Translation for Tomoshibi / 灯ーともしびー

Tomoshibi / 灯: “light”, “lamp”, or “lamp light”; possibly also referring to the light source. The pronunciation is given in hiragana (ともしび) because 灯 can be read in multiple ways.

Here we have another translation from Edward, this time of Tomoshibi / 灯. He actually posted this about a month ago, but as evident in my lack of recent posts, I hadn’t gotten the chance until now to share it. As always, I highly recommend you read his translation notes in his post.

Even with such a clear translation, I still have no idea what this song is about. Anyone with any insights, please do leave a comment and share.

Prism / プリズム tracklist announced!

Oku Hanako made a post yesterday reminding everyone that the deadline for reserving the 10th anniversary edition of the upcoming album, Prism / プリズム, is today, September 28.

A tracklist for the album was included:

1. Kusabi / 楔 -くさび- (“Wedge”)
2. Statice / スターチス (“Statice“)
3. Tokyo Kurashi / 東京暮らし (“Tokyo Life”)
4. Sukidattanda / 好きだったんだ (“I Used to Like You”)
5. Nagareboshi / 流れ星 (“Shooting Star”)
6. Tomodachi no Mama de / 友達のままで (“Staying Friends”)
7. Rashinban / 羅針盤 (“Compass”)
8. Ame no Prism / 雨のプリズム (“Prism of Rain”)
9. Taisetsu na Mono / 大切なもの (“Valuable Things”)
10. Usotsuki / 嘘つき (“Liar”)
11. Kimi ga Kureta Natsu / 君がくれた夏 (“The Summer You Gave Me”)
12. Hanabi / 花火 (“Fireworks”)
13. Ganbare / ガンバレ (“Do Your Best”)

Except for a few, these are my translations (with a bit of machine help). The translation for Sukidattanda is the one I’m most unsure about.

Out of these 13 tracks, 4 have previously been released, namely Kusabi, Taisetsu na Mono, Kimi ga Kureta Natsu, and Hanabi. As far as I can tell, the rest are new songs and not any of her lesser-known indies songs.

Excitingly, “Tokyo Kurashi” will be aired on radio soon, so we’ll get a preview of one of the new songs.

One more month until the release!

Sayonara no Kioku / さよならの記憶

Sayonara no Kioku / さよならの記憶: “memory of goodbye”

sayonara / さよなら

“goodbye”, “farewell”

no / の

A particle indicating that the previous word modifies the following word. Roughly equivalent to “of”.

kioku / 記憶

“memory”, “recollection”

Here we have the opening to Oku Hanako’s 2007 album, TIME NOTE. It’s a sad hikigatari song, a recollection of a goodbye moment between two close friends.

I think this is one of the better songs on the album and of her early albums in general. The vocals and piano set the mood well, and her playing during the interlude before the bridge tops off the climax quite nicely. Overall, this song is a pleasure to listen to.

奥華子 – さよならの記憶 by im1bored1man [YouTube]