Please note that reading these notes may spoil certain details of the musical for you.
This musical was performed in December 1, 2018 to December 9, 2018 at Ginza's Hakuhinkan Theatre.
Literary References used in musical
This musical heavily references three works of literature.
Kenji Miyazawa's Night on the Galactic Railroad
This classic Japanese fantasy novel is a constant reference throughout the musical. I used the 1985 anime movie as my reference through this translation. But I did manage to find the novel online as well https://archive.org/stream/manga_Night_on_the_Galactic_Railroad/Night%20on%20the%20Galactic%20Railroad_djvu.txt and bits of translations by Julianne Neville.
I am assuming that the English speaking audience will not be overly familiar with this work, so I shall be putting special effort in explaining the references littered throughout the musical on this particular work.
Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass and Alice in Wonderland.
In fact, in certain sections of this musical, direct quotation from the Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass is occasionally used as they are almost verbatim in Japanese. I assume that an English speaking audience will be familiar with the story through reading or cultural osmosis, so I will not be concentrating too much effort in explaining references of these particular works.
Act 1, scene 1 The Beginning. Within the first three minutes we have references to Night on the Galactic Railroad.
Fable of the Scorpion
Direct reference to Night on the Galactic Railroad regarding the Scorpion and true happiness which people who have watched Ikuhara's anime Penguindrum might recognize. For reference, https://animeintrospection.tumblr.com/post/95031165258/night-on-the-galactic-railroad-or-the-apple-the
“"My father told me its story: A long time ago in a field there lived a scorpion that ate other bugs by using its tail to catch them. Then one day he found himself cornered by a weasel. Fearing for his life, he ran but could not escape it. Suddenly, he fell into a well and, unable to climb out, began to drown. He started to pray then, saying:
”‘Oh, God. How many lives have I stolen to survive? Yet when it came my turn to be eaten by the weasel, I selfishly ran away. And for what? What a waste my life has been! If only I’d let the weasel eat me, I could have helped him live another day. God, please hear my prayer. Even if my life has been meaningless, let my death be of help to others. Burn my body so that it may become a beacon, to light the way for others as they search for true happiness.’
“The scorpion’s prayer was answered, and his body became a beautiful crimson flame that shot up into the night sky. There he burns to this day. My father was telling the truth…”
From Night on the Galactic Railroad, translation by Julianne Neville.
The fable of the scorpion fire is about sacrifice. The scorpion, who lived his life as a foul predator, faces something more powerful than him - the inevitability of death - and regrets that, after a life of heedless consumption, he couldn’t die in a way that aided the proliferation of life. The gods hear his prayers and set him on fire, turning him into the red star Antares, heart of the constellation scorpio, whose light aids life.
Coalsack Nebula
Coal Sack Nebula is another reference "The Night of Galaxy Railway" by Kenji Miyazawa. The author considered it as the entrance to another dimension or even where "true happiness" could be found. This is where Campanella disembarks, declaring it 'the true heaven'.
M1 – Wandering Amongst the Stars Song
The song sung by the Companion is referring directly to the poem written by Kenji Miyazawa called "The Star-Circling Song".
I have found a translation of it:
The Star-Circling Song
Scorpio's red gaze stares
As the eagle Aquila's wings do spread
And the puppy Canis Minor's eyes shine blue
While Serpens the snake tightens its coils made of light
Orion sings proudly from up on high
Showering down frost and dew
As the clouds of Andromeda
Gather in the shape of a fish's mouth
Stretched northward at five times its reach
Is the paw of the great bear Ursa Major
And above the lesser bear Ursa Minor's forehead
Lies Polaris, our guidepost, as we circle through the stars
translation by Julianne Neville
星めぐりの歌
あかいめだまの さそり
ひろげた鷲の つばさ
あをいめだまの 小いぬ、
ひかりのへびの とぐろ。
オリオンは高く うたひ
つゆとしもとを おとす、
アンドロメダの くもは
さかなのくちの かたち。
大ぐまのあしを きたに
五つのばした ところ。
小熊のひたいの うへは
そらのめぐりの めあて。
宮澤賢治
https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000081/files/46268_23911.html
7 min 40 sec to 7 min 44 sec
In the background, you will see a series of train accident photos flashing very quickly. The pictures are real pictures of the Amagasaki Train Derailment which occurred on April 25, 2005. This is a reference that a Japanese audience would pick up on quite quickly, it was the most serious train accident in Japan since 1963. Part 2 notes will have more information on the accident.
