English
Shu・Mika
Let us embark on a journey to explore the great beyond 1
Those winds, now bolstering the sails
Our ship forges ahead into the unknown
Its trailing current soon vanishing from view
So as to be guided towards ever greater heights
We read from a novelized collection of omniscient wisdom
And as if bowing in reverence to that bestowed grace
We devotedly trail after the shadows cast by truth
Is it a craving for prosperity?
Or is it growing impatience for glory?
Unable to resist that enchanting mystery
Even if we must navigate through a labyrinth, even if we are misled by illusions
Do not cast aside the laws believed to be immutable
Aah, why do no others want for knowledge?
Even though that star I glimpsed through the window merely came and went
The cage of logic as an allegory 2
Holds us in its corner
If there is no intersection of ideals and reality
Then on which side does God’s divine will reside?
O, one who seeks perpetual providence
Master the miracles that fill both the heaven and the earth
At the hour the stars’ ringing resounded
Reveal to me the answers to what desires your heart holds
Yet, your eyes had locked onto
The melodies of stars shooting through the sky
A light shone onto the avidyā of the dark night 3
Those constraints we call the past
It is the will to break free of the shackles confining us
That thirst for eternity
That, even in this still unpredictable future,
Would become the art of finding hope 4
Let us embark on a journey to explore the great beyond
Those winds, now bolstering the sails
Our ship forges ahead into the unknown
Its trailing current soon vanishing from view
Let us embark on a journey to explore the end of the world
Even without guidance, even when facing death itself
For the impetus of one night filled with falling stars
Will never fade away from my heart
O, one who longs for bygone days of glory
Search for the miracles that fill both the heaven and the earth
O, one whose frontier spans the interior of a birdcage 5
Sing praises of the miracles that fill both the heaven and the earth
At the hour the stars’ ringing resounded
If your heart overflowed with delight
Rather than you, the bird, dancing at whim 6
You shall instead ride the currents of the wind and fly
[ 1 ] “Explore” as in “seek to understand”.
[ 2 ] “Allegory” here is an allegory for a moral you would take away from a story. And “logic” is logical reasoning which is being used as an allegory for a moral. 理 (logic) has an additional meaning of “the underlying principles of the universe”, derived from 理気; "li and qi". This is a concept from neo-Confucianism, with 理 as li (rational principles) and 気 as qi (vital energies) acting together to create and maintain the order of the universe (source).
[ 3 ] Avidyā is a Buddhist term that is commonly translated as “ignorance” and represents a misunderstanding of the nature of reality (source). 無明の夜 is similar to the 無明長夜 yojijukugo, which is another Buddhist term meaning “the long night of spiritual darkness”. It describes the period in which one faces many challenges before eventually reaching enlightenment.
[ 4 ] “Art” as in “the art of doing something”, and the kanji is in the word for “the arts” too, so I think it’s an intentional reference.
[ 5 ] This line more literally is “Inquisitor (who seeks to understand the truth of something) who is inside a birdcage”.
[ 6 ] There is no pronoun usage here, but I made the listener be the bird.