After the Dream
ユメノアト
Mikazuki Munechika, Honebami Toushirou | Shoose, Aisu | Yushu no Toki
Regular Orange: Honebami
Italics Blue: Mikazuki
Bold: Honebami and Mikazuki
閉じた瞳重力に
Tojita hitomi jyuroku ni
With closed eyes, succumbing to gravity
逆らうことできずに
Sakarau koto dekizu ni
Unable to resist
何処までも沈んで
Dokomademo shizunde
I sink deeper and deeper
夢を見続けている
Yume wo mi tsudzukete iru
And continue to dream
月は静かに見守っている
Tsuki wa shizuka ni mimamotte iru
The moon watches silently
過去の記憶を包み込むよう
Kako no kioku o tsutsumikomu yo
As if embracing past memories
炎に焼かれ失ったもの
Honoo ni yaka re ushinatta mono
Of what was lost, consumed by flames
嗚呼癒せたら
Aa, iyasetara
Oh, if only I could heal it…
おやすみ愛しき君よ
Oyasumi itoshiki kimiyo
Goodnight, my dear
今宵は静謐に
Koyoi wa seihitsu ni
Tonight, it will be peaceful
月影は淡く照らす
Tsukikage wa awaku terasu
The moonlight shines faintly
求めるものはいづこに
Motomeru mono wa idzu ko ni
Where can I find what I seek?
夜は二人を
Yoru wa futari o
The night belongs to the two of us
優しく包むから
Yasashiku tsutsumu kara
Because I’ll wrap you in my arms, gently
孤独の声 響いてる
Kodoku no koe hibii teru
A lonely voice echoes
君は静か眠りに
Kimi wa shizuka nemuri ni
While you sleep in peace
耳を澄ませそっと
Mimi o sumase sotto
I listen with intent
掬い取った雫
Sukui totta shizuku
And gently wipe away your tears
心隠して生きてきたんだ
Kokoro kakushite ikite kita nda
I’ve lived my long life hiding my true feelings
頼れるものは何もないから
Tayoreru mono wa nani mo naikara
Because I have no one to rely on
炎に焼かれ失ったもの
Honoo ni yakare ushinatta mono
The things I lost, burned away by the flames
鳴呼戻せたら
Aa, modosetara
Oh, if only I could go back…
おやすみ愛しき君よ
Oyasumi itoshiki kimiyo
Goodnight, my beloved
安寧の一夜に
An’nei no ichiya ni
May you have a peaceful night
例え失うとしても
Tattoe ushinau to shite mo
Even if I were to lose myself
少しの間だけでも
Sukoshinoaida dake demo
Even if only for a little while
夜は二人を
Yoru wa futari o
The night belongs to the two of us
優しく包むから
Yasashiku tsutsumu kara
Because I’ll wrap you in my arms, gently.
巡りゆく刻の中で
Meguri yuku toki no naka de
In the passage of time
ただ一瞬の重なりだったとしても
Tada isshun no kasanaridatta to shite mo
Even if it was only a fleeting moment
記憶の中に深く刻まれる
Kioku no naka ni fukaku kizama reru
It will be deeply etched in my memory
例え忘れてしまったとしても
Tattoe wasurete shimatta to shite mo
Even if you forget
おやすみ愛しき君よ
Oyasumi itoshiki kimiyo
Goodnight, my dear
今宵は静謐に
Koyoi wa seihitsu ni
Tonight, it will be peaceful
月影は淡く照らす
Tsukikage wa awaku terasu
The moonlight shines faintly
求めるものはいづこに
Motomeru mono watashi kari
I am the one that you seek.
夜は二人を
Yoru wa futari o
The night belongs to the two of us
優しく包むから
Yasashiku tsutsumu kara
Because I’ll wrap you in my arms, gently.
“I don’t have any memories from before I was burned. But let’s get along from now on.”
Gosh. This song is just so lovely. This may be a common occurrence I fear, but I almost cried translating this because of how beautiful the lyrics were. I feel like my analysis is way overdue since I’ve analyzed Akatsuki no Shizuku and Wasurenagusa long ago (or at least it feels like a long time ago.) However, I did express a little bit of my thoughts back then, and I’m more than happy to reiterate it now. I called Yume no Ato the romantic duet between Honebami Toushirou and Mikazuki Munechika. This remains true.
