It seems Oku Hanako isn’t quite done with her activities yet and apparently neither am I.
Oku Hanako has sung in many commercials in the past. She was most recently featured singing a cover of “Yeah! Meccha Holiday” in a new Web video ad for New Pokémon Snap for Nintendo Switch. The song was originally sung by Matsuura Aya. The commercial is called Mitsuketa, Natsu no Hitoyasumi / 見つけた、夏のひとやすみ (“I caught a summer moment’s rest”; it’s unclear to me whether it’s a break from summer or whether summer is a description of the break, but I went with the latter).
The song really adds to the atmosphere of the commercial. I haven’t played the game nor the original myself, but the commercial presents the game as something like a fun outdoors excursion while on vacation. It’s something to take your time with, something to relax and enjoy on your off time, and the girl in the commercial certainly seems to be doing so.
Does this make you want to play the game now? I’ll admit, her involvement in the Cafe Restaurant Gusto commercials has made me want to eat at one if I ever get the chance to. This commercial doesn’t really make me want to play the game, but it does make me a little more willing to watch gameplay from certain YouTubers I follow who played it a few months ago. I guess that means the commercial worked!
Stock translations for ガンバレ are “good luck” and “do your best”, but neither of those are particularly appropriate for the song, especially “good luck”. I borrow Edward’s translation of “Keep Going”, but I’d probably translate this as “Keep At It”.
It’s been a while since I’ve made a post here because of other responsibilities, but I couldn’t miss March 20, Oku Hanako’s birthday! Well, I did miss it because the translation I found for the song I was going to post was full of errors and I couldn’t in good conscience use it, so I had to either fix the translation (or in this case, redo), or find a new song and start over. You can guess which option I took, but better late than never. A belated happy birthday, Oku Hanako! 遅れたけど誕生日おめでとうございます、奥華子さん！
During this time of social distancing, it’s easy to get discouraged by not being able to interact with people in person as you normally would. Let this song be a tidbit of encouragement, a reminder to keep at it even when times are tough.
As the name suggests, Ganbare is a song of encouragement. Reading the translation of the lyrics we have today by Edward, I’d like to think that this is Oku Hanako reflecting on songwriting throughout the years and how she’s been encouraged by her fans all that time. “If you smile, I will continue to sing.” “If I look back and feel tired from walking alone on a long road / I want to hear the voices of many people telling me to ‘keep going’. ”
For the musically inclined, this is one of the few songs of hers that’s in 3/4 time. Her songs are predominantly in 4/4 time, with some in 6/8 time. Some other songs of hers in 3/4 time are Honobono Ikou / ほのぼの行こう and Gekkou / 月光.
Please continue to sing, Oku Hanako, because we will keep smiling. We will be there all the way, so keep going strong!
(I find it interesting that more recent promotional images are used for the older songs without a music video instead of ones from the time they were released.)
There are three editions available: 3CD (PCCA-04828), 3CD+BD (PCCA-04827), and the 15h Anniversary 875BOX (PCCA-04864), which includes some extra goodies.
Regular edition (3CD) cover art
Special edition (3CD+BD) cover art
875BOX cover art
Each edition comes with three CDs. Much like on her previous best collection, “Oku Hanako BEST -My Letters-“, the songs on each of the CDs are grouped by theme. This time around, the CDs are labelled “花 – HANA” (“Flower”), “空 – SORA” (“Sky”) and “月 – TSUKI” (“Moon”).
It’s approaching 15 years since my debut. I’m really happy to have lots of grateful memories. Thank you!
I think the work to make the 15-year compilation best album that I wanted is complete. To those who are always helping me out, to those whom I will meet after this, I hope even one of you will want to collect my music.
It was really difficult choosing from my many songs, but I’ve managed to divide them into 3 categories:
Flower: Things that are lovely because they are fleeting
Sky: Things that are always there
Moon: Things you can see only because there is darkness
I am delighted to give you what’s almost like three new albums to listen to.
Of course, I still treasure all the songs I didn’t put in this release. I hope from here on in, my music will reach even more people.
Oku Hanako
花 – HANA
The unifying theme of the HANA (“Flower”) disc is “things that are lovely because they are fleeting”. Interestingly, around half of these songs reference flowers in their titles, and it may very well be that the lyrics of all of them have something to do with a flower.
This disc includes Oku Hanako’s new song, Hanabira / はなびら, which was the theme song of the movie, Korosanai Kare to Shinanai Kanojo / 殺さない彼と死なない彼女.
