I visited Oku Hanako’s official site[jp] earlier today and I was greeted with a change of face:
Oku Hanako’s official site on June 25, 2015
The old site worked and did what it needed to, but this update is a nice change. According to the modified time for some of the external files, this new design may have gone up as early as June 21.
Tsuki no Soba de Nemuritai / 月のそばで眠りたい: “I want to sleep next to the moon”
“Tsuki no Soba de Nemuritai” is a musically interesting song. Most of the songs you hear are in a major or minor key. When you listen to this song, you immediately hear something a little “off” about it. That’s because the verses are neither major nor minor: they are sung in the Dorian mode of E. The Dorian mode gives it a bit of a mysterious primitive feel. The chorus is in a familiar E major key, giving it a bit of a more down-to-earth wishful feel.
As for the lyrics, it looks and sounds like it’s just full of sentence fragments, which is somewhat fitting for a song such as this.
月のそばで眠りたい [music.163.com]
It seems the first chorus is simple enough for me to translate myself:
I want to sleep next to the moon
I want to cut dust-covered hair
I want to grasp love in this hand
They may not be sentence fragments, but it definitely seems cryptic.
If you go to Oku Hanako’s official site, you’ll be greeted with a pop-up message:
There’s a music score in the background, and being the musical guy I am, I just had to figure out what it is. You can probably guess, but after playing through it in my head, I concluded that it’s a snippet of Kusabi / 楔, specifically the end of the pre-chorus until a little after the end of the chorus (the chorus starts at [C]).
No wonder I haven’t been able to work out the chords by ear. I knew the chords, which are written above the staves, were somewhat complex, but I didn’t think they were to this degree. You have major chords, minor chords, slash chords, sus4, add9 (both major and minor), and even some combinations of them. Don’t worry if you understood nothing in this paragraph: just know that it’s appreciatively complex.
Wow, I would never have thought to use an Oku Hanako song for a gymnastics routine, but these men competing at an intercollegiate event at Kokoshikan University pull it off quite nicely. The song comes in at around 2:14; can you name it? Leave your answer in the comments.
The release of Kusabi / 楔 is about a month and a half away and the cover art for the new release has been revealed:
Kusabi / 楔
I wonder if that photo was taken in one of the subway stations or one of the streets where she used to perform. If so, it would give the cover a deeper meaning.
It’s quite reminiscent of the older covers, too. The first one that came to mind was the one for Chiisana Hoshi / 小さな星:
Chiisana Hoshi / 小さな星
It’s too bad I don’t have the original Japanese to post with this, but Edward has translated the Chinese translation of the letter that came with Oku Hanako’s 2012 BEST album (Oku Hanako BEST -My Letters-).
It’s certainly an interesting piece of text. I’ve always said that one couldn’t make such powerful songs as she does without experiencing it all herself, and the letter confirms it:
I wrote lyrics like I was writing a diary. At that time, the break up with a sweetheart, that stage of romance symbolised the theme that would often appear in my songs “Because it was lost, only thus was its importance discovered”.
Thanks, Edward! I’ll close with another quote:
I am very grateful.
For discovering me, supporting me, encouraging me, giving birth to me, listening to my songs, shedding tears because of my songs, breaking into smiles because of my songs, I am grateful for all of this.
This is not actually a song. In the back cover of the lyrics booklet in the album Oku Hanako BEST -My Letters- there is a letter titled My Letter. This is it.
I started writing songs in Senior High School1. I wrote lyrics like I was writing a diary. At that time, the break up with a sweetheart, that stage of romance symbolised the theme that would often appear in my songs “Because it was lost, only thus was its importance discovered”.
I began performing 14 years ago to today2 to let even more people know about my songs. Although a lot happened since I started, I could continue playing music and singing as I always did, and that to me was truly a miracle.
In order to make this Best Album, fans who understood Oku Hanako’s songs better than Oku Hanako herself were invited to…
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A new header image was put up on June 1 on Oku Hanako’s official site:
Header image on the official site as of June 1, 2015
The text at the top, I’m guessing, briefly explains that the 10th anniversary for Oku Hanako’s major début is July 27 of this year, and to celebrate, they’ll be releasing a 10th anniversary single called Kusabi / 楔-くさび. The single will be sold for at least ¥1000.
Ookina Furudokei / 大きな古時計: “big grandfather clock”
You may be familiar with this song. This is the Japanese version of the 1876 song “My Grandfather’s Clock, by Henry Clay Work.
This song appeared on a bonus CD that was given out to those who got her 2013 Live DVD “Cinderella”/Concert Tour ’12 Hikigatari ~5th Letter~ / “シンデレラ”/CONCERT TOUR’12 弾き語り～5th Letter～ on its release day.
Hanako to Hitsuji / 華子とひつじ CD
The CD is called Hanako to Hitsuji / 華子とひつじ (“Hanako with sheep”), which possibly refers to the time she went to Hitsuji no Oka / ひつじの丘[jp] (website[jp]) in Hokkaido in 2012 (I’ll post the four videos sometime).
Sheep at Hitsuji no Oka
The bonus CD contained this song, Furusato / ふるさと, and Oku Hanako counting 100 sheep with an a cappella rendition of Yurikago no Uta / ゆりかごのうた midway (or so I’ve read).
Oku-san’s rendition of Ookina Furudokei is beautiful. It really captures the sentimental quality of the song, and in my opinion, it’s timeless.
大きな古時計 （ピアノ弾き語り♪） 奥華子 okuhanako by 優木華子 [YouTube]
I’m noticing that some of the videos I’ve included for the songs have since been taken down, as expected. I need you to help me look for those posts with broken videos and report them in this post’s comments.
Kimi no Egao / 君の笑顔: “Your smiling face” or “your smile”
Edward posted yet another translation-of-a-translation a few days ago, and this time it’s Kimi no Egao / 君の笑顔.
I quote:
I had difficulty translating the lines marked with * because they read like fragmented sentences to me. Eventually I decided to post the translation because I didn’t see myself making any progress and I wanted to move to the next translation. For all I know maybe those lines were poetic sentence fragments all along.
To address that, I think they really are poetic sentence fragments. I see relatively few particles in the original Japanese, and particles in Japanese serve to indicate parts of speech. I’ll have to double-check with someone who knows Japanese to confirm this.
I have to say, Oku-san continues to impress me. The way she uses all four seasons in the first stanza is brilliant, among other things. This is typical Oku Hanako: I can’t find the words to express my awe. It’s simply beautiful.
Thanks, Edward!
When I met you there was spring light and a breeze in the street*
My childish heart cheered in the distant summer night of that day*
I neglected loneliness as I passed through the autumn day*
A warm winter street reassured me of your warmth*
At all times you have a sincere look in your eyes. Even if you fall you will stand up again
I drew some strength from your profile that only gazes ahead
Your smile and your voice created my future
The time that began to move carved out slowly changing days
I should be able to overcome difficulty at any time because I have a dream
Now I have found something precious, something that I want to protect
I don’t know the reason for your tears that day
Beyond the upset I saw a path leading to a dream
I’m not afraid of mistakes. If I take a step forwards then I can have more faith in myself
People look towards the other side of sadness. This is what the sight of your back has told me
At my side, by your side, I could cry with longing to live in the moment*
A dream without end must lead to somebody’s future
Don’t give up. Whenever I heard your voice
I found something precious, something that I want to protect
I am not alone. I am always by your side because I want to see your smile
Translation by Edward from the Chinese
Thoughts on Oku Hanako 
