Burial by blossoms #2 - Covered with cherry blossoms
Covered with cherry blossoms
if I could die right now
in this dream of mine
(Ochi Etsujin, 1702)
hyde: The idea I had when I was starting to write the lyrics was “Japan”. I wanted to convey the idea of a Japanese imaginary scene through words. Well, before ken-chan had asked me: “Write something occult”. (C)
Writing the lyrics for Kasou, hyde took into account all the suggestions received from ken, starting from the image of cherry blossoms petals dancing and falling in the dead of the night:
hyde: ken-chan told me: “Write something eerie!”. I answered something like: “OK, leave it to me!”. Well, more than being it my strong point, I should say that even if I used such theme quite often from the outset, inside myself it’s something as recurring as Olympics games (once in 4 years). He also suggested the idea of “Corpse(s) buried under a cherry blossom tree”, so I expressed the eeriness through a Japanese imaginary scene with the idea of beauty. (H)
About the title, it’s a pun on the word 火葬 (kasou) that means “cremation”. This word is made up of two kanji: KA (kun’yomi: hi, meaning: fire) and SOU (kun’yomi: houmu.ru, meaning: to bury). hyde formed the word 花葬 (kasou) with the kanji of “flower” (kun’yomi: hana) instead of “fire”, because of the same on’yomi: KA.
hyde: I was having a shower when this word came to my mind out of the blue. So I thought: “Ah, good. This will do. I’ll use it” (B)
This title can be taken in many ways: “flowers for a funeral”, “burial of flowers” or “burial by flowers”. I prefer the last one, because it reflects the original word building: if kasou 火葬 is burial by fire (cremation), this new kasou 花葬 is burial by flowers. It also fits ken’s image: corpses under the cherry tree seem covered not only by earth but also by floating petals.
Flowers are a recurring theme in hyde’s lyrics, from the very old Yasouka to his most recent wild flower. But the imaginary world behind Kasou is more similar to DUNE’s era songs than, to say, flower.
Natural elements have always had a metaphorical meaning in hydes’s lyrics, as well as in Japanese literature. In Kasou’s case, falling cherry blossoms petals are linked to death, but also with the following rebirth, as the tree blooms again in spring. Even if in the PV we can see only roses and pure-white lilies, the line in the second chorus “The flowers floating in the darkness are the only parting gift” (YAMI NI UKABU HANA WA SEMETEMONO HANAMUKE) is surely a reference to falling cherry blossoms petals.
But there are other “flowers” in the song. Red roses appeared on the screen in 20th L’Anniversary live @Ajinomoto Stadium. Given the fact that no roses can be found in the lyrics, what’s the meaning behind this image?
Just before the hint at cherry blossom petals, hyde sings: KURUI SAITA YORU NI NEMURENU TAMASHII NO SENRITSU “The melody of a soul who can’t sleep in the night bloomed out of season”. hyde pictures two people (a couple of lovers) dying or buried under the cherry tree.
hyde: […] Flowers stand for blood. I think that the blood spilled onto the ground looks like flowers. Imagining that crimson flowers are blooming, I used the word “kuruisaki” [off-season flowering]. (C)
I believe that the roses on the screen represent these crimson flowers, a metaphor for “blood drops”.
yukihiro: The lyrics are awesome. I believe he can write very well. The way hyde adjust words to the rhythm of the melody is suggestive, I think. And not only in this case (D)
hyde plays well with Japanese language ambiguity, so you can find countless interpretations on Japanese sites, sometimes diametrically opposed. The words are so ambiguous that almost every reading would go. Grammar doesn’t help at all, nor even do interviews. I’ll go only with logic and sensibility here.
Given that he puts two lovers under a cherry tree, the main difficulty is, I think, to understand if they are already buried, but the soul of one of them still “can’t sleep” and reaches reincarnation only in the end, or they are actually dying, buried only by flowers, since one of them has “eyes wide open”. I prefer this second option.
There are some facts that makes me think that both lovers are dying:
1) In the second verse hyde writes: “you, my beloved, are turning cold”. One lover is surely dead.
