Shiro the Dog & Kuro the Cat: JPN vs ENG Character Profile Differences

The original Shenmue Passport provided detailed character profile descriptions for every character in the first game. These profiles (or abbreviated versions) were also published in various strategy guides and magazine features at the time. Until now it had been widely assumed that these profiles were identical between Japanese and English versions, but two recent discoveries have shown that this is not the case.

In this post we will be comparing the differing profile descriptions in the official profiles in the Japanese version vs the English for two animal characters: those of the white dog & the black cat.

Let's get started!

Alternative Lives

A hint that discrepancies may exist first arose thanks to a video created by our friend who runs the fantastic Wandering Through Shenmue YouTube channel. Among the wealth of Shenmue content on the channel is the Suka Pass Saturday series which highlights a certain aspect of the Shenmue Passport fan-remake Suka Pass app each week - and on this particular day, the official background of the white dog was introduced.

The English profile explains that the white dog, whose name is given as Shiro, can be found wandering around the streets of the residential area of Dobuita - however this information raised a couple of small but puzzling inconsistencies. Firstly, despite her home being in Dobuita, the background graphic that was displayed for this profile is New Yokosuka Harbor. Secondly, when playing Shenmue itself, the white dog can indeed be seen at the harbor. What is going on?

The white dog going for a walk at the harbor. (Screenshot from Wandering Through Shenmue's 6 Hour Walk Through Shenmue: Harbor Day/Night)

To answer this enigma, let's start by examining the English profile description for the white dog, and then translate the Japanese profile to see how it compares.

Profile: Dog (White)

In the English profile for the white dog published in the Shenmue Perfect Guide, we are told that she is to be found wandering around the streets of the residential area of Dobuita:

"This dog wanders about the residential area of Dobuita and seems to be too old to bark or run around. Due to Shiro's mild disposition, other dogs living in Dobuita or the residential areas are seldom seen fighting with Shiro over territory."

Notably, she is given a name - Shiro, meaning "white" in Japanese.

Here is the fun profile introduction from Wandering Through Shenmue:

Now let's try translating the official Japanese profile text for the white dog, with the original Japanese text available on the excellent and long-running Orchard Slope website: 

　深窓の令嬢・有栖川弥生に子犬の時から大切に育てられてきたまさに「お嬢様犬」。弥生にきちんとしつけられてきただけあって、あまり吠える事も無ければ慌ただしく駆けていく事も無い。飼い主に似て温和な性格で、縄張りを巡ってケンカしている姿を見かける事も無い。今は弥生と過ごす港の散歩の時間を毎日楽しみにしている。港で弥生と戯れ、頬をすり合わせたりする時、周囲の作業員達から羨ましそうに見られるのをちょっと得意に思っている。 

Lovingly raised since she was a puppy by Yayoi Arisugawa, a refined young lady, she truly embodies what it means to be an "elegant pooch." Thanks to Yayoi's meticulous training, she rarely barks or dashes around in a frenzy. Just like her owner, she has a calm and gentle temperament and is never seen fighting over territory. These days, she eagerly looks forward to her daily walks around the harbor with Yayoi. When she plays with Yayoi at the harbor, and nuzzling against her cheek, she can't help but feel a little proud as the nearby workers look on with envy.

Clearly, the description differs quite a lot from the English one! We learn that:

• She is not a stray, but belongs to Yayoi, hence why they are always seen together.
• She is taken for daily walks around the harbor.
• Interestingly, she is not given a name in the Japanese profile.
• The aspect of her having a mild disposition is common across both profiles.

The background for her owner, Yayoi Arisugawa, describes her as a rather naïve 17-year old girl, born into a wealthy family, who attends a Catholic school in Yokohama. Her backstory has quite an intriguing element - she visits Dobuita often in the hopes of once more meeting the man in a leather jacket she once met while out walking along a street.

While her English profile does not mention anything about owning a dog, the Japanese profile contains an extra piece of information: "She lives on the hills of Yokosuka and always walks her dog around the harbor".

Yayoi Arisugawa

The dog's presence at the harbor can be confirmed during gameplay. If you look for Yayoi at the harbor, you can witness her spending time with her dog in a quiet area when not walking together. She enters and leaves the harbor by the main exit and, instead of using the bus, they travel on foot.

Yayoi arriving at the harbor with her dog

Yayoi giving her dog some attention

Next, let's look at a second example of differing profiles between English and Japanese - this one also being an animal.

Profile: Cat (Black)

In the English profile, the black cat is a stray who may be related to the kitten at Yamanose Shrine. Her name is given as Kuro, meaning "black" in Japanese:

Kuro is a stray cat whose extensive territory includes Sakuragaoka and Yamanose. She looks a lot like the mother of Megumi's kitten living in Yamanose Shrine and is likely to be the kitten's aunt. Yuriko Kikuchi, of the Smiley Flower Shop, once wanted to keep Kuro, but gave up because she lives in an apartment that won't allow pets. Instead, Yuriko took the cat to a vet to be spayed, as it was the only thing she could do for her.

Here's the black cat's introduction in Wandering Through Shenmue's video:

As with the case of the white dog, the background graphic of the black cat shows New Yokosuka Harbor, suggesting that the Japanese profile may again place her in the harbor location. The black cat's profile text from the Japanese version confirms that this is the case:

新横須賀港を自由気ままに歩き回る野良猫。倉庫の中も自由自在、天龍地友なんて合言葉は不要だ。恵が神社で飼っている子猫のおばさんにあたる。通りすがりの山下マリに拾われ、そのままバイト先のトマトマート港湾店に連れてこられた。

"A stray cat who roams New Yokosuka Harbor as she pleases. She moves freely through the warehouses, needing no passphrase like 'Heavens / Dragons / Earth / Comrades.' She’s the aunt of the kitten Megumi keeps at the shrine. One day, Mari Yamashita came across her and brought her along to her part-time job at the Tomato Convenience Store Harbor Branch."

While her status as a stray and her family connection to the kitten at the shrine is retained, some other key facts differ:

• Her territory is now New Yokosuka Harbor.

• She was brought to the harbor by Mari Yamashita, who works at the Tomato Convenience Store there.

• Her name is not given in the Japanese profile.

It seems that Mari, not Yuriko, is her closest human friend in this version of the profile!

The black cat be found in the game walking around the harbor, indicating that in this case also, the Japanese profile is the one that matches the game's portrayal of this animal character.

The black cat patrolling the warehouses

A Possible Explanation for the Differences

So why would the English and Japanese profile descriptions be different, given that they both represent the "official" bio text in each language? The answer perhaps lies in the timing of the preparation of the English translations, which were based on the Japanese original text. A certain amount of lead time would have been required to prepare these, and so it is reasonable to imagine that the cause was last-minute adjustments to the "finalized" Japanese text. There may not have been time to propagate such changes through to the English side before release.

Hence the English versions may represent the text as it was until late in the development, when just the Japanese side was updated. It's a neat glimpse into the development history.

Might there be more profiles like this? If more turn up, we'll include them in a future post!

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