DIR EN GREY toguro

“蜷局 - Toguro“ - “Coil“ No words could possibly describe how much I adore this song. I finally got around to re-translate it. I was tempted to sub the “shot in one take studio version“ this time, already finished working on it and everything, ready to upload it, but then re-watched the Rose Trims Again live version and I... I couldn’t. It had to be this one again. It had to be. Notes: 1) “Toguro“ means “to coil up“; like snakes would. In this case, it is written with the kanji for the “watersnail“ (蜷) and a kanji (局) which can stand for “bureau/department“ or a “situation“. But what I find more interesting is its alternative meaning: “A separate room in a palace, especially for a (court-)lady.“ This term comes from the Heian period (794 to 1185). At that time the Imperial House of Japan was moved to the capital city of Heian-kyō (present-day Kyōto). Someone who was born and raised in that city might be well aware of the connotation of that kanji. I’m not going into a deep discourse here (although I kinda want to, aaah...), I’m just gonna put this out there. 2) 0:30 - “躙り寄る - nijiriyoru“ more accurately means “sliding closer to something/someone while being on your knees“. In this case, it is the earnest desire that is sliding in closer this way. 3) 1:13 - “撃ち鳴る - uchinaru“ is a word that does not exist. It is composed of “to shoot“ and “to sound“. To me it seems like Kyo might be referring to “screaming“ here, but it could be any kind of sound. 4) 1:26 - Just a random note: In Chinese “安息 - Ānxí“ stands for “rest in peace“, while the Japanese “ansoku“ is decribing “peace/rest“ itself. The Japanese verb “散る - chiru - to scatter“ can also be used to describe someone who is dying a noble death. 5) 1:37 - I took a look at the official translation for this. They translated “サヨナラ人間 - sayonara ningen“ with “loser human“, which I found quite fitting. I wouldn’t have known how to put it otherwise. I guess, it has the feeling of “a human, who wouldn’t be missed; a human, who you can do without“. “Byebye to this worthless person“. (6) Personally I feel like Toguro has multiple layers. Two stories being told at once - one on the surface, one between the lines - they are intertwining. It has this story-telling kind of vibe. A vagabond finding shelter within another person’s arms. More or less. At the same time, the song feels very personal, like he is referring to himself...) ~This is my translation/interpretation. Many thanks to show-me-your-lewd-self@tumblr once again for making it possible for me to continue to use HD footage for my subs ;v; ♥ Find me on: Tumblr: & Twitter: