This “The Soul Of Night” is based on the song ‘Magatama’, which was composed for the ‘New Translation of Kojiki Series — TSUKUYOMI, The God Of Moon’, which is about Japanese mythology.
The tune of the song is very different, ‘Magatama’ is a three-beat ballad.
This “The Soul Of Night” is a four-beat, up-tempo song.
But during composing, I suddenly had the idea to write the lyrics as an English version of ‘Magatama’.
Automatically I converted the lyrics into English in my brain and hummed.
Before I explain more about the god of Moon, I would like to introduce the lyrics of “Magatama” Japanese version in English.
— — — — — — — — — — -
Magatama
(Japanese beads that resemble the word magamagashii “sinister”)
Thy sinister soul seethes in you
Your new life shall soon be defiled as you lie there exhausted
Close your eyes and sleep You are mine, and now tired of crying
I will steal away to the end of the night your ill feelings as you sleep
You will end your life today
Today night shall come again Throw away all your pains
Today night shall come again Become a new life
I shall gather all the fragments of thy sinister soul
Shall I gulp them down you would be free You are beautiful when you close your eyes
Your tears have fallen down and shaped a new soul
This shape has born a new life This is my shape that shall protect you
Today night shall come again Throw away all your pains
Today night shall come again Become a new life
In the depths of the night our hands touch each other
Today night shall come again
We entrust ourselves to slumber
and tomorrow the sun will rise again Become a new life
Today night shall come again Throw away all your pains
Today night shall come again Become a new life
Today night shall come again Throw away all your pains
Be with the sun as you open your eyes on the morrow
— — — — — — — — — — -
Tsukuyomi is a younger brother of Amaterasu, the god of sun and an elder brother of Susano, the god of power.
These two gods (Amaterasu and Susano) are so famous, maybe NO1 in Japanese mythology.
But in KOJIKI book which is the oldest historical book in Japan and written about Japanese mythology, after Tsukuyomi appeared, immediately he disappeared. Because his father, IZANAGI told him to govern the land of the night.
According to my own imagination!
The fact that he does not appear even while his sister and brother are struggling with each other means that The Land of Night must have been far away, perhaps he had to go there alone or with a minimal number of companions.
And day (the sun) and night (the moon) do not exist simultaneously in the conceptual sense.
In the mythologies of other countries which has also the god of Sun, the human pharaohs (King) were considered dead when the sun went down, and he was ritually brought back to life every next morning as the sun rose.
In other words, the sun dies and is born every day.
The moon thus governs over the world of the night while the sun is dead.
In that world of temporary death, the night can lead people’s pain to death.
To be reborn in the coming, new morning.
“The Soul of Night”
■Youtube:
https://youtu.be/vK06LziIbHk
◇ Subtitle : English, French, Japanese
■Streamings
◇Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/1e4PXNn2vwgbHWezDbiUXv?si=51ebf6ab5a624529
◇Apple Music
https://music.apple.com/jp/album/the-soul-of-night/1628746995?i=1628746996&l=en
◇Amazon music
https://music.amazon.co.jp/albums/B0B3MQRVLQ?marketplaceId=A1VC38T7YXB528&musicTerritory=JP&ref=dm_sh_gxlKYxrH3xAg16kcMiuzi0T1d
◇Others
https://ditto.fm/the-soul-of-night
Enjoy with these songs!
◇”Tokyo Chant”, using soundscapes of Tokyo only
https://youtu.be/vXxDktsCovc
◇”A Wingless Country”, using soundscapes of Japan only
https://youtu.be/KPHa9P0HKYg