空 – SORA
The unifying theme of the SORA (“Sky”) disc is “things that are always there”. Many of the songs included appear to have a theme of longevity and distance.
Of special note is the new recording of Jiyuu no Kame. This song is an indies song included on her indies compilation album vol.best. The digest video gives a preview at 2:53. It appears to include an arrangement with drums, guitar, brass, and of course her piano. It reminds me a bit of the album version of Kimo no Egao, except I have less of a problem with the arrangement at first glance.
月 – TSUKI
The unifying theme of the TSUKI (“Moon”) disc is “things that you can see only because there is darkness”. Many of these songs have a sad or otherwise dark undertone in their lyrics.
This disc is a collection of all her music videos and is only available in the 3CD+BD and 875BOX editions.
Mahou no Hito / 魔法の人
Chiisana Hoshi / 小さな星
Garnet / ガーネット
Tegami / 手紙
Hatsukoi / 初恋
Cinderella / シンデレラ
Fuyu Hanabi / 冬花火
Kusabi / 楔-くさび-
Hanabi / 花火
Kimi ga Kureta Natsu / 君がくれた夏
Kimi no Hana / キミの花
Saigo no Kiss / 最後のキス
Omoide ni Nare / 思い出になれ
Kaban no Naka no Yakimochi / 鞄の中のやきもち
Hanabira / はなびら
Off Shot Movie
I think “off shot” in this case means “backstage”. That is, the “off shot movie” is likely a compilation of clips or interviews taken while the staff were filming the music videos. A “making of” video, if you will.
On another note, they never make mention of the Music On! TV music video for Anata ni Suki to Iwaretai. I wonder if it’s because they don’t have the rights to it.
875BOX Goods
In addition to the discs, the 875BOX comes with extra goods: a special photo book, an “original multi-stand” (I think “multi” here means “multipurpose”; it looks like a phone stand), and a 15th anniversary Oku Hanako bandana.
An original multi stand, available only in the 875BOX.
15th anniversary bandana, only available in the 875BOX.
Additionally, if you bought the release at the Pony Canyon Shopping Club, you also received a special acrylic keychain featuring a Chiro Oku Hanako (Chiro is Oku Hanako’s white cat).
Chiro Oku Hanako keychan, exclusive to Pony Canyon Club shoppers.
Released at the same time as the ALL TIME BEST is the soundtrack for the movie, “Korosanai Kare to Shinanai Kanojo” (PCCR-00689). It contains Hanabira as well as 23 other tracks.
Korosanai Kare to Shinanai Kanojo soundtrack album cover art
(The official listen link gives “Petal” as the English title, so I’ve deferred to that.)
It’s been a while! Sorry for the absence, but let’s see if we can get this back up and running again.
Today we have one of Oku Hanako’s newest songs, Hanabira / はなびら. It was used as the theme song for the movie Korosanai Kare to Shinanai Kanojo / 殺さない彼と死なない彼女 (English title: “He Won’t Kill, She Won’t Die”; official site[jp], AsianWiki, IMDb). The song is included in the soundtrack for the movie, as well as the opening track to Oku Hanako’s new 15th anniversary album, Oku Hanako ALL TIME BEST[jp], both to be released on November 13, 2019.
Oku Hanako ALL TIME BEST special edition cover art
Oku Hanako ALL TIME BEST 875BOX cover art
Korosanai Kare to Shinanai Kanojo cover art
The AsianWiki provides the following plot synopsis of the movie:
Rei Kosaka is a 3rd grade high school student. He is not interested in anything and lives a boring existence. One day, Rei Kosaka sees his classmate Nana Kano burying a dead bee. He takes an interest in Nano Kato, who carefully deals with a bee’s life, because she keeps telling him that she wants to die.
Pony Canyon has released the full music video featuring clips from the movie on its YouTube channel, shown below.
I’ve included a translation below (with translation notes). The singer is very grateful to the listener for giving her confidence in herself and giving her a reason to live on and appreciate each day.
I really like the musical direction that Oku Hanako has taken lately: it’s based on her signature piano, but with strings and drums as the major accompaniment, sprinkled with some light guitar. (Although it’s not quite the same, some of my favourites among my compositions, such as I Don’t Know, You Were There, and Sincerely Yours, were clearly influenced by this style.) Some form of this style has been around since her major debut, but it’s gotten a lot more refined in the last five years. That said, I do think her sound has gotten to be a bit too safe and comfortable: some of her earlier songs took more risks and were a bit more varied. Nonetheless, they’re great songs and I’d love to hear more.
