Noelle's Graduation Song List

Over here in Japan, along with the blooming of sakura trees comes graduation season for schools of all levels. Going around town in the month of March, you might enter a sea of strapping suits, brilliant furisode kimonos and anything in between. You may also need to dodge young folks posing in front of random objects, a thick folder containing their prized graduation certificate in hand. The radiating jubilation adds to the semi-festive mood brought on by the hanami season which arrived earlier than usual this year. The earliest it's been, in fact. And yet the trees at my school were noticeably bald when I was part of the aforementioned sea of folk. The lack of pinkish-white petals did nothing to dampen the mood, however, as I completed this important milestone together with wonderful people.

I'm one to mark any occasion with a song or two (or more), so my undergraduate adventures in Saitama are no exception. I had a few months after my last day of school till graduation to mull over it and eventually settled on 6 songs I found significant to my 4-year journey and its conclusion. Some of them I had actually considered for this very event years in advance! As I do, I've decided to put them into a list on KKP and I hope you'll enjoy them. I will also put the lyrics that resonated with me the most from each song and add a little anecdote on why they made the list. 

Let's begin by going back to square one.

Home: Ano Hoshi to Katarou (あの星と語ろう) -- Hachiro Kasuga

Nemutta machi no sono ue ni (Above the slumbering streets)

Konya no hikaru hitotsu boshi (A star shines tonight)

Oira mo hitori naku monka (I ain't going to cry alone)

Kanashii koto mo ureshii koto mo (In sadness or in happiness)

Ano hoshi to katarou (Let's talk to that star)

It may be strange to say this, but experiencing for the first time the oft-sung-about anguish and longing for home (bokyo) so prevalent in enka was fascinating. Yet, as you'd expect, it was also awful. On a stroll in the quiet countryside one rainy night during the early days I had Hachi's songs in my ears, including the funky "Ano Hoshi to Katarou". Seeing some stars twinkling in the partially cloudy sky, the song never felt so apt. With the thought that someone somewhere out there was watching over me, I was able to rally myself for the long haul. 

Comrades: Namida no Sannin Tabi (涙の三人旅)-- Tokyo Taishu Kayo Gakudan

Shiranai minato de shiriouta (Introduced at an unknown port)

Minna sabishii nagare bana (We're all lonely drifting flowers)

Koyoi mo koko ni tsuki wo mite (Tonight, we'll gaze at the moon again from here)

Ashita ha doko no kishi de saku (Tomorrow, at which shore will we bloom?)

There may be three people, but there is only one brain cell. I would like to think that it belongs to me. So goes the dynamic I have with two friends (Lad A and Lad B) I've had since my first year. We came from vastly different backgrounds and got to know each other in a foreign land, yet they became like my brothers - annoying me, enabling me (and my obsessions), and supporting me. Our paths were set to diverge after graduation, but I believe that we will revert to monke when we get to meet again.

I picked Tokyo Taishu Kayo Gakudan's rendition of "Namida no Sannin Tabi" as I had the chance to enjoy it with the fellas after they insisted we stay for the band's performance one rainy evening last year.

"Dude, I don't know if I'm high but isn't that just your Husbando 1?" 

- Lad B upon seeing Hai-Katsu's bromide

Resolve: Ume to Heitai (梅と兵隊) -- Yoshio Tabata

Osu!

Kakugo wo kimeta waga mi demo (I'd made my resolution)

Ume ga ka musebu haru no yo wa (On a night filled with the aroma of plum blossoms) 

Ikusa wasurete hito toki wo (Forget the battle for a second)

Katareba tomo yo yukai janaika (Let's chat, buddy. It'll make things better.)

When I came to Japan to study, I had the resolve to do the best I could to honour my own effort in getting into a university in a place I desired and my parents for supporting my decision. A mantra my late grandpa had was also something along the line of, "If you want it, you'll do anything for it." And so, I did. To say it was tough was an understatement, and the last semester had me on the ropes when I piled on graduate school applications on top of a thesis - the enka theme was a life-saver, but geez, no amount of Hibari, Batayan and Muchi (a few of my subjects) could help up to a certain point. Mind you, the thesis was optional and I only did it for me. Despite the madness, pushing through with friends and loved ones along the way made the fight easier. And when the plum blossoms bloomed earlier this year, I crossed the finish line.

"I don't even know why I'm putting myself through this."

Youth: Kirameku no Seiza (燦めく星座) -- Katsuhiko Haida

Naze ni nagare kuru atsui namida yara (Why are there hot tears flowing?)

