My article on 'RAINBOW'

[masa]

Hello. I've just uploaded the translation of my article on "RAINBOW", which I had written in Japanese in May. Please let me hear your opinions and impression on it. Also, please inform me if you find any unnatural part. I'm going to translate the remained part , "The PV Reviews".

LINK
LINK

[ZeF]

This is a very insightful article, masa! I am definetly on the same page with you when you mention Japanese artists singing in English to advance abroad. It isn't necessary. Like you say, Ayumi writes the great majority of her songs in her mother tongue yet has more foreign fans than any other Japanese artist who writes in English, etc.

This article was interesting and enjoyable to read at the same time. It adds more depth to Ayu and helps me understand her better. I didn't really see anything unnatural in the article since I was speed reading. I'll have another read to check for any corrections in a little.

Anyways, thanks alot for the article. It's very appreciated! doumo arigatou gozaimasu.

Zef

[Grantith]

You have so much insight on Ayu. I thoroughly enjoy reading all of your articles about her music. Thank you very much! I really enjoyed reading it, and I learned so much! I really appreciate all the hard work and effort you put into that!

[destiny_ayu]

Thnx for the article.. Reading it rite now

whoa! very nice articles!!! i never knew about that incident! thats horrible! poor ayu she gives and she gives and yet people still criticize her, what more could u ask for. Thank you so much for this article!!!

[mrAznnizeguy]

dang i never heard about that incident.. oo but thanks for that or else Free & Easy might never have gotten here and o yeah.. your article is like *whoa* its gooooooood.. i cant wait until you come out with your A Ballads

[~Ayanami~]

I never knew this incident happened either!! Thnx for the articles!! i enjoyed reading it! I wonder how Ayu felt. Poor ayu

[Ryoko]

Arigato gozaimashita, masa-san.

[eikichi-sama]

hmmmm A quiet long articles.........but it's daaaaaaaamn worth it, thanx anyway.....

[jackyhsumail]

thx

[CRAZYBOAT]

It's definitely worth a read. I enjoy it so much. Very unique and quite breath-taking. Good job!

[masa]

You are welcome. And I've just uploaded the translation of the remained part. Tired a bit.

LINK

[Shiso]

Wow... I'm impressed - just ended reading these 3 articles... they're SOOO cool thanks masa!

[masa]

It seems there are several people who don't know about the incident after Countdown Live concert 2001-2002. So I introduce a few words of hers on the incident.

Onozato: I understand it was a hard time to you. Did you cry?
Ayumi: I didn't cry. Or, correctly speaking, I couldn't cry. Because maybe it was not me who was hurt in a true sense. I was vexed. I was vexed much.
(from the interview of "Hamasaki Republic")

[masa]

There is no English translation of the interview of "Hamasaki Republic." And I'm not going to translate it for now, as it's very very long.

[nmskalmn]

Thank you again and again masa. I am always amazed when I read your analyses.

I have a few questions and comments.

O (Onozato): Do you do what you like and feel easy in your work?
A (Ayumi): I do what I like but feel hard. Because what I dislike is what I feel easy. (Q24)

I'm not sure if I understand this question or Ayu's response. What do you mean by "feel easy" and "feel hard"?

The two lines also sounded to me the concise objection to Matsutouya Yumi who had been spoiling Japanese women from the 1980's to the 1990's.

Are you able to briefly explain this statement? I don't know much about Yumi Matsutoya and I never read translations of her lyrics.

On the other hand, how is her English lyrics? I think it's considerably good, though I don't like to admit it so much.
　　　　a woman could be having fun
　　　　a woman could be like a nun
　　　　in order to survive

I don't consider the english lyrics in "Real me" skillful, particularly the lines quoted above, and I think most native speakers of american english would agree with me. I'll use another quote from your site to explain why:

even if a common Japanese who has only used Japanese in his daily life from the childhood tries to write a lyrics in English, it will be common that he can only write ones on the level of a junior high school student.

The rhyming english lines in "Real me" strike me as child-like.

One more complaint of mine is the word, "heartplace", which doesn't exist in English and incomprehensible.

This word "heartplace" seems very natural and comprehensible to me. I don't know if it is good or not, but coining of such words is very common in english. Ayu is not the first person to use "heartplace" (examples).

Though she can write the first-rate lyrics in Japanese, why does she need to write ones in English on the lower level? I don't say now she should not use English at all, as I thought the two songs out of three with English lyrics in this album were not bad.

I hope to hear your opinion of the english lyrics in "forgiveness". I know most of the initiates here don't agree, but I think the english lines at the of "forgiveness" are quite tolerable and a big improvement over the ones in "Real me".

Thank you again. I really appreciate the time and effort you put into writing and translating your essays.

[masa]

I'm not sure if I understand this question or Ayu's response. What do you mean by "feel easy" and "feel hard"?

He is asking her, "Supposing there are two works (jobs), one is easy to do and the other is hard to do, which do you prefer to choose?" But if my translation is not so good, please correct it.

Are you able to briefly explain this statement? I don't know much about Yumi Matsutoya and I never read translations of her lyrics.

Matsutouya Yumi wrote a lot of fictional love songs. And in most cases, the heroines in her songs are passive and demand many things from their boyfriends, such as, "Please take me to a nice fashionable resort", "Please take me to a elegant restaurant", "Be handsome and rich, and spend much money for me", etc. Though I admit she is quite a talented fiction-writer and melody-maker, I think she gave unpreferable influence on Japanese women.

I don't consider the english lyrics in "Real me" skillful, particularly the lines quoted above, and I think most native speakers of american english would agree with me.

As I wrote in my article, I take these English lyrics as light, artificial, exaggerated ones with a playful touch, not so serious. And as such kind of lyrics, I think they are efficient and suitable for this song.

This word "heartplace" seems very natural and comprehensible to me.

Really? So would you explain to me what it stands for in your impression?

I hope to hear your opinion of the english lyrics in "forgiveness".

Sorry, I can't catch her English at all. (Maybe her pronounciation is not so good.) So, no comment.

[nmskalmn]

This is my interpretation of the question and answer after seeing your explanation:

O: Do you like what you do and do you find your work easy?
A: I like what I do, but it is hard. Because I dislike easy things.

Perhaps "difficult" or "challenging" would be better word than "hard" in this case.

To me the word "heartplace" connotes a deep-seated sense of attachment to something. Depending on the context "heartplace" could mean a community (similar to the words heartland or homeland). Or it could refer to something more personal: the center of a person's emotional life and the things that give their life meaning. I hope that makes sense somehow. I'm not good at explaining this kind of thing.

I couldn't understand Ayu's english in "forgiveness" either. I posted what I believe to be the correct english lyrics here:
http://www.ahsforum.org/forum/showth...&threadid=8867

Thanks for answering my questions.

[masa]

In fact, Mr. Onozato's question was a little more complicated. He asked her,
"Supposing there are four types of work (job),
1. The work you like
2. The work you dislike
3. The work you find easy
4. The work you find difficult
do you prefer to choose 1 and 3 ?"
And she answered, "I choose the work which is both 1 and 4, because 2 is 3 to me."

So is it all right I change my translation as below?
O: Do you do the works you like and find easy?
A: I do the works which I like but find difficult. Because the works I dislike are the easy ones.

I supposed the meaning of "heartplace" similarly as you, as "the deep-seated, delicate part of heart". Because in the lyrics, she is remembering her old days (maybe the period before her debut) and her comrads in those days. I think the song, "Heartplace" is in close relation with "immature", which is one of my favourites.
Btw, she said in an interview that she visited the place where the World Trade Center Buidings had once existed when she went to New York and was shocked and that the experience gave influence on the album songs, especially on "Heartplace". But I didn't write about it in my article, because I didn't understand which influence had been actually, as the song sounds to me completely as personal.
Do you also associate the place which is called now "Ground 0" with the word "heartplace"?

I couldn't understand Ayu's english in "forgiveness" either.

Really? So I wonder what is the value of inserting the English lyrics which common Japanese people can't catch and common English-speaking people can't understand.

[nmskalmn]

Originally posted by masa
So is it all right I change my translation as below?
O: Do you do the works you like and find easy?
A: I do the works which I like but find difficult. Because the works I dislike are the easy ones.

Yes, I think this is clearer.

Originally posted by masa
Do you also associate the place which is called now "Ground 0" with the word "heartplace"?

I don't, although I imagine some New Yorkers would have that feeling.