Hiroko TANIYAMA's SECRET GARDEN : Beautiful Song, Eternal Solitude and Murder
This post is reposted from my old blog.
2017/11/16
On the live in 2016, Hiroko TANIYAMA and Akino ARAI released their new song, "Himitsu no Hanazono(Secret Flower Garden)". ARAI composed and TANIYAMA wrote lyrics. They sang it together. I was very impressed. Beautiful, horrific and lonely song.
In 2017 TANIYAMA released new album, "Tsuki ni Kiita 11 no Monogatari (Eleven Stories Heard on the Moon)". To be delightful, it contains "Himitsu no Hanazono". You could listen to some of the songs on YouTube. "Himitsu no Hanazono" starts at 3:10.
The song was born
"Nekomori Shuukai (Cat's Forest Meeting)" is Hiroko TANIYAMA's live. It held in Shinjuku every September for 8 days(4 kinds of programs). TANIYAMA, AQ ISHII (石井AQ : her producer, composer, synthesizer player, and so on), and various guests artists.
In Nekomori Shuukai 2016 program D, guest artist was Akino ARAI (piano, metallophone, and vocal). TANIYAMA and ARAI created new song for this live. Program's title was "Hiroko and Akino's Secret Flower Garden (too much secret flower garden)". So new song's title is "Himitsu no Hanazono (Secret Flower Garden)".
First, ARAI composed. She send a mail to TANIYAMA. Second, TANIYAMA wrote lyrics. It was greatly beautiful and attractive tune. So she wrote it in just a few hours because imagination came to mind in the blink of an eye. She send a mail to ARAI. Of course ARAI was very surprised. A few hours!
First show day, TANIYAMA said.
"Akino composed very beautiful tune. But I wrote ominous lyrics...I'm sorry..."
ARAI replied powerfully.
"It's OK. Rather it must be."
The audience laughed.
Summary of lyrics
This is probably the story of two boys. Main character wanted a friend. He was lonely. One day he got a new friend. He wanted to play with "you (a new friend)". He didn't want anybody to disturb them. So he locked "you" in the secret flower garden.
In the secret flower garden, time stopped. The dawn does not come forever. The crescent moon will not set. Flowers do not wither. Perhaps he thought, "We can play forever". He was not malicious.
But "you" died. "You" could not live in the secret flower garden. Of course, that is not a normal garden... (In a normal garden, time does not stop.)
He thought, "I was overdoing a bit. But why? I love him so much. And yet he died".
A long time passed. A long, long, long time passed. In the secret flower garden, he (or "you") is lonely forever.
My impression
My first impression was a red rose. A rose is blooming under the sky of dawn. The sky is blue and black, gradually becoming lighter. However, it will not be any lighter. Time stopped. A rose of the dawn will not wither forever.
A rose will not wither. But a boy could not live. Perhaps main character is not a human being. So he had the key of the secret flower garden. He could not understand why his friend died. He believed he could play with his friend forever. You know, we could not play forever...especially a living human being.
In the old story of Japan, mysterious demons appear. They often kidnap human children. Main character of this song may also be one of the demons. He was lonely. He kidnapped "you". He wanted human friends. But demon and human are different. "You" could not live in his secret flower garden. He was alone again. "You" were alone, too. Your body could not get out of his garden.
However this song is beautiful. TANIYAMA and ARAI's voices are fantastic. It seems like I'm dreaming of heaven. I really love it.
Finally
Listen, and imagine.
"Himitsu no Hanazono" is a story of eternal solitude, childish monopoly desire, endless confinement, mysterious kidnapping, love not to pay off, fleeting friendship and magical murder.