春夏秋冬 (Shunkashuutou) Lyrics Reference
Hakumyu lyrics nerdposting!
The choruses of 春夏秋冬 (Shunkashuutou) (Spring Summer Autumn Winter), the opening song of Hakumyu Shinkai Hijikata-hen and Shinkai Toudou-hen, reference the famous opening line of "The Tale of the Heike," a classical Japanese epic about the Genpei War (12th century). The line is as follows:
祇園精舎の鐘の聲、諸行無常の響き有り。 沙羅雙樹の花の色、盛者必衰の理を顯す。 驕れる者も久しからず、唯春の夜の夢の如し。 猛き者も遂には滅びぬ、偏に風の前の塵に同じ。
Gionshōja no kane no koe, Shogyōmujō no hibiki ari. Sarasōju no hana no iro, Jōshahissui no kotowari wo arawasu. Ogoreru mono mo hisashikarazu, tada haru no yo no yume no gotoshi. Takeki mono mo tsui ni wa horobin(u), hitoeni kaze no mae no chiri ni onaji.
The sound of the Gion Shōja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind.
–Chapter 1.1, Helen Craig McCullough's translation
(Source: Wikipedia)
The line references several concepts in Buddhism, namely impermanence (諸行無常 shogyoumujou), and "the prosperous must decline" (盛者必衰 joushahissui). 祇園精舎 Gion Shouja refers to the famous Buddhist temple Jetavana. 沙羅雙樹 Sarasouju the sāla flowers/tree is used in Buddhism as a symbol of impermanence and fleeting glory due to its brief flowering period (sound familiar?).
The first chorus of 春夏秋冬 (with romanisation and translation) goes:
祇園精舎 鐘が聞こえる
Gionshouja kane ga kikoeru
The bells of Gion Shouja ring
ついにこの時が来たぜ
Tsui ni kono toki ga kita ze
At last, the time has come
諸行無常 響き渡れば
Shogyoumujou hibiki watareba
They echo the impermanence of all things
時代が動き出す
Jidai ga ugokidasu
The times move on
沙羅双樹の 白き花びら
Sarasouju no shiroki hanabira
The white petals of the sala flowers
返り血で赤く染めて
Kaeri chi de akaku somete
Are dyed red with the blood we spill
盛者必衰 理知れば
Joushahissui kotowari shireba
Once you know the truth that the prosperous must decline
武士としての夢が始まる
Bushi toshite no yume ga hajimaru
The dream of a warrior begins
The references to "The Tale of Heike" are alternated with lines about the story of the Shinsengumi/Hakuouki. The final chorus returns to this:
祇園精舎 鐘が止まって
Gion shouja kane ga tomatte
The bells of Gion Shouja cease
春の夢終わり告げる
Haru no yume owari tsugeru
Signaling the end of a spring dream
諸行無常 おごれる者は
Shogyoumujou ogoreru mono wa
All things are impermanent, the mighty remain
夏の夢に酔いしれ
Natsu no yume ni yoishire
Lost within a summer’s dream
娑羅双樹が赤く染まって
Sarasouju ga akaku somatte
The sala petals are dyed red
始まるが 秋たそがれ
Hajimaru ga aki tasogare
What begins now is the twilight of autumn
盛者必衰 夢が散る冬
Joushahissui yume ga chiru fuyu
The prosperous must decline as the dreams scatter in winter
見せてやるぜ 夢の行く末
Misete yaru ze yume no yukusue
We’ll show you where our dream ends
The lyrics now refer to the "end," along with mentions of the four seasons, hence the title. Spring ends, those who can't move on remain trapped in bygone summer, autumn moves on, and their dreams end in winter - but it's a beautiful ending that they will show you.
Bonus: ヤイサ！ヤイサ！ヤイサ！Yaisa! Yaisa! Yaisa! also referenced the same Heike line.
(P.S. Apologies to my academics that my sources here are Wikipedia. If you wish to go into more depth on this topic (or any!), I encourage you to use this as a starting point with which to explore more varied and quality sources.)
