Tenge / Kiryu

Kanji & Romaji: hiphopvomit
Translation: myself

Lyrics: Kurosaki Mahiro, Tokai Junji
Music: Kujou Takemasa




天華 [Tenge]
Beautiful flower blooming in the heavens



Beloved ____,

It is already Fall in full swing, the treetops have turned crimson as well.
-omission-
This chest, it seems to [still] experience the pain of love.
The warmth     Even now     Still can be felt.
I miss you.

Brilliantly illuminating sunbeam streaming through leaves painfully pierces through heart

Where are you, dear (1)... I am always waiting for you
Damaged sky (2)     Changes color to red
Since he passed away (3)    He withered alive      Turning into the wind
In the light of demise     I hold up both hands over my head

Dear ____,

It is continuously raining (4), the cloudy (5) sky is crying.
-omission-
I'll certainly come back with a smile on my face
A bashful photography as a memento.
Please     That is all...

Gently swaying bonfire is rapidly and heavily sparkling

Where are you, dear... I am always calling you
Damaged sky     Changes color to red
Since I passed away (3')     I have broken down (6) and perished     Turning into the wind
In the light of demise     I held up both hands over my head

"My love, turned out unfortunate"

Where are you, dear... I am always blooming
Believing to grasp [your hand]    I held up both of my hands over my head
He passed away (3) and      Because I passed away (3')      Even though still falling apart...
Withering away as it is    The flower does not rot away

Being reborn as a single beautiful flower blooming in the heavens (7)


Footnotes:

Note: sentences written in italics aren't sung in the song

1. The word used here is 君 [kimi] - nowadays used as a very informal you, mostly by men as a part of male speech, however as an obsolete part of the language, it used to be a humble reference to the imperials, feudal lords and other important people involved in ruling or a very affectionate way of saying you (used by lovers); though, in red light districts, they called prostitutes that way as well
2. Wordplay of sorts: used 蒼 [ao] - blue, young but sung as 空 [sora] - the sky
3. For regular (3) - 行く [iku / yuku] - to go (physically); for (3') - 征く [iku / yuku] - to go (mentally, spiritually)
4. Cold rain, that is
5. Lit. the sky in its dominant colors
6. As in soul detaching from one's body, I reckon
7. 天華 [tenge] may actually refer to either that aforementioned flower or to paper lotus flowers scattered before the Buddha's image; here it is a simile to the human soul; fun fact: 天華 [tenka] - snow

Discussion:

Letters. The way of communication, still alive even though we live in the era of computers, even in Japan. But how do Japanese people write letters?

Let's go back to the Kamakura period (1192 - 1333 AD), when the actual epistolary style, known as 候文 [souroubun] had started to shine. The name is derived from an auxilary, archaic verb 候ふ [sourou] used as simply to be or as a form of polite language. This verb was also a requirement when expressing oneself in souroubun.

The structure itself involved the usage of kobun (bungo). This form of language derives from Heian period (794 - 1185/1192 AD) and was preserved later on (being the standard until around 1930) as a literary language. As Japanese writing system consists of kana (katakana + hiragana) and kanji, what is characteristic for kobun is a phenomenon called rekishiteki kanazukai - historical kana usage (in a general use until the end of World War II though). It means additional, obsolete pieces of kana (ゐ & ヰ [wi], ゑ & ヱ [we]; sometimes still used in names in some regions) as well as major spelling differences in both words and grammar structures. However in souroubun, those grammar structures of kobun were replaced by their China speak equivalents making it look like Chinese, but it was actually Japanese regardless of the differences in word orders between both languages.
(Chinese is subject-predicate-object whereas Japanese is subject-object-predicate in case you were curious)

Until the Edo period (1603 - 1868 AD), souroubun had been perceived as a casual, literary form of writing letters in spite of its polite style. Later on, it turned into an official epistolary style of the government whatsoever, giving it a very formal overtone. In 1920, it fell out of fashion.

Nowadays, souroubun is no longer used and the style isn't particularly specified, yet the modern way of writing letters is still structured and certain expressions are essential. The style may be casual, polite (neutral) or even humble, depending on who is your recipient. Also, the structure and the nature of the letter change when you write horizontally or vertically (horizontal are considered formal), yet the core itself is the same regardless. I'd like to focus on the core though, because it's universal and it actually matters in the lyrics.

Basically, you are supposed to follow a certain template:

1. Note your current weather, make a reference to the following season, wish for good health
2. Write your main text, mind appropriate expressions
3. Close the letter with your request, again wish for good health

Now, why did I produce this much text on the letters? Simple: the construction Tenge harbors letters. Love letters, that is. Those letters are written in a polite language with elements of rekishiteki kanazukai and make the stanza of the song. I believe, it is meant to mimic souroubun in a way (but without the sourou thing and involvement of Chinese), to preserve the very literary and poetic style of the lyrics. The chorus however, is written in kobun with a female first person narrative.

In this intricate setting, a certain tragic story takes place. I think, it's about an unfortunate couple. A girl, whose lover dies prematurely, decides to look for him in the afterlife, meaning, she also passes away. I reckon, the boy died in a war or something because the first letter is probably from the girl and the second letter comes from the boy and they do say that the couple was however separated, but my suspicions might be far-fetched.

I'm not an expert when it comes to letters and resources on souroubun are relatively limited and not consistent in terms of facts, but I hope I somewhat managed to present the topic in a fairly palatable way.