The subject of the first verse is karada = body. A body in decay. Whose body? I don’t think it belongs to the dead lover, it would sound strange to present the body before the person it belongs to.
2) The body has eyes wide open, then closes them: so in the end it dies.
Assuming that the person who pronounces all the verses is the same, there’s a dying lover who embraces his/her beloved’s corpse.
Nothing helps in gender recognition. I would say the man is embracing the woman, but it could just be the opposite. On the net there are some alleged statements (ken said to hyde: “Picture Shima Iwashita in a mess under cherry blossoms” / hyde wrote this song for the death of one of his friends’ husband) but without official source and so much different from each other (according to the first the woman is dead, according to the second the man) that I can’t take them into consideration.
Now I’m going to analyze the words in details. I’ll separate choruses and verses, because they mark different points. I’ll start from the choruses:
BARABARA NI CHIRABARU HANABIRA SHIZUKU WA KURENAI
KAKETA TSUKI YO MAWARE TOWA NO KOI O UTSUSHI
Petals scattered about, crimson drops
Oh waning moon, revolve and reflect an eternal love
KURUI SAITA YORU NI NEMURENU TAMASHII NO SENRITSU
YAMI NI UKABU HANA WA SEMETEMONO HANAMUKE
The melody of a soul who can’t sleep in the night bloomed out of season
The flowers floating in the darkness are the only parting gift
The two choruses sound to me like the representation of the whole scene from an external point of view: cherry blossoms petals are scattered about on the ground, where two lovers appear dying/dead under the moon. Crimson blood drops, dripped from their bodies, look as flowers blooming out of season in the night. While real flowers are falling, “blood flowers” are blooming.
The stage in L’20 live looks as if covered with both kind of flowers
The first line is just perfection. The alliteration on B and R (BARABARA NI CHIRABARU HANABIRA) and the massive presence of vocal A recreates the idea that petals have come off from the flower corolla. SHIZUKU WA KURENAI recreates the same movement, with blood drops dripping (close vowels on shizuku) and then touching and staining the ground (open vowels in kurenai).
The presence of blood makes me think of a violent death, so I’m quite convinced the two lovers had committed double suicide, as their position (one embracing the other) seems to imply. hyde never explained the reason for their death, but double suicide is a recurring theme in traditional Japanese literature.
Both flowers and moon are traditional themes in Japanese poetry. Someone (an external voice? The lover’s soul?) is addressing to the waning moon KAKETA TSUKI. The comparison between it and the lovers’ fate is self-evident: the moon wanes, as lovers’ bodies are decaying. The revolving movement (MAWARE =revolve!) is associated instead with eternity, and especially the eternal love between the couple (TOWA NO KOI = eternal love). Somebody is wishing that, as the moon wanes, but in its cyclical movement it will wax again, the love will survive the dying bodies and link again the two lovers in the next life.
Will this wish be fulfilled? There’s no answer…
KAKETA TSUKI YO MAWARE
TOWA NO KOI O UTSUSHI
hyde’s right hand is mimicking the moon
While the lovers’ corpses are dying, their spirit (at least one of them, the man I believe) is still alive (NEMURENU means can’t sleep = can’t die). I think that “the melody of a soul” refers to the verses, that represent the alive spirit’s words. KURUI SAITA YORU NI “in the night when flowers (=blood) are flowering out of season (=is spilled on the ground)” = “in the night when they died/ they committed suicide” NEMURENU TAMASHII NO SENRITSU “it’s possible to hear the melody (=words that sound like a tune) of a soul, who can’t die”.
The falling flowers are seen as the only parting gift for the couple (another elements that confirms me in double suicide hypothesis): YAMI NI UKABU HANA WA SEMETEMONO HANAMUKE. This line is another little masterpiece: its structure with recurring vowels is perfect, and the alliteration on M marks the dramatic solitude of the scene. The pun between HANA and HANAMUKE is a clever touch.
I believe that verses can be taken as the alive spirit’s thoughts after killing himself and before dying.
