Taira no Masakado: History vs. Legend (vs. Lemon)

Taira no Masakado has been variously depicted as an iron giant, a rebellious demon worthy of divine retribution, a vengeful floating head, a cosmic deity, and the bellwether of Tokyo's fortunes. All of these fantastical descriptions speak to a grand personality of great importance, but what of the historical Masakado, the 10th century samurai? What exactly did he do to deserve such mythical aggrandizement?

And because of Masakado's prominence in Shin Megami Tensei, it's useful, even essential, to survey the beheaded samurai's biography and the superstitions that quickly surrounded his posthumous image. Though not meant to be comprehensive, the following examination of his fabled life nonetheless reveals where the lines are drawn between Masakado the man and Masakado the angry spirit of folklore and SMT--plus a little "extra," let's say. Bottom line: You just can't keep a good samurai lich down.

Dissecting Dagda

"Role-wise there was a discrepancy in the game with the generally transmitted image of a good, food-loving god, so I broadened the definition." -Masayuki Doi, from Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse Official World Setting Collection + Journey Towards the World of Mythology.   

This was Doi's initial comment describing Dagda's Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse design. And what was the first thing mentioned? A "discrepancy."

I myself glossed over the juicy implications of this quote while editing Dijeh's translations of the artbook contents, as this was before the release of SMT4A's English version and with it the definitive information about the game's "broadened" version of Dagda. Still, it was right there, plain as day, and from a key member of the development team, no less! So just how profound must the differences be if even Shin Megami Tensei's new main artist has to admit right off the bat that SMT4A's take on Dagda is at odds with the mythological version? 

Selected Translations from: Shin Megami Tensei IV Final/Apocalypse Official World Setting Collection + Journey Towards the World of Mythology

 (真・女神転生IV FINAL 公式設定資料集+神話世界への旅)

 

Translated by Dijeh [tumblr]

Produced by Eirikr [tumblr] [twitter] ...and YOU 

Thanks to the SMT community on Tumblr, our premier polyglot, Dijeh, was able to expertly translate certain sections of the recently released Japanese SMT4F/A artbook. Precisely, this includes Masayuki Doi's commentary on each of his new demon designs plus a full-length interview with the game's producer, Kazuyuki Yamai, and its scenario writer, Yusuke Miyata. There's a lot to unpack here!

As a bonus, I have meticulously scanned and edited most of the book's new demon artwork, which entails both the official game art AND Doi's unused concepts, the latter of which are as great in number as the finalized designs. Of course, FULL SPOILERS will be out in the open from the start, so only click through or scroll down if you're prepared for them. Please enjoy this exclusive English foray behind the scenes of Shin Megami Tensei IV Final/Apocalypse!

Oh, and did you know that Dijeh translated these materials, not me? Just making sure. :) 

UPDATE 1/28/17: Dijeh translated the profiles for BOTH forms of 4A's final boss. Check them out under their related entries! 

UPDATE... some months before 12/18/20: Dijeh has polished the entire translation!