Hell Teacher Nube 181

When people have problems, they turn to many things to help them overcome them, including supernatural assistance. When a folk malady becomes the latest craze, will this transference of pain be a burden or a blessing to those that use it?

#181: The Substitution Jizou

94.
Narrator: The outskirts of Doumori…
Kyouko: Everyone, it was great that we’ve obtained a full amount of crayfish for observation—
Miki: It was not! I’m irritated that I dropped my wallet!
Katsuya: I slipped into the river.
Hiroshi: My poop is coming out.

95.
Miki: That’s why I said no way in the duty for catching crayfish~~ (Uoo~~~I lost and cried in rock-paper-scissors…)
Katsuya: The heat is coming out. (Buekushoi | Achoo)
Hiroshi: It’s going to be field poop, field poop~~!
Kyouko: Um, well well. Do your best and walk since we’re going to be in town soon…
Boy: Uwa—h uwa—h
Old Woman: That’s right, that’s right, you climbed a tree, fell and grazed your whole body.
Boy: Uwa~~h uwa~~h.
Old Woman: This Ojizou-san here. It is the Substitution Jizou. It has been already completely forgotten by everyone but, here, place your hand on it and try.
(TN: As I mentioned prior in another chapter, the “Jizou” is the Japanese representation of Ksitigarbha, the Buddhist deity that is stated as the guardian who guides those on the path to enlightenment and seen as the guardian of children. In Japan, it is common to see statues of Jizou on the roadside as a guardian for travelers. A bit more on Jizou, as well as “Migawari Jizou” (which will be translated here as “The Substitution Jizou”) will be explained in the Supplemental)

96.
Old Woman: This pain…please relieve this pain.
SFX: Pou…
Boy: Huh…Somehow the pain has been healed…
Old Woman: It was, it was.
Boy: That’s good, that’s good. Substitution Jizou-san relieved my pain.
Kyouko: Was that the truth?
Miki: I’ve decided it was a lie. That idiot, dummy dope!! (Ah~~I’m irritated!)

97.
SFX: Goto
Kyouko: ……

98.
Miki: Shall we test it?
Kyouko: But somehow it was in pain.
Hiroshi: Well that’s because it came to be the substitute for the pain. That’s its job.
Katsuya: At…at any rate, I’ve got heat coming out of me and I feel like dying. (Geho geho hi~~) Pl…please relieve my cold.
SFX: Pou…
Katsuya: Huh? Somehow…my feelings have become better……
SFX: Zoku zoku…gata gata…

99.
Miki: We’ll hide for the moment.
SFX: Gasa gasa
Jizou: Buaa~~kusho kusho hakkusho gata gata Ko~~
Miki: Amazing!
Katsuya: Yep~~this feeling is exhilarating!
Jizou: Buruburu gata gata
Hiroshi: It’s for real.
Kyouko: Pitiful, it’s shaking.
Miki: Can it relieve anger too? I fell on my wallet, damn it—that a**hole, that idiot.
SFX: Pou…
Miki: Ah—it was so sudden!
SFX: Jitanda jitanda giri giri giri

100.
Hiroshi: Uh~~my butt is exploding. Relieve it.
SFX: Pou…
SFX: Goto
Hiroshi: Wa—it’s a stone poop—
Voice: Hee—
Nube: that’s amazing. It was the Substitute Jizou? Did it relieve you to that extent?
Miki: It did--!
Miki: That’s an amazing thing. We must tell this to everyone.
Hiroshi: I’ll tell it to my colleagues in the soccer club.

