Ningen Kakumei episodes 1-5 batch + TL notes

RAW provider: WOWmd
Encoding & QC: Bananas in Pajamas
Quality check (ep 1-2) & group tag: Muzu
Translation & TS: Perevodildo
Editing: Paul Geromini
Quality check: Collectr, True Noobow Gamer
In memory of Daisaku Ikeda

Episodes:

Dawn {黎明}
Gush Forth {地湧}
Rebirth {新生}
Garden of Life {生命の庭}
Sturm und Drang {疾風・怒涛}

TL Notes

Episode 1:

Toda's refusal to worship the Shinto talisman in episode 1: I'll try to be succinct with this.
Prior to the war, Japan had introduced a Peace Preservation Law, which permitted the persecution of communists and other anti-government elements en masse, including religious organizations. Naturally, Soka Gakkai members were actively speaking out against the war and the government had little tolerance for that, so in 1943, they were brought to a Main Nichiren Temple in Tokyo, a hallowed ground for Lotus Sutra Buddhists, where they were offered a traditional amulet sold at Shinto temples, as a token of their allegiance to the government's cause—a "Kamifuda." It may sound all confusing from the outside, but Soka Gakkai teachings are based on Buddhist tenets, which are not the same as Shinto, even if both are all Greek to most of us. Shinto is Japan's homegrown indigenous system of animistic (= all things are alive, therefore it's nothing unusual in them worshiping a piece of paper) beliefs, which include Kappas, fancy red gates, and other stuff we know Japan for. Buddhism, in turn, is centered on its enlightened followers, and it came about in pre-industrial revolution India, spreading to Japan through China—in 1940s, the enemy country, which is all the more why Shinto and Buddhism were and still are constantly at odds. Interestingly enough, though, Buddhism has its own tradition of venerating texts—like, the words, the message, the meaning, rather than the actual parchments.
That said, the Lotus Sutra Gohonzons (literally "The object of worship") are still essentially just ritual scrolls or some other symbolic object that you pray to. I translated it as "altar/scroll" depending on the context.
Back to the main story. Turning down the amulets landed both Toda Josei and Tsunesaburo Makiguchi in jail for breaching the Peace Preservation Law and lèse-majesté (because the Emperor Hirohito at the time was considered a deity, worshiped in Shintoism, kind of as if he was the king of Kappas and stuff).
TL;DR: Shinto amulet = Kamifuda = piece of divine paper.
Soka Kyoiku Gakkai—literally "Value Creation Educational Society" - a religious organization, founded in 1930 by the guy above with the intention to promote peacemaking, accessible education, and Lotus Sutra. In 1946, Toda Josei truncated the name to just Soka Gakkai (minus the "educational" part).
TL;DR: Soka Gakkai = Soka Kyoiku Gakkai = the sect supercharged with the "Human Revolution" idea = Value Creation Society = The Society.
Common Path—my very liberal interpretation of the Kosen Rufu concept. You can read all about what Kosen Rufu was originally about in a wiki article; here (and in this series) I would stick with my own interpretation, largely based on Toda Josei's and later Daisaku Ikeda's biographies. Here's my explanation, utilizing vivid imagery for transparency: Kousen Rufu literally means "spread widely the river cloth," which eventually boils down to [widespread] peacemaking and the abolition of nationalism in favor of the global interests of humankind [where all nations blend into a single stream], which ultimately means a shared fate for all the humankind = a common river = a common path / road [like that, formed by a bolt of cloth, rolling down the hill]. Within Soka Gakkai (literally "Value-Creation Society"), Kosen Rufu would eventually evolve into a concept of "Human Revolution"—a goal of attaining universal societal change through individual enlightenment—"Creating value within yourself to transform your environment."
It was Toda who drove the Soka Gakkai away from religious sect patterns towards NGOs in a more general sense by stressing the necessity of practical results of a spiritual transformation. In other words, he essentially said, "Reading sutras, praying, and being pious is cool, but without a material improvement, the practical result, contributing to the progress, it's all for nothing."
TL;DR: Common Path = be the change you wish to see in the world.
The Nichiren's prophecy Toda is quoting in this episode is an excerpt from Nichiren's letter to Yasaburo—an influential samurai who provided Nichiren with asylum and asked him for guidance when preparing for a religious debate. Translation for this part is largely based on Soka Gakkai's official translation of Nichiren's works, adapted for the current situation. The full text is
The priests of Japan today are all men of great evil, surpassing even Devadatta or the Venerable Kokālika. And because lay people revere them and make them offerings, this country is being transformed before our very eyes into the hell of incessant suffering, where countless people in their present existence {referring to the Buddhist concept of reincarnation}, in addition to undergoing starvation, pestilence, and horrible agonies unknown in previous ages, will be attacked by a foreign power {Originally, Nichiren refers to the Mongol Empire, but Toda's alludes to the Americans when quoting it}. This is due solely to the workings of deities like Brahmā, Shakra, and the gods of the sun and moon.
