W.C.Karasu, based in Toyama, is a popular musician throughout Japan. He debuted quite late, in his forties, and continues to work as a woodcutter alongside his music career. As a music lover living in Toyama, I'd often heard of him, but this weekend was the first time I saw him perform live—and it was incredibly fun!
Lately, he's been into rōkyoku and invented a genre he calls rōkyock 'n' roll. During the performance, he played a lengthy rōkyock 'n' roll piece that humorously narrated neighborhood troubles in a style that rōkyoku masters use to chronicle historical events. It was silly and funny, but his guitar playing and vocals were undeniably cool and unique. That piece was so long that we were able to enjoy few other songs. I'm going to share his most popular song that I discovered on YouTube after coming home. The song is called I Cried At An Udon Shop.
Here are the lyrics:
うどん屋で泣いた うどん屋で泣いた なんだかわからねえけれど ボロボロ泣いた 悲しくはないんだ 寂しいわけじゃない ただうどんがうまくて ダダ漏れに泣いた きつねじゃないんだ たぬきでもないんだ ましてやカレーじゃない 素うどんで泣いた 心の土手が決壊したみたいだ 何かが破裂して 涙が止まらねえ うどん屋で泣いた うどん屋で泣いた ぐどんな僕は ボロボロ泣いた 慟哭じゃないんだ シクシクでもないんだ サメザメでもないんだ ボロボロ泣いた | I cried at an udon shop I cried at an udon shop I don’t know why But I cried endlessly It wasn’t sadness It wasn’t loneliness The udon was just so good I cried uncontrollably It wasn’t kitsune udon It wasn’t tanuki udon And it wasn’t curry udon either I cried over just plain udon It felt like a dam in my heart had burst Something ruptured inside me And the tears wouldn’t stop I cried at an udon shop I cried at an udon shop This foolish me Cried endlessly It wasn’t wailing It wasn’t sobbing It wasn’t weeping I cried endlessly |
When I was younger, I probably wouldn’t have appreciated the charm of this song. Back then, I was drawn to extraordinary, unusual, and abstract music. But now, I love its simplicity and straightforwardness. The udon is so good that it reduced him to tears! I want to cry too!
Another performer that night was Suemarr from Kanagawa Prefecture, who was also amazing. After the show ended, both the performers and the audience members stayed to chat over drinks. In rural regions like Toyama, the boundaries between performers and audiences, as well as between professionals and amateurs, are quite blurred, fostering a warm and inclusive atmosphere.
I enjoyed such wonderful moments that I wouldn’t have experienced if I hadn’t returned to Toyama. The experiences here have truly influenced me, and I’m absolutely thrilled about that.
うどんかぁ、心に染みわたるな...。想像してなんだか安心します。最後のオノマトペがまたいいですね！
@Aki_ カラスさんはいかにもうどん屋で泣きそうな人でした。それにしても英語だと「泣く」にたくさんの動詞があるんですね😵💫 日本語だとほとんどオノマトペで言っちゃうところですね。泣くのオノマトペはここに出てくる「ボロボロ」「シクシク」「サメザメ」の他にも「メソメソ」「ワンワン」「エーン」「ポロポロ」「オイオイ」「ハラハラ」などいろいろありますよね。
そう、私もオノマトペで済ませちゃうことが多いんです。しかも、その場で適当に作ったオノマトペを使ったりして、自分の語彙力のなさにがっかりします。英語も無限に表現がありますよね。個人的に choke up が好きです。
What a fun song! I liked his guitar with the weird slanted fret. Good work on the onomatopoeia, too. I have the opposite problem to Aki-san, haha.
I liked that song! Thanks for sharing it! I have the opposite problem where I don't