11 min mark Compulsory University Classes
Japanese University are much more slack compared to university in North America. It is entirely possible to not attend a single class of your course and even get a degree without putting in much work. Certain courses however do force students to attend a few classes by insisting on mandatory attendance on certain days. Failure to turn up and sign in means failure, but if you have a friend who knows your student number and write it in for you, you'll be fine. This is what Shuu did for Kazuha.
11 min 10 second mark we have a number of references to Japanese family restaurants in this musical
The characters are arguing which preferred family restaurant to go to
Royal Host - https://www.royalhost.jp/
A family restaurant chain founded in 1971 in Fukuoka and has 200+ locations throughout Japan.
Saizeriya - https://www.saizeriya.co.jp/
Another family restaurant chain with a speciality in Italian food. First established in Chiba
The go-to family restaurant of Theatre Group Ha Ko Bu Ne later on is
Gusto - https://www.skylark.co.jp/en/gusto/
Another family restaurant chain with over 1300 locations across Japan.
M3 – Gazing upon you from behind
13 min 10 sec
The lyrics use 'omoi wo haseru" which can mean
· to think about
· to send one's heart out to
· to give more than a passing thought to
· to think of something far away
· to think nostalgically upon (esp. one's hometown)
14 min 51 sec
Takarazuka: A famous all-female Revue group, all parts are played by women. Otokoyaku are actresses who play the male parts.
M4 – The Galactic Railroad Through the Looking Glass
17 min 7 sec
The obsidian map is another reference to Night on the Galactic Railroad. Campanella bought it at Milky Way Station which Giovanni failed to purchase. In the novel, it is used to determine their general location around Swan Station.
18 min 16 sec
Phantasmic 4th Dimension Train or Four-Dimensional-Milky-Way-Dream Train
Kenji Miyazawa had very nuanced concept of the Fourth Dimension, the daiyojigen (大四次元, lit. “fourth dimension”) in the novel Night on the Galactic Railroad.
---Long explained that the daiyojigen is not simply the addition of time to our three-dimensional universe. “For Kenji, the Fourth Dimension is a whole new axis — a way to jump to a higher plane,” he said. “He’s thinking about Iwate Prefecture as part of a multi-layered, multi-dimensional universe.”---
https://metropolisjapan.com/translating-night-on-the-galactic-railroad-across-space-time/
Thus the train is implied to be traveling to a higher plane during the course of the novel.
18 min 18 sec
White Rabbit uses an interesting Japanese proverb: 袖振り合うも他生の縁 (sodefuri au mo tashou no en) 'even accidentally touching sleeves with a passing stranger is caused by fate'. Alternatively means 'a chance meeting that can lead to a deep bond' or 'a meeting by chance that is preordained'
18 min 52 sec
6組さん - ろっくみさん
this particular pun is a mystery to me. I believe it refers to '6th' grade elementary. So I assumed he meant childish or immature.
M5 – War at the Northern Cross Heights
20 min 20 sec
Northern Cross is a reference in the novel Night on the Galactic Railroad. It is a shining white cross that is emitting dazzling light, and is located just before the Swan Station. Campanella and Giovanni witness train passengers praying at the cross as it passes by.
