The song “Shounen Jidai” (Boyhood), written by Yosui Inoue (real name: Akimi Inoue ) (1948- ), has a laid-back melody and evokes nostalgia for childhood, making it one of my favorite songs. I often sang it at karaoke. However, I never really understood the meaning or connections of the individual lyrics, and I’ve felt a sense of discomfort about them ever since.
I previously wrote an article on the meaning of the lyrics of Shinji Tanimura’s “Subaru”, but this time I would like to consider the meaning of Yosui Inoue ‘s lyrics from his “Shounen Jidai” (Boyhood).
1. The meaning of the lyrics of Yosui Inoue’s “Shounen Jidai”
(1) The meaning of the words
① Wind thistle
This is a word coined by Yosui Inoue, which describes the appearance of the “Nohara thistle” that blooms from August to October swaying in the wind. “Nohara thistle” is a thistle that is commonly seen in fields, with a height of about 1m.
Furthermore, on an NHK television program he said, “When the word Oni-azami suddenly came to mind, I thought there must be Kaze-azami as well. If it doesn’t exist, that’s fine. I don’t think I’ll be charged with a crime for using a non-existent word in my lyrics.”
He also said, “It’s just a word I made up because it sounds good, it doesn’t have any meaning,” and “My job isn’t to tell the truth, as long as it’s fun.”
②Summer pattern
This is the protagonist’s “mental landscape” from his childhood, and it expresses how, “Summer has passed and autumn has come, but my heart is still carrying the memories of my fun summer holidays.” This is also a word coined by Yosui Inoue.
③Evening Bonfire
“Yoi” refers to the beginning of the night, between 6pm and 9pm. There are many evening events in the summer, such as firefly hunting, fireworks, summer festivals, Bon Odori, Jizo Bon, and catching rhinoceros beetles (although this is not common and is only for people who like insects). Also, on the eve of the festival, bonfires are lit within the shrine grounds. “Kagari” refers to these bonfires, which are made by putting firewood in an iron basket.
This is another word coined by Yosui Inoue.
The word “hanakagari,” which refers to the bonfires lit for visitors to view the cherry blossoms at night, is a spring seasonal word that has been around for a long time.
④ Dream Fireworks
I think it means something like “fireworks as fleeting as a dream.” As you can tell from the atmosphere, this is also a coined word by Yosui Inoue .
In contrast to the memories of an active, fun and bright summer vacation, it symbolically expresses the transience, emptiness and sadness that comes after summer vacation is over.
A similar word is “toohanabi” (fireworks seen from afar), a seasonal word for early autumn.
⑤Dreams are the sequel to memories
This is the most difficult word to understand. However, when I looked into it this time, I found two very similar words that use the term “Yume no Atosaki(dream after dream”. One of them was Momoe Yamaguchi ‘s regular radio program “Yume no Atosaki(dream after dream)”, which was broadcast for six months starting in April 1980.
The other is “Yume no Atosaki”, a manga by Yukari Ichijo , which was serialized in Ribon (Shueisha) from May to July 1987.
“Atosaki” can mean ① before and after a certain place, before and after, ② before and after a certain point in time, past and future, or ③ the order or logic of things.
In the case of this song, the “dream” seen by a middle-aged man reminiscing nostalgically about his childhood is probably a reference to “memories of childhood that were a vague mix of summer and winter, and ages before and after.”
(2) The meaning of the lyrics as a whole
“Summer has passed, and the thistle flowers are swaying in the wind, as if wandering in someone’s longing.
The season has turned to autumn, but my heart still holds on to the memories of my fun summer vacation.
When I wake up from that happy dream, I dream of myself in the dark, long winter.
Then, next, I dream of bonfires from summer festivals and evening festivals, and my heart starts beating fast.
At the same time, I see fireworks announcing the end of summer, and once again my heart is immersed in memories of fun summer vacation.
When I wake up from that happy dream, this time I dream of a long, dark shadow stretching out into the starry night sky.”
This is just my own interpretation, but I think that this is what the song is about.
It is impossible to interpret poetry (poetry) logically using only logic. Unlike ordinary writing (prose), there will be insufficient explanations and logical leaps. As such, it is necessary to understand the poet’s mental landscape, emotions, and sensibilities, but I believe that how one interprets it is up to each individual.
Since I entered middle age, I have often suddenly remembered events from my childhood, without any context or aftermath, though not like “dreams I have in the middle of the night.”
When I remember unpleasant events, I feel upset and depressed, but when I remember my childhood, when I played around innocently and without having to worry about tomorrow, I feel nostalgic for no reason, and my heart feels soothed. So, although it’s not a “pilgrimage” to the anime, I sometimes ride my bike to Settsukyo Gorge, which I often visited as a child.
2. The story behind the composition and lyrics of Yosui Inoue’s “Shounen Jidai”
This song was originally commissioned by Inoue’s drinking buddy, Fujiko Fujio A (1934-2022), to set a poem by Fujiko called “Boyhood” to music.
Although the finished song did not use a single line of Fujiko Fujio A’s lyrics, he was satisfied with the song because it was a wonderful song that matched the image he had in mind.
Yosui Inoue commented, “I was touched by Fujiko Fujio A’s heart.”
I’ve also heard that the original song was a melody of “Let it be” by the Beatles that Yosui Inoue’s band members played around with, and Yosui Inoue wrote lyrics for it.
It’s true that the relaxed melody is similar.
It is said that this song was written based on a whisper from Paul McCartney’s late mother, Mary, who came down to him when he was feeling pessimistic about the Beatles’ falling apart and told him, “Accept everything as it is, just as it is.”
Perhaps the lyrics of “Boyhood” were inspired by the Beatles’ song title, “Let it be” and “Let it be,” which have a similar meaning to Lao Tzu’s “The Way,” the words of his late mother (or the Virgin Mary) when he encountered the hardships described in the lyrics, and his own fond memories of his childhood as a boy now struggling through life as a middle-aged man.
3. About the song “Shounen Jidai” by Yosui Inoue
Yosui Inoue’s “Shounen Jidai” was his 29th single, released in September 1990, and is his biggest hit.
This song was the theme song for the Toho film “Shounen Jidai” released in 1990.
The film is based on Fujiko Fujio A’s manga “Shounen Jidai” (serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine for about a year from 1978), which was based on Heizo Kashiwabara ‘s novel “Nagai Michi” (The Long Road).
This song was also used in a commercial for Sony’s “Handycam 105” in 1991 (famous for the catchphrase “Today is tomorrow’s memory”). It was also used in commercials for Kirin Beer and Kenkou Kazoku.
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