#旦旦

[namiharinezumi]

1635 タンタンさんありがとう

タンタンさんが寝台の上で足を上げて寝転ぶ姿、タイヤにちょこんと座る背中、可愛かった様子を思い出します。

[smallestchurch]

Brigitte Lin in Peking Opera Blues (1986) dir. Tsui Hark

[rongzhi]

A 反串/fanchuan actor (or 男旦/nandan) performing at a wedding.

[crystal-linity]

Happy New Year 2024🎉

[storge]

TAKANO AKIRA as Someya Yukito Kahogona Wakadanna-sama no Amayakashi Kon (2024)

[roseillith]

刀馬旦 // PEKING OPERA BLUES (1986) dir. TSUI HARK

[plague-of-insomnia]

What’s In A Title?: Variations on “Master” in Black Butler

旦那様・当主・ご主人様・マイロード・様・坊ちゃん

Throughout the manga, we see various titles used for Vincent, Real Ciel, and Our Ciel, with these being more obvious in the original Japanese than in translation.

This post will focus on Sebastian and Tanaka and the various terms they use at different points within the story.

I personally am not an expert on keigo (the most formalized of speech that Sebastian speaks almost exclusively in in Japanese), so I am not really going to be going into the subtleties there. (Other posts have tackled this already, and probably with more expertise than I could.)

I also want to emphasize I am only now beginning to read the manga from ch 1 in Japanese (I’ve only read bits and pieces until the most recent ~25 chapters or so), so it is possible I am missing some examples or variations mentioned in other parts of the 200+ chapters not brought up here.

However, I think we can still look at these subtle differences even if you are an English speaker who knows zero about formality levels/humble speech in Japanese. And if you’re willing to take this journey with me despite these caveats, keep reading.

旦那様・当主・ご主人様・マイロード・様・坊ちゃん

Before I get into the variations between Sebastian and Tanaka, let’s look at some of the titles used:

The variations are as follows:

Dannasama - 旦那様

Toushu - 当主

Shujin - 主人

Goshujinsama - ご主人様

“my lord” - ご主人様・マイロード

Lord Ciel - シエル様

Bocchan - 坊ちゃん

Tanaka

Tanaka uses #1, #2, #3, #6, and #7. Let’s look at him first.

Dannasama - 旦那様

Means “master of the house,” but is also a term you’d use with a boss or someone of higher status, akin to “sir” in some usages in English.

Tanaka uses this term only for Vincent, so far as I know.

Toushu - 当主

Means “present head of the family.”

Tanaka uses this when speaking about/to Our Ciel when distinguishing him from his father, the previous head. For example, in the murder arc when he points out that it isn’t appropriate for the master of the house to be upset by a servant’s death.

Shujin - 主人

Means “head of the household” or “master” (among other uses). This version does not have the added formality/humbleness of the versions that Sebastian uses (the go- prefix and the -sama suffix).

Tanaka uses this when speaking generally about “the master” or “one’s master,” for example, in the end of the murder arc when he tells Sebastian a Phantomhive butler shouldn’t die before his master.

Lord Ciel - シエル様

Just Ciel + the kanji for “sama,” is how Tanaka refers exclusively to Real Ciel throughout the manga, to the best of my knowledge, when speaking to or of him specifically, individually.

Above, we see how in the example on the right (in the present), Tanaka calls RC “Lord Ciel” directly, and in the example on the left, how he refers to him that way in the past as well when not directly addressing him. (OC is “you” or 貴方 there.)

Bocchan - 坊ちゃん

Means “young master,” and is how Tanaka refers to Our Ciel almost exclusively (except for the examples above), not only before the tragedy but after. He immediately knew that Ciel was OC and not his twin, and we know this because of the address.

Sebastian seems to have picked up the title from Tanaka, because he does not use it before they see him. Above, he even puts special emphasis on the title when he uses it for the first time. And as far as I know, aside from “my lord,” he refers to Ciel as such exclusively thereafter.

旦那様・当主・ご主人様・マイロード・様・坊ちゃん

Sebastian

Sebastian uses #4, #5, and #7.

Goshujinsama - ご主人様

Means “head of the household” or “master” (among other uses). This version does include the formal/humble prefix “go-” and suffix “-sama.”

This is the first term that Sebastian uses for Ciel when he shifts from “you” (貴方, anata) to “master,” when they first begin establishing the contract. He also uses a variation on this I’ll explain next, but THIS version, said exactly like this, he stops using after their visit to Tanaka.

You can see in the above examples that he uses this address both before and after he assumes his butler form.

I expect that this is likely how Sebastian has referred to all his masters as I believe it’s the most humble/formal way of addressing one’s master (aside from more specific titles that may be used).

My Lord - ご主人様 ・マイロード

Even before he adopts “bocchan,” Sebastian sometimes refers to Ciel in English as “my lord,” as Yana informs us via the katakana spelling on the kanji. Yet she still writes it in keigo, as if to reminds us of the manner in which Sebastian speaks, and that even if he has dropped the uber formal “goshujinsama,” he is, in a sense, still using it throughout the story.

Bocchan - 坊ちゃん

As I explained above, this seems to be a manner of address Sebastian picks up from Tanaka. It seems to imply that he does so partly because he recognizes that the old man is aware of Ciel’s real identity (unlike Madam Red, who assumes he’s RC, which is why Ciel looks so dead-eyed while Sebastian is smirking).

Maybe he does it to mock him at first, a reminder that Sebastian knows he’s a liar. Maybe he adopts it because he’s never had a young master before and decides it could be a fun change of pace.

Unless Yana says something or reveals more insight into Sebastian’s POV, however, we may never know exactly why he made this shift and stuck with it.

旦那様・当主・ご主人様・マイロード・様・坊ちゃん

And that’s my rundown of how “master” is used in Japanese by Sebastian and Tanaka, depending on who they’re addressing or referring to and at what point we are in the story. As you can see, most of it is lost in translation.

If you enjoyed this post, you may like to check out some of my other kuro translation posts, including my pronoun series, in which I explain why various characters use certain personal pronouns.

Reblogs and tips are also always appreciated!

[kyaraben-time]

Source: msta___i on Instagram

[cctrain0722]

極寒の環境で生き抜く姿を、そっと見守る。

今年もよろしくおねがいいたします。

[wangmiao]

Zhang Luyi at the Zegna Event (2024/05/23) via his weibo studio.

[may-k-world]

本年も宜しくお願いいたします。

[rumeko]

謹賀新年

[yukimam]

夜ごはん：洋食の日。カマスのコンフィがめちゃうま。

[storge]

We still have lots of good memories awaiting us in the future. Back then, when I proposed to you in front of my father, I really meant it. I sincerely want to make you happy. So if you're anxious about something, I'd like you to tell me. I want you to trust me.

Io & Yukito Kahogona Wakadanna-sama no Amayakashi Kon (2024) 1.02

[roseillith]

刀馬旦 // PEKING OPERA BLUES (1986) dir. TSUI HARK

[copal-sq]

サブブログの方では初日の出の写真で

既に挨拶しましたが、こちらでも一応挨拶。

今年もゆるーく宜しくお願いします。

毎年人が少なくて凄く雰囲気がいい

お気に入りの神社に初詣に行きますが

今年もお神酒も御守りも買って

のーんびりと楽しい参道でした。

帰りに立ち寄ったスーパーの駐車場から

夕日がめっちゃ綺麗に見えてていい初日。

初日の出も見れたけど初日没も拝めました。

今年はどんな景色に出会えるかな。

いい1年になりますように。

→→→→→

Sub blog : こぱるこっきんぐ

https://copal-xxx.tumblr.com/