Inside the house was very dark
everything was blurred until my eyes got used to.
Burnt by the strong sunlight,
I felt slightly cool air on my skin.
Afterimage of the sun behind my eyes
still making it hard to focus everything
Unloading the baggage from the shoulder
I walked into the long corridor.
Mother popped out from the kitchen
said in a surprised tone with her eyes wide open.
Oh, you are back !
Yes, I'm home.
Repeated the phrase,
with showing a smile this time.
I walked to the fridge and opened the door.
Though I put hand on a can of beer,
took out the bottle of barley tea.
After quenching my thirst by emptying the glass
I asked mother
How have you been?
Not much going on here.
Oh, that's good to hear.
Outside streets are busy and a heat wave of midsummer stays.
Everything is melted in mirage,
but mother and father still seem to be in shape.
I wonder if she shrank a bit,
or lost some weight?
Coming back to the country I was born,
everything appears to be downsized.
so I get confused by my own volume.
Sitting down on the sofa in livingroom
I hear the wind chime ring.
It induces me to sleepiness.
Hearing mother's talking as a background music
I come to feel like taking a nap.
Will you wake me up when dinner is ready?
...... so I had a pleasant dream as above
at dusk of midsummer near Bon festival..
vocabularies
blur かすむ、ぼやける
get used to ～に慣れる
slightly ほんの少し
Afterimage 残像
focus 焦点を合わせる
Unload 荷物などを降ろす
corridor 廊下、通路
pop out ひょいと出てくる
phrase フレーズ、言葉
fridge = refridgerator 冷蔵庫
quench my thirst 喉の渇きを癒す、湿らせる
empty 空にする
mirage 陽炎、蜃気楼
in shape もとのまま、しっかりしている
shrank = shrink の過去形 縮まる
lose some weight いくらか体重を落とす
confused 戸惑って
appears to be ～のようにみえる
downsize 縮小する
volume 容積、サイズ
wind chime カリヨン、風鈴
induce ～を誘う
come to ～するようになる
feel like ing = want to ～したい
nap 昼寝
dusk 夕暮れ
This song was written about 35 years ago.
Now it's brought back once again on the screen
as the theme song for "From Kokuriko Hill"
brought by the famous team that made " Spirited Away ".
I introduce the original song in this blog,
with a translation in English.
Hope you'd try to sing this in karaoke !
The Summer of Goodbye
lyric translation by terrysun
In sparkling ocean light,
there goes the blurring ship
leaving the sound behind the hull
the whistle of Goodbye.
Walking down from the hill,
that slopes down to the beach,
there is a breeze of summertime
remind me of you.
Let sing of my love,
in sweet melodies
singing high and singing low
the sound of my heart.
Let go of my love,
just like the seagull flies
flying high and flying low
above the sea.
And when the sun goes down,
and if I call your name,
will it bring back my memories
of you with the smile?
Walking down on a street,
I hear the trembling trees
they cast a shadow on the road
the veil of Goodbye.
There is a weathercock
on the old chapel roof
will it show me the town below
in light of summertime?
Let go of my love
in tears of yesterdays'
drying up and soaring high
as the wind blows.
Let come of my love
tomorrow for refrain
forever and endlessly
in my heart.
And when the sun goes down
and once again we meet
I wonder if you hold me tight
and love starts again.
Yes, Japan has been once again beaten.
Tohoku disaster left cruel mark by its humongous claws.
Yet we are not standing still just to watch the damage,
but keep moving forward to rebuild the broad area.
I heard so many people overseas hesitating to visit Japan
because they'd feel guilty for having fun while we were struggling,
but it would be changed once you arrived in this country.
There are so much fun left in Japan.
So many places to walk around,
and we have a lot to offer once you get here.
Our welcoming spirit never die.
Especially in time like this.
There are uncountable cancellations in hotels,
and almost always empty shops since the wrong rumour,
people are losing their jobs in tourism from and above Tokyo area.
Restraining yourself from travelling Japan
is not only missing the opportunity to see the places to remember,
but also the chance to see the people who await you from the heart.
The Lady Gaga visited Japan,
just to show the world Japan is safe to be.
Japanese products are still in its shape and special care.
Food in Japan is even going through the toughest safety inspections,
for its traditinal and creative recipes.
The famous hospitality and its spirit will be showering over you.
Travelling should be fun, and it will be guaranteed.
while it can also be informative and educational in your life.
See and feel for yourself what the great nature can do and can't do.
It can make everything nada, but it can not wipe away our spirit.
From zero or negative, we start again to be reborn.
Witness yourself how we are doing after the tremendous loss.
