Singularity on the Plane

“Haikara-san ga Tooru” is the theme song for a 1987 movie of the same name. I stumbled upon this song on Uta Doki! Pop Classics, a short regular TV show where Hello! Project members sing old songs requested by the viewers.

On Uta Doki! #301, this particular song was sung by Konno Asami with Michishige Sayumi as the MC and spontaneous uninvited dancer (see screenshot). A very nice and warm song (YouTube links: Original song by Minamino Yoko; Konno Asami version in Uta Doki!).

I present you below the kanji, romaji, and my translation. Corrections are welcomed. Sorry, no bahasa Indonesia because it is planned to be released as an MMIF (Morning Musume Indonesia Fansub) product for international consumption :).

Kanji:

曲名：はいからさんが通る/歌手：南野陽子

朝もやにけむってる　運命のわかれ道
あなたに出逢ってしまって
あやうい方へ　歩き出したの

木洩れ日が踊る日は　笑いころげたりして
曇った風が走る日は
心の奥がキュンと音をたてた

くちびるを重ねた数では
愛情をつなぎとめられない
知ってるけど…

凛凛しく恋してゆきたいんです　私
傷つくことに弱虫なんて　乙女がすたるもの
ややこしいかけひきは　苦手です私
晴れた空が好きです

ふれあう肌のぬくもりほど
さきゆきは　確かじゃないこと
知ってるけど…

たとえ涙の嵐がきたって平気
あなたとみた青空が　一番胸に輝くわ
別れてもまた出逢えば　いいもの平気
前を向いてゆきます

うつむかずに　歩きたいの
あなたへの愛しさも
せつなさも　まっすぐみつめて

凛凛しく恋してゆきたいんです　私
傷つくことに弱虫なんて　乙女がすたるもの
凛凛しく恋してゆきたいんです　私
晴れた空が好きです

Romaji:

Song: Haikara-san ga Tooru
Singer: Minamino Yoko

asamoya ni kemutteru unmei no wakare michi
anata ni deatteshimatte
ayaui hou e arukidashita no

komorebi ga odoru hi wa waraikorogetari shite
kumotta kaze ga hashiru hi wa
kokoro no oku ga kyunto oto o tateta

kuchibiru o kasaneta kazu de wa
kimochi o tsunagitomerarenai
shitteru kedo…

ririshiku koishiteyukitain desu watashi
kizutsuku koto ni yowamushi nante otome ga sutaru mono
yayakoshii kakehiki wa nigate desu watashi
hareta sora ga suki desu

fureau hada no nukumori hodo
sakiyuki wa tashika janai koto
shitteru kedo…

tatoe namida no arashi ga kitatte heiki
anata to mita aozora ga ichiban mune ni kagayaku wa
wakarete mo mata deaeba ii mono heiki
mae o muite yukimasu

utsumukazu ni arukitai no
anata e no itoshisa mo
setsunasa mo massugu mitsumete

ririshiku koishite yukitain desu watashi
kizutsuku koto ni yowamushi nante otome ga sutaru mono
ririshiku koishite yukitain desu watashi
hareta sora ga suki desu

English Translation:

Translated by agro1986 aka koushi

Here Comes Miss Stylish

The crossroad of fate shrouded in the morning mist
I met you by chance
And walked the path of risk

We laughed on the days when sun rays danced through the leaves
And on the days when the fog ran away
My heart sounded with joy

By our number of kisses
I wouldn’t be able to keep your feelings long
I know it, but…

I want to love you gallantly
Being afraid to get hurt would be a dishonor
I’m not good at making intricate plans
A clear sky is what I like

There is no certainty that our future
Will be as warm as our touching skin
I know it, but…

I don’t care if this will end in tears
The blue sky that I saw with you lit my heart the most
Even if we break up, I’ll be fine if we meet again
Move forward positively

I want to walk without hanging my head low
Please look honestly
At my love for you and my pain

I want to love you gallantly
Being afraid to get hurt would be a dishonor
I want to love you gallantly
A clear sky is what I like

Waktu handphone pertamaku rusak, aku dibelikan Fren oleh bapakku. Inilah keadaanya saat ini:

