Public domain: Sakura, Sakura

Koto: Sakura, Sakura
(from a Japanese website that I cannot read)

Miyavi: JPN Pride

[purchase]

With age comes wisdom. I've learned never to volunteer to play horse with anyone from NYC, never to cook for anyone from the south, and never to pawn off my knowledge of American or British folk music around all the other much more savvy posters here on Star Maker Machine.

Darius, though, suggested I try to find some J-rock in the public domain. Easier said than done; their copyright law doesn't give us the break on songs from before 1923. So I'm being creative here – work with me, 'k?

Sakura, Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) is a traditional Japanese folk song, written for children to learn to play on the stringed koto. If you have a Japanese music box, odds are good that it plays this melody. Mine does. Words were added that translate to something like:

Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
On meadow-hills and mountains
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist or clouds?
Fragrant in the morning sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Flowers in full bloom.

Miyavi, my favorite Neovisual Kei artist, took this classic melody and wrote a song heavily based on it. 'JPN Pride' is an ode to the Japanese spirit. His lyrics translate to something like:

JPN PRIDE...
Let the high mountain grasses we call pride bloom in our hearts,
Like beautiful flowers that sing and dance, scattering on the flag of the rising sun,
Sakura, sakura, my heart is stolen by the flowers raining down, bewitched by dreams,
Sakura, sakura, not even noticing the flowers on the ground, I just walk over them...
(translated by taijiproject)

m(_ _)m (this is an emoticon – a bow, can you see it?)

Off-Genre: Not Quite Visual Kei Edition

Pata~~Miyavi~~You

X Japan: White Wind from Mr. Martin (Pata's Nap)

[purchase]

Miyavi: Jikoai, jigajisan, jiishiki kajou

Miyavi: Selfish love - Aishitekure, Aishiterukara

[purchase]

Janne Da Arc: Zero

[purchase]

Here are four short tunes from Japanese rock artists who are best known for playing lead guitar in well-known Visual Kei (VK) bands. VK as a genre, which began in the '80s in Japan, is a blend of glam rock, metal, and punk. In its early days, a VK band's appearance was part and parcel of the genre – think the New York Dolls cranked up to 11. These days, most VK bands have toned down the "visual shock." Maybe these aging stars realized that leather hot pants, Audrey Hepburn pearls, and fishnet stockings are no longer quite so flattering.

I mentioned X Japan in my first guest post. This supergroup defined Visual Kei back in the day and remains the stuff of legends. X Japan's sound can be classified as symphonic metal. What it wasn't was anything like this short piece by one of their two lead guitarists, Pata (we're all on a first-name basis with these guys). To me, this song's a little footnote that says, "Hey, when I'm not churning out power chords, did you know I can sound just like Willie Nelson?"

Next up are two tunes by VK artist Miyavi. I dragged my dear husband to see him on our vacation in London last fall, where I judge we were the oldest fans there by a good two decades. He's kind of the new kid on the VK block, and yes, he used to model fashion as well, can you tell from the pose? Such a cutie. Anyway, when he's not flirting with the camera and cranking out rock, he loves American blues. His two songs are meant to be heard as a set. He's a Muddy Waters fan, who these two songs honor by way of Tokyo. Miyavi's on his first US tour this June, mostly along the coasts, so if you have a chance, I heartily encourage you to check him out. Otherwise, look for these songs on YouTube, where he mimics the Mississippi River by flooding the studio.

Janne Da Arc (pronounced Jannu Daruku) is not named after the heroic Joan of Arc but rather after a manga character. To me, it seems like half the VK bands have chosen French names that are basically unpronounceable in Japanese. You, the lead guitarist (his mom knows him as Yutaka Tsuda), clearly released this tune to confuse Jimmy Page, who's probably still wondering when he recorded this.

Guest post by Geoviki