Teito Yongou Masuiro

Lyrics: Jojo　Music: Kaede
From NERO

English Romaji Japanese

English translation: Ku & Chiva

The Imperial Capital's Wicked Waterway No. 4

The stately red brick viaduct1 forms beautiful curves
Beneath the bridge there is a door that leads to Hell

To the center of the Magic Square2
I open the sewer cover and am dragged to Hell

Without even feeling compassion for the countless burnt bodies floating down the Kanda River3
I was trembling in fear at that fact that this feels "normal"
I even forgot to cry

Love　Comfort　Gratitude　Peace　These are the feelings people have forgotten
People repeat their mistakes　Repeat the same mistakes
Shedding blood and killing each other
Before we know it we'll end up strangling our future to death

Each point of the Magic Square drawn in the imperial capital rests at a cemetery4
Where the lines cross is the black world5

Without even feeling compassion for the countless burnt bodies tumbling into Kanda Ward6
I was trembling in fear at that fact that this feels "normal"
I even forgot to cry

Love　Comfort　Gratitude　Peace　These are the feelings people have forgotten
People repeat their mistakes　Repeat the same mistakes
Shedding blood and killing each other
Before we know it we'll end up strangling our future to death

---

1 Manseibashi Bridge, which was completed in 1912, on the Kanda River and featured red-brick construction. Parts of the bridge remain today, though brick walls have filled in the viaduct arches and the area has largely been converted in recent years.

2 This refers to occultist beliefs of a magical square created in Tokyo by the Meiji government which maintains peace in the city. The square's four points are Yanaka Cemetery, Aoyama Cemetery, Tsukiji, and Zoshigaya, with Yasukuni Shrine in the center. See the points on a map.

3 The images of charred bodies in the Kanda River almost assuredly refers to Operation Meetinghouse, the most atrocious firebombing of WWII. It took place March 9-10, 1945, targeting the Shitamachi area (modern-day Adachi Ward in the north, to modern-day Chuo Ward in the south). Civilians were jumping into the Sumida and Kanda Rivers (Kanda is a feeder river of the Sumida) to extinguish the flames, but the rivers were boiling. Further reading.

4 This is referencing the four corners of the Magic Square, listed above. They all feature cemeteries.

5 If you draw an X through the square (see map above), the lines intersect in the center at Yasukuni Shrine, a controversial war shrine.

6 Kanda Ward doesn't exist anymore. It was merged into modern-day Chiyoda Ward in 1947.

Romanization: Ku

Teito Yongou Masuiro

Juukou na akarenga koukakyou wa utsukushii kyokusen wo egaki
Kouka shita ni wa naraku e tsunagaru tobira ga sonzai suru

Mahoujin no chuushin e
Gesuikou no futa wo ake naraku e hikizuri komareru

Kandagawa ni ukabu musuu no shoushitai ni awaremu koto mo dekizu
"Touzen" to kanjiru koto ni obiete furuete ita
Namida wo nagasu koto sae wasurete ita

Aijou　ando　kansha　heiwa　hito ga wasureta kanjou desu
Hito wa ayamachi wo kurikaesu　onaji ayamachi wo kurikaesu
Chi wo nagashite koroshiai
Ki ga tsukeba bokura wa mirai wo shime koroshite shimau

Teito ni egakareta mahoujin wa kakuchouten ni reien ga haichi sare
Taikakusen no kouten ni kuro no sekai ga sonzai suru

Kandaku ni korogaru musuu no shoushitai ni awaremu koto mo dekizu
"Touzen" to kanjiru koto ni obiete furuete ita
Namida wo nagasu koto sae wasurete ita

Aijou　ando　kansha　heiwa　hito ga wasureta kanjou desu
Hito wa ayamachi wo kurikaesu　onaji ayamachi wo kurikaesu
Chi wo nagashite koroshiau
Ki ga tsukeba bokura wa mirai wo shime koroshite shimau

Transcription: Ku

帝都四号魔水路

重厚な赤煉瓦高架橋は美しい曲線を描き
高架下には奈落へ繋がる扉が存在する

魔方陣の中心へ
下水溝の蓋を開け奈落へ引き摺り込まれる

神田川に浮かぶ無数の焼死体に憐れむ事も出来ず
『当然』と感じる事に怯えて震えていた
涙を流す事さえ忘れていた

愛情　安堵　感謝　平和　人間が忘れた感情です
人間は過ちを繰り返す　同じ過ちを繰り返す
血を流して殺し合い
気が付けば僕等は未来を締め殺してしまう

帝都に描かれた魔方陣は各頂点に霊苑が配置され
対角線の交点に黒の世界が存在する

神田区に転がる無数の焼死体に憐れむ事も出来ず
『当然』と感じる事に怯えて震えていた
涙を流す事さえ忘れていた

愛情　安堵　感謝　平和　人間が忘れた感情です
人間は過ちを繰り返す　同じ過ちを繰り返す
血を流して殺し合う
気が付けば僕等は未来を締め殺してしまう