銀河

さて、「桜の季節」「陽炎」「赤黄色の金木犀」とくれば・・・
そうです、今日は四季盤最後にリリースされた「銀河」についてです。


「銀河」というと、宮沢賢治ファンの私は、すぐに「銀河鉄道の夜」を思い出します。




お話の中では「星祭り」が行われ、街の中を「烏瓜」の提灯を子供たちが持って歩いているのが印象的ですが、この「烏瓜」は秋の季語です。
ちなみに、この「星祭り」、日本の夏祭りの代表「七夕」とは関係ありません。

また、話の舞台になっている「銀河」も、同じく秋の季語です。


立秋から立冬の前日（大体８月７日から１１月７日）までが、日本で「秋」といわれる季節です。（今年の日本では、温暖化の影響からか９月過ぎても暑さが和らぐ兆しはありませんが・・・）



ジョバンニとカンパネルラは星祭り一色の街を後にして、銀河を走る幻想的な銀河鉄道に乗って旅に出ます。
日本の代表的な童話作品の一つですので、興味のある方はぜひ読んでみてください。

英語訳も出版されています。
銀河鉄道の夜　英語版　Night Train To Stars (English Translated Version)




銀河の話に戻りましょう。

昔の人は、天の川が特に美しくはっきりと見られるのは秋だと感じたようですが、私は現代日本を知る者として、やはり「銀河」を冬盤に選んだ志村くんのセンスに賛同いたします。

冬が一番、星空がきれいに見えます。
私の経験からして、まず他の季節と空気の澄み具合が違います。




特に雪の降った次の日に見る銀河は、最高です。
空気中のほこりを雪の粒子が取り除くため、空気はより澄んで、積もった雪が全ての雑音を吸収します。
周りはシンシンと寒く、いつもより静かに感じます。
そして、その星空の美しさといったら・・・ぜひ、山梨にいらっしゃってご自分の目で確かめてみてください。




フジファブリックの「銀河」の中には、南国の方々にとって少々分かりづらい箇所があるため、もう少し詳しく説明します。

「丘から　見下ろす　二人は白い息を吐いた」
これは、日本では冬になると外気温が低いため、吐く息は白く見えます。
物を燃やした時にでる煙というより、ポットにお湯が沸く時にでる湯気のほうが、近いでしょうか。

ちなみに、タイ人の皆さん。
氷は雪が積もって出来るものではありません。
あれは、水が凍ってできるものなので、雪が降らなくても、外気温が０度以下になると、水のある所には氷がはるのです！


「きらきらの空」
冬になると日本ではよく風が吹きます。
そのため、上空の強風の影響で、ちらちらと星がきれいに瞬くのです。


富士山のある富士吉田市で生まれ育った、志村正彦くん。
きっと、小さい頃から富士山に瞬く星空を見て育ったんでしょうね。

今では、その富士山上空の星たちの中で一番輝いて、みんなを見守ってくれていることでしょう。

では、フジファブリックの「銀河」、お聴きください。

Reddish Yellow Osmanthus (English translation of Post on 5th Sep 2010)

When catching the scent of Osmanthus, we are already rushing for no reason just feeling the winter is coming soon...

Readers in Japan might find it difficult to recall the days in Autumn in the lingering heat of this summer.

But the season is definitely changing moment to moment.



Osmanthus is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 3–12 m tall.

In spite of the fact originally coming from China, it is a very common tree in Japan, and we often find it in the gardens.

The trunk and brunches are dark brown, and the thick-set dark green leaves are 7–15 cm long and 2.6–5 cm broad, with an entire or finely toothed margin.

Osmanthus gives an impression of being evergreen all year around, but between the mid October and the beginning of November (in my hometown, Yamanashi), bloom cute lovely blossoms.


The blossoms are orange-yellow, small (1 cm long), with a four-lobed corolla 5 mm diameter; they are produced in small clusters.

Its strong sweet fragrance cannot be expressed with words!
Its scent is so fragrant that you can smell even 50 meters away!!

In China, it is commonly known as 桂花 guìhuā, (literally "cinnamon flower" or "cassia flower").
The blossoms are also used to produce osmanthus-scented tea, jam , sweet cakes, dumplings, soups, and even liquor.

                

There must be quite a few of us who realised, with this sweet scent, that Osmanthus trees are actually here and there only at this time of the year.

And its blossoms are also recognised  as being "short-lived" - they don't stay long and scatter at once.
Its blossoms do not flutter in the wind like Cherry blossoms, but fall on the ground one after another.



Osmanthus is one of the trees which appeals its existence especially in Autumn.


Let's move on to Fujifabric's song called "Reddish Yellow Osmanthus".
I personally think that there is no other songs but this, which could express the feeling and the scenes in late Autumn through Osmanthus.

At the beginning of the song, please listen to the guitar played by Mr. Shimura - those quavers remind us how the tiny blossoms scatter on the ground one after another, don't they?



Next, please find the part in lyrics, "Was it because it stayed so cold this summer     That time somehow flew this year so fast".


