螺鈿の骨 || Mother of Pearl

螺鈿の骨
raden no hone
Mother of Pearl

Vocals: 初音ミク (Hatsune Miku)
Lyrics: ばぶちゃん (Babuchan)
Composed by: ばぶちゃん (Babuchan)
Release date: 5 September 2012

Requested by: luci
Watch the official video on YouTube!

This translation presents a slightly different view than what we’ve seen before. In this, we see a speaker who has grown submissive through love, and who longs deeply to be loved.

Interesting note about the complex last line in the second-last stanza: 小指 (koyubi) can also be used to refer to one’s wife or concubine.

The English title is the title that appears in the official upload. As it’s not the result of community subtitles or translation, I take it to be Babuchan’s official English title. The original Japanese title means either “Mother of Pearl Bones” or “Raden Bones.” Read more about the art of raden here!

歌詞

一つあなたがくれた　くちづけを
思い出して倖せだった
慕っております背中に指で
なぞれば目蓋（まぶた）も熱くなる

焦がれる想い火ぢりぢりと
誘われ花蝶も焼き尽くす

螺鈿（らでん）の骨まで愛してほしいの
白磁の首筋噛み付いて

雨の色も散りゆく花も
みんな貴方が語ってくれた
愛の唄も揺れゆく鼓動（おと）も
みんな貴方が騙ってくれた

此の侭（このまま）月よ沈まぬやうに
願えど貴方は居なくなる

螺鈿（らでん）の骨まで愛してほしいの
白磁の首筋噛み付いて
濡羽の黒髪解（ほど）けるままに
送った桜花（おうか）の小指さえ

灰となったわたくしのおめめに
咲く花をまた愛（め）でて欲しい

Romanisation

hitotsu anata ga kureta kuchizuke o
omoidashite shiawase datta
shitatte orimasu senaka ni yubi de
nazoreba mabuta mo atsuku naru

kogareru omoibi jirijiri to
sasoware kachou mo yakitsukusu

raden no hone made aishite hoshii no
hakuji no kubisuji kamitsuite

ame no iro mo chiri yuku hana mo
minna anata ga katatte kureta
ai no uta mo yure yuku oto mo
minna anata ga katatte kureta

kono mama tsuki yo shizumanu yau ni
negaedo anata wa inaku naru

raden no hone made aishite hoshii no
hakuji no kubisuji kamitsuite
nureba no kurokami hodokeru mama ni
okutta ouka no koyubi sae

hai to natta watakushi no omeme ni
saku hana wo mata medete hoshii

Translation

I remembered the kiss you gave me
and I was so happy.
I yearn for you. When you trace along my back
with your fingertips, my eyelids get hot too.

The flames of my yearning scorch
and burn the floral butterflies they attract to nothing.

I want you to love me to my mother of pearl bones.
Bite at the nape of my neck, white porcelain in colour.

The colour of the rain and the scattering flowers…
you told me about them all.
A song of love and my wavering heartbeat…
you lied about them all for me.

I hope that, like this, the moon will not descend.
Though I wish, you will leave me.

I want you to love me to my mother of pearl bones.
Bite at the nape of my neck, white porcelain in colour.
With crow-black hair that’s come undone,
reach even the little pinkies of the cherry blossom I sent you…

I have burned to ash, and in my eyes
I want you to admire blooming flowers once more.

18 May 2020

Categories: Translations, Vocaloid, 歌詞

Tags: ばぶちゃん Babuchan Hatsune Miku (初音ミク)

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4 responses to “螺鈿の骨 || Mother of Pearl”

24 February 2024

螺鈿の骨、氷雨。 – ENG TRANSLATION – Cool Kid Club

[…] since they decided get killi to add some more.If you haven’t seen the original, check out Releska’s amazing translation!!! it has the rest of the lyrics:)JPROMENG–唵　阿謨伽　尾盧左曩ǎn ā mó jiā wěi […]

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1. 3 April 2024
  
  · BløødyEdïtz· I died화이팅
  
  CLICKII IS DAT U!? anyway why does it say “The flames of my yearning scorch !AND! burn the floral butterflies they attract to nothing.” actually this translation does NOT have the grammar.. I have burned to ash, and in my eyes I want you to admire blooming flowers once more – I, who have burned to ash, want you to admire the flowers that bloom before my eyes.
  
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  1. 3 April 2024
    
    Releska
    
    Hello! Thank you for reaching out (^_^) I had another look at the areas you raised, and here are my thoughts:
    
    -焦がれる想い火ぢりぢりと
    誘われ花蝶も焼き尽くす
    I see ぢりぢり as modifying 焼き尽くす in this stanza, which is why I went with ‘scorch and burn’. I could have gone with ‘scorchingly burn’ (which may more accurately convey the use of と), but that didn’t feel like a phrase I’d say in English. Like… the scorching comes first, then the burning. I can see there’s another way of translating ぢりぢり (slowly), but given the context I felt the flame-related translation was more appropriate.
    
    -灰となったわたくしのおめめに
    咲く花をまた愛（め）でて欲しい
    
    I break this up in the following way: (灰となったわたくし)の(おめめに咲く花)をまた愛（め）でて欲しい
    
    I didn’t see anything in my research that indicates ‘おめめに’ can be used for anything other than (literally) ‘in my eyes’ – unless it’s in the sense where に is used in the same way as と. Other than that, I feel like the two versions are basically saying the same thing, but structured in a different way. Sometimes I switch around where modifiers sit in the sentence to make it easier to read and understand.
    
    I hope this addresses the areas you raised, but please let me know if you have any further questions.
    
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    1. 4 April 2024
      
      · BløødyEdïtz· I died화이팅
      
      i misread scorch as a noun sorry
      
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