Some songs are simply meant to be enjoyed. But as a music and book lover, I have a liking for songs that are not only listening for joys, but also for inspiration about life. Japanese culture is fascinating to me in many aspects, and Japanese popular music is certainly one of the sources for inspiration. Here I have handpicked three of my favorites, which enlightened me in recent months, to share with you. They are listed in no particular order.
大きな古時計
The first one I want to share with you is a song sung by Ken Hirai (平井堅). It is actually a very old American folk song. The name of the original song is Grandfather’s Clock which was composed by Henry Clay Work in 1876. It is said that Work wrote the song based on a story he heard when he visited north Yorkshire in England. The poetic lyrics are about a stand-up clock which was bought on the day when the grandfather of the song’s narrator was born. The faithful clock worked for 90 years nonstop to serve its owner until he died. The clock was not only faithful, it knew the important moments of its owner. The lyrics write:
Many hours had he spent while a boy;And in childhood and manhood the clock seemed to knowAnd to share both his grief and his joy,For it struck 24 when he entered at the doorWith a blooming and beautiful bride;But it stopped short — never to go again —When the old man died.
The song became very popular after it was released in the US in 1876. Various versions of the song in different languages were made and became famous in other countries too. In Japan, the song was translated into a Japanese children song in 1940s. In 1962, Kogo Hotomi’s version of the song was sung in the NHK TV program "みんなのうた" (People’s Songs), which significantly boosted its popularity among Japanese. Kogo’s version, in which the clock worked for 100 years instead of 90 years, became one of the most well-received American songs to many generations of Japanese people.
In 2002, singer Ken Hirai gave a moving rendition of the song, not only making the song a big hit in Japan again but also cementing his position as a leading male singer in Japan. Hirai’s record “大きな古時計” topped the Oricon Chart for 4 consecutive weeks after its release, the first time that a song that debuted 100 years ago topped the chart. Most Hong Kong people got to know Hirai because he sang the theme song "雙眼閉起" (Close Your Eyes) of the movie "世界中心呼喚愛" (Screaming for Love in the Centre of the World) broadcast in 2004. But to me, “大きな古時計” is the song that really attracts me to his singing style. Listening to his song transports me to the distant past. So let’s enjoy the song now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0vSH2VW-tk
手紙 〜拝啓 十五の君へ〜
The second Japanese song I want to talk about is “手紙 〜拝啓 十五の君へ〜” (Letter: Greetings to a 15-Year-Old) composed by Angela Aki. Aki's blockbuster song actually is a letter the song’s narrator wrote at the age of 15 to her future self. Adolescence is an age of turbulence: a period when we start to think about who we are, what we can do, and how we should face the first wave of life’s uncertainties. Feeling insecure, the narrator tried to talk to her future self as a way to gain a sense of safety, as herself is the only one she felt comfortable to confide in. She wrote:
拝啓 この手紙読んでいるあなたはどこで何をしているのだろう十五の僕には誰にも話せない悩みの種があるのです未来の自分に宛てて書く手紙ならきっと素直に打ち明けられるだろう今 負けそうで 泣きそうで 消えてしまいそうな僕は誰の言葉を信じ歩けばいいの?Dear, when you are reading this letter, where are you and what are you doing?I am a 15-year-old now and I have puzzles that I can't talk to anyoneBut if it’s a letter to my future selfI can speak frankly to herI'm about to lose, I'm about to cry,I'm about to disappearWhose words should I believe in when going forward?
