Tokyo Calling! Fujita Maiko - Unmei no Hito English Translation

I am finally going to Japan in about a weeks time! I've only been to Japan once before, when I was around 11, and only to Nagasaki and Fukuoka, and truthfully, I don't remember much except for going to Huis Ten Bosch, a Dutch-style theme park in Kyushu. Yeah, go figure. This time, I'm (finally) going to Tokyo. The whole trip got planned so suddenly, so it hasn't quite sunk into me yet, but I'm excited. I'll be taking lots of pictures, eating yummy food and hopefully doing lots of touristy stuff. I bust out my Berlitz Japanese phrase book and then gave up trying to cram Japanese in one week. I can say "Where is the bathroom?" and "Help!" so I'm set. I'm just going to have to rely on my friend who's fluent in Japanese. Well, I'm pretty sure I picked up enough random Japanese phrases from watching anime and J-dorama, so I guess I'll see how applicable that is in functioning in Japan.

I'm not staying for long, but if any of you have any recommendations of places I should visit/ things I should do, please leave a comment! Oh, just a little request, I do love reading everyone's comments but so many are anonymous ones--no need to sign in to any account, but if you can leave behind just a little s/n or nickname after the post to help me identify who you are, that would be great. Because I usually do recognize familiar names of people who emailed/ post on Yahoo or ff.net, and I like putting names to... words.

I was introduced to Fujita Maiko, a talented albeit rather underrated singer-songwriter by Selenity Shiroi and promised her that I would translated "Unmei no Hito" when I finished Chapter 66 of New Trials. I didn't realize it would take so long. You can find the romanization on her livejournal account. I translated mostly from Korean which is syntactically very similar to Japanese, but as always, a lot of the poetic syntax is lost when translated into English, so this is a working translation. Please feel free to suggest any changes; I just tried to stay true to the initial gist of the lyrics, which are very beautiful indeed but somehow doesn't sound quite right in English. I thought they especially related well to Chapter 66 and Card Captor Sakura in general. Thanks to Selenity for introducing me to this song.

運命の人 - Unmei no Hito
Fujita Maiko – Fated Person
romanization by Selenity Shiroi
English Translation by Wish-chan

daijoubu itsumo chanto waratteru yo
demo dare to itemo nani ka tarinai

It’s all right, I’m fine, always smiling a lot
But even if I’m with someone, something is missing

ima anata ga koko ni kuruwakenai no ni
aketa mado kara mieta mangetsu
suzumushi no koe ga sabishisa sasou kara
osaeta kimochi mata sawagi dasu

Even though there is no reason for you to come here
The full moon that can be seen through the open window
The cry of the crickets call out their loneliness
Suppressed feelings start to waver again

anata ni aitakute kurushiku naru yoru wa
harisaki sou dayo
dare ka wo omoutte konna kimochi nanda
soba ni ite hoshii

On a night when I want to see you and become anguished
I feel like I am going to burst.
So, to think of somebody is this kind of feeling
Please stay by my side.

chigau sonna koto ga iitainjanai
sunao ni narezu ni kuyashiku naru
hontou wa sabishii dake da to kitsuite
tsuyogari sugite umaku ikanai

No, I didn’t want to say those kind of things
It’s frustrating that I couldn’t become more honest
Truthfully, I realized it was just loneliness,
Pretending to be so strong and stubborn didn’t work out too well

tatta hitori unmei no hito ga iru nara anata ga ii no ni
anata hodo suki ninareta hito wa inai no
nee minuite hoshii

If there is just one fated person, I would like it to be you
There is no one that I like as much as you
Please, notice.

anata ga issho ni itai no wa dare desu ka
sabishige na senaka wo omoi dasu to setsunakute

Who is the person that you want to be with...?
I feel regretful recalling your lonely back...

anata ni aitakute kurushiku naru yoru wa
harisaki sou dayo
dare ka wo omoutte konna kimochi nanda
soba ni ite hoshii
anata hodo suki ni nareta hito wa inai no
donna mirai da to shitemo anata wa watashi no unmei no hito

On a night when I want to see you and become anguished
I feel like I am going to burst.
So, to think of somebody is this kind of feeling
Please stay by my side.
There is no one that I like as much as you...
No matter what the future holds, you are my fated person.

Music Spotlight: Color Bottle - Sayonara

Color Bottle is one of my lucky finds on Youtube. They are a rock band from Sendai that formed in 2004 but don't seem to be well known outside of Japan. There are those songs that somehow seem to just touch your heart, and "Sayonara" was one of those songs. The PV is very simple but poignant and bittersweet. I rather love the vocalist Takemori Masayuki's slightly raspy and very versatile voice. I am trying to get my hand on some of their discography. They are probably best known for doing to opening for the anime Casshern Sins, "Aoi Hana," which is an awesome song as well, much edgier than Sayonara. It sort of matches the mood of xxxHolic, especially the lyrics "Hey, why were we born? Hey, why did we meet?" I look forward to seeing more of Color Bottle's works in the future.



