サイドリーダー ： "Spirited Away" Plot Outline

This is the first in what I hope to be a continuing series of Japanese "Side Readers". This one was taken from the Spirited Away entry at Japanese Wikipedia, with translation and vocabulary list added by me. I've also written a very quick and easy guide to importing the vocab list into an Anki deck, if you're interested!

『千と千尋の神隠し』のあらすじ
“The Spiriting Away of Sen and Chihiro” plot summary

10歳の少女、荻野千尋（おぎのちひろ）はごく普通の女の子。
10-year-old Chihiro Ogino is a very ordinary girl.

夏のある日、両親と千尋は引越し先の町に向かう途中で森の中に迷い込み、そこで奇妙なトンネルを見つける。
One summer day, Chihiro and her parents move house, and on the way towards their destination town they become lost in a forest, finding a strange tunnel there.

嫌な予感がした千尋は両親に「帰ろう」と縋るが、両親は好奇心からトンネルの中へと足を進めてしまう。
Chihiro gets a bad feeling and clings to her parents, saying “let's go home”, but they continue on foot into the tunnel, curious.

仕方なく後を追いかける千尋。
Having no other option, Chihiro follows behind.


出口の先に広がっているのは、広大な草原の丘だ。
Spreading out before them at the exit is a huge grassy slope.

地平線の向こうには冷たい青空が広がり、地面には古い家が埋まっていて瓦屋根が並んでいる。
A cold blue sky stretches out towards the horizon, and the land is covered with old houses, their tiled roofs lined up in rows.

先 へ進むと、誰もいないひっそりとした町があり、そこには食欲をそそる匂いが漂っていた。
As they continue forward, there is a deserted town with not a person in it, and an appetizing smell hangs in the air.

匂いをたどった両親は店を見つけ、断りもなしに勝手にそこに並ぶ見 たこともない料理を食べ始めてしまう。
The parents, following the smell, find a shop, and without permission start pigging out on the food that had been laid out there, the likes of which they have never seen before.

それらの料理は神々の食物であったために両親は呪いを掛けられ、豚になってしまう。
Because this cooking was the food of the spirit gods, the parents are bound with a curse, and turn into pigs.

一人残された千尋はこの世界で出 会った謎の少年ハクの助けで、両親を助けようと決心する。
Left all alone, Chihiro is determined to save her parents, with the help of a mysterious boy named Haku, whom she meets in this world.

千尋は八百万の神々が集う湯屋・「油屋（あぶらや）」の経営者、湯婆婆（ゆばば）に雇用を願い出る。
Chihiro applies for work with Yubaba, the proprietor of Abura-ya, a bath house where the eight million spirit gods congregate.

湯婆婆は千尋の名前を奪い、「千」という新し い名を与えた。
Yubaba steals Chihiro's name, assigning her the new name “Sen”.

千尋は油屋の下働きとして働きながら、様々な出 来事に遭遇しつつも、ハクや同僚のリン、釜爺（かまじい）らの助けを借りて、懸命に立ち向かうことで自分も今まで気づかなかった内なる「生きる力」を発見 する。
While working as a servant at Abura-ya, through various incidents and encounters, borrowing the assistance of Haku, her co-worker Rin, and Kamajii, and by risking her life to stand up (to Yubaba), Chihiro discovers an inner willpower that she herself never noticed she had until now.

