Welcome to the Nihongo Lesson feature. We strive to give you useful manga-based Japanese language tips and maybe even a glimpse into the translation process. This week’s lesson will focus on Momiji no Kisetsu. JUMP START season is upon us once again, and we have two very unique series this round. Make sure to make your opinions known by voting for your favorites in the weekly surveys!

ICHO (銀杏)

This series has a leaf theme for the main character’s names. And as explained in chapter 1, Momiji means “maple” and Sakura means “cherry blossom.” But then there’s the character ICHO. This young Shogi prodigy was the student of Sakura and is now the teacher of Momiji, but what does her name mean? ICHO means “ginkgo,” another common tree in Japan and other places. The first kanji character in the word also means “silver.” That probably explains why her nickname is “the Silver Princess.”

MOMIJI NO KISETSU (紅葉の棋節)

The title of this series is actually quite creative. If you heard the title out of context, you would assume it meant “the season of maple.” You’d probably guess it was a book about the beautiful colors maple leaves display in the fall. Or maybe it’s a manga about harvesting maple syrup? With context, we know that Momiji is the name of the main character. And the kanji character for the KI is actually the same as in the word for shogi. This makes the title mean something more akin to “the time of Momiji’s game playing.” Pretty clever fitting all that into a short title!

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