101.
Miki: Let’s go, let’s go.
Kyouko: Hold on a moment, if you do that…
Nube: ?
Narrator: Due to Miki and the others spreading the rumor as such, every student in the school intruded on the Jizou on the outskirts of town that had been ignored by everyone up to then every day.
Student 1: Take the bad score on my test…
Student 2: My cavity…
Student 3: My lumbago……
Student 1: I’m healed, I’m healed.
Student 2: Amazing—it worked.
Student 3: That was convenient—
SFX: Doya doya doya

102.
Kyouko: Pitiful. Having to taste the relieving of pain and painful things to that extent every day.
Kyouko: Hold on.
SFX: Sa
Nube: Ah, that’s a waffle that is super-tasty and famous for not being able to buy if you don’t stand in line for two hours which is one for 500 yen at the high-class western sweets shop in front of the station!
SFX: Paku! (Munch)
Nube: Aah, in one bite…
Kyouko: You can’t relieve only painful things. Once in a while you should relieve this sort too.
SFX: Paaa… | Poro poro

103.
Kyouko: Ahaha, it’s delighted. That’s good, that’s go…
Kyouko: !!
SFX: Bishi!
Kyouko: Wh…what’s wrong: there are cracks on it’s body!
Nube: Hmm, it seems that this child’s ability is breaking down with it coming to relieve the pain and troubles of just that many people…because it doesn’t have the power that seems to be of a proper Buddhist statue of a temple…
Kyouko: That’s…everyone is going to come again tomorrow. But…the Substitution Jizou is…
Kyouko: We can’t ignore this!

104.
SFX: Puwa—
Kyouko: It will be peaceful here.
Sign: Okuno
(TN: There is no real town that I know of with this name, but it directly translates into “faraway field of the old-story”, which works somehow in the case of where Kyouko is sending the Jizou statue)
Kyouko: No one will torment you anymore. See you.

105.
Miki: The Jizou has gone away. Some person that’s supported with the skin of greed has taken it for a monopoly on it.
Student: S**t.
Katsuya: It was convenient and yet
Kyouko: ………
Student 1: How regretful.
Student 2: Really.
SFX: Gururu~~
SFX: Goro goro goro—
SFX: Gururu—kyu—pi~~~

106.
Hiroshi: Nu…Nube, my…my stomach hurts.
SFX” Giririri | Gyururu—
Nube: I feel nothing…
Miki: Your stomach is special.
Ritsuko: Nueno-sensei, somehow the students are complaining of stomachaches in a large quantity with today’s lunch.
SFX: Kyururururu—
Nube: Eeh? (to himself) Strange, I had a second helping.
Students: Food poisoning--!?
Announcer: All children of this school, those of you with a disorders in your body will please speak to your teacher. Those that are particularly serious will be taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
Miki: If we had the Jizou at this moment…
Makoto: Uh, dis pain—
(TN: Makoto ends up saying not “kurushii” but “gurujii”, thus I misspelled a bit of it intentionally)
Kyouko: Everyone that’s being taken to the hospital, get on the campus. Those of you with lighter symptoms, help those with serious illness.
Students: Uh~~~owow…

107.
Miki: Just a moment, look there.
Kyouko: Eh?
Kyouko: What?
SFX: Zawa zawa
Kyouko: The Substitution Jizou!

108.
Students: It’s the Jizou--! The Substitution Jizou—when we touch that, we’ll become better. Let’s go!
SFX: Dodododo
Kyouko: Hold on, everyone. Stop…if that many do it…
Student 1: Make me better quickly!
Student 2: Become my substitute.
Student 3: I’m hurt and it seems like dying.
Student 4: I ask that of you.
Miki: Ah—it cleared up.
Katsuya: We’re healed, we’re healed.
Hiroshi: It’s an amazing guy.
Miki: Wh…what?
Hiroshi: What’s going on?

109.
Kyouko: Stupid, why did you return!? I took you so far away to that extent and yet. (Haa haa)
Kyouko: Ah…
SFX: Pou…
Kyouko: Why!? Why did you go this far…
Nube: For a Substitution Jizou becoming a substitute for a human is everything…It is pleased in being a substitute. In other words, no matter how much it hurts or how painful it is
Kyouko: That’s…

110.
Kyouko: Jizou!!

111.
Nube: It’s gone home…to heaven…
Nube: Jizou is a partition of the Bodhisattva Jizou, who protects children…it has accomplished its work.
Kyouko: I’m certain they’re giving it praise in heaven……

112.
Nube-sensei’s
(Useless) SUPPLEMENTAL EXPLANATION

#23: Ojizou-san

This is about the Bodhisattva Jizou.