Kore ga wakasa to iu mono sa tanoshi janaika (This is what youth is all about. Isn't it wonderful?)

Tsuyoi hitai ni hoshi no iro utsushite ikou yo (Let's push forth with a strong forehead shining like the stars)

Having to accept rejection from one of the graduate schools I'd been aiming for was indescribably painful despite the work I put into it and I'd be lying if I said that tears weren't involved. Then "Kirameku Seiza" resurfaced in my music playlist. Introduced by my karaoke Brojiisan some years back, I occasionally gave this pleasant tune by Hai-Katsu a listen, but it was only at this point did I feel the gravity of its words. Facing setbacks and shedding tears are but the joys of youth - it's not the end of the world and there are always other paths, so push on. And so I did.

"Ojiisan no okage de, takusan ii uta wo shi(rimashita). Sono naka de, ichiban suki na no ha 'Kirameku Seiza' to ka 'Onna no Kaikyu' deshou." 

Rain: Nagasaki Elegy (長崎エレジー) -- Dick Mine

Kino wo futta ha konokaame (Yesterday fell a light drizzle)

Kyou ha namida no ame ga furu (Today falls my tears)

This one was a bit of a late addition which I added around the time I wrote my article on my favourite ryukoka from the 1930s and 40s. It made the cut because of those two lines highlighted above. 

It was a day before the results of successful applicants for another graduate school I'd applied to would be released. It was another I'd been gunning for but the stakes were so much higher - if I got rejected, I'd have little choice but to pack up and leave. It would also have meant that my hardcore push for good grades and creating research proposals would've been for nought. I'd been moping over that very possibility for weeks (in addition to the prior rejection) as I was certain I'd screwed up the interview in the application's second round. The constant rain that day and the forecast of clear skies the next day made the above lines from "Nagasaki Elegy" feel like a bad omen, yet I had it on repeat throughout. 

As foretold, the sun finally came out the next day, yet it really did rain. But it was the best rain that had ever fallen. :') I had never rushed down to the karaoke back in Kasumigaseki so quickly until then, and the smile on my Brojiisan's face was as bright as the sun.

"I could just die of relief - I may need an actual ICU :')."

Result: Otoko Hare Sugata (男晴れ姿) -- Bin Uehara

Koishi kokyo wo ato ni shite (Leaving behind my beloved hometown)

Edo de migaita iki to waza (To sharpen my skills and spirit in Edo)

Au mo ureshiya futa oya ni (I'll be happy just to see my parents again)

Ume no hana saku sato no haru (When the plum blossoms bloom in the spring of home)

Ever since I learned the meaning of 'Hare sugata' and read the highlighted stanza, I knew that this tune by Bin-san had to be my graduation day song. I had, indeed, left my hometown for the Greater Tokyo area in the pursuit of academia and personal growth. I did miss family dearly, but I was determined to make myself into something I would deem worthy to show them at the end of it. There's still so much for me to learn, but I'm glad to say that I was satisfied with what I was able to show my parents when they came for my graduation. 

It also felt wonderful to say, "Ojiisan, sotsugyoushimashita yo!" (I graduated, gramps!) with grad cert in hand to my Brojiisan, who actually showed up outside my school's front gate as promised. He'd been constantly nagging me to focus on my studies and not be caught up in enka and my ever-growing list of Husbandos. Yet, despite that stoic and grumpy front, he was always there to provide moral support and watched me go through it - from angsting over critical professors to worrying about my future. Many of the songs I know and love now can be attributed to him. He really made my time in Kasumigaseki so much better. I'd written and read out a letter to him on the day itself to express my gratitude and, by golly, that was so hard to get through! While I may not be in that neck of the woods anymore, I'll definitely drop by when I can for regular updates. I'm sure he and the karaoke folk would appreciate that.

That marks the end of this eventful chapter of my life and a new one will begin in a matter of days. I'm terrified but also kind of excited to see where it'll take me. The intention is to continue my research on enka and ryukoka - whether that will be successful or not, I don't know, and I don't know if I've gone in over my head. But I guess I can only wait and see. One thing's for sure, though, there'll surely be songs to mark significant events in the years to come and I'll continue to note them down here on KKP. :) 

P.S. Some of these 6 anecdotes do indirectly explain how my Husbando list expanded to 4.5. Yes, there is a 0.5 and I'll allow you to figure out who he is. "[N]ever really got past my top 5 and into Husbando territory" - c'mon, Noelle, we know that's a lie. He's definitely already No.5 and you know it.