22 min 46 sec
Red Queen says something similar in Through the Looking Glass
--‘A slow sort of country!’ said the Queen. ‘Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!’--
https://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/resources/chapters-script/through-the-looking-glass/chapter-2/
23 min 41 sec
White Rabbit is describing the general journey in Night on the Galactic Railway. Starting with Northern Cross, and ending with the Coalsack past the Southern Cross.
24 min 2 sec
[Alice In Wonderland], in Japanese the title is [Alice in the Mysterious Country].
24 min 3 sec
The Japanese title is [Alice in the Mirror Kingdom]. English title is [Through the Looking Glass] but the English title can’t be used in this musical translation due to how the Japanese title is referenced throughout the musical.
'Mirrorland' was selected as the translation rather than Mirror Kingdom. Unfortunately, the subtitle at the 18 min 18 second could not fit the entirety of the line we wished to put in, which is 'Please save Mirrorland, the Land Through the Looking-Glass!'. We also wished to use the word 'mirror' to allude to the repetitive mirroring within the musical.
24 min 33 sec
Champloo. The adlib is referring to an Okinawan stirfry dish, chanpuru. The word means 'something mixed'.
25 min 17 sec
Champon. The adlib refers to a Nagasaki regional noodle dish that was inspired by Chinese cuisine.
27 min 7 sec
Baki the Grappler manga reference in regards to endorphins. Main character Baki has an ability to release endorphins in his body by twisting his right ear to boost durability and pain resistance.
27 min 30 sec
The name the Theatre Group is [Hakobune], which is 'Ark' in English. To match the emphasis on four characters, the name of 'ha ko bu ne' was changed to NOAH. A reference to Noah's ark and coincidentally, a four letter name.
30 min 32 sec
Koukami Shouji 鴻上尚史 is a Japanese playwright, director, actor and filmmaker who is famed for small scale theatre in Japan. Wrote a prize winning play called Snufkin's Letter [スナフキンの手紙]
30 min 40 sec
The family restaurant of choice for Theatre Group Ha Ko Bu Ne is
Gusto - https://www.skylark.co.jp/en/gusto/
Another family restaurant chain with over 1300 locations across Japan.
30 min 52 sec
Kakitsubata is asking Taisuu to pay less than 1000 yen for his meal. It is ridiculously cheap and yet he can't afford to pay for it on his own.
'All you can drink' is 291 yen while the cheapest hamburger set is about 499 yen.
30 min 55 sec
Freeter - Japanese word for people don't have a full time job, but have one or more part-time jobs or move from one short-term job to another.
[Act 1, scene 6 Inside the Car ~ Swan Train Station]
38 min 50 sec
This is the first direct mention in the musical of Campanella and Giovanni, the main characters of Night on the Galactic Railroad.
Kazuha nicknames her companion 'Campanella' who died of drowning while saving the life of a fellow classmate.
While the Companion dubs Kazuha as 'Giovanni' who accompanies the dead Campanella on his journey and returns to the world of living afterwards.
Oddly, though the journey is described in full dreamy details in the novel, the two main characters are never physically described.
Swan Station is a reference of the place where the two boys have a 20 minute stopover. Also this is where the birdcatcher in the novel gets on board the train, the birdcatcher makes his living capturing herons. The boys eat the heron and discover that it tastes like delicious cake.
40 min 40 sec
Japanese train kiosks are famous for having a variety of items on sale. Some items are in fact exclusive to specific train kiosks and are sought after for gift giving, such as snacks and drinks, by passengers. Or the White Rabbit could be referring to the shopping complexes that are located inside train stations which will also often have exclusive items such as regional specialities or train station specific items.
To give you an idea, here is a link to some exclusive items only sold at Tokyo Train Station
https://jw-webmagazine.com/8-must-buy-souvenirs-at-tokyo-station-857963399e13/
41 min 27 sec to 42 min 20 sec
An extremely pun heavy section with the insects using their own names to make puns. This was extremely difficult to translate in a way that makes sense in English.