Toda saying that prophecy came true refers, once again, to the State Shintoism and the ensuing overwhelming corruptness and depravity among Japanese clergy of the time. You could say this original Nichiren's letter was, at the time, a sort of Martin Luther's 95 points declaration, his protest, except it was made private, both because there wasn't yet any church door he could nail it to, and because the traditional practices of Buddhism imposed seclusion and inwardness upon their followers.
TL;DR: Nichiren = Japan's Martin Luther.
Nihon Shogakkan—literally "Fair / Just / Righteous Education Japan."
Lotus Sutra (hokekkyou) - for this one, I believe the corresponding wiki article suffices. It is important to know the difference, though: every Lotus Sutra follower is a Buddhist, but not every Buddhist is a Lotus Sutra follower. Consequently, every Nichirenist is a Lotus Sutra follower, but not every Lotus Sutra follower is a Nichirenist, and finally, every Soka Gakkai member is a Nichirenist, but not every Nichirenist is a Soka Gakkai member. You know how it always is with religious autists—no two of them can ever come to terms with each other, and because of the recent controversies enshrouding Soka Gakkai, to many, this notion is important to emphasize.
You will also encounter in this series a Lotus Sutra Path, which is my liberal interpretation of "myouhou rufu" (literally "marvelous law of Buddha stream") which is commonly translated as Mystic Law. I did it to avoid introducing yet another term in the series that'd effectively be all Greek to everyone. I call it liberal because "myohou rufu" technically has nothing to do with "hokekkyou."
TL;DR: Lotus Sutra [Path] = Nichiren's sect = (by extension) Common Path.
Head Temple Taisekiji—the holiest of sites for the Lotus Sutra adherents (hence the "Head Temple" plaque) and a notably popular Buddhist temple within Japan. It was founded by a senior disciple of Nichiren himself, which is also why offering a Shinto hanafuda to Soka Gakkai members there was deeply humiliating and sacrilegious.
TL;DR: Taisekiji Temple = Mecca for Nichiren's followers.
The song Toda hums to himself in this episode is "Song of Comrades," which wasn't yet completed at the moment depicted there. Translation for it is largely based on this. The background is there as well.
Society's female division leader—Soka Gakkai divided its members into gender and age groups.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Just like Toda said, from the outside, Nichiren Buddhism boils down to this—you meditate while chanting this monotonously. This chant literally means "Glory to the Lotus Sutra." Basically, it's just an ordinary chanting rhythm, substitutable by any other to help you remember what you're here for while meditating.
Latter Day of the Law—there exist three ages of Buddhism, but their dates vary between different interpretations. The most common are the Age of the Right Dharma (500 years after Buddha's death), Age of Semblance Dharma (500 years more), Degenerate Age of Dharma (the next 10000 years—you are here, rather unsurprisingly). For the purposes of this project, I chose another interpretation that uses milder terms - Former Day of the Law, Middle Day of the Law, Latter Day of the Law. What's special about the Latter Day of the Law is it's the one when the teachings of Buddha faint and lose their power to lead people to enlightenment. More on that in the wiki.
Various Buddhas of ten directions and three times—basically, just a picturesque quote from a sutra, a fancy way to say "there are Buddhas everywhere and in all times, all around us." Specifically, the ten directions are the eight directions of the compass—north, south, east, west, northwest, northeast, southeast, and southwest, plus up and down. Three times are past, present, and future.
Bodhisattvas of the Earth—this one is relatively simple: a being who has developed a spontaneous wish and a compassionate mind to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. The "earth" part probably means that they come from the laymen, not some ascended entities.
The beautiful song from the end of this episode, based on a poem by Daisaku Ikeda. My translation for it is also largely based on the one in this video because it's good.
As some of you may know, a certain Yamamoto Shinichi who only appears in the last 5 minutes of this episode is none other than... an open self-insert of Daisaku Ikeda himself, whose book, The Human Revolution, this anime was based upon. My acquaintance with Daisaku Ikeda happened several years ago. Back then, I knew nothing of his background - only the things he did for Japan and the world were my ultimate criteria, which by then have already earned Ikeda a lot of respect in my eyes.
When I watched this OVA and fell immediately in love with it last year, I did not yet have a clue Ikeda was behind this one as well.