On receiving the letter, the grown-up narrator replied to her adolescent counterpart:
拝啓 ありがとう十五のあなたに 伝えたい事があるのです自分とは何でどこへ向かうべきか問い続ければ見えてくる荒れた青春の海は厳しいけれど明日の岸辺へと 夢の舟よ進め今負けないで 泣かないで消えてしまいそうな時は自分の声を信じ歩けばいいのMy dear, thank you for your letterI have something to tell the 15-year-old you.Who am I, why and where to go?As long as you ask yourself these questions, you can find the answersAlthough youth is like a rough and stormy sea, let's take the ship of hope and head towards the shore of tomorrowDon't give up and don’t cry now.Whenever you feel you are going to disappear, just believe in your voice and move forward bravely
First released in 2008, the song was written by Angela Aki on her 30th birthday. Born to an Italian American mother and a Japanese father, Aki has a distinctively western complexion and is known as a talented musician among Japanese artists. Aki moved to Hawaii to attend high school when she was 15 years old and obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science in George Washington University. After graduation, she worked as a secretary in Washington, D.C. but could not give up her dream of becoming a singer. In the US, she once worked as a waitress at daytime, and sang songs at night at a nightclub where she was occasionally teased by club-goers. After attending a concert in Nippon Budokan Hall (日本武道館) in 2003, Aki said to herself she would perform at the same place within three years. In December 2006, she made history by holding a concert in Budokan. In 2014, Aki quit all her singing jobs in Japan and moved to the US to study music for her long-cherished dream of developing her career in Broadway.
Aki’s soul-searching song was rearranged as the theme song for the Japanese movie “くちびるに歌を” which was released in 2015. In it, protagonist Aragaki Yui (新垣結衣) taught a group seconding school graduating students to sing the song “手紙 〜拝啓 十五の君へ〜”. Since then, it has become a song often sung as a farewell note during elementary and junior high school graduation ceremonies. Here is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQJhIp-UTU
不協和音
The third song I want to talk about is 欅坂46’s 不協和音. Now renamed as Sakurazaka-46 (櫻坂46), Keyakizaka-46 (欅坂46) is one of the most successful Japanese idol girl groups in the past decade in Japan. I learned about this song from the young Hong Kong democracy fighter Agnes Chow. She said when she was arrested by Hong Kong police in August this year, Keyakizaka-46’s 不協和音 kept resounding in her head. Agnes Chow has a lot of fans in Japan. Her arrest caused a lot of attention in the country.
The Japanese words不協和音 mean discordance or dissonance in English. The song was included in the fourth record released by Keyakizaka-46 in 2017. The lyrics reveal the narrator’s insistence on justice, as well as her dislike of blind obedience to a society where everyone has to behave the same. The lyrics go like these:
僕はyes と言わない絶対 沈黙しない最後の最後まで抵抗し続ける叫びを押し殺す (oh! oh! oh!)見えない壁ができてた (oh! oh!)….君はyes と言うのかプライドさえも捨てるか反論することに何を怯えるんだ?大きなその力で (oh! oh! oh!)ねじ伏せられた怒りよ (oh! oh!)見て見ぬ振りしなきゃ仲間外れか真実の声も届くって信じていたよOh! oh! 僕は嫌だI won't say yesNever be silentWill continue to resist until the very endThe cry that is suppressed in my heart (oh! Oh! Oh!)Has built an invisible wall (oh! Oh!)….Will you say yesEven abandon your prideWhat are you scared of refuting?That great power (oh! Oh! Oh!)Suppressed and made people angry (oh! Oh!)Will I be isolated if I don’t pretend not seeing it,I believed that the true voice would reach outOh! oh! I hate it
Girl idol groups like Keyakizaka-46 (欅坂46) is a unique Japanese cultural product. These idol groups usually consist of teenage girls or girls in their early 20s, members of the groups dress in same uniform and have similar hairstyles. The uniform, the large number of group members and the sometimes indistinguishable faces of the members cause people think that they are symbols of Japanese collectivism. But interestingly, listening to Keyakizaka-46’s不協和音or its other song “沉默的多數” is empowering. It encourages people to speak up and get their own voices across—no matter how discordant they are. When you listen to the song and read its lyrics, you will understand why Agnes Chow recalled this song when she was arrested. So it is the time to enjoy this song:
Each of these three songs represents some values that hold a special place in my heart: story and history; youth and dreams, and voice and identity. Each time these songs are played, they serve as precious reminders of what makes our lives meaningful and worthwhile. Our individuality that is made up of our history, dreams and voice is what we should never lose, and what we should continue to hold on to.
Site to learn Japanese through Japanese songs
If you want to learn Japanese by listening to Japanese songs, https://www.jpmarumaru.com/tw/index.asp is a site that I’d like to recommend. For the three songs I shared here, you can find the original Japanese lyrics and Chinese translation.
大きな古時計
手紙 〜拝啓 十五の君へ〜
不協和音
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