Model HPnya Samsung sekian sekian dan menggunakan CDMA. Dilihat dari luar sepintas sih sepertinya tidak ada yang aneh. Tapi kalau dibuka:

Loh, kok baterainya njengking dari posisi normalnya? Inilah alasannya:

Kalau diperhatikan baik-baik, terlihat bahwa baterai HPnya cembung, seperti perut wanita hamil! Sial, aku memang sering meletakkan HPku di dekat HP-HP lain, tapi aku tidak menyangka hasilnya akan seperti ini. Ada yang lebih mengerikan lagi:

Salah satu sisinya retak, seperti telur yang akan menetas! Aduh, sudah berapa bulan ini ya…

OK, kita kembali serius karena ini masalah fatal. Ya, baterai ini sepertinya bisa meledak kapan saja kalau dibiarkan terus beroperasi! Kalau meraba baterainya langsung, kecembungannya benar-benar terasa besar dan mengerikan.

Memang baterai HP ini sudah cukup lama bermasalah. Terlalu gampang ngedrop! Tapi aku nggak pernah kepikiran kalau baterainya sampai menggembung seperti ini.

Beberapa waktu yang lalu, saat sedang makan di warung lesehan sama temanku, temanku itu membuka HPnya dengan alasan yang aku lupa. Aku juga ikut-ikutan membuka HPku, dan jreeeeng betapa kagetnya aku saat melihat baterai HPku seperti ini. Untung saja ketahuan waktu itu, soalnya kalau dibiarkan terus bisa-bisa aku jadi korbannya! Tahu kasus baterai-baterai laptop Sony meledak yang menyebabkan recall besar-besaran? Ngeri…

Sampai aku beli baterai baru, aku nggak akan nyalain HPku. Ah teknologi emang bikin pusing… Daripada capek mikirin HP, mending dengerin musik H!P dulu deh… (Pun, pun, pun… Apa ya bahasa Indonesianya?)

Kami, kami, kami
Aku menunggu kertas itu
Menanti penilaian Tuhan
Sampai rambutku memanjang
Kami, kami, kami

- Agro

Ah, capeknya… Berkas terakhir yang aku perlukan untuk yudisium adalah nilai TA asli yang bisa diperoleh di sekretariat program studi S1 matematika. Hanya saja, petugasnya yaitu Mba Mira tidak ada!!!

Aku menunggu di dekat pintu masuk ruangan tersebut. Ada colokan listrik, meja, dan kursi di situ. Dengan laptop, semuanya bisa saja jadi sempurna. Yang kurang hanyalah koneksi Wifi yang fungsional.

Sambil duduk dan menyalakan komputer, aku diganggu oleh suara dak-duk-duk dan srek-esrek-srek beberapa tukang bangungan yang sedang merenovasi toilet di belakangku. Bau khas situs konstruksi pun sesekali tercium tajam. Aku menunggu walaupun kedatangan Mba Mira juga “belum pasti”, kata petugas lainnya. Tertulis di meja Mba Mira bahwa dia sedang mengikuti “PELATIHAN DI SMILE GROUP”. Apa mungkin dia kurang ramah ya sehingga dikirim oleh kantor mengikuti pelatihan tersebut :)?

Niatnya, sambil menunggu aku mau menulis komentar tentang kertas pengumuman yang terlihat dari tempatku duduk, tentunya untuk ngejar setoran blog. Tapi saat mulai mengetik, datang teman satu kelompok dari mata kuliah “Pengantar filsafat ilmu dan sejarah matematika” yang dulu pernah kuambil. Dia sudah lulus dengan topik TA aljabar. Saat kutanya lebih lanjut tentang apa yang ditulis, dia memulainya dengan pertanyaan, “Tau ring?” Pertanyaan bagus, yang sayangnya hanya bisa kujawab dengan “Cuma pernah denger.” “Kalau grup?”, tanyanya lagi. “Cuma pernah denger juga.” Setelah tahu bahwa aku tidak mengerti apa-apa tentang aljabar, dia menjelaskan TA-nya dengan sangat bijak dan mudah dimengerti, “Ya, pokoknya tentang sesuatu yang abstrak di aljabar.” Sial, beginilah nasib anak MIPA yang tidak berpendidikan, yang tahunya malah “grup” idol macam Momusu…