HITOMI AKETA MAMA FUSHOKU SHITE YUKU KARADA
AZAYAKA NI USHINAWARERU KONO ISHIKI DAKE WO NOKOSHITE
HARU WO MATEZU NI
Eyes wide open, my body is decaying
It’s being lost brilliantly, leaving behind only my consciousness
without waiting for spring
ITOSHII ANATA WA TADA SOTTO TSUMETAKU NATTE
UDE NO NAKA DE KOWARENAGARA HORA YUME NO FUCHI DE YONDERU
ITSUMO NO YOU NI
You, my beloved, are just quietly turning cold
While rotting in my arms, look, you’re calling out from the abyss of (my) dream
like always
Supposing the alive spirit is man’s soul, his arms seem to embrace the woman, while perceiving their body’s decay. This position and the fact she’s already turning cold make me think that the woman has killed herself before, and has been soon followed by the man. He’s not dead yet, but aware he’ll soon be: HARU WO MATEZU NI “without waiting for spring” means of course he doesn’t expect his body to be reborn. Again, a reference to flowers: spring is the season when flowers bloom, so it’s a recurring metaphor for rebirth.
In the last sentence, he seems to hear the woman’s voice calling him. The man’s condition is described with two expressions: NEMURENU TAMASHII (second chorus) “a soul who can’t sleep” and then YUME UTSUTSU (last verse) “half awake-half asleep”. So if to sleep means to die, dream is another reference to death. The woman, who died before, is now in the abyss of death, and she’s calling him. “Like always” is instead probably an allusion at their life: when they were alive, the man always dreamt of his beloved.
Should I point out the parallel structure of those verses, especially between HITOMI AKETA MAMA and ITOSHII ANATA WA TADA, that share almost the same vowels, too? Or the rhyme at the end of both (MATEZU NI : YOU NI)? Do I need to say more on hyde’s ability as a lyricist?
I think there’s a good balance between eeriness and beauty.
MUSUBARETE ITTA YAKUSOKU
hyde’s hands are interwoven, to symbolize a promise
TADORITSUITA OWARI UMARE KAWARI NO ITAMI
NOMIKOMARERU TSUCHI NO NAKA DE MUSUBARETE ITTA YAKUSOKU
SHINDA SEKAI
The end finally arrived, [with] the pain of rebirth
The promise we made will be swallowed inside the earth
the dead world
The speaking soul perceives the death as approaching, as long as rebirth (according to a Japanese belief). This broad hint to the concept of samsara is linked to their promise: they promised each other eternal love (TOWA NO KOI in first chorus) before dying, hoping their love will survive death and join again them in the following life. All the natural elements in the lyrics represent the same cycle (life-death-rebirth): the moon, the tree…
The soul’s words don’t sound too much hopeful, though, and the S alliteration on the last line (SHINDA SEKAI) emphasize this dramatic pain. Even if he imagines a future together, he seems to feel quite lonely in the whole song. The presence of the woman fails at comforting him: she’s slowly becoming cold, and his voice is heard by far. He’s ironically alone.
KOYOI WA MOU YUME UTSUTSU
YAGATE TOJITA HITOMI
Tonight I'm still half asleep
Finally I closed my eyes
The death has finally arrived, so the man closes his eyes.
You may call this song almost a requiem for the two lovers.
YAGATE TOJITA HITOMI
Hyde is closing his eyes
***
Kasou is surely one of the highest examples of hyde’s poetical skills.