Episode 2:

Vulture Peak—a mountain in India, supposedly frequented by Buddhas and their disciples. Wikipedia.
Divine Right is the translation I've chosen for the concept of Hakko Ichiu - the supposed divine mandate, allowing Japan to "unify the eight corners of the world."
I want nothing but victory—another slogan, popular during WW2; supposedly, it was devised by an 11-year-old girl, and literally, it reads "I don't wish for anything until we win."
This banner refers to Shigeru Yoshida, the prime minister at the time. The threat of a communist takeover during the 1947 general strike was quite real, hence the following line:
And if you, my dear ones, say that you need me to be there for you, I'll be at the forefront of demonstrations and strikes, waving red flags and whatever.
Nichiren Daishonin alone vilified this blind faith in Nenbutsu prayers—Nenbutsu prayer is a calque of the Chinese word for "meditating while thinking about Buddha" - basically, you sit there and imagine Buddha in your mind, thinking about how great he is. Nichiren's point was that praying alone was not enough - people needed to change from the inside and not just mindlessly hope that the Great Buddha will come and make everything right for them. Even the difference with the "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" is that in Nenbutsu you focus on Buddha's figure, while in Nam you think about his good deeds and how you could become Buddha yourself.
TL;DR, Nichiren said: "Trust in God, but tie your camel."
Daishonin concluded his work on Rissho Ankokuron 700 years ago—Rissho Ankokuron is one of the principal texts of Nichiren Buddhism. Basically, it was Nichiren's Ninety-five Theses.
I gush forth from the Earth—extrapolated, this line means "I gush forth from the Earth [as a Bodhisattva]," i.e., this is Shinichi's vow to convert to Buddhism.

Episode 3:

Makiguchi-sensei was the embodiment of the lion spirit that day—this analogy already came up before, in episode 1 in the form of "The lion roars alone." In Buddhism, the lion is like another word for Buddha: the lion is the strongest of animals, accordingly, the Buddha is the strongest of beings; when a lion roars, all the other animals run away, and when Buddha chants, all the demons disappear, hence "the lion's roar" in Buddhism is the ultimate proclamation of unbending will and devotion.

Episode 4:

In his scriptures, Nichiren states, "Once you turn to the Buddha, the three obstacles and four devils will start competing within you."—a loaded line:

Firstly, Nichiren's scriptures are more commonly known as "Gosho" in Buddhism, but this translation is intended for laity, hence "Nichiren's Scriptures."
Secondly, I had to truncate this line in several places to make it reasonably short for subtitles. In its fullest form, this phrase would be something like In case you have already practiced and understood the principles [of Buddhism], the three obstacles and four devils will inevitably appear and start fighting chaotically within you, followed by the part, omitted from the anime: One must not follow or fear them. If one follows them, one will certainly lead one to the evil path. If one fears them, one will be hindered from practicing the correct teaching.
Thirdly, about the devils and obstacles themselves. The obstacles are as follows:
the obstacle of earthly desires;
the obstacle of karma (the negative actions or offenses we commit in this life);
the obstacle of retribution (the negative effects of our actions in past lives, or karma)
Then, the four devils are:
the hindrance of the five components [of one's body and soul] — hindrances caused by one’s own physical and mental functions;
the hindrance of earthly desires — hindrances arising from greed, anger and foolishness;
the hindrance of death — one’s own untimely death obstructing one’s Buddhist practice or doubts arising from the untimely death of a fellow practitioner;
the hindrance of the devil king of the sixth heaven — a strong negative influence taking various forms to cause practitioners to discard their Buddhist practice.

Episode 5:

Sacred Mountain Meeting Stands Solemnly Strong—direct quote from Nichiren's scriptures. The Sacred Mountain here most likely refers to the Vulture Peak.
Sturm und Drang—I am not sure why this fairly obscure title was chosen, but "疾風・怒涛" is the official Japanese translation for the name of this genre. You may have never heard of it, but with some luck, you may be familiar with its model work - "The Sorrows of Young Werther" by Goethe. You can read more on it here and reflect on why this title was chosen for this episode later.
During long, arduous, and devoted fighting for the cause of their faith—actually, they originally say "一念に億劫の辛労を尽くす" which is the Buddhism-specific term for enduring immeasurable hardships with a single thought of faith—as if condensing the hardships of countless eras into a single moment, so as to cause the wisdom and vitality of the Buddha emerge" - I don't think this concept has an English translation or some analogy that would've been even remotely equivalent.

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