Singkatnya, aku akhirnya ngobrol sambil menunggu Mba Mira. Ngomongin pendadaran. Kata anak matematika temanku itu, dia dosen pembimbingnya dua dan dosen pengujinya tiga. Ngomongin wisuda. Katanya dia pernah ngehadirin temen-temennya wisuda, nunggu di luar GSP. Saat momen siiiiing muncul, cuaca pun diobrolin karena kebetulan memang sedang mendung. Dan semua ini berakhir dengan buruk: Mba Mira tidak datang. Karena ini terjadi Jum’at, terpaksa deh menunggu minggu berganti untuk mencari Mba Mira lagi. Tentang pengumuman yang sebetulnya mau kukomentarin, kapan-kapan aja, untuk saat ini kusimpan dulu di “box” bahan blog. Tahu struktur data box kan? First in, random out (karena ngambilnya sambil ngubek-ngubek).

Urusan setelah pendadaran memang repot…

This is Matsuura Aya’s 14th single (lyrics, translation). The song is so nice that the composer, Tsunku, sang a version of it.

2 new kanji:

冗些

5 new words:

This is the theme song of the drama Takaramono (lyrics). The story is about Sen, a girl that lived away from his hometown to forget the tragedy of eathquake that had befell it. She had left her hometown for so long that she also forgot all the sweet memories of her childhood there. The main star and the singer of the song is no other than Abe Natsumi.

Everyone knows the kanji 青 (あお, blue or green) which is taught in grade 1. However, in the song lyrics I found another あお, 蒼. According to Windows XP’s IME, 青 is for blue or green in the general sense while 蒼 is for dark or dull blue. An example is 蒼い月夜 (aoi tsukiyo, (dark) blue moonlit night).

Also, I already know the kanji 哀れむ (あわれむ, to pity). However in this song the kanji is used for かなしい (哀しい, sad) instead of the usual 悲しい. According to Windows XP’s IME, 悲しい is for sad in the general sense while 哀しい has a more painful sense. An example is 哀しい響き (kanashii hibiki, a (painful) sad sound).

There are 3 new kanji:

臆蒼贈

And 6 new words:

This is Morning Musume’s 16th single (lyrics). An energetic happy song that I really enjoy.

The kanji 会う (あう, to meet) is very common. In this song, I meet (no pun intended) another あう, 逢う. 会う is for meeting someone in a general sense, while according to EDICT 逢う has a more dramatic sense. An example is ここで逢った (koko de atta, I met (my girlfriend) here (for the first time)).

I also already know 超える (こえる, to exceed), but in this soung I found another こえる, 越える. According to Windows XP’s IME, 超える is for quantity or limit, while 越える is for place or time. Some examples:

• 定員を超える (teiin wo koeru): to exceed the passenger capacity (e.g., boat)
• 予想を超える (yosou wo koeru): to exceed expectation
• 国境を越える (kokkyou wo koeru): to go past the country border
• 山を越える (yama wo koeru): to go past the mountains

So, these are the 2 kanji:

逢越

which corresponds to these 2 words:

Random words and kanji are those that I randomly encounter, for example while watching a movie.

Side-effect words are dictionary words that I picked when learning a new kanji from another dump. For example, I encountered 激しい (hageshii, intense) while hunting from a song. 激 was a new kanji for me, and to know its on-reading I searched for some compounds in the dictionary. Those compounds, e.g. 激化 (gekika, intensification) are considered side-effect words because they are not in the original material.

It is also possible that I deliberately set out to memorize words or kanji from a particular source, but the amount is too small to warrant its own section.

For this time, the notables sources are Hello! Morning and Hello! Project members.

I gathered 43 kanji:

李栞椰萩妨紫採維汁銭浜敢卑餓卬貰肋閏謗或誹旁沓弥迎琳駁痺睪臤癖漬披厳紋趣締避虚浦奏穴衝

And 364 words…

(more…)

One essential aspect of learning a language is learning its vocabulary. In my Japanese study, this tranlates into learning kanji which are the building block of many words.

