[Lyrics + PV Analysis] Memento Mori - Oshichi Youen Koihinozakura

[Himeaimichu 1535]

So I thought I'd do a PV and lyrics analysis for one of my favourite Memento Mori songs. 

Kanji Lyrics:

Spoiler

本郷、花のお七と申す
淫乱狂女　娘は夢七色

お江戸大火　八百屋は焼かれ
檀那寺の男と恋慕

半狂乱
狂乱女

お吉様　お吉様
憎からず想い
未だ幼き娘十六…阿嗚

恋契り、恋契り
臍と臍合わせ
恋し悲し夜毎結ぶは、暁の闇

家へ帰る足取り重く
胸に火の粉、燃やすは恋心

浅ましくも女心は
「火事が在れば、また逢えますか…？」

半狂乱
狂乱女

火の用心　火の用心
藁に火をつけて
家へと投げ放ちました

狂い咲き　狂い咲き
娘はお縄に
泣く泣くと引き回されるはお江戸市中

吊るし上げ、吊るし上げ
処すは火炙り
十四と言えば助かるに…阿嗚

焦がされて　焦がされて
振袖「罪ノ華」

三月二十九日処刑、お七は死んだ…。

English Translation: (From Jorouya on Tumblr, but also on Jpopasia)

Spoiler

My hometown, claiming the seven great flowers.
A debauched madwoman, a young girl shines in a dream’s seven great colours. 

The great fire of edo, Yaoya in flames, 
The man of a parish temple and his falling in love.

Half crazed
An insane woman 

The great fortune, the great fortune,
Not being abominable I still yearn.
A girl still so young, only sixteen, I'm flatteri- ah 

A pledge of love, the pledge of love, 
Navel and navel facing each other.
Loving and suffering bears fruit every night, 
In the darkness of dawn. 

Returning home, my steps are heavy. 
Sparks on my chest, 
The burning is my awakening of love.

Wretched, the woman's heart will ask… 
「If there’s a fire, will we meet again?」

Half crazed.
An insane woman 

The awakening of a fire’s love, the awakening of a fire’s love.
Setting fire to a straw, 
I cast it away to the house. 

Unseasonable blooming, unseasonable blooming.
The young girl on a policeman’s rope, 
Crying and crying when being dragged through great Edo.

A court with perverted principles, a court with perverted laws.
The sentence is being burnt to death. 
Speaking of fourteen, for the sake of surviving … I’m flatter-ah

Burn her, burn her.
A long sleeved kimono 「The blossom of crime」
Executed on the twentynineth of march, Oshichi has died

So this song is pretty interesting in that it's about a real person. During the Edo period, there was this woman named Oshichi Yaoya. Though I believe in the Edo Period dialect, it'd be either "Yahoya" or "Yawoya", perhaps someone could help, but for sake of ease, let's just call her Yaoya. 

Anyways, Yaoya was one of Japan's most famous youth arsonists. She met this Buddhist Temple page during the great fire of Edo and fell in love. Desperate to meet him again, she starts another fire, but is caught in the act. At her trial, the magistrate felt sorry for her, and asked if she was 14 or 15. This was because back then, they didn't really keep records, and 16 was the age of being an adult. Sadly, she did not catch on and the judge had no choice but to burn her at the stake. 

Now here is something interesting. Yaoya was born in either 1666 or 1667. Depending on the date she was born, her zodiac would have been the Fire Horse, which is a very inauspicious zodiac sign, considered to be bad luck. Also, it's a FIRE horse. It's also worth mentioning the same year she could've been born, there was a great fire in London. Coincidence? I'll leave that up for you to decide.

Oshichi's legacy in the end is interesting, as she's often viewed as a hero. Especially in the puppet plays that were inspired from her. However, in this song, Mei seems to tell it like it is, giving the story from a different perspective. In the song, she's viewed as an insane madwoman, and to be honest, I agree with Mei. If you're going to start a huge fire in order to find someone you love, you gotta be out of your mind xD. What's also interesting is apparently how hard it was to translate the song. On tumblr, Jorouya often said that the way Mei uses his grammar and word choice in weird, usually archaic ways. (funny knowing the rumours that the members actually never finished high school).

Oshichi's name also allows for word play, as it means "Great 7". In the lyrics, such as "My hometown, claiming the seven great flowers.
A debauched madwoman, a young girl shines in a dream’s seven great colours. ", he uses that to his advantage.

 

The PV is pretty low budget, but it executes the concept well. Mei's insane facial expressions and movements seem to represent the insanity ridden Oshichi. I don't know what the calligraphy in the background are about, but I bet they could give more insight into the song. 

The Shamisen heard in the riff is also a good choice for the song. Not only that, but the samples they're using sounds like a Tsugaru Shamisen, which is known for being played fast in a style often compared to Metal. 

 

Anyways, what are your thoughts on the song? 

Oh also, if anyone is interested, I have a club for Memento Mori and Kuroyuri related stuffs. (shameless promotion xD) 

 

Edited August 5, 2017 by AimiGen7

[Axius 2019]

Love this song even more now. I honestly like songs that tell stories and stuff. I guess this is why it take kuroyuri to kage a bit longer to make stuff like this its all awesome. Thank you