かぜのいろ || Colours of the Wind

かぜのいろ
kaze no iro
Colours of the Wind

Vocals: みぃ (Mie)
Lyrics: azuki
Arranged by: kaztora
Album: あの日の夢のアリス (Alice in That Day’s Dream) [Official site]
Circle: 森羅万象 (Shinra-Bansho)
Event: Reitaisai 9 [RTS9]
Original theme: The Primal Scene of Japan the Girl Saw [少女が見た日本の原風景]

Requested by: 中原ほたる

Some early Shinra-Bansho, for a change of pace. I never ended up translating much from this album, but I would still like to translate whichever songs haven’t been translated yet, and I’d love to translate the title track someday.

This one feels so calm. Azuki’s lyrics are wonderful like always, and Mie sounds really different to how she usually sounds. She’s quite versatile!

By the way, this is totally not related to the well-known Pocahontas song of the same name. At least, not from what I can see…

非公式の英訳/Unofficial translation

In April, the cherry blossoms of parting bloom.
In May, the rain is cold.
The June bride flies in the sky after the rain.
July brings warm winds
and August brings heat, but one must endure it.
In September, the post-full moon floats in the sky. (1)

Even my multi-world interpretation (interpretation)
stands no chance against fashionable clothes.

As the seasons pass,
the shrine is decked out in pastel colours.
Today is the birthday of the god
that watches over it.

December brings a blanket of snow
and in January, even the springs freeze.
The demons of February, left behind, run away.

Myself, humanism, and love letters— (love letters)
Even if you mix them together, they’ll come apart again.

I change the channels on the TV.
The radio is noisy. The weather report predicts rain.
Today, I’ll go shopping with God.
They’re not special at all.
The UV rays run wild
and the teru teru bozu is upside-down. (2)
The showers will clear, at least in some places.
It’s God’s birthday party.

Yes, when I fly in the sky, I can be free.
I can be myself, someone for me alone.
(If my wishes, my prayers arrive, then you could call it a miracle.)

The days pass
and hopes and dreams check in and out of hospital.
The homeless child isn’t here anymore
and God isn’t here, either.

The torii is ruined beyond repair. (3)
Coins are leaping. The rain of farewells falls.
Even if I’m begged at in that tone,
a miracle won’t happen.
“Ready? Not yet!”
I play hide-and-seek by myself.
Today is God’s birthday—
They shouldn’t even exist.
(Swaying in the wind)
Fly…!
(The seasons pass.)
Fly…!
(La la la… la la la la)
Fly…!
(La la la… la la la la)

Translator’s notes

(1) 十六夜月 (izayoidzuki) literally means ‘sixteen-day-old moon.’ It takes place the night after the full moon.

(2) The teru teru bozu (てるてる坊主) is a small doll made of cloth or paper that is often hung outside to keep rainy days away.

(3) A torii (鳥居) is a traditional gate often found at the entrance to a Shinto shrine.

Posted

5 July 2017

英訳だけ, Translations

Releska

Tags:

Alice from That Day’s Dream, あの日の夢のアリス, RTS9, ShinRa-Bansho, 森羅万象

Comments

10 responses to “かぜのいろ || Colours of the Wind”

mozitre

5 March 2023

every time i read it, i always think the “birthday” is no one else but Sanae’s. Those two gods are too ancient to still have a birthday party. And if it’s sanae’s, it feels right when we have her acts freely, a bit selfish and a bit irresponsibility to enjoy her own day (making rain stop for herself, “come and leave gansokyo/outside world”.
But, it’s a song from sanae’s perspective, it would be strange if she moves from “watashi” to “kami-sama” calling herself. Unless it actually could work that way too? could she call herself kami-sama to refer her god-self?

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1. mozitre
  
  5 March 2023
  
  now i’m seriously think so. i assume the whole kami-sama are god-sanae and the perspective is human-sanae, they can’t identify as one for the most part of the song in “outside world”.
  
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  1. Releska
    
    5 March 2023
    
    Thanks for your comment! I like your take on the song. I originally thought that the first half takes place in the human world (where Sanae preaches about the goddess who watches over the shrine) before making a decision to spend all her time in Gensokyo.
    
    Still, since the song explores different parts of Sanae I think it’s possible that ‘kami-sama’ and ‘watashi’ could represent two parts of Sanae!
    
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歌詞解釈：森羅万象 – [第14回博麗神社例大祭会場限定おまけCD #02] かぜのいろ

26 November 2017

[…] さんが歌詞の翻訳を書いています（かぜのいろ || Colours of the Wind – Releska）。Releska […]

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かぜのいろ || Colours of the Wind | Moon

6 July 2017

[…] English translated by Releska […]

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中原ほたる

6 July 2017

Thanks for done my request ( b >w<)b
I love your translation!!

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空見りんき

5 July 2017

Hello. Thank you for your translation.

