ZASHIKI WARASHI
6th: HAYAME (MERMAID)
7th: TAKAHASHI RITSUKO
8th: NAKAJIMA NORIKO
9th: SHINOZAKI AI
Thank you very much for all the support.

10th: The Three Kuchisake Sisters
11th: Sugita Kotomi, Matsui-san, Kikuchi Shizuka, Sakurai Nae
16th: Old Woman of Kenkotsuya, Kodama of the Cluster Amaryllis, Kimura Manami
19th: Miki’s Shugorei, Senkihime, Hanako-san, Takayama Kimie, Kinoshita Ayumi, Enjouji Yurie, Kobayashi Yuka
*Further, for some reason even Tamamo got 2 votes, but they were eliminated because he’s male.
(TN: I have something to say about Izuna…but that may have something to do with what we may see next volume. For some reason, there always seems to be a reflective affect on what’s appearing in the manga during the period of polling…and Izuna does get another chapter soon strange to say (let’s say it’s two chapters after the announcing of the poll). But whether or not that chapter had anything to do with Izuna’s high ranking really seems regardless because the fact that she’s this high after one (maybe two) chapters proves the Itako-girl is not going away any time soon. Regarding other notable comments for the poll…well Ritsuko-sensei losing to Kyouko, Miki and Yukime were expected but now with her falling to Hayame and Zashiki Warashi…she really hasn’t had the time of day, has she? And Noro-chan making 8th…well, the girl has fans, let’s say that…honestly though I expected more of Ayumi myself…how the heck could Kotomi or…the old woman of this last chapter get more votes than her? Respect the Meganekko!)

190.
Commentary: Notice on the Next Volume
Shuichi: Next seems to be volume 12. I’ll buy up to 100 copies with my pocket money.
(TN: Yeah Shuichi, you do that…maybe it will boost up sales. Heh, the peculiarities of the rich…)

TN: Let's just start with this: the old woman of Genkotsuya being a Miss Doumori candidate...DO NOT WANT!!! (of course when you're paired up with a couple flower fairies and a little sister, you know you're not going far)

With that said: as much as I don't want the old lady like...that...she was a neat ally and a good person for Makoto to believe in. Sure we was a tad strange and the superstitions were a weird running gag, but the fact that she did use her own style of powers and sort of went along with the whole concept in the first pilot of the "old woman on the street who protected children", way more than Nube does. Obviously the way that Makoto gets interested in her makes sense: considering his "young at heart" nature, the fact that he would believe in her superstition so easily compared to someone like, say, Miki and would come to trust her easier makes him more accepting in her folk magic and her beliefs when they actually are used. I really did like the way the broom was the central aspect of the woman's power as well: considering how often witches are more or less using brooms to fly and don't use them for anything else, seeing it not just as a wand but as a "spiritual sweeper" was just neat. Though I do find it a tad freaky that someone at Doumori Elementary would summon a fox spirit through the whole Kokkuri-san process...it's not like this series really needs to have any more foxes causing trouble, especially considering that one fox who was running around way back around 9 volumes ago and nearly brought Nube to his breaking point...but then again, I think this could be the last troublesome fox in a long, long...

(looks ahead to the next chapter)

Wait...no...HE'S BACK!?!?!?!?!