殉愛花
Martyr’s Flower
Jiroutachi | amu | Souen Aika
籠の中の鳥のよう
Kagono nakano tori no you
Like a bird in a cage
あなたを待つしかできずに
Anata o matsushika dekizu ni
I can do nothing but wait for you
そうよいつかなんてことは
Sou no itsu ka nante koto wa
Even though I know full well
無いと分っているくせに
Nai to wakatte iru kuse ni
That a “someday” will never come
計される恋じゃない
Yuru sa reru koi janai
This love wasn’t ever planned
誰にも言えずにふさいだの
Darenimo iezuni fusaida no
I didn’t tell a soul about this secret
あなたに触れることだけ
Anata ni fureru koto dake
Because simply touching you
それが唯一の喜びだから
Sore ga yuiitsu no yorokobidakara
Is my one and only joy
愛してと願うけれど
Aishite to negaukeredo
I wish to be loved
雨は無常に降り注ぐ
Ame wa mujou ni furisosogu
Yet the rain falls down relentlessly
冷たいアタシの胸に
Tsumetai atashi no mune ni
Within my cold heart
今日も孤独な花が
Koyou mo kodokuna hana ga
Today too, a lonely flower blooms
灯ってゆく
Tomotte yuku
It begins to glow
嗚呼、連れ出して
Aa, tsuredashite
Ah, take me away
今夜お待ちしています
Kon’ya omachi shiteimasu
I’ll be waiting for you tonight
いつものようにささやいて
Itsumo no you ni sasayaite
Whisper to me like you always do
紅をひいた感情
Beni o hiita kanjou
Emotions painted crimson
あなたに縋ることも出来ず
Anata ni sugaru kotomo dekizu
Unable to cling to you
とめどなくあふれてくる
Tomedonaka afuretakuru
Despite overflowing endlessly
涙を隠し笑みをつくるの
Namida wo kakushi emi wo tsukuru no
I hide my tears and force a smile
愛してと願うほどに
Aishite to negau hodo ni
The more I yearn for your love
雨は強くなってゆくの
Ame wa tsuyoku natte yuku no
The rain begins to fall harder
あなたの声を聞いたら
Anata no koe o kiitara
But the moment I hear your voice
寂しさの棘はすぐ
Sabishisa no toge wa sugu
The thorns of my loneliness
消えてなくなる
Kiete naku naru
Vanish completely
そばにいて
Soba ni ite
Stay by my side
指先におまじないして
Yubisaki ni omajinai shite
I cast a spell on my fingertips
離れないように願った
Hanarenai you ni negatta
Wishing that we would never part
夜は深くなるばかりで
Yoru wa fukaku naru bakaride
As the night fell deeper and deeper
あなたの顔を手探りしたの
Anata no kao o tesaguri shite no
I reached out to touch your face
愛してと願うけれど
Aishite to negaukeredo
I wish to be loved
雨は無常に降り注ぐ
Ame wa mujou ni furisosogu
Yet the rain falls down relentlessly
冷たいアタシの胸に
Tsumetai atashi no mune ni
Within my cold heart
今日も孤独な花が
Koyou mo kodokuna hana ga
Today too, a lonely flower blooms
灯ってゆく
Tomotte yuku
It begins to glow
嗚呼、連れ出して
Aa, tsuredashite
Ah, take me away
You should also have a drink, I'll pour one for you.
The “martyr” in Martyr’s Flower alludes to Jiroutachi’s owner, Makara Takamoto, the son of Makara Naotaka, who wielded Taroutachi. A martyr is someone who “suffers persecution or death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause demanded by an external party.” During the Battle of Anegawa, the Makara father and son duo, allied with the Asakura, fought against the armies of Nobunaga and Tokugawa. However, the Asakura started to retreat. On the way back to the stronghold, Naotaka was killed in action, and not too long later, Takamoto died, too.
Jiroutachi sings like he has some sort of dependency on someone—or something. In the game, he’s an alcoholic. Sake is mentioned in every other voiceline. This is usually downplayed in the Hanamaru anime and depicting him drunk is only for jokes and not as a problem. This song seems to highlight the dark side of chemical dependency. But why is he so chemically dependent? Emotional dependency.
Takamoto was a martyr in the Battle of Anegawa. Jiroutachi’s ubu injured voiceline reads “I said it’s okay. If I get drunk, it won’t hurt anymore.” Which makes sense that alcohol is a depressant and can slow the central nervous system and therefore numb physical pain, but it can also numb emotional pain. What if there was more bite behind that line than we think? Does he want to forget the fact that Takamoto died? Or is the fact his previous owner’s death is eating at him so much that in order to get rid of that feeling, he turns to sake?
The Saniwa, alluded by the general pronoun “you” in the song, is his new master. Jiroutachi is quite attached to you. It is no secret that his feelings lean towards romantic mostly due to lines of the first pre-chorus, “this love wasn’t ever planned / I didn’t tell a soul about this secret / because simply touching you / is my one and only joy,” and second chorus “The more I yearn for your love / the rain begins to fall harder / but the moment I hear your voice / the thorns of my loneliness / vanish completely.” The whole song, however, is like that. These were just the stanzas that stuck out to me most. He sings about touching your face, wishing to cling to you, and waiting for you—without avail.
What do I mean without avail? In the first verse, he talks about being a bird in a cage, waiting, despite knowing that no one will come for him. In the second pre-chorus, he talks about you being intangible and his agony knowing that. Not only does he depend on drink, he depends on you. He’s trapped in this desolate mental state.
Where did the saniwa go? I don’t think they ever left. My theory is that the saniwa is there with him, there for him, but he doesn’t register that when they’re away. Maybe the loss of Takamoto messed with him and every time you’re gone, he spirals into thinking you’re truly gone. I would call this yearning but this is emotional dependency. And psychologically, emotional dependency can lead to chemical dependency. Or perhaps, you are his alcohol.
Who is the “flower” in Martyr’s Flower? None other than Jiroutachi himself. He refers to himself as a flower in the song, and he even mentions having thorns that represent his loneliness. Takamoto, the martyr, and his flower, Jiroutachi, that was left behind.
He begs you to take him away.
“From here.” Where’s here? The cage he mentioned in the first line. What is the cage? Probaby himself.
This song does not sound like the Jiroutachi we know on the surface. In the base game, he’s a more grounded, yet enthusiastic person, which is cool and good but when it comes to deeper emotions, we do not get much of that until we send him off to kiwame. You know the rules. No kiwame for the actual analysis. I never even considered looking at his kiwame letters and voicelines until after I had my first thoughts aside. It turns out my theories were pretty dark compared to canon (I’m also probably reaching very much with my very short arms). Can’t ask PB what he was cooking now though.
amu is a retired utaite. Did you know that? He sounds so much like Jiroutachi. Just another example of how PB chose an artist that sounds like the sword!