I had a hard time finding the lyrics to "Sayonara" and ended up having to do the English translations myself. I had to work off of Korean translations and my limited knowledge of Japanese grammar. It's sort of a pity that the poignancy of words gets lost in translation. I don't speak Japanese, but grammatically, Korean and Japanese are very similar and more interchangeable in translation. When I heard this song, I thought I would like it to be the third arc ending song for my fanfiction New Trials. Because I chose two Maaya Sakamoto songs already, I wanted to choose one that had male vocals. This song reminded me a lot of Syaoran. I also like how if you rearrange the letters of "sayonara" it spells out "Syaoran" plus an a. Three down, just one more ending song to find. ^_^

On a side note, Chapter 65 of New Trials, Cohabitation Part II, is coming along. I think a week or so to fine tune and edit and it should be out.

Color Bottle – Sayonara (カラーボトル - サヨナラ)

Goodbye, every day until today, let us walk on from here
Even if this feeling that tightens my chest will become a memory
I won't forget, I won't forget.

No matter how much we do not want to change, we cannot help but change
The warmth of your last touch still remains in my left hand so real.
From where did we go so differently
When everything used to shine so brightly.

Goodbye, every day until today, let us walk on from here
Even if the feeling that tightens my chest will someday become a memory
I won’t forget, I won’t forget.

When we met, I didn’t need anything else but your smile
Hugging tightly, we shared are insecurities, but in our hearts somewhere
We both realized that the colors had begun to fade
The color of this path and even of the evening sunset.

Goodbye, every day until today, goodbye, the scenery with you in it
All the sincerity that tightens my chest seems to be changing into memories
If this door is opened, there is no more returning
It is the first movement to a new sky
Even if I cannot walk properly, even if tears fall
Still, still…

Goodbye, every day until today, goodbye. The scenery with you in it,
The small back, the moist eyes, the face with the innocent smile, I really loved it all.
Goodbye, every day until today, from here I will walk on
Even if this feeling that holds my heart will someday become a memory
I won’t forget, I won’t forget, so I will not forget.

Music Spotlight: Angela Aki - Tegami ~ Haikei Juugo no Kimi he

Angela Aki - Tegami ~ Haikei Juugo no Kimi he (Greetings to a Fifteen-Year-Old)



I have kept an eye on singer, songwriter Angela Aki for some time now ever since I heard her ending for the anime Blood+ "This Love." My favorite song by her is "Tegami ~ Haikei Juugo no Kimi he (手紙 ～拝啓 十五の君)," which was originally written for the NHK National School Music Contest in 2008, Junior High Division. The first time I heard the song and read read the lyric translation, it brought tears to my eyes, and it is a song that still makes me tear up when I listen to the lyrics.

The song cleverly weaves together the POV of a fifteen-year-old letter to his or her adult self and the message of that adult self addressing his/her fifteen year old self and something about this imagery rings home to a lot of us. Angela Aki accompanies herself on the piano and while the melody is simple, the lyrics are very poignant and I think reaches out to that lost fifteen-year-old in all of us. I find this song a "healing" song that rings true without any pretense. The clever use of shifting points of view creates a multi-layered tone of the song. The song's message uplifting and optimistic but the point of view of the adult holds a bittersweet sense of nostalgia. It makes me recall my fifteen-year-old self. That year was sort of the black hole of my teenage years, so I guess that is why this song is even more meaningful to me.

Translated lyrics by PhatParis:

Dear you,
Who is reading this letter
Where are you, and what are you doing now?

For me, who is 15 years old,
There are worries that I can't tell anyone.
If this is a letter addressed to my future self,
Surely I can confide in myself.

Now, it seems that I'm about to be defeated and I'm about to cry
For me, who is seemingly about to disappear
Whose words should I believe in?
This one-and-only heart has been broken so many times
In the midst of this pain, I live the present, I live in the present.

Dear you, thank you,
I have something to tell the 15-year-old you.

If you continue to ask what you should do and where you should go,
You will be able to see the answer.

The rough sea of youth may be tough
But row your boat of dreams on towards the shores of tomorrow.

Now, please don't be defeated and please don't shed a tear
During those times when you're seemingly about to disappear
Just believe in your own voice
For me as an adult, there are sleepless nights when I'm hurt
But I'm living the bittersweet present.

There's a meaning to everything in life
So build your dreams without fear.
Keep on believing

Seems like I'm about to be defeated and I'm about to cry,
For me, who's seemingly about to disappear
Whose words should I believe in?

Please don't be defeated and please don't shed a tear
During those times when you're seemingly about to disappear
Just believe in your own voice

No matter era we're in
There's no running away from sorrow,
So show your smile, and go on living the present
Go on living the present.

Dear you,
Who's reading this letter
I wish you happiness...

The song was paired with animation from drawings by mangaka Natsuki Takaya of Fruits Basket fame for Minna no Uta, a short NHK program geared towards children pairings songs from various musicians (including Maaya Sakamoto and Utada Hikaru) with various animators, artists and directors. I especially like the one by Makoto Shinkai. These Minna no Uta segments are sort of like MADs/ AMVs with professionals, broadcast on national television.



When I first heard the song, I could see Sakura in Arc 4 of New Trials looking back to herself in Chapter 53: Yesterday's Letter. It also reminds me of that scene in Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Tokyo Revelations when young CCS!Sakura shows up and tells Sakura-hime that everything is going to be all right. As adults, I think many of us have moments where we think, "Ah, I wish I knew then what I know now." But on the reverse, there are times when we think, "Ah, I wish I can go back to those days when those little things that I worried about seemed like the greatest worry in the world and those little things that made me happy were the greatest bliss."

Japanese lyrics and translation also found here.