In particular, the butterfly is using a pun that is heavily dependent on the Chinese characters.
The original line can be translated as: When you write out 'Butterfly', you get a 'chatter'.
Butterfly has an alternate kanji reading of '蝶々 butterfly', '喋々 chatter'. There is a 'mouth' character in chatter replacing the 'insect' character in butterfly.
Another pun is on 'mushi' which can be mushi 無視- ignore/disregard and mushi 虫- insect
The horsefly is 'abu' in Japanese. So the horsefly uses 'abunai' as a pun which means 'dangerous' in Japanese.
Gnat is 'ka' and uses it in his line as the question particle 'ka'
Butterfly in Japanese is 'chouchou' or 'chou'. His pun is 'chou' in Japanese can be translated as 'greatly' or 'very' or 'super'
Dragonfly is 'tonbo' or 'toppo'. The Japanese pun is a mystery to me in this particular situation though. Particularly as to how the Companion reacted to Dragonfly's line. I assume 'toppo' is a sort of word that denotes involvement in shady business of some sort.
44 min 3 sec to 47 min 37 sec
Quite a bit of the dialogue and song uses direct quotations to the chapter on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in 'Through the Looking Glass'. So I used it.
https://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/resources/chapters-script/through-the-looking-glass/chapter-4/
44 min 34 sec
In the book the name Dum and Dee are embroidered on their collars. 刺繍があるだろ。
49 min 3 sec
Kazuha uses 'kusare en' which is 腐れ縁; くされ縁 【くされえん】 (n) (undesirable but) inseparable relationship
50 min 39 sec to 50 min 49 sec
Nayuta is namedropping actual Theatre companies and groups.
The Third Stage - http://www.thirdstage.com/, Theatre company that is no longer in operation
The Dreamers Company - https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A2%E3%81%AE%E9%81%8A%E7%9C%A0%E7%A4%BE, a defunct theatre group.
The Adult Project - https://otonakeikaku.net/, theatre company is still in operation
Nylon - https://sillywalk.com/nylon/index.html, theatre group still in operation
Highleg Jesus - https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIGHLEG_JESUS, a defunct theatre group
Asagaya Spiders - https://asagayaspiders.com/, presently in operation, founded in 1992
Penguin PullPalePiles - http://www.penguinppp.com/, theatre group no longer in operation since 2014
51 min 52 sec
Nayuta calls Shuushi as a 'ronin'. A ronin is a student who has graduated from middle school or high school but has failed to enter a school at the next level, and consequently is studying outside of the school system for entrance in a future year. In Shuushi's case, he failed to enter university.
M12 Heading to Albireo
1 hr 1 min 53 sec
~~~Orion high above us, singing. Dew and frost misting the air.~~~
Referring to Circling The Stars Song of Kenji Miyazawa which contain the lines
Orion sings proudly from up on high
Showering down frost and dew
As the clouds of Andromeda
Gather in the shape of a fish's mouth
1 hr 2 min 44 sec
White Rabbit mentions Albireo, in the novel Galactic Railway this is where the conductor inspects tickets. While Campanella is able to provide a ticket easily, Giovanni panics and digs through his pockets and discovers he has a unique ticket. Giovanni's ticket will allow him to go anywhere he wishes on the train.
It is also where new passengers join Campanella and Giovanni on their journey in the novel. In particular, a tutor and the two children, Kaoru and Tadashi. It is here that the fable of the scorpion is told.
Southern Cross
Galactic Railroad reference. The Southern Cross is much like the Northern Cross, Giovanni and Campanella witness passengers crying with joy and praying at the cross but with a difference. Here the passengers get off and leave the two all alone including the tutor with the two children who they befriended. It is implied that the tutor and the two children are dead, victims of the sinking of the Titanic, and that they are going on to a Christian heaven.
It is the stop just before the Coalsack Nebula. Giovanni will eventually come to the realization that Campanella is dead and his friend will disappear from the train.