The Epitaph of the Rokkenjima Witch may be one of the most puzzling riddles in
Umineko no Naku Koro ni. The characters make many attempts to solve it, but the
truth remains a mystery. To help English-speaking readers delve into the many
hidden meanings contained in this riddle, we have created this section to explain the
original wording of the riddle, as well as to present some possible theories.
This section may contain mild spoilers from Episodes 1-3, but nothing that a skilled
enough Japanese reader wouldn't be able to figure out beforehand.
More will be added here in the future!
The Epitaph (Japanese)
懐かしき、故郷を貫く鮎の川。
黄金郷を目指す者よ、これを下りて鍵を探せ。
川を下れば、やがて里あり。
その里にて二人が口にし岸を探れ。
そこに黄金郷への鍵が眠る。
鍵を手にせし者は、以下に従いて黄金郷へ旅立つべし。
第一の晩に、鍵の選びし六人を生贄に捧げよ。
第二の晩に、残されし者は寄り添う二人を引き裂け。
第三の晩に、残されし者は誉れ高き我が名を讃えよ。
第四の晩に、頭をえぐりて殺せ。
第五の晩に、胸をえぐりて殺せ。
第六の晩に、腹をえぐりて殺せ。
第七の晩に、膝をえぐりて殺せ。
第八の晩に、足をえぐりて殺せ。
第九の晩に、魔女は蘇り、誰も生き残れはしない。
第十の晩に、旅は終わり、黄金の郷に至るだろう。
魔女は賢者を讃え、四つの宝を授けるだろう。
一つは、黄金郷の全ての黄金。
一つは、全ての死者の魂を蘇らせ。
一つは、失った愛すらも蘇らせる。
一つは、魔女を永遠に眠りにつかせよう。
安らかに眠れ、我が最愛の魔女ベアトリーチェ。
The Epitaph (English)
My beloved hometown, the sweetfish river running through it.
You who seek the Golden Land, follow its path downstream and seek the key.
If you follow the river downstream, you will find a village.
In the village, look for the shore the two will tell you of.
There sleeps the key to the Golden Land.
He who lays hand upon the key shall travel under the rules below.
At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key.
At the second twilight, the surviving shall tear apart the two who are close.
At the third twilight, the surviving shall praise my honorable name on high.
At the fourth twilight, gouge the head and kill.
At the fifth twilight, gouge the chest and kill.
At the sixth twilight, gouge the stomach and kill.
At the seventh twilight, gouge the knee and kill.
At the eighth twilight, gouge the leg and kill.
At the ninth twilight, the Witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive.
At the tenth twilight, the journey shall end and you should reach the village of gold.
The Witch will praise the wise, and should bestow four treasures.
One shall be, all the gold from the Golden Land.
One shall be, the resurrection of the souls of all the dead.
One shall be, even the resurrection of the lost love.
One shall be, to put the Witch to sleep for all time.
Sleep peacefully, my most beloved witch, Beatrice.
The Golden Land
The word we translated into Golden Land (黄金郷 ougonkyou) literally means gold city or gold
country, and often refers to the fabled city of El Dorado. It is extremely similar to the term used
in the tenth twilight (黄金の郷 ougon'nosato). The の (pronounced 'no') means that the word
before describes the word after, much like the 'of' in 'village of gold'. It may be that the
difference is as small as that between 'the Golden Land' and 'the Land of Gold', but when the
character for land is separated, it can also stand for a more rural village and is pronounced
differently.
The Sweetfish River
This term is also discussed in the Episode 1 Grimoire. We originally translated it as 'bountiful',
as the term sweetfish river implies in Japanese, but changed it to this more literal meaning.
Sweetfish are also called ayu, which is the Japanese word for them, and they can live in both
saltwater and freshwater like salmon.
Maria's Name
Maria's name is written in kanji like this: 真里亞. The middle character happens to be the same
one used for 'village' in the first half of the epitaph. (A different kanji with the same
pronunciation is used for the 'village of gold' in the second half.)