Yume no Ato includes melodies from both Akatsuki no Shizuku and Wasurenagusa. This, I assume, is a reference to the fact that Mikazuki’s official BGM and Honebami’s official BGM include similar melodies, too. Many, including myself, hypothesise that it is because of their shared master, Ashikaga Yoshiteru. Taken from my analysis of Wasurenagusa, “All we knew in 2015 in-game was Mikazuki and Honebami’s recollection about their time together in the Ashikaga clan. Honebami does not remember Mikazuki and it’s the only mention of Honebami’s forgotten memories of any specific sword in 2015.”
Did Polypho interpret that kind of relationship as romantic, therefore making the intent of this song romantic as well? It’s pretty hard to argue against it with lyrics such as “Goodnight my beloved / may you have a peaceful night” and “the night belongs to the two of us / because I’ll wrap you in my arms, gently.” I have no doubts that they are talking about each other, or in fact, to each other. While Mikazuki at the time was probably safe in the hands of the Tokugawa, Honebami was caught in the Great Reimeki Fire. So naturally, I visualize the image of Mikazuki watching over Honebami as he sleeps, wiping away his tears as they come because Honebami is dreaming of the flames that once consumed him.
Now, I want to break down both Honebami’s and Mikazuki’s lines respectively.
Honebami Toushirou’s inner turmoil:
Honebami’s lines mainly consist of him succumbing into the weight of his trauma.
“With closed eyes, succumbing to gravity / unable to resist / I sink deeper and deeper / and continue to dream.”
He feels as if he had no one to rely on, and that the flames took away an important part of himself and his memories. Especially memories of Mikazuki during their time at the Ashikaga. He begs to go back in time, back to before he burned, I assume, to regain those memories and in turn, what part of himself he lost.
“The things I lost, burned away by the flames / Oh, if only I could go back.”
Honebami wishes Mikazuki a peaceful slumber even though Honebami’s internal turmoil is wringing him dry. He doesn’t want his beloved to worry about him more than he already is.
“Goodnight, my beloved / may you have a peaceful night / even if I were to lose myself / even if only for a little while.”
Since Honebami lost his memories, these new ones he’s creating with Mikazuki will stay with him forever, even if in turn, Mikazuki eventually forgets about Honebami.
“It will be deeply etched in my memory / even if you forget.”
Mikazuki Munechika’s desire to protect:
Mikazuki watches Honebami as he sleeps and wishes that he could take away Honebami’s pain. It displays the helplessness Mikazuki feels when it comes to trying to connect with Honebami. Mikazuki has been forgotten, but that doesn’t seem to bother him. What bothers him is the fact that Honebami is beating himself up over it, even though it isn’t his fault.
“The moon watches silently / as if embracing past memories / of what was lost, consumed by flames / oh, if only I can heal it.”
“A lonely voice echoes / while you sleep in peace / I listen with intent / and gently wipe away your tears.”
I like how he refers to himself as “the moon” or “the moonlight.” On the surface, he could just mean the moon and moonlight as separate entities from himself. Knowing Mikazuki, on the other hand, is like knowing an omnipresent being, just like how some people would describe the moon.
This next line is important to me because he asks the question:
“Where can I find what I seek?”
Then, while both Honebami and Mikazuki are singing together, Honebami answers:
“I am the one that you seek.”
I cannot come up any other argument. Like there is no room for a heterosexual or even platonic argument in my opinion. Look at the cover art.
Anyway, how sweet. The song is, admittedly, melancholic in nature, but I guess it keeps up with the theme that the album has. I’m just so in love with Yume no Ato. Ever since I first heard it, I knew it was romantic in a way, and finally, when I translated it, it really was! It’s just as lovely as it sounds. I would daydream to this song on the bus home from school or even during long drives at night from Downtown LA. This was before I even knew it was a Touken Ranbu fan song. Imagine that.
And with Mikazuki nonetheless.
I listened mainly because of the two utaite behind it, Shoose and Aisu. Shoose and Aisu (Shooaisu) had their duo days back in 2013-2016, then their activities were on hiatus for a few long ass years until they started up again in 2025 with Monitoring. And at the time of writing this, they already had their second ever “one-man live” which methinks is supposed to be a “two-man live” but whatever, I’m not the director. Their first live was in 2016, called “Fifty-Fifty.” Their most recent live show was called “Resurge.” Ten years later. Ugh. I love them so much.
I won't be surprised if after all this time those two were dating because look at these two duets (Requeim | Aibiki) when you have time for me. You don't have to listen to them. Just look at the thumbnail. They're a little too suspicious.
