Translation: myself
Lyrics & music: Sakai Mitsuki
影絵ノ鴉 [Kagee no karasu]
Crow from the shadow picture
You've seen through me, so I flew away...
What song shall I compose, in this sunset dyed red
The one who blends into the hoarsed autumn is me, "Crow from the shadow picture"
In the twilight, see you tomorrow
The one who firmly observed myself while shaking hands is me, "Crow from the shadow picture"
Hate, hate, hate hate, one after another
Hate, hate, hate hate, generation after generation
"What if it soothed my pain?" (1)
The crow composes its song
Arises and buds when the snow melts The flower of icily painful lie
Winter silently slurps tears
THESE hands stopped dying pitch-black easily
I pushed my back and flew away
While plugging your ears, close your eyes, until your voice will be muffled (2)
Embrace...the true meaning of baby's first cry
Hate, hate, hate hate, one after another
Hate, hate, hate hate, generations after generations
"Has the pain been soothed?"
The crow laughs
When the cherry blossom gently sways The lie from THAT moment scatters around
Spring that looks downward in this pink radiance
The lie still blooms, scatters and withers away Swaying spirit-shaped buds of words (3)
Branches are what pierces summer into you
Footnotes:
- The phrase 楽になる [raku ni naru] - to soothe one's pain, to be relieved etc. can be literally translated as to become a melody as well
- A reference to Japanese sanzaru (pic) - Three Wise Monkeys being a pictorial maxim saying see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil as each monkey is covering eyes, ears and mouth respectively; here sanzaru is a metaphor of a newborn who is not tainted with any kind of evil
- 言の葉 [kotonoha] means words, but if we consider each compound of this word, we can literally translate it as leaves of words
Discussion:
It's June already! Therefore the full-blown summer is about to come as the very last of spring storms' thunders are going away.
Speaking of four seasons... The ever-changing nature is one of two main motifs of Kagee no karasu. It's also a metaphor of human life and the endless cycle of death and rebirth. From the very beginning, spring is where the nature awakens from its slumber. All about infancy and youth - as the moment where a human is born and follow their path towards adulthood (did you know that youth in Japanese means inter alia 青春 [seishuun] - lit. blue spring?). Adulthood is like summer. The most glamorous moments of youthfulness disappear like the nature itself is rapidly maturing. The next stage is fall - the senility. The nature changes significantly as it gets old, being aware of the further death - upcoming winter (speaking of which, winter and white color in general are a common symbol of death in Japan). As we know, four seasons repeat themselves endlessly, hence the reference to the reincarnation itself.
The second motif is our title crow. In Japan, this bird is said to be the messenger of gods, known in mythology as Yatagarasu - the three-legged, large crow. I mentioned in my Hinamatsuri [R] translation before, that Japanese emperors/empresses are descendants of the Shinto goddess of sun - Amaterasu. Well, Yatagarasu is also associated with guidance and victory, since (according to legends) he was sent to the Earth by Amaterasu to guide her descendant Jimmu (ruling 660 - 585 BC) in his journey to become the first emperor. As that was an obvious thing to me, I found that this mythical, tripedal bird of corvus genus is also said to be a mark of rebirth and rejuvenation. I could not find any evidence to prove that statement, however I think it has something to do with the buddhist figure - Kannon, who is sometimes presented together with Yatagarasu. Basically, Kannon is often considered a bodhisattva of mercy, pity and compassion. She is also believed to offer her helping hands to souls in their way of transmigration. Moreover, do you know who is often referred to as Kannon as well? Our well known, Shinto goddess Amaterasu herself! This is why I would consider Yatagarasu a mark of rebirth as well.
(note: Kannon comes in both male and female versions, but in Japan the latter is more common)
To sum up, let's merge the crow and four seasons together. Two motifs of reincarnation including the title crow that is the sign of it all.
Ah, I almost forgot to clarify the lie of Kagee no karasu. Well, people prefer to believe that life is supposed to end when they die. But who said it indeed does end? Definitely not our crow.
Afterword:
Woohoo, an off-topic section!
What I wanted to convey as an afterword is that I plan to retranslate Zangetsu, Juusanya and Nochi no koyoi in near future. These three songs form some really messed-up story altogether, which is confirmed (thanks Mahiro, at least you were helpful this time)! I've already deciphered that story while translating it into my native, yet I'd like to present it to you all as well.
All I need is simply more time which isn't certainly in my June schedule. You know, my finals are coming... They are really near...