We are still constructing this section and would like your input. If you have any
questions or comments about the epitaph, please e-mail us about them.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni. The characters make many attempts to solve it, but the
truth remains a mystery. To help English-speaking readers delve into the many
hidden meanings contained in this riddle, we have created this section to explain the
original wording of the riddle, as well as to present some possible theories.
This section may contain mild spoilers from Episodes 1-3, but nothing that a skilled
enough Japanese reader wouldn't be able to figure out beforehand.
More will be added here in the future!
The Epitaph (Japanese)
懐かしき、故郷を貫く鮎の川。
黄金郷を目指す者よ、これを下りて鍵を探せ。
川を下れば、やがて里あり。
その里にて二人が口にし岸を探れ。
そこに黄金郷への鍵が眠る。
鍵を手にせし者は、以下に従いて黄金郷へ旅立つべし。
第一の晩に、鍵の選びし六人を生贄に捧げよ。
第二の晩に、残されし者は寄り添う二人を引き裂け。
第三の晩に、残されし者は誉れ高き我が名を讃えよ。
第四の晩に、頭をえぐりて殺せ。
第五の晩に、胸をえぐりて殺せ。
第六の晩に、腹をえぐりて殺せ。
第七の晩に、膝をえぐりて殺せ。
第八の晩に、足をえぐりて殺せ。
第九の晩に、魔女は蘇り、誰も生き残れはしない。
第十の晩に、旅は終わり、黄金の郷に至るだろう。
魔女は賢者を讃え、四つの宝を授けるだろう。
一つは、黄金郷の全ての黄金。
一つは、全ての死者の魂を蘇らせ。
一つは、失った愛すらも蘇らせる。
一つは、魔女を永遠に眠りにつかせよう。
安らかに眠れ、我が最愛の魔女ベアトリーチェ。
The Epitaph (English)
My beloved hometown, the sweetfish river running through it.
You who seek the Golden Land, follow its path downstream and seek the key.
If you follow the river downstream, you will find a village.
In the village, look for the shore the two will tell you of.
There sleeps the key to the Golden Land.
He who lays hand upon the key shall travel under the rules below.
At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key.
At the second twilight, the surviving shall tear apart the two who are close.
At the third twilight, the surviving shall praise my honorable name on high.
At the fourth twilight, gouge the head and kill.
At the fifth twilight, gouge the chest and kill.
At the sixth twilight, gouge the stomach and kill.
At the seventh twilight, gouge the knee and kill.
At the eighth twilight, gouge the leg and kill.
At the ninth twilight, the Witch shall be revived and none shall be left alive.
At the tenth twilight, the journey shall end and you should reach the village of gold.
The Witch will praise the wise, and should bestow four treasures.
One shall be, all the gold from the Golden Land.
One shall be, the resurrection of the souls of all the dead.
One shall be, even the resurrection of the lost love.
One shall be, to put the Witch to sleep for all time.
Sleep peacefully, my most beloved witch, Beatrice.
The Golden Land
The word we translated into Golden Land (黄金郷 ougonkyou) literally means gold city or gold
country, and often refers to the fabled city of El Dorado. It is extremely similar to the term used
in the tenth twilight (黄金の郷 ougon'nosato). The の (pronounced 'no') means that the word
before describes the word after, much like the 'of' in 'village of gold'. It may be that the
difference is as small as that between 'the Golden Land' and 'the Land of Gold', but when the
character for land is separated, it can also stand for a more rural village and is pronounced
differently.
The Sweetfish River
This term is also discussed in the Episode 1 Grimoire. We originally translated it as 'bountiful',
as the term sweetfish river implies in Japanese, but changed it to this more literal meaning.
Sweetfish are also called ayu, which is the Japanese word for them, and they can live in both
saltwater and freshwater like salmon.
Maria's Name
Maria's name is written in kanji like this: 真里亞. The middle character happens to be the same
one used for 'village' in the first half of the epitaph. (A different kanji with the same
pronunciation is used for the 'village of gold' in the second half.)
We are still constructing this section and would like your input. If you have any
questions or comments about the epitaph, please e-mail us about them.