Vocab List:
神隠し---かみかくし---mysterious disappearance
粗筋---あらすじ---outline, summary
歳---~さい---age (ctr)
少女---しょうじょ---girl
ごく---ごく---exceedingly (adv)
普通---ふつう---normal, ordinary
女の子---おんなのこ---girl, daughter
夏---なつ---summer
ある日---あるひ---one day
両親---りょうしん---parents
引越し---ひっこし---moving, changing residence
先---さき---ahead, future, destination
町---まち---town, city
向かう---むかう---to face, confront, head toward (vi)
途中---とちゅう---on the way, half way
森---もり---thick woods, forest
中---なか---inside, middle
迷い込む---まよいこむ---to go astray, wander into (vi)
奇妙---きみょう---strange, odd, curious (na-adj)
トンネル---トンネル---tunnel
見つける---みつける---to find, locate, come across (vt)
嫌---いや---dislike (na-adj)
予感---よかん---premonition, hunch (sv)
帰る---かえる---to return, go back (vi)
縋る---すがる---to cling to, rely on (vi)
好奇心---こうきしん---curiosity
足---あし---leg, foot
進める---すすめる---to advance, promote, move forward (vt)
仕方なく---しかたなく---helplessly, reluctantly (adv)
後---あと---after
追いかける---おいかける---to chase, run after (vt)
出口---でぐち---exit
広がる---ひろがる---to spread out, extend, reach, expand (vi)
広大---こうだい---huge, vast, extensive (na-adj)
草原---そうげん---grassy plain
丘---おか---hill, slope
地平線---ちへいせん---horizon
冷たい---つめたい---cold (to the touch)
青空---あおぞら---blue sky
地面---じめん---surface, ground
古い---ふるい---old (things, not people)
家---いえ---house, dwelling
埋まる---うまる---to be surrounded, filled, overflowing
瓦屋根---かわらやね---tiled roof
並ぶ---ならぶ---to line up, be parallel (vi)
進む---すすむ---to advance, move forward (vi)
誰---だれ---who, whom
ひっそり---ひっそり---quiet, still, deserted
食欲---しょくよく---appetite
そそる---そそる---to excite, arouse, stir up (vt)
匂い---におい---smell, scent, aroma
漂う---ただよう---to drift, float, waft (vi)
辿る---たどる---to follow, trace (vt)
店---みせ---shop, store
断り---ことわり---permission, consent
勝手に---かってに---without permission, as one likes (adv)
見たこともない---みたこともない---never even seen before
料理---りょうり---cooking, cuisine (sv)
食べ始める---たべはじめる---to start eating (vt)
それら---それら---those
神々---かみがみ---gods, spirits
食物---しょくもつ---food
ために---ために---for the sake of (conj)
呪い---のろい---curse, charm, incantation
掛ける---かける---to hang, put on (vi)
豚---ぶた---pig, boar
為る---なる---to become (vi)
一人---ひとり---one person
残る---のこる---to remain, be left over (vi)
世界---せかい---world
出会う---であう---to happen to meet (vi)
謎---なぞ---puzzle, mystery
少年---しょうねん---boy
助け---たすけ---rescue, assistance, help
助ける---たすける---to help, save (vt)
決心---けっしん---determination, resolve (sv)
八百万の神々---はっぴゃくまんのかみがみ---8 million gods (Shinto term for their myriad of gods)
集う---つどう---to gather, meet, collect (vi)
湯屋---ゆや---public bath house
経営者---けいえいしゃ---manager
雇用---こよう---employment (sv)
願い出る---ねがいでる---to make an application, petition (vt)
奪う---うばう---to snatch away, take by force (vt)
新しい---あたらしい---new
名---な---name, reputation
与える---あたえる---to give, provide, grant (vt)
下働き---したばたらき---subordinate work
働く---はたらく---to work (vi)
様々---さまざま---various, diverse (na-adj)
出来事---できごと---occurrence, incident
遭遇---そうぐう---encounter (sv)
つつ---つつ---while doing (conj)
同僚---どうりょう---colleague, co-worker
借りる---かりる---borrow (vt)
懸命---けんめい---earnestness, risking one's life (to do) (na-adj)
立ち向かう---たちむかう---to fight against, oppose, stand up to (vi)
自分---じぶん---self, oneself
気づく---きづく---to realize, percieve, become aware of
内なる---うちなる---inner (strength, peace etc.)
生きる力---いきるちから---life force, willpower
発見---はっけん---discovery, revelation (sv)