From this song, I imagine Sanae lives her life in the original world, outside Gensokyo.
And there she is one of the fewer believers of the Gods, who are thus ceasing to exist.

Under that imagination, I could translate the stanza below to
“Even my multi-world interpretation (interpretation)
doesn’t have chances to surpass fashionable clothes.”

> My multi-world interpretation (interpretation)
> And my fashionable clothes have no chance of victory.

I suppose it means that Sanae preaches her school mates but they are much more interested in fashionable clothes than what she says.
“multi-world interpretation” may imply that she talks to them about Gensokyo and other worlds she is enlightened about.

What do you think about the meaning of the whole lyrics or the stanza?

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1. releska
  
  6 July 2017
  
  I agree with the majority of your interpretation. I feel, though, that some lines imply that Sanae is able to cross over the barrier between the human world and Gensokyo. For example,
  そう　空を飛べば　自由になる
  私だけの　私になれる
  If you translate the first line as ‘when,’ then it implies that she has flown before, but if you translate it as ‘if,’ then it implies that she hasn’t flown before. Either way, I agree that she is living in a world in which few people care about the God of her shrine.
  
  More importantly, though, I agree with your suggestion regarding that one stanza. I originally translated it splitting it up as follows: “私の [多世界的な解釈も流行の服] に勝ち目がない” but I had a few misgivings, wondering what they don’t stand a chance against. Your interpretation makes it much clearer, so I think I’ll incorporate that into my translation! (^_^)
  
  I might double-check something else while I’m at it: would you say お買い物 refers to the act of going shopping (perhaps with someone higher in status with you) or does it instead refer to the things you’ve bought? I interpreted the line as 神様と（一緒に）お買い物（します）, but I’m interested to hear what you think.
  
  As always, I really appreciate your insight! It’s always useful
  
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  1. 空見りんき
    
    6 July 2017
    
    Thank you for your reply.
    
    —-
    > I feel, though, that some lines imply that Sanae is able to cross over the barrier between the human world and Gensokyo. For example,
    > そう　空を飛べば　自由になる
    > 私だけの　私になれる
    
    I didn’t consider those lines much.
    Aside from this song, I assume Sanae has gone to Gensokyo never to return, and my interpretation I commented yesterday was partly based on it.
    
    Now that I have read again them, I agree with Sanae’s ability to fly.
    But I wonder which they mean, that she can fly and have gone to Gensokyo never to return, that she goes and returns, or perhaps that she flies inside the human world.
    After those lines, there is a line that goes 「神様はいやしない」 and that may imply Sanae, Kanako and Suwako have moved to Gensokyo;
    If that is so, it will support the 1st.
    
    You said “For example” and referred to those lines, then there are other parts that support the 2nd, aren’t there?
    I would like you let me know the details.
    
    I just prefer the 1st so far, though there is no concrete reason to interpret so.
    I hope this discussion will lead to a more convincing interpretation.
    
    —-
    > would you say お買い物 refers to the act of going shopping (perhaps with someone higher in status with you)
    > or does it instead refer to the things you’ve bought?
    > I interpreted the line as 神様と（一緒に）お買い物（します）, but I’m interested to hear what you think.
    
    A dictionary says 「買い物」 can mean both.
    And I interpret that line as you did.
    
    ▼ 買い物とは – 三省堂大辞林 Weblio辞書
    : [URL] http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E8%B2%B7%E3%81%84%E7%89%A9
    : ①物を買うこと。また，買う物や買った物。「－に行く」「－を下げて帰る」
    
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    1. releska
      
      7 July 2017
      
      Looking at this from another angle, I think the first half of this song takes place in the human world, and the last half (from the flying in the sky bit) takes place in Gensokyo. However, returning to the question of whether or not Sanae can return to the human world:
      
      “Today, well… There’s nobody here.
      I’ll go shopping with God.”
      
      I take this to mean that Sanae will cross over the boundary and go shopping with Suwako/Kanako, since nobody is there to visit her shrine in the human world. I think that this stanza takes place in the human world because I don’t think there are any TVs or weather reports in Gensokyo. And how could Sanae go shopping with a god in the human world, when they shouldn’t exist there…?
      
      Perhaps Sanae can travel freely between the two worlds, but decides in the end to move to Gensokyo and stay there permanently. I translated 家なき子 as ‘homeless children,’ but I don’t think there’s actually more than one child. Instead, it could be a homeless child – Sanae. She is going ‘home,’ going to a place where she’s been before but can now truly identify with.
      
      I think that the part talking about humanism and love letters represents different aspects of Sanae. She can’t fully identify with humans because they won’t accept her, but she can’t fully identify with the gods, either [because they “shouldn’t even exist.”]. Therefore, the song is about Sanae coming to terms with who she is.
      
      What do you think about that? Talking about it makes me think that a choice happens somewhere along the way, making it a bit closer to how you interpret the lyrics (^_^)
      
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