Persona 5: Fourth Calling Card – Japanese-English

I figured it would be fun to do some textual analysis for Japanese learners. Particularly because the game has the original calling cards in-game (just like a lot of other items throughout the game). To avoid spoiling plot points in the title, it just contains the number and not the name of the person it is addressed to.

*Calling card -* *予告状 – (Yokokujou)*: For those wondering what it is, In the game, Persona 5, these cards were sent by the Phantom Thieves to the persons they target, indicating an imminent attack on their psyche to “change their heart”, i.e. to make them confess what they have done and change their ways. Basically the card outlines their particular crime, why they’re being targeted, and informs them that the attack is coming the following day. 

(The Japanese word for “calling card” which is 予告状 (Yokokujou). Oddly enough, in the soundtrack, the lyrics of the battle song “Take Over” make reference to a “prior notice card” which is a direct translation of the word.)

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NOTE: I am aware Futaba is one of the most popular characters of Persona 5, so I hope you like the post which was done carefully.

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*Original text:*

佐倉双葉は、
大罪を犯した。
部屋から出ず、人と関わらず、
惰眠をむさぼるだけの非生産的な生活。
よって我々が、
その『歪んだ欲望』を根こそぎ奪い取る。
俺たちは『心を盗む怪盗団』。
己は陽の光を浴びることになろう…その時を楽しみに待て。
**心の怪盗団より**

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*English (my loose translation, not necessarily the original English version of the game):*

Sakura Futaba,
(you) have committed a great crime.
Not leaving your room, having no contact with anyone,
you live an unproductive life of only indulging in lazy slumber.
Therefore, we
will completely steal away your “distorted desires” up from their very roots.
We are the “Phantom Thieves who steal hearts”.
You are going to bathe in the sunlight … please happily wait for that time to come.
**From the Phantom Thieves of Hearts**

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*Romaji:*

Sakura Futaba ha,
daizai wo okashita.
Heya kara dezu, hito to kakawarazu,
Damin wo musaboru dake no hiseisantaki na seikatsu.
Yotte wareware ga,
sono “yuganda yokubou” wo ne-kosogi ubaitouru.
oretachi ha “kokoro wo nusumu kaitoudan”.
onore ha hi no hikari wo abiru koto ni narou…. sono toki wo tanoshimi ni matte.
**kokoro no kaitoudan yori**

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***Notes:***

The tone of Futaba’s calling card is notably different from the others so far, as it clearly is written in a token way. There is no “dono” here, and it ends on an optimistic note. Also note that “distorted desires” is in quotations. Clearly the Phantom Thieves just want to help. Futaba is essentially a 引きこもり (hikikomori), a “shut-in”.

佐倉双葉: Sakura Futaba. Welcome back to the wonderful rabbit hole of Japanese names. The family name Sakura is not written 桜, as in cherry-blossom, but differently. Maybe not necessary, but I’ll do it anyway given who we’re talking about. 双葉 Futaba consists of two characters 双 futa which means two or pair (or twins), and 葉 ba (usually “ha” alone) which means leaf.

惰眠: lazy slumber. The character 惰 (da) is worth noting for the idea of sloth.

よって: conjunction “therefore”

歪んだ (yuganda) is the past form of 歪む (yugamu). 歪 is a “Hyougai” Kanji outside of the two official lists. Meaning to “be distorted”, (even the kanji itself is made of two parts, “not” at the top and “correct” at the bottom). It’s an important term throughout the game.

出ず / 関わらず / -ず : (-zu) is a supple negative form attached directly to the stem of the verb. Good for conjunctions using a gerund in English (without -ing x, y happened….). This is it’s common usage in modern Japanese. Extra bit of trivia:  In old Japanese this was the negative form, so it can have literary ring to it if it were used alone (not the case here).  

むさぼる (musaboru): (kanji:貪る) same as before; to covet; indulge in

ことに なろう  (Koto ni narou): part of the “koto ni naru” grammatical construction, i.e. it has been decided. The volitional form used here intensifies it, i.e. we have / it has been completely decided, or rather: “we will make sure it happens that…. ”

己 (onore): Despite the character being usually used for “oneself”, in this context and others, the kun reading onore, means “you” in a very informal way.

怪盗団 (kaitoudan): The Phantom Thieves, or literally, “ghostly thief band”. all 1 word with 3 characters.

より (yori): It’s a special “yori” here, not the comparative one, used to say less than/more than. Rather here it is similar to “kara” meaning from.

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Previous posts:

[First Calling Card (Kamoshida)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/10usyu7/persona_5_first_calling_card_kamoshida/)

[Second Calling Card (Madarame)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/114xbyo/persona_5_second_calling_card_madarame/)

[Third Calling Card (Kaneshiro)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/1197pw4/persona_5_third_calling_card_kaneshiro/)