In Japan, he is a Buddha high in popularity in line with Kannon-sama.

It is said to have an errand of saving humans in the interval until the Bodhisattva Maitreya (Miroku) comes from Tushita (Tosotsuten) 5,670,000,000 years after the death of Gautama Buddha (Shaka). It has well been sighted as six bodies standing in line, but that is said to be for going around the Six Worlds (Hell, Hungry Ghosts, Beasts, Carnage, Human, Heaven) and picking up to rescue all humans.

He is called Ksitigarbha (The Earth's Treasury) in Sanskrit but with the source of the name, but he is called the commander of the ten kings of Hades with the source of that name; and the famous Enma Daiou can be thought of as an incarnation of this Bodhisattva Jizou. Also, the accomplishment of rescuing the children from the demon who intrudes on the piling of stones on Sai no Kawara is a duty of Bodhisattva Jizou.

Contrary to his sweet outward appearance, in truth he is an extremely remarkable Buddha.

(TN: A few things:
1. While I have mentioned prior the whole connection of Jizou in helping others in achieving enlightenment, his job is actually much harder than it sounds according to his legend. He is said to be the main guide who has emerged on Earth after the passage of the "4th Buddha", Gautama Buddha, and is said will remain on Earth until the Messianic 5th Buddha, Maitreya (who is known as Miroku in Japanese) arrives to reteach the concepts of dharma to a world that has completely forgotten. Further, Jizou's job of guidance will not end until all hells are empty and every being has reached enlightenment, thus leading to holding no futher position for him and allowing for him to ascend into Buddhahood.
2. As stated before, there are many times where six Jizou statues are seen along the side of the road or near a temple. These six statues are connected to the six "realms" of existence that exist within Buddhist philosophy (also known in Japanese as "Rikudou" or "Rokudou" or "Six Paths"). These six paths are Hell (Jigoku in Japanese), Hungry Ghost (Gaki), Beast (Chikushou), Ashura/Carnage/Jealous God (Shura), Human (Ningen) and Heaven (Ten). As stated before, Jizou has the ability to traverse all in assisting all beings in the path of enlightenment, just as the concept of the Indo-Tibetan "Wheel of Life" acknowledges all existences possessing the Buddha.
3. The "Earth's Store/Treasury/Womb" translation is actally a literal translation from the Sanskrit of Ksitigarbha and refers as well to a legend in regards to a monk who lived deep in the mountains under this name who held great notability in China for an incident in regards to his great power and ability who undertook a similar name. (and may have been an incarnation of said Buddha.
4. The "Sai no Kawara" incident was mentioned prior in chp. 2 of vol. 1, in reference to a beach along the Sanzu River where children who die before their parents must continue to pile stones in redemption for the grief they gave to others for outliving them.)

TN: Alright, question time: can someone tell me how the heck the Jizou came down from the mountain like that just at that moment for the end? Yeah it was supposedly for a climax to save the whole school, but it just felt way too easy that it would show up at the exact moment it was needed when the entire school came down with a stomachache. I know there is such a thing as spiritual precognitiveness, but this did feel a tad ridiculous as if it was all building up for that one moment. Meanwhile, I'm sort of torn regarding Kyouko's usage in this chapter, particularly her means by which she seems so distraught in the pain Jizou gets from the other students as it slowly is falling apart and breaking up due to them regardless of doing it's mission. I like the fact that Kyouko shows concern for the supernatural and wants to ease it's life but it feels strange that she would seem so unknowledgeable on the mission of the statue to help others. Yeah it hadn't been acknowledged and used for years, but somehow Nube should have guided her before it was too late in telling her that it wanted to save others so it would accomplish it's mission on this plane of existence. Though...I did like Nube's sadness on Kyouko buying that special waffle just to make the Jizou feel joy...probably one of the few times it felt it outside it's mission. (and to think those things should have no feelings of such on their path to enlightenment...)