So let’s look at how the phrase has been handled by professional translators over the past few decades.īy coincidence, the fourth Final Fantasy introduced the “Four Heavenly Kings” idea to many gamers outside of Japan – including myself – and that same association is strong even among Japanese gamers.įinal Fantasy IV has a lot of different translations as well ( more details), and most of them handle shitennō in different ways: Still, despite how long the term has been in use, there’s rarely been a consensus on how it should be translated in more modern, non-Buddhist situations. I never knew why until now: apparently that particular English phrasing has been in use since at least the 1850s. The 'Four Heavenly Kings' translation has been around a long time - this one is from 1869 but there are even earlier examplesFor whatever reason, “Four Heavenly Kings” has been the default translation among fans of Japanese entertainment for years and years. As a result, shitennō has seen many different translations over the years. In the end, everything usually comes down to the translator’s creativity and personal preference. Issue #1: Shitennō Has Different Religious Nuancesįirst, shitennō can refer to the four Buddhist gods, of course: I’ve outlined these issues and a few others below. There are all kinds of reasons – the English language doesn’t share the same Buddhist roots as Japanese, the word shitennō has taken on additional meanings, and the word shitennō has certain nuances that are easily lost in translation. So what’s the deal? Why are there so many translations for shitennō, and why is it such a problem for Japanese-to-English translators? Here’s a short list of translations I found for shitennō while working on this article:

The word shitennō doesn’t have a direct equivalent in English, so translators have to get creative whenever it pops up. In short, shitennō is a very specific word that’s steeped in Buddhism and Japanese culture – the perfect recipe for a tricky translation. In Japanese, the Four Heavenly Kings are called the 四天王 ( shitennō) – 四 means “four”, 天 roughly means “the heavens”, and 王 generally means “king”, “ruler”, or “lord”. But they almost always look fierce and imposing. Different countries have adopted Buddhism in different ways over the centuries, so the Four Heavenly Kings sometimes go by different names and are depicted differently. You probably don't want to mess with the Four Heavenly KingsThe term “Four Heavenly Kings” refers to four Buddhist gods that rule over each cardinal direction: north, south, east, and west.

Although the concept of the “Four Heavenly Kings” exists in many different countries, in this article we’ll be focusing on its use in Japan and Japanese-to-English translation.

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