Most kanji are for things I am familiar with. Some examples are 人 (hito, person), 玉 (tama, ball), and 火 (hi, fire). Many are for common animals like 虫 (mushi, insect), 亀 (kame, turtle), and 猫 (neko, cat). Unexpectedly, I quite oftenly encounter kanji for an animal or plant that I have no knowledge about.

An example is 藤 (fuji, tou) which is the kanji for the plant genus Wisteria. It is found on many people’s name, such as 藤本美貴 (Fujimoto Miki), 後藤真希 (Gotou Maki), and 工藤新一 (Kudou Shin’ichi).

Using KANJIDIC or EDICT, I only get a brief description like “wisteria”. That is useless for someone with a shallow knowledge such as me, but enough as a pointer to get more information elsewhere. If I’m not online, my next stop is Stardict, which gives more detail such as “a climbing plant with purple or white flowers”. At least I could know that “Wisteria” is a plant, not something else like “hysteria”. My final stop is of course Wikipedia, which gives detailed descriptions and more importantly, images!

I’ll share some of the new living things I’ve discovered… Do you know them?

Wisteria

In Japanese, it is フジ (藤, fuji). And no, Mount Fuji is written differently. It is native to Japan and other countries including eastern US. It can climb by twisting itself along any available support. As I have written above, it is used on many people’s name. Anyone knows its Indonesian name?

Cicada

In Japanese, it is セミ (蝉, semi). I found it on Berryz Koubou’s song titled “Semi”. It is a family of insect that makes a lot of noise (but it’s different from Cricket). According to Wikipedia Indonesia, the Indonesian name is Tonggeret (never heard it before).

Chrysanthemum

In Japanese, it is キク (菊, kiku). I found it on an author’s name (菊池, Kikuchi) at the digital library Aozora Bunko. In Japan, this plant is a symbol of death and are only used for funerals (which means, don’t give it to your Japanese girlfriend). 菊花紋章 (kikukamonshou) is the name given to the position of Japanese emperor. By the way, I recently went to Moro department store and found a Chrysanthemum product. It is a Chinese product and how happy I was to see the character 菊 written on the box :). The Indonesian name is Seruni (never heard it before too).

Manchurian Violet

In Japanese, it is スミレ (菫, sumire). I also found it on a writer’s name (薄田泣菫, Sasakida Kyuukin, and please don’t ask me what “sasaki” means). Is it also “Violet” in Indonesia?

Japanese Royal Fern

In Japanese, it is ゼンマイ (薇, zenmai). I knew what a fern is, but I was curious whether this fern has a striking difference (nothing striking to a layman like me). Strangely, it is the kanji used in Rose (薔薇, bara), which is where I found it. In Indonesia, ferns are called paku or pakis.

If you want to be able to read people’s name, you’ll be sure to encounter lots of these exotic kanji. It’s almost like they’re forcing us to be a botanist or zoologist. You’ll also find these kanji in songs and literatures (e.g., novels), because writers want to look cool by using obscure characters.

As a closing, note that I use katakana to write the name of the plants and animal above. This is a modern practice, which originates from the scientific community. Even in the Japanese Wikipedia, the article for dog is titled イヌ (inu) despite its kanji 犬 being taught in grade 1 elementary school. It is probably a sensible decision, considering that there are countless living things on Earth.

This is the coupling track of Morning Musume’s 25th single, “THE Manpower!!!”. Heh, I actually like this a lot more than the single itself :). The lyrics itself is quite silly, first being serious and asking questions like “Does peace exist because there is love, or does love exist because there is peace?” but eventually ends with “There’s no answer, so let’s just eat deliciously” :).

4 new kanji:

承蔭継懇

Stats:

• Previous “average new words/song”: 18.96
• New words in this song: 6
• New “average new words/song”: 18.52

And the words:

Also a song from Koharu’s 1st album (lyrics). It is also the coupling track of her first single (Koi ka na). A very nice and enjoyable ballad.

6 new kanji:

悩頬撫膨蕾姿

Stats:

• Previous “average new words/song”: 19.33
• New words in this song: 9
• New “average new words/song”: 18.96

And lastly, the words: