ひぐらし
ひぐらしの鳴く坂道を
母と二人で歩いた日
カラコロと響く下駄の音が
真っ赤な空に消えてった

小さな手のひらは優しく
温かな手に包まれて
肌寒くなった夕暮れの
風が耳をくすぐった

縁側で夕涼み
遠くで虫の音
線香花火「ぽつん。」と落ちた

お父とボールで遊んだら
かき氷作って食べた
涼しげなそよ風吹いてきて
うとうとうたた音　溶けてく

ねぼけまなこで気づいたら
優しい母の匂いのする
柔らかな毛布がかかってる
向こうでコトコト　いい匂い

今はないあの空と
温かいあの夜は
今もこの胸の奥に　光ってるから。
詞／曲・三上ちさこ　
higurashi
higurashi no naku sakamichi o
haha to futari aruita hi
karakoro to hibiku geta no oto ga
makka na sora ni kietetta

chiisana te no hira ha yasashiku
atatakai te ni tsutsumarete
hada samuku natta yuugure no
kaze ga mimi wo kusugutta

engawa de yuusuzumi
tooku de mushi no oto
senkouhanabi "potsun" to ochita

otou to bo-ru de asondara
kakigoori tsukutte tabeta
suzushigena soyokaze fuitekite
utoutotatane toketeku

neboke manako de kizuitara
yasashii haha no nioi no suru
yawarakana moufu ga kakatteru
mukou de kotokoto ii nioi

ima ha nai ano sora to
atatakai ano yoru ha
ima mo kono mune no oku ni hikatteru kara


Romaji By: Brian Stewart
higurashi (evening cicada)
The day I walked together with my mother
along the hill where the evening cicadas chirped.
the resounding click clack of the geta,
disappeared into the deep red sky.

my little palm was gently surrounded by a warm hand,
and the chilly evening wind tickled my ear.

enjoy the cool evening
in the little path around the side of the house*
far off the sound of insects,
the senkou fireworks* dropped with a soft "pish".

After playing ball with Dad,
we made crushed ice* and ate it.
a cool breeze blew in,
and I dozed off

Still half asleep,
I noticed the gentle scent of my mother.
she'd put a soft blanket over me,
and from somewhere near,
the bubbling sounds, the delicious smell.*

that sky that is no more,
and that warm night
now even still shine deep in my heart.
words/music: chisako MIKAMI　
Translated By: Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma

Translator's Notes: A Higurashi is a type of Cicada that chirps at night. It's name means literally "The end of the day". There's a lot of traditional Japanese Summer imagery in this song. Geta are traditional Japanese wooden clog sandals, when you walk in them they make a click lacking noise. The "engawa" is the path that goes around the side of the house to the garden and is often very cool because of its position of almost perpetual shade. If you were to look up "senkou hanabi" in the dictionary it would say "toy fireworks" which is so misleading that we feel the need to elaborate. "senkou hanabi" a word I'm fairly sure in our infancy at Cent-J we mistranslated somewhere is a handheld firework that is more or less lit from the bottom and held at the top. Japanese people squat down and gather around to watch it burn itself out during the summer... it is often used to represent the passing of a summer in movies, manga and songs. The "soft pish" or "potsun" of the song, is the sound of the little bit of "senkou hanabi" dropping after its burned out. The crushed ice of the translation refers to "kakigoori" a favored Japanese snack in Japan's unbearably hot mid-summer season. It's like a snow cone pretty much. Crushed Ice covered in Flavored Syrup or "Milk". The bubbling sounds "kotokoto" indicate that from her slumber Mikami heard her mother cooking something in the kitchen.

website: centigrade-J

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