A Lyrical Analysis of Mafumafu’s Oborodzuki
These are my thoughts on Mafumafu’s Oborodzuki (in essay format no less), nothing here is the definitive truth or reason behind the writing, it’s just how I understand it. It’s a beautiful song, and Mafumafu himself said he put a lot of thought into writing it, so here (it’s long orz i got carried away) ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧
Let me know what you thought, if there’s anything you agree/disagree with, if I got facts wrong etc. (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤ enjoy!
The core storyline of Mafumafu’s song, Oborodzuki, follows a prostitute, and is set, presumably by the caged backdrop and red theme in the MV, in the Yukaku (Red Light District) of Yoshiwara.
The title, Oborodzuki means by itself ‘Hazy Moon’, but I’d like to associate it with the character, Oborodzukiyo (Hazy Moon Night) from The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th Century. In Chapter 8 Genji forces himself on the married Oborodzukiyo, the beautiful daughter of the Minister of the Right. The affair results in Oborodzukiyo eventually falling in love with Genji, and unable to love her husband, the Crown Prince and living a life of guilt. So, in the recurring lines 霞む、私は朧月, Growing dimmer, I am the Hazy Moon (I am Oborodzuki), I think she may be relating to this character.
The song begins with 馴れ初めを知らぬまま、薄紅点した宵時雨 translating roughly to ‘Not knowing how love is to begin, I apply thin red (onto my face) in the late-night rain’. It firstly shows naivety and that she is still young, but she and her emotions are hidden away by makeup, and the dark, and the falling rain. This is followed by 朔日に洗われて、真白になれたら; she wishes to be washed by (the light of) the first moon, and become pure white, and 今は不香の花でありたい, to just be a fragrant flower, suggesting that she believes that she’s been dirtied (by customers). 幼き日々は貴方の傍、悠々夢の果て is quite straightforward; this song is directed at someone she spent her childhood with, but those days are at the end of a leisurely dream -and it is as if she relives those memories of when she was pure even though they are long gone. Additionally, the verse 華やかな景観に 当てられ世人は列なる、愛しみは幾匁 花は一匁 “Mankind are naturally drawn to brilliant landscapes (refering to herself), Emotions are worth several mace (an old currency used in East Asia), A flower is worth one” show her devotion to her childhood friend. On top of that, 花一匁 is a children’s game, involving singing and teams. Her emotions, in particular sorrow and love, are expensive and cannot be bought easily (and are reserved for her true love) but her body (a flower -as she is nature’s brilliant landscape) can be bought comparatively very cheaply. She will remain loyal to her love, and the money metaphor merely links back to her services as a courtesan.
For the first chorus, the instrumental and vocal line changes in character. A strong 今宵は誰がために踊るのでしょう, ‘Who will I dance for tonight?’, is a contrast from the previous, as if she is waking from the dream, coming into her harsh reality. While dancing is usually something done for joy, there’s the uncertainty of not knowing who she’ll be performing for (typical for a courtesan in Yoshiwara). In the next chorus, the uncomfortable imagery of 知らぬ吐息浴び、軋む帷 roughly ‘Bathed in the breath of someone I don’t know, the curtains creak (closed)’ produces feelings of anxiety. She refers to them in 顔の無い人影 literally ‘shadows of people without faces’, giving an atmosphere of fear but perhaps apathy to those who visit.
The Red Thread of Fate, 赤い糸, plays a key role in the narrative. 手繰り寄せる朱殷の糸口よ、貴方に続けと願う- ‘The crimson thread-end that draws us together, I wish for it to continue’. In the cut between two lines (before 今宵は誰がために踊るのでしょう) we see a glimpse of the tangled string, but the end is tied onto her index finger. In Asian culture it is believed to symbolise destined lovers; and no matter how tangled or knotted the string might get, it will never break. Whoever she dances with each night, her ‘soulmate’ will always be the same, or so she prays.
Temari, decorative balls made from intricate embroidery, are typically gifted to children, and symbolise deep bonds and loyalty. So when Oborodzuki’s temari falls from her wrists, plunging into the darkness in the line 袖口の手毬は転ぶ、暗がりの方へ it feels like a bad omen. It causes her to feel vulnerable and lonely; ねぇ お願い ひとりにしないで ‘Hey, please, don’t leave me alone’ but 雲間に消える ‘disappearing into the clouds’ -both she and her words are lost in the clouds and the instrumental thins out -If she is the Hazy Moon, her light has been covered over by the sweeping black clouds, and inevitably she is left alone in the night sky.
The last verse, 愛しい愛しいよと木霊した、日々は想うほどに遥か ‘‘I love you, I love you,’ echoes, growing more distant the more I think about it day by day’ makes her efforts sound hopeless, however with 冷めぬ心に霏霏と六の花 芽吹きと共に 、あの人のもとへ、 帰ろう she is determined to return to his side, and instrumental growing stronger, the melody for あの人のもとへ、 帰ろう ‘I will return, to that person’s side’ changes from what we’ve already heard before, showing determination and willingness to confront.
The character of the last chorus also differs from the previous choruses. With 遊里に咲く雪月花 she describes herself as ‘The Red Light District’s blooming beauty of nature’, rather than singing about the strangers she meets. And this time, 霞む私は朧月 seems, to me, accepting of her position as a courtesan. Even though this may sound like it contradicts the revelation before, she believes this path will ensue. She pleads for the red thread to bring them together again, but knows that 千切れぬ明日に契りなどない ‘I cannot change (lit. cut into a thousand pieces) tomorrow, and I cannot make any vows (presumably wedding vows, like how Oborodzukiyo couldn’t live her married life happily)’ and the song ends with 薄月の色, the colour of the pale moon -the colour she once wished she were. If she is the Hazy Moon, then this last line could be interpreted as her emotions of wanting to reunite with the man -But we can question; what exactly is the colour of a hazy moon?
I personally see this song as Oborodzuki’s journey of thought, at first, wishing to find her lost love, and despising her current condition, having to perform to and sleep with faceless men night on night. When she drops her temari, she realises that she’s lost her connection with him, and is begging the unbreaking red thread to bring them together again -her heart refuses to be frozen and she is determined to win him back, supposedly as a prostitute, as she has nothing left to give. She cannot change destiny, so she will continue with her daily turmoil and hope they will meet again there. In the MV, the moon comes into view momentarily then slips back into the clouds, back to how they were earlier in the song. And there she will wait.