All the images he created, the extremely elaborated weaving of sounds, the structure of periods and the use of figures of speech… Awesome!!! I’m really impressed
THE END
Sources
(A) HANA NI UZUMORETE YUME YORI SUGU NI SHINAN KANA, by Ochi Etsujin, 1702. Translation taken from here
(B) Shock! A 3-single-billow to be released on 8th July! (PATi PATi July 1998)
(C) Long interview - hyde (POP BEAT July 1998)
(D) 3 on 1 yukihiro solo interview (uv vol. 32 July 1998)
(E) Evolution-When a three-colour-lightning sparkles (WHAT’s IN July 1998)
(F) hyde’s diary (CIEL 16 July August 1998)
(G) L’Arc-en-Ciel featuring tetsu. 3 singles released at the same time! (GB August 1998)
(H) 3 sparks from 7 colors (WHAT’s IN PICTORIAL vol.7, summer 1998)
(I) A snowy landscape (PATi PATi October 1998)
if I could die right now
in this dream of mine
(Ochi Etsujin, 1702)
hyde: The idea I had when I was starting to write the lyrics was “Japan”. I wanted to convey the idea of a Japanese imaginary scene through words. Well, before ken-chan had asked me: “Write something occult”. (C)
Writing the lyrics for Kasou, hyde took into account all the suggestions received from ken, starting from the image of cherry blossoms petals dancing and falling in the dead of the night:
hyde: ken-chan told me: “Write something eerie!”. I answered something like: “OK, leave it to me!”. Well, more than being it my strong point, I should say that even if I used such theme quite often from the outset, inside myself it’s something as recurring as Olympics games (once in 4 years). He also suggested the idea of “Corpse(s) buried under a cherry blossom tree”, so I expressed the eeriness through a Japanese imaginary scene with the idea of beauty. (H)
About the title, it’s a pun on the word 火葬 (kasou) that means “cremation”. This word is made up of two kanji: KA (kun’yomi: hi, meaning: fire) and SOU (kun’yomi: houmu.ru, meaning: to bury). hyde formed the word 花葬 (kasou) with the kanji of “flower” (kun’yomi: hana) instead of “fire”, because of the same on’yomi: KA.
hyde: I was having a shower when this word came to my mind out of the blue. So I thought: “Ah, good. This will do. I’ll use it” (B)
This title can be taken in many ways: “flowers for a funeral”, “burial of flowers” or “burial by flowers”. I prefer the last one, because it reflects the original word building: if kasou 火葬 is burial by fire (cremation), this new kasou 花葬 is burial by flowers. It also fits ken’s image: corpses under the cherry tree seem covered not only by earth but also by floating petals.
Flowers are a recurring theme in hyde’s lyrics, from the very old Yasouka to his most recent wild flower. But the imaginary world behind Kasou is more similar to DUNE’s era songs than, to say, flower.
Natural elements have always had a metaphorical meaning in hydes’s lyrics, as well as in Japanese literature. In Kasou’s case, falling cherry blossoms petals are linked to death, but also with the following rebirth, as the tree blooms again in spring. Even if in the PV we can see only roses and pure-white lilies, the line in the second chorus “The flowers floating in the darkness are the only parting gift” (YAMI NI UKABU HANA WA SEMETEMONO HANAMUKE) is surely a reference to falling cherry blossoms petals.
But there are other “flowers” in the song. Red roses appeared on the screen in 20th L’Anniversary live @Ajinomoto Stadium. Given the fact that no roses can be found in the lyrics, what’s the meaning behind this image?
Just before the hint at cherry blossom petals, hyde sings: KURUI SAITA YORU NI NEMURENU TAMASHII NO SENRITSU “The melody of a soul who can’t sleep in the night bloomed out of season”. hyde pictures two people (a couple of lovers) dying or buried under the cherry tree.
hyde: […] Flowers stand for blood. I think that the blood spilled onto the ground looks like flowers. Imagining that crimson flowers are blooming, I used the word “kuruisaki” [off-season flowering]. (C)
I believe that the roses on the screen represent these crimson flowers, a metaphor for “blood drops”.
yukihiro: The lyrics are awesome. I believe he can write very well. The way hyde adjust words to the rhythm of the melody is suggestive, I think. And not only in this case (D)
hyde plays well with Japanese language ambiguity, so you can find countless interpretations on Japanese sites, sometimes diametrically opposed. The words are so ambiguous that almost every reading would go. Grammar doesn’t help at all, nor even do interviews. I’ll go only with logic and sensibility here.
Given that he puts two lovers under a cherry tree, the main difficulty is, I think, to understand if they are already buried, but the soul of one of them still “can’t sleep” and reaches reincarnation only in the end, or they are actually dying, buried only by flowers, since one of them has “eyes wide open”. I prefer this second option.
There are some facts that makes me think that both lovers are dying:
1) In the second verse hyde writes: “you, my beloved, are turning cold”. One lover is surely dead.
The subject of the first verse is karada = body. A body in decay. Whose body? I don’t think it belongs to the dead lover, it would sound strange to present the body before the person it belongs to.
