Kiryu: Sakuyoi (English)
Song: 朔宵/Sakuyoi (The Evening of the New Moon) Artist: 己龍/Kiryu Music: Kujou Takemasa Lyrics: Kurosaki Mahiro Translation: J!L
Within Kaagome Kaagome*, twilight has fallen scarlet The dancing crowd at this festival is choked with the sound of music Shadows sway between the disconnected paper lanterns The person in the fox mask with the vermillion smile beckons me, “Come hither, come hither”
…Ah… aa… ahh…
In my right hand, I hold a sweet candy apple, dripping red My left hand is pulled by a girl, and though we hold hands, I know her not The blank eyes of the will-o’-the-wisp waver, dark blue I turn my back to the festival’s orchestra, toward the forest of temporal things
Frolicking as the cicadas sing I hum and count to ten and back again numerous times A warmly wavering lullaby, “hush, little baby” My flesh and bones are deeply imprinted on all sides by this cursed midnight
In the night of the new moon, crawling about Regret, pain, envy, hatred, dark mourning, and stained in hatred Here, there, everywhere, reaching out
The one in the fox’s mask whispers “Go on, may you run away”**
The stain of my footsteps Swaying, heavily, gracelessly, I turn round and round The one in the fox’s mask points Here, there, everywhere is mocking laughter
The child, my guide, stops as I quickly make my way toward the shrine The zigzagging shrine gate, the warped stone path Tree spirits watch me; the strap of my sandal breaks as I clop-clop-clop forward Abruptly, the child, my guide, twitches, as though laughing
let - go - of - her - hand
Round eyes revolve Staring wide and bloodshot Hanging upside-down from the rotten tree Here, there, everywhere, dangling in limbo
The little girl asks in a hoarse voice “Whooo is thaaat behiiiind yooouu?” while pointing
Playing blindfolded tag all night long*** Without a sound, the bird’s head is chopped off “What a shame”****
In the night of the new moon, crawling about Regret, pain, envy, hatred, dark mourning, and stained in hatred Innumerable hands Here, there, everywhere, reaching out
The one in the fox’s mask ridicules me “I’ve cauuught yooouu”
The stain of my footsteps Swaying, heavily, gracelessly, I turn round and round I look out from the holes in my cage***** Oh when oh when will I be let out? Unescaping in the lull of my cries, I vanish
–
*Kagome Kagome is a traditional Japanese song that Kiryu quotes often. The exact meaning is unclear and there are several different theories as to what the song is about, I think the three most popular being that it’s about a criminal who’s being beheaded, a pregnant woman who is pushed down a flight of stairs, or a prostitute who wonders when she can escape her life of misery. I’ve done my best to look at the context of other songs to translate these lyrics in those circumstances, but here, I think he’s doing two things: He’s talking about being caged, and he’s also evoking the feeling of a dark, traditional, old-fashioned scene.
**Nigeshanse (逃げしゃんせ), taken from nigeru(逃げる) means to run, but is written in the same style as the song Tooryanse, a song about passing on from life into death. The way it’s said here suggests the person in the fox mask is toying with the protagonist, like a game.
***Mekakushi oni is literally a game of blindfolded tag, but “oni” means “demon,” so in context, he could mean there are literally blindfolded demons running about.
****Said sarcastically.
*****Kagome Kagome again.
This (and Seiten no Hekireki) are probably Kiryu’s most difficult songs to understand, even for Japanese natives. Sakuyoi is a beautiful song and very carefully put together, so I feel my English version doesn’t give it justice.
