Learning Japanese with Berserk: Wise Man
Added 2022-11-12 01:14:52 +0000 UTCIn volume 18, Farnese goes to the chapel at the top of the Tower of Condemnation to have a talk with Mozgus. He tells her a story about a sage, said to have been imprisoned there by Gaizeric in the distant past. The word used in Japanese is 賢者, pronounced けんじゃ (KENJA). In English, its meaning is that of a "wise person" or a "sage".
What has made its use in Berserk tantalizing for the fans is that it's only utilized once and is non-specific: neither describing a priest nor a magic user, but simply someone of great knowledge and wisdom. It almost certainly refers to Void.
In Japanese the word is commonly used with that straightforward meaning of "sage", and is also employed to refer to certain ancient Western figures, notably the three magi (or "three wise men") who visited baby Jesus in the New Testament. As a side note, that's why I once suggested Gaspar (ガスパール) as Void's human name, as I thought it'd be a neat reference. Not sure many people caught it at the time. 😅
Another instance of the word is in the phrase 賢者の石 (KENJA NO ISHI), meaning "Philosopher's stone". 賢者 is used here because it refers to a particular and archaic meaning of the word "philosopher". It's also what the Susumu Hirasawa song 賢者のプロペラ, translated as "Philosopher's propeller", refers to. However, for actual philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Descartes or Kant, a different word is used: 哲学者 (てつがくしゃ). "Philosophy" is 哲学 (てつがく).