2) The body has eyes wide open, then closes them: so in the end it dies.
Assuming that the person who pronounces all the verses is the same, there’s a dying lover who embraces his/her beloved’s corpse.
Nothing helps in gender recognition. I would say the man is embracing the woman, but it could just be the opposite. On the net there are some alleged statements (ken said to hyde: “Picture Shima Iwashita in a mess under cherry blossoms” / hyde wrote this song for the death of one of his friends’ husband) but without official source and so much different from each other (according to the first the woman is dead, according to the second the man) that I can’t take them into consideration.
Now I’m going to analyze the words in details. I’ll separate choruses and verses, because they mark different points. I’ll start from the choruses:
BARABARA NI CHIRABARU HANABIRA SHIZUKU WA KURENAI
KAKETA TSUKI YO MAWARE TOWA NO KOI O UTSUSHI
Petals scattered about, crimson drops
Oh waning moon, revolve and reflect an eternal love
KURUI SAITA YORU NI NEMURENU TAMASHII NO SENRITSU
YAMI NI UKABU HANA WA SEMETEMONO HANAMUKE
The melody of a soul who can’t sleep in the night bloomed out of season
The flowers floating in the darkness are the only parting gift
The two choruses sound to me like the representation of the whole scene from an external point of view: cherry blossoms petals are scattered about on the ground, where two lovers appear dying/dead under the moon. Crimson blood drops, dripped from their bodies, look as flowers blooming out of season in the night. While real flowers are falling, “blood flowers” are blooming.
The stage in L’20 live looks as if covered with both kind of flowers
The first line is just perfection. The alliteration on B and R (BARABARA NI CHIRABARU HANABIRA) and the massive presence of vocal A recreates the idea that petals have come off from the flower corolla. SHIZUKU WA KURENAI recreates the same movement, with blood drops dripping (close vowels on shizuku) and then touching and staining the ground (open vowels in kurenai).
The presence of blood makes me think of a violent death, so I’m quite convinced the two lovers had committed double suicide, as their position (one embracing the other) seems to imply. hyde never explained the reason for their death, but double suicide is a recurring theme in traditional Japanese literature.
Both flowers and moon are traditional themes in Japanese poetry. Someone (an external voice? The lover’s soul?) is addressing to the waning moon KAKETA TSUKI. The comparison between it and the lovers’ fate is self-evident: the moon wanes, as lovers’ bodies are decaying. The revolving movement (MAWARE =revolve!) is associated instead with eternity, and especially the eternal love between the couple (TOWA NO KOI = eternal love). Somebody is wishing that, as the moon wanes, but in its cyclical movement it will wax again, the love will survive the dying bodies and link again the two lovers in the next life.
Will this wish be fulfilled? There’s no answer…
KAKETA TSUKI YO MAWARE
TOWA NO KOI O UTSUSHI
hyde’s right hand is mimicking the moon
While the lovers’ corpses are dying, their spirit (at least one of them, the man I believe) is still alive (NEMURENU means can’t sleep = can’t die). I think that “the melody of a soul” refers to the verses, that represent the alive spirit’s words. KURUI SAITA YORU NI “in the night when flowers (=blood) are flowering out of season (=is spilled on the ground)” = “in the night when they died/ they committed suicide” NEMURENU TAMASHII NO SENRITSU “it’s possible to hear the melody (=words that sound like a tune) of a soul, who can’t die”.
The falling flowers are seen as the only parting gift for the couple (another elements that confirms me in double suicide hypothesis): YAMI NI UKABU HANA WA SEMETEMONO HANAMUKE. This line is another little masterpiece: its structure with recurring vowels is perfect, and the alliteration on M marks the dramatic solitude of the scene. The pun between HANA and HANAMUKE is a clever touch.
I believe that verses can be taken as the alive spirit’s thoughts after killing himself and before dying.
