Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for March 2023

Every month Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including accumulated votes from previous months), the winning topic that has been voted this time is:

"Years ago... I was Chinese" - Translation Analysis

In the past we have analyzed a number of memorable English translations from the first game that have been a source of amusement for generations of Shenmue fans, including the snappy Let's Get Sweaty and the somewhat more puzzling Especially since you bought merchandise.

In this post we will be looking at another phrase that is similarly often quoted.

It occurs with the owner of the Mary's Patches & Embroidery store on Dobuita Street, the elderly Itoi-san. He is always to be found hunched over his counter during the day, ready for a spot of conversation.

Ryo approaches Mary's Patches & Embroidery, determined to extract a hint as to his next move by engaging with as many local shopkeepers as it takes

Ryo wishes to learn more about something known as the Three Blades and loses no time in starting to interrogate Itoi-san regarding this. 

It is then that Itoi-san declares: "Years ago... I was Chinese."

Itoi-san's quirky wording here in the English version earns this phrase a place in our "Say What?" series of posts. We'll review his character's background and consider alternative phrasing that would sound more natural to English speakers.

Coming soon to the blog.

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