When the cold weather continues in summer, the end of the summer and also the beginning of the autumn 
comes earlier than usual, and therefore, the winter time comes earlier, we feel.








Before winter comes, we have a lot to do and we feel very rushy.


This is my belief that the climate gives a strong influence on the character of the people living there, and in Japan, due to distinctive four seasons, which never stay still, we always have to think ahead what to do next.





If doing nothing, in the late autumn, we will be in a big trouble of sustaining our life.


I am not sure whether it is due to the fact that there is such an information in our DNA, being inherited from ancestors in succession, or it has become our habit over thousands of years... 


That's why, "What I want to do in what’s left of the month     I made up my mind, speeding up my steps".






Let's look at the part, "shadows on the ground stretched and disappeared".





Shadows stretch at the time of sunset, especially in autumn and winter time, altitude of the Sun at noon changes as the Earth's axis being tilted to its orbital plane - which simply means the sun does not go up as high as in summer time!


This is observable more clearly in high- latitude countries.
In Thailand, where I live, we do not notice that much.








Shadows stretching long at dusk, the scent of Osmanthus blossoms,  my way home when my heart starts racing for no reason...


An autumn evening in Japan.


Mr. Shimura recommended to listen to this song in the open air when the song was release.


Please picture such a scene in your mind, enjoy listening to Fujifabric's "Reddish Yellow Osmanthus"
Thank you for reading.

赤黄色の金木犀

金木犀の香りがすると、深まり行く秋を感じ、なぜか胸騒ぎがして焦ってしまう・・・。

日本でご覧になっている方は、残暑とは思えない暑さの中で、秋の日を思い出すのすら難しいかもしれませんね。
しかし、季節は確実に変わりつつあります。





金木犀は中国原産の常緑樹で、日本では普通に庭先で見られる木です。

幹や枝は濃い茶色で、深緑色の葉は厚みがあり硬く、枝に生い茂っています。


年中緑色の印象があるこの木ですが、１０月中旬から下旬にかけて（私の故郷では）かわいらしい花を咲かせます。

赤黄色の小さな花（２ミリほど）が多数集まってボンボンのように咲き、その芳香たるや言葉では表現できないほどです。

　　　　　　　　　

中国本土では「桂花」と呼ばれ、乾燥させた花をお茶やお酒やお菓子に入れて、香りを楽しむ花として知られています。

独特の甘い香りが道に漂い、この季節になってやっと金木犀の木がそこここにあったことを思い出すという方も、多いのではないでしょうか。

そしてあまりに早く、散ってしまう花でもあります。
あの小さな花をちらちらと、次々に落としてしまいます。

そんなふうに、秋になると存在感を増す金木犀です。




フジファブリックの「赤黄色の金木犀」という曲。
私はこの曲ほど上手に、深まり行く秋の心情と風景を金木犀を通して表現した曲は、他にないと思います。

まず、曲の始まりに流れる志村君の弾くギターソロ、あの８部音符の連符が小さな金木犀の花がちらちらと散っていくのを、思い起こさせます。


続いて、「冷夏が続いたせいか今年は　なんだか時が進むのが早い」という箇所があります。



冷夏が続くと、夏が終わるのも秋が来るのも早いため、自然と冬の到来も早くなる気がします。
冬が来る前に、「早く早く」と、気が急いてしまうのです。

気候風土がその土地に住む人々の性質に、多大なる影響を与えると私は思っていますが、季節が次から次へと変わる日本では、常に次にしなければならないことを考えなければなりません。






深まり行く秋の中、ボーっと何もしないで過ごしていたら、本格的な冬になった時には、衣食住に事欠くようになってしまうのです。
そのような先代の記憶が遺伝子に残されているためか、それが習慣として定着したのかは分かりませんが・・・。


それで、「僕は残りの月にする事を　決めて歩くスピードを上げた」のでしょう。


また、「影が伸びて」というのは、冬が近づき太陽があまり空高く上らなくなり、地平線に近いところを上下するために影が長く伸びるという現象が起きます。

これも緯度の高いところにある国独特ですね。


タイでは赤道に近いため、あまり気がつきません。



夕暮れ時に長く伸びる影、香る金木犀、無駄に胸が騒ぐ帰り道・・・。
日本人の秋の夕方です。

ぜひそんな風景を思い描いて、聴いてみてください。
志村君が、「ぜひ、外に出てこの曲を聴いてほしい。」と、言っていたこの曲。
フジファブリック、「赤黄色の金木犀」です。

Taifu and Surfer King are updated, now!

Today, I am so glad to say that the translations of "Taifu" and "Surfer King" are now finished!

Please take a look at Fujifabric 1st Album in PAGES on the right side.
Enjoy the world of Fujifabric!!




I am thinking of writing about "Reddish Yellow Osmantus", tomorrow.

Band Profile and Discography is updated now!

Sorry, I have been busy translating lyrics from Japanese to English today.
I wish I can introduce the wonderful lyrical world of Fujifabric's music soon.

