The cherry trees on the high mountain peak have bloomed. Mist of the nearer hills, please do not rise and hide those blossoms from view.
Ōe no Masafusa (1041–1111) was a leading scholar and poet of the late Heian period. Known as a child prodigy, he served as tutor (jidoku) to three emperors—Go-Sanjō, Shirakawa and Horikawa. Born into the Ōe clan, a family of learning, he was an intellectual giant spoken of in the same breath as Sugawara no Michizane.
Longing for something beautiful and far away (the cherry blossoms on the peak), and the wish "let nothing block that radiance."
We layered the cherry blossoms blooming on a distant peak onto a friend who made their dream come true in a distant city. The haze on the near hills that the chorus begs "don't rise" is everything that would cloud that friend's shine—the noise of the world, distance, and the jealousy inside oneself. Having sung the frustration honestly, we turn the blessing into a festival: "dazzling is just right." And in the Final, "next it's my turn"—from the one looking up to the one who blooms. We made a spring wish from a thousand years ago into a song of friendship and resolve.
高砂の（後拾遺和歌集・百人一首73番）Garu JP
遠くの街で がんばってる
君のうわさが 届いた夜
「咲きにけり」って 風のたより
自分のことより うれしくて
何度も転んだ日も 知ってるから
遠くからずっと 見てたから
咲いたよ咲いた 高砂の
尾の上の桜 君が咲いた
外山の霞よ 立たないで
あの晴れ姿を 見ていたいんだ
今日は祭りだ 咲いた咲いた
同じ教室で 笑ってた
「でっかくなる」って 言い合った
先に行く君を 見送った春
くやしさも少し あったけど
今なら言える 心の底から
おめでとうって 空に叫ぶ
咲いたよ咲いた 高砂の
遠くの君が 一番咲きだ
外山の霞よ 立たないで
まぶしいくらいが ちょうどいい
今日は祭りだ 鳴らせ太鼓
遥か昔の 春の日にも
尾の上の桜に 手を振った人が
同じ祈りを 空に投げた
「霞よ どうか 立たないで」
高砂の 尾の上の桜 咲きにけり
外山の霞 立たずもあらなん
咲いたよ咲いた 高砂の
次はおれの番だ 見ててくれ
外山の霞を 抜けていくよ
君のとなりで 咲いてみせる
今日は祭りだ 咲いた咲いた
外山の霞 立たずもあらなん……
咲いた 咲いた
Takasago no (Goshui Wakashu / Hyakunin Isshu No.73) Garu JP
In a faraway town, you've been giving it your all
The night word of you finally reached me
"The blossoms have bloomed" — news carried on the wind
It made me happier than anything of my own
Because I know the days you stumbled again and again
Because I've been watching you all along, from afar
You bloomed, oh you bloomed — on Takasago's height
The cherry tree on the peak — it's you in bloom
O mist on the nearer hills, please don't rise
I want to keep watching that shining figure
Today is a festival — you bloomed, you bloomed!
We used to laugh in the same classroom
We promised each other we'd make it big
That spring I watched you go on ahead
There was a little envy in me, it's true
But now I can say it from the bottom of my heart
I shout "congratulations" up to the sky
You bloomed, oh you bloomed — on Takasago's height
Far away, you're the very first to blossom
O mist on the nearer hills, please don't rise
Dazzling bright is just how it should be
Today is a festival — sound the drums!
On a spring day long, long ago
Someone waved to the blossoms on that peak
And cast the very same prayer to the sky
"O mist, please, do not rise"
On Takasago's high peak, the cherry blossoms have bloomed
O mist on the nearer hills, I pray you do not rise
You bloomed, oh you bloomed — on Takasago's height
Next it's my turn — so watch me now
I'll break right through the mist on these hills
I'll bloom someday there beside you
Today is a festival — bloomed, we bloomed!
O mist on the hills, I pray you do not rise...
Bloomed... bloomed...