Just like ants on the ground, even the nest was swallowed by rain water,
they'll survive and start working again as if nothing happened
but with a new wisdom.
Then please advocate your friends and family and neighbors,
that Japan is fun to watch with its toughness and broadness.
Your travel plan will be the support for Tohoku.
Your fun will be a help for Japan and cheers for the people.
Come and see the devastation they are in,
and notice the people who are accepting and still smiling.
They need your help and smile more than ever.
For Japanese bloggers,
I urge you to write your blog or tweet in English or Chinese or Korean
or any other language to let people overseas know we are doing fine,
so people can read how things are in Japan.
If the government can not do this,
we should be the one to do it...
There is a real English version on youTube,
but it sounds really 70s and 80s,
and changed the meaning of the lyrics conspicuously. ♪
So I kind of tried the best to express its life in lyrics.
Another Name of Life
We are growing everytime we learn the words we didn't know
getting closer to the grownups we were taught to be,
But there will be certain words that we can never memorize
the words which we can never learn by heart.
I wonder if I ever be a help for anything
or if I will vanish from the world before I know
I hope there's someone who feels joy with my existence
somewhere in this world I live in now
Oh, Rocks, woods, and water in the ocean and the stream,
all those elements of the universe
just live and let me live
Now raise the torch to light up all the tragedy which will never end
For you and me, for everyone, reveal what hides in shade !
It's the life we've always treasured for. Another name is "heart".
For you and me, for everyone, whose name is no one knows.
When someone can so easily be in tears for anything,
can someone so easily feel the pain we have inside ?
There is a time we have to be smiling on the surface
hiding sorrows, weeping in our heart.
* Oh Rocks, woods, and water in the ocean and the stream,
You've never hurt anyone or anything unlike me...
Now raise the torch to light up all the failure which is never learnt
For you and me, for everyone, reveal what hides in shade !
** It's the life we've always treasured for. Another name is "heart".
For you and me, for everyone, whose name is no one knows.
I would like to thank you for all the support you are giving us in this difficult moment. I especially appreciate your warm observation of Japanese people.
There wouldn't be no Japanese who is not proud of being Japanese when we hear you admire us on TV or in news papers. Comments for our patience and manners in the eye-closing devastation. No one has started it with intention of being recognized by foreign countries but everyone's been just doing whatever he or she can do right now. Now we are really proud of it being recognized and admired of those routine jobs by you, too. It gives us much greater motivation and energy to continue to do the same than you can ever imagine.
We've been always and somehow feeling small in the world as individuals. Mentally weak and shy, guilty-motivated mind of each, in spite of all the success in many industrial fields and GDP. We seldom considered ourselves as people to be proud of. You may call it modesty or low self esteem as a whole.
We are facing the worst disaster since the world war II right now which has beaten us to inside the bones with the tremendous loss. Almost no idea of where to begin to rebuild our country over the pieces of houses and cars, and unidentified bodies under them, no need to add the air polluted by radiation.
Then we hear the voices from all over the world, telling us we could do it, we were unbelievably patient and something of good example for many other countries. You wouldn't know how much it means to us. Even nasty bloggers and twitterers, unpatriotic kids and suicidal people feel the pride of being Japanese now, and it's all because of you, your recognition and admiration on top of showing your support and generous offers to this small island in east. You've already helped us to retrieve our pride and honor.
We are now aware of what we have been doing is not so wrong, and some people actually like us and believe our ability to start from worse than zero. Your voice may not have reached the people grieving in Tohoku yet, but other people who heard of it will let them know for sure. We will start helping them to rebuild the land without doubt and fear, because the world has given us courage and trust. We know now we can do it because you assure us of your warm assistance.
Thank you again for your warm supports and messages. We will never forget it, and never give up on hope in this country. God bless you all !
Have I ever felt so scared in my life?
Have I ever seen such catastrophe near me?
Have I ever been challenged to be so strong?
Have I ever done something wrong to be punished?
Have I ever thought of friends and family so dear?
Have I ever listened to what they were telling me?
Have I ever wondered how they were and what they were for me?
Have I ever loved them and other people and my country so much?
Anger, fear, depression.
Beauty, peace, devastation. Hope, sorrow, disappointment.
Come and gone, come and gone.
Have I ever been so moved and shaken by so many people ?
Have I ever heard so many "don't give ups" from so many people?
Have I ever said and written so many thanks to so many people?
Have I ever been so touched by the same message from so many people?
Have I ever thanked for what I got?
Have I ever taken things as they were?
Have I ever respected the mother nature?
Have I ever ....?
Life, death, questions.
Light, mist, darkness.
End, start, beginnings.
Come and born, come and born.
