Chou / Kiryu

Kanji & Romaji: hiphopvomit
Translation: myself; thanks to one of my readers (Tatyana K) for giving me a possible interpretation of the lyrics

Lyrics & music: Sakai Mitsuki




蝶 [Chou] (no vid available)
Butterfly



I want to become a "butterfly" that blooms bewitchingly     To caress the sky as I flutter around
To go up and down, hang in the air and revolve      At early night hours

I want to become a "butterfly" that cuts brilliantly     To slice the darkness into tiny pieces as I flap [my wings]
To play a scream-like sound of wings     At early night hours

Before I decay away and my silhouette gets to be dyed white...

Fluttering, flapping, going in circles
Fluttering, flapping, going in circles
Fluttering, flapping, going in circles

"Dance of spirals"

Fluttering, flapping, going in circles
Fluttering, flapping, going in circles
Fluttering, flapping, going in circles

"Garden of emptiness"

I let hands entwine together and spread my wings      The feet have troubles at the bottom of the sea
I spread my wings inside the chilly blue     The voice of light goes into the mist
Let's dream     Dissolve this life
Let's dream     Fall in love with the feeling

My wish is to become a "butterfly" of the new moon      To glare at the moon as I go in circles
I'm no different than my previous self, as if I didn't exist at all


Discussion:

Since our subject is being... bugged by their life (depression?), they want to become a butterfly. Why a butterfly, one might ask. The answer is simple: this charming bug is a symbol of the endless cycle of death and rebirth and starting something brand new. It also refers to feminine energy and young maidens, soon to become fine ladies (I guess the subject is a female because of that).

I think, the song is pretty easy to understand now. If the subject doesn't like their current life, they can always undergo the transmigration and hope they will get something better.

There's also a possibility for the song to be somewhat inspired by Zhuangzi's Butterfly Dream  - a story written from a perspective of a man who once dreamed about being a butterfly. When he woke up and realized he's still a human, he started to wonder whether he's a man dreaming about transforming into a butterfly, or now a butterfly dreaming about transforming into a man. He notices the distinction between him and the butterfly and concludes it must've been an instance of transformation. Zhuangzi or Chuang Chou himself was a Chinese philosopher.

Tsukubai / Kiryu

Kanji & Romaji: hiphopvomit
Translation: myself

Lyrics & music: Sakai Mitsuki




蹲 [Tsukubai]
Tsukubai / The Washbasin


Petals...

Fetched from surging waterfalls of thoughts     What meaning do they form
At the end of going around in circles, finally reaching that place
On that day, when the dice had been cast, I started my journey

I don't know the way of life
So I just... Simply exist here
What can I leave behind     What can I chase after
Just a little more... Only a tiny bit longer, a mere roundabout
And again, I am here
A stray kid who wills to die

Though I have no idea how to perish...

The thing that has been exposed, is it "me"     The thing that keeps deluding, is it "me"
Something to request...
Something to throw away...
But still, having a hunger for something...
I'd stop "myself" for the sake of "myself", but I struggle moving forward without desperately clinging to that day
If I felt like this...
Because I don't want to feel like this...

"I" was supposed to be killed...

I don't know the way of life
So I just... Simply exist here
What can I leave behind     What can I chase after
The meaning of the past     The meaning of the future     The meaning of reality, I seek [for them]
Perplexed dot pattern

Getting indulged in the darkness as I hold my knees


Discussion:

Have you ever seen a Chinese old coin with a square hole? If yes, then you now know how a tsukubai looks like. If no, well, uncle Google will help you. Nonetheless, a tsukubai is basically a washbasin placed near the entrances of holy places. Why? Because the places are holy, you ought to purify your hands before entering them. It's a Buddhist way of ritual cleansing.

The most famous tsukubai is placed near the Ryouan-ji temple and it's known for its engraved kanji around the square hole which represents 口 [kuchi] character, so it looks, more or less, like

    五
失口隹
   止   this.

Now, read the kanji around the kuchi clockwise and combined with the kuchi character. You will get 吾 [ware], 唯 [tada], 足 [taru] and 知 [shiru] which roughly translates to I only know plenty. It's a Zen Buddhism saying and it stands for being content with what you know and what you have in life.

Our subject, well, wants to be content and in order to achieve their desired satisfaction, they want to... disappear from this world completely. However, they're supposedly a Buddhist and Buddhism entails that one's soul will revolve around the endless cycle of death and rebirth (see: Misemono kitan for more information), so they cannot really perish for once and for all.

Jou no ka / Kiryu

Kanji & Romaji: hiphopvomit
Translation: myself

Lyrics & music: Sakai Mitsuki




情ノ華 [Jou no ka]
Flower of emotions



That hand [of yours] which waits, playing the song of its first experience
What can be wished for     Or maybe nothing can be wished for
Chasing the shadow of an unknown person     A kid lost in many colors
Trying hard to continue the "love"     The void burnt to black
Like looking through the heart swaying to the evening calm
These petals that touched my fingertip, now they left pressure on the back
Flying high like this, what are you seeing now
The path of life     Indeed, the voice resounded along with it
Ah     Screaming it all out
The heart is still beating     It must not die
The rustling heartbeat has disappeared into the sound of rain
If I cleaned my ears I'd walk alone     Leaving someone behind
Hitched words of petals in between of dream and reality
Being in full bloom like this, what are you asking for now
If we both licked this wound out, we would be happy though     Revolving "flower of emotions"
Ah     Even though it hurts, every time the life burns out
The heart is still beating     It must not die
Even though that body [of yours] rots away, withering, scattering and disappearing      The lingering scent is still floating on the dew
Being in full bloom like this, what are you fluttering about now
Being in full bloom like this, what are you thinking of now
Being in full bloom like this, what are you asking for now
So is the life pale, the sun can show through it       Revolving "flower of emotions"
Ah      Raise your voice as you're choking with tears
The heart is still beating     It must not die

Discussion:

Most likely a song about love. This time I'm going to let you interpret it by yourselves as I didn't spot any fancy motifs in the lyrics. orz
One thing I can tell is that this is a happy version of Oborozukiyo which I'm yet to translate.