Comparing this song to some of her others, I’m reminded of Kimi ga Kureta Natsu / 君がくれた夏, another song she made for another movie back in 2015. I’m reminded also of Kaban no Naka no Yakimochi / 鞄の中のやきもち and many of the other songs in her latest album, KASUMISOU. Melody-wise, it reminds me a lot of the chorus of Tegami / 手紙.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened this song now because I’ve had it on repeat while preparing this post, and yet I still haven’t gotten tired of it.
Today we have track 7 from Oku Hanako’s 2009 album, BIRTHDAY. I had meant to post this months ago, but it seems fitting that I managed to finish it shortly after my copy of the album arrived.
When I first encountered this song, I wondered why Oku Hanako would write a song about sea anemones. The music sounded interesting enough that she could have been singing about them. It was only recently that I found out that “anemone” actually refers to a flower and that sea anemones were named after it for their colourful appearance. So here we are with another flower song.
In the Japanese language of flowers, anemone symbolizes a number of things based on its colour. According to hanakotoba.com, red anemones say “I love you”; white anemones symbolize sincerity, anticipation and hope; purple says “I trust and wait for you”. More generally, the anemone symbolizes forsaken love.
I translated the lyrics for you today, which you can find in the usual spot at the end of the post. Admittedly, I’m a little lost as to its meaning. Sure, I see a reference to waiting, which is appropriate for what the flower means, but otherwise, I don’t really know what’s going on. And what does it mean to “shine grey”? Grey, of course, is in contrast to anemones, which are known for their colours, but that’s about as much as I can pick out. The word “anemone” also doesn’t appear anywhere, so I guess it relies more heavily on the flower’s symbolism (much like with Garnet). If anyone can give us insights on any of the lyrics, please leave a comment! Translation notes are also available.
The song starts off very mellow, with just Oku Hanako and an electric piano. Synth drums come in after the first line to provide a bit more energy. When the chorus comes, she’s joined by a multitrack accompaniment of herself. The result is a very crystal, very clear sound, yet still with a bit of warmth. It’s an unusual but interesting arrangement.
Her singing is full; you can tell that she’s singing from her diaphragm. The reverberation as well adds a sense of distance to the song.
From a musical standpoint, I thought the song was in an unusual mode, perhaps because of the reverberation, or maybe because of the accompaniment, but it turns out that it’s just A major.
The song is preceded in the album by “Saigo no Koi” / 最後の恋, which has a soft but solid hikigatari sound. The song is followed in the album by “Aoi Heya” / 青い部屋, which has a very strong hikigatari sound. In contrast, “Anemone” has a very synthesized sound.
Looking back at the rest of her songs, I don’t think there’s anything quite like “Anemone”. The most similar one I can think of is “blue green” from her 2014 album, “Kimi to Boku no Michi” / 君と僕の道, but it isn’t quite the same. “Anemone” is a unique sound for Oku Hanako, and not at all a bad one at that.
It’s about time I’ve posted this translation. I’ve been sitting on this post for a week or two with no chance to post it. Sorry for the wait, but here we are now. Enjoy!
Kaban no Naka no Yakimochi / 鞄の中のやきもち: “Jealousy Inside a Bag”
kaban / 鞄
“bag”
no
A particle indicating modification.
naka / 中
“middle”, “inside”
no
A particle indicating modification.
yakimochi / やきもち
“jealousy”, “feelings of jealousy”
Happy 41st birthday, Oku Hanako, and congratulations on the new release! Her 10th album, “KASUMISOU”, was released earlier today.
Kaban no Naka no Yakimochi / 鞄の中のやきもち is the opening track on the album. It’s the song that sets the tone for the rest of the album, and based on the songs I’ve already heard, I think this song is a good choice.
Unbelievably, Pony Canyon released a full music video for this song. It appears that some stores are even using it to promote the album (I mean, that’s what it’s for, right?).
Christmas no Yoru / KURISUMASU no Yoru / クリスマスの夜: “Christmas Night”
kurisumasu / クリスマス
“Christmas”
no / の
A particle indicating modification
yoru / 夜
A particle indicating modification
It’s a little late, but Merry Christmas! It’s been a few months since my last post, so I hope this post will do as a Christmas present… or a New Year’s present, if you prefer.
I somehow missed the announcement that Oku Hanako was going to release a digital single. Christmas no Yoru / クリスマスの夜 was released about a month ago on November 26.
At first listen, I thought this was going to be a happy, heartwarming song, especially because of the line “boku wa kimi ga suki da yo” / 僕は君が好きだよ (“I love you”), but I realized I was mistaken as I was translating it. Nope, this is Oku Hanako we’re talking about: of course it’s not going to be a happy love song. I have a translation for you to read, along with my translation notes.
From a musical perspective, this song doesn’t seem to feature much piano. Yes, there is some, but it isn’t featured prominently.
The interlude seems to take inspiration from Pachelbel’s Canon. It’s everywhere, but it’s fitting for this song.
The song sounds a bit generic, but it’s also very solid, and the more I listen to it, the more it sounds distinctly Oku Hanako, even if the piano is not a big focus.
Sayonara wa Iwanai Mama / サヨナラは言わないまま: “I Won’t Say Goodbye”
sayonara / サヨナラ
“goodbye”, with a connotation of finality.
wa / は
A particle indicating the topic.
iwanai / 言わない
“Will not say”. Negative form of iu / 言う (“to say”).
mama / まま
“to stay in a certain state”
A more literal translation might be “I Will Leave Goodbye Unsaid”.
It’s been quite a while since my last post, but no, this isn’t me saying goodbye (nor saying goodbye without actually saying it, as the song might suggest).
“Sayonara wa Iwanai Mama” is track 5 on Oku Hanako’s 2012 album, “good-bye”. It’s one of the few hikigatari pieces on the album, and my, what a powerful one it is.
We have a translation by Edward today. As usual, you can go over to his site to read his translation notes, as well as a translation of Oku Hanako’s self liner notes for this song.
It appears that the song is about a pair of secret lovers, and it seems that the listener has to leave for good, leaving the singer behind. The singer decides not to say goodbye, because saying goodbye would signify finality, something that she does not want to accept.
The hikigatari really drives the point in. Oku Hanako singing solo with just a lone piano highlights the loneliness of the singer. She sings with emotion, perfectly conveying that the singer really doesn’t want this and is emotionally strained. Musically, the song is written in the key of E♭ minor, which further enhances the sadness (minor keys tend to sound sad).
Sayounara / さようなら (or sayonara / サヨナラ, as in this song; the usage of katakana here likely functions as italics or quotation marks), has a connotation of finality to it. When you say goodbye to your friends at the end of the day, you’d normally use something like jaa ne / じゃあね or jaa mata / じゃあまた, which you can translate as “see ya” or “see you again”. You’d probably say sayonara / さよなら if they were leaving for an extended period of time. In the second line of the first verse, the listener says jaa ne / じゃあね instead of sayonara / さよなら, either out of habit or familiarity, or possibly implying that their relationship isn’t over yet and they’ll see each other again sometime.
When I first heard this song, I liked it as another one of her hikigatari pieces, but now that I’ve taken the time to analyze it, my appreciation for it has grown deeper.
Mangekyou no Hitotsubu / 万華鏡の一粒: “Kaleidoscope Bead”
mangekyou / 万華鏡
“kaleidoscope”. The characters literally mean “ten thousand”, “splendor”/”shine”, and “mirror”
no / の
A particle indicating modification.
hitotsubu / 一粒
“A single bead”
I haven’t been very good at posting in the last couple of months, so I’ll treat you to something a little extra today.
Have you ever looked through a kaleidosope? If you haven’t, you should do yourself a favour and buy one or make one for yourself. Pictures and videos don’t do the experience justice.
In 2011, Oku Hanako went on a trip to Hokkaido and was featured for the second season of STV’s “Hokkaido Under Sky” series[jp]. The four videos are posted on YouTube (1, 2, 3, 4). She visits a kaleidoscope museum in the second video and composes a song inspired by it in the fourth; the song is called “Mangekyou no Hitotsubu” / 万華鏡の一粒.
To my knowledge, that video is the only place where this song appears, so I was surprised when I saw that someone posted the lyrics for the song[jp]. I haven’t done any translation work in a while and I missed it, so I decided to try my hand at a translation. My translation notes are available and feedback is always appreciated.
I highly recommend watching the videos (later in this post) to get the context and other goodies like her improvised melody in the second video, but if you just want to listen to the song, here it is:
Thoughts on Oku Hanako 