Instead, take a look in Band Profile and Discography, which has been updated, today.

The Shimmer of Heat (Translation of Post on 31st Aug)

Have you ever seen the shimmer of heat ?

It is a typical summer scenery in Japan.

The shimmer of heat is often called " hot-road mirage".

It is an inferior mirage which can be seen very commonly on roadways.
This hot-road mirage is usually most noticeable on hot sunny days.

"Fake water" on the road is the most common image of an inferior mirage.
It is totally transparent, but landscape beyond a mirage shimmers - gives you a "mysterious" feeling, I think.


But here in Thailand, we hardly see the shimmer of heat in spite of the ever-lasting summer climate.
I wondered why, and looked up Wikipedia.

It explains, "Warm air is less dense than cool air, and the variation between the hot air at the surface of the road and the denser cool air above it creates a gradient in the refractive index of the air.

Light from the sky at a shallow angle to the road is refracted by the index gradient, making it appear as if the sky is reflected by the road's surface.

The mind interprets this as a pool of water on the road, since water also reflects the sky."



I see!

Because it is always hot day and night in here, cool air never exists first start, and there is not any chance that cool air meets hot air, maybe...

Condition explained above is a typical hot summer day in Japan.
In my hometown (Yamanashi Prefecture), the air is cool in the morning and evening even during summer time.

"The Shimmer of Heat" ("Kagerou" in Japanese), one of Fujifabric's songs, is a music that Mr. Masahiko Shimura composed remembering his younger days in summer.

"Those buildings on the street" seems to be the ones of Fujiyoshida City in Yamanashi Prefecture where he was brought up.
You can still feel Showa Era (1926 - 1989) in this city as these pretty buildings are one of the main factors which make the atmosphere of old days.


(click on here to see a  View of Fujiyoshida City)




Holding a baseball bat in one hand, rushing out to buy some sweets with some pocket money in a pocket...
This is a typical view of Japanese young boys.

Mr. Shimura was a member of a local boys' baseball team, in fact, when he was in Primary and Secondary School, and he played an important role in his team as a right fielder with uniform number 8.


In the middle of the song, it suddenly starts raining, and this is also very typical of Japanese summer.



It is sometimes called "yuudachi" as it often rains in the evening.
In summer, it does not drizzle.
The sky suddenly gets darer and darker, and starts raining very hard with big drops of rain and the rumbling of thunder.
It is probably similar to showers in tropical countries.


After a while, it stops raining, and the soft sunlight, which is  no comparison to the one before the showers, starts falling across the town.
Thanks to the rain, the air is so clean and fresh, and the scent of grass gets stronger.




Heat in the daytime settles down now.
Trees in mountains, grass and flowers, crops in a farm, and of course, humans, are all settled and feeling relieved at the end of the hot summer day.


Let's take a look at a Fujifabric's great song now - "The Shimmer Of Heat"

To see lyrics translated into English, click "Fujifabric 1st Album" in Pages on the right side of this blog

Season of Cherry Blossoms (Translation of Post on 30th Aug 2010)

(taken in Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi in April 2010)


Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) is so special among many flowers, for Japanese people, and it has also special meanings to us.

Japanese Archipelago lays long stretching from South to North, and the climate varies between different areas. 

In my hometown, Yamanashi Prefecture, cherry trees bloom about the beginning of April to May.

In modern Japan,  March, the season of farewell (graduation, job transfer, retirement, etc) is passed by, and new life starts in April.

This is one of the reasons why Cherry Blossoms, which bloom in this particular season, give us an image of "blooming".

In tropical countries, like in Thailand, it is normal to see leaves and flowers on branchese at the same time, but in Japan, plants have different life cycle to tropical plants.

All leaves fall from deciduous trees in Autumn, and no leaves can be seen on trees.

In Spring, flower buds bloom first before leaves.

That is probably why the colour of blossoms look so pretty and vivid on dry brown trunks.

Since old days, going back to Heian Era (794 ~ 1192AD), it has been the enjoyments of the Japanese people, in Spring, to gaze and make merry under cherry trees in full bloom - no matters day or night.

When Cherry Blossoms pass the time of full bloom, they flutter down at once, so it is also a symbol of "transiency".

Their way of fluttering down is quite distinctive, and that touches our heart.

In Spring, even sunshine gets warmer, the wind blowing down from the mountains is still cool.

In such a breeze, Cherry Blossoms, which were in full bloom last night, flutter down the pale pink petals.

After it has once started to fall, petals keep fluttering down one after another.

If it rains, it is not surprising that all blossoms on a cherry tree are gone in only one night.

"That beautiful admirable Sakura blossoms are all gone, and baby leaves started shooting forth..."

Everything in this world has the time of bloom.

Time flies so quickly and things change...

Cherry blossoms remind us that all things are impermanent.

Please picture such Cherry Blossoms in your mind, and now enjoy listening to one of the Fujifabric's masterpiece.

Lyrics in English, please click on Fujifabric (1st Album) on the right side.