夜桜街道 || A Highway of Cherry Trees at Evening

夜桜街道
yozakura kaidou
A Highway of Cherry Trees at Evening

Vocals: Asuka Sasa (紗沙飛鳥)
Lyrics: TOKINE (時音), Renka (憐歌)
Arranged by: TOKINE (時音)
Album: Touhou Serene Echo (東方幽静響)
Circle: MAIKAZE (舞風)
Event: C80
Original Themes:-Night Sakura of Dead Spirits [死霊の夜桜]
–Ghost Lead [ゴーストリード]

Requested by: Primity
Subtitled video courtesy of Primity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tptHkq6mME

This track is told squarely from Yuyuko’s perspective. Though the song only uses her Ten Desires themes, the lyrics have a strong relation to her theme from Perfect Cherry Blossom (Bloom Nobly, Ink Black Cherry Blossom ~ Border of Life). The lyrics are written in classical Japanese, but since it’s made up of a series of couplets, it isn’t that bad.

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永き有限の時の 陰に見ゆ朧月
春の来ない桜よ 今 幽雅に咲かせ

nagaki yuugen no toki no kage ni miyu oborozuki
haru no konai sakura yo ima yuuga ni sakase

The hazy moon appears in the shadows of an eternal, yet limited time.
O, spring’s cherry blossoms, which have not arrived! Bloom nobly, now.

欲深き霊魂の 色めき騒ぐ夜に
瞬き蒼し月の光が 誘う黒鳳蝶

yokubukaki reikon no iromeki sawagu yoru ni
matataki aoshi tsuki no hikari ga izanau kuroageha

In the night, in which avaricious spirits grow lively and make merry,
A black swallowtail butterfly calls forth the light of the twinkling, blue moon.

めくるめく心宿りし 命つなぐ篝火に
今は唯 夢在りし 空の杯 掲げて

mekurimeku kokoro yadorishi inochi tsunagu kagaribi ni
ima wa tada yume arishi kara no sakazuki kakagete

In a bonfire, which rests in my dazzling heart and keeps my body and soul together,
I still dream, and I raise an empty cup.

深き幽玄の時よ 咲き乱れ花見酒
ひらり彩 舞う 忘れし日の記憶

fukaki yuugen no toki yo sakimidare hanamizake
hirari irodori mau wasureshi hi no kioku

O, it is the hour of profound grace! I drink sake as I watch the blossoms bloom in profusion.
Lightly, the colours dance around. These are my memories of that forgotten day.

一人戸外降り立ち 仰ぎ見る佐保姫
社に咲く木々のさざめく 美しき春息吹

hitori kogai oritachi aogi miru sahohime
yashiro ni saku kigi no sazameku utsukushiki haru ibuki

The goddess of spring alights and stands outside, alone. She looks upwards… (1)
The noisy breathing of a beautiful spring surrounds the trees that bloom at the shrine.

慈しみ憐れ生き行く 虚ろなる虚言の世と
終焉の知らぬ夢を 空の身体に 重ねて

itsukushimi aware iki yuku utsuro naru kyogen no yo to
owari no shiranu yume wo kara no karada ni kasanete

The false world, which goes on living in affection and sorrow and grows empty,
Piles up with a dream unaware of its own demise inside my hollow body.

うら深し幽玄の時よ 淡き黒に染め上げ
死して尚散り敷く 儚し花吹雪

ura bukashi yuugen no toki yo awaki kuro ni someage
shishite nao chirishiku hakanashi hanafubuki

O, it is the hour of profound grace in my heart! The blossoms have been dyed a pale black.
They die, and afterwards they lie scattered about – those fleeting, falling cherry blossoms.

永き有限の花の 陰に見ゆ朧月
廻る時の褥に 幽し夢を見る

nagaki yuugen no hana no kage ni miyu oborozuki
meguru toki no shitone ni kasokeshi yume wo miru

The hazy moon appears in the shadows of an eternal, yet limited flower.
In the cushion of time, which goes around, I have a fleeting dream.

死してなお楚々と芽吹く
散ればこそ美しき 春の来ない桜よ
今 幽雅に咲かせ

shishite nao soso to mebuku
chireba koso utsukushiki haru no konai sakura yo
ima, yuuga ni sakase

They die, and then they bud gracefully.
If they fall, they will certainly be beautiful. O, spring’s cherry blossoms, which have not arrived!
Bloom nobly, now.

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(1) The original refers to ‘Sahohime’ (佐保姫), a goddess of spring in Japanese mythology. I used ‘goddess of spring’ to make the reference easier to understand. Is the couplet it comes from a metaphor? Is the ‘goddess of spring’ actually Yuyuko? Who knows…