HITOMI AKETA MAMA FUSHOKU SHITE YUKU KARADA
AZAYAKA NI USHINAWARERU KONO ISHIKI DAKE WO NOKOSHITE
HARU WO MATEZU NI
Eyes wide open, my body is decaying
It’s being lost brilliantly, leaving behind only my consciousness
without waiting for spring
ITOSHII ANATA WA TADA SOTTO TSUMETAKU NATTE
UDE NO NAKA DE KOWARENAGARA HORA YUME NO FUCHI DE YONDERU
ITSUMO NO YOU NI
You, my beloved, are just quietly turning cold
While rotting in my arms, look, you’re calling out from the abyss of (my) dream
like always
Supposing the alive spirit is man’s soul, his arms seem to embrace the woman, while perceiving their body’s decay. This position and the fact she’s already turning cold make me think that the woman has killed herself before, and has been soon followed by the man. He’s not dead yet, but aware he’ll soon be: HARU WO MATEZU NI “without waiting for spring” means of course he doesn’t expect his body to be reborn. Again, a reference to flowers: spring is the season when flowers bloom, so it’s a recurring metaphor for rebirth.
In the last sentence, he seems to hear the woman’s voice calling him. The man’s condition is described with two expressions: NEMURENU TAMASHII (second chorus) “a soul who can’t sleep” and then YUME UTSUTSU (last verse) “half awake-half asleep”. So if to sleep means to die, dream is another reference to death. The woman, who died before, is now in the abyss of death, and she’s calling him. “Like always” is instead probably an allusion at their life: when they were alive, the man always dreamt of his beloved.
Should I point out the parallel structure of those verses, especially between HITOMI AKETA MAMA and ITOSHII ANATA WA TADA, that share almost the same vowels, too? Or the rhyme at the end of both (MATEZU NI : YOU NI)? Do I need to say more on hyde’s ability as a lyricist?
I think there’s a good balance between eeriness and beauty.
MUSUBARETE ITTA YAKUSOKU
hyde’s hands are interwoven, to symbolize a promise
TADORITSUITA OWARI UMARE KAWARI NO ITAMI
NOMIKOMARERU TSUCHI NO NAKA DE MUSUBARETE ITTA YAKUSOKU
SHINDA SEKAI
The end finally arrived, [with] the pain of rebirth
The promise we made will be swallowed inside the earth
the dead world
The speaking soul perceives the death as approaching, as long as rebirth (according to a Japanese belief). This broad hint to the concept of samsara is linked to their promise: they promised each other eternal love (TOWA NO KOI in first chorus) before dying, hoping their love will survive death and join again them in the following life. All the natural elements in the lyrics represent the same cycle (life-death-rebirth): the moon, the tree…
The soul’s words don’t sound too much hopeful, though, and the S alliteration on the last line (SHINDA SEKAI) emphasize this dramatic pain. Even if he imagines a future together, he seems to feel quite lonely in the whole song. The presence of the woman fails at comforting him: she’s slowly becoming cold, and his voice is heard by far. He’s ironically alone.
KOYOI WA MOU YUME UTSUTSU
YAGATE TOJITA HITOMI
Tonight I'm still half asleep
Finally I closed my eyes
The death has finally arrived, so the man closes his eyes.
You may call this song almost a requiem for the two lovers.
YAGATE TOJITA HITOMI
Hyde is closing his eyes
***
Kasou is surely one of the highest examples of hyde’s poetical skills.
All the images he created, the extremely elaborated weaving of sounds, the structure of periods and the use of figures of speech… Awesome!!! I’m really impressed
THE END
Sources
(A) HANA NI UZUMORETE YUME YORI SUGU NI SHINAN KANA, by Ochi Etsujin, 1702. Translation taken from here
(B) Shock! A 3-single-billow to be released on 8th July! (PATi PATi July 1998)
(C) Long interview - hyde (POP BEAT July 1998)
(D) 3 on 1 yukihiro solo interview (uv vol. 32 July 1998)
(E) Evolution-When a three-colour-lightning sparkles (WHAT’s IN July 1998)
(F) hyde’s diary (CIEL 16 July August 1998)
(G) L’Arc-en-Ciel featuring tetsu. 3 singles released at the same time! (GB August 1998)
(H) 3 sparks from 7 colors (WHAT’s IN PICTORIAL vol.7, summer 1998)
(I) A snowy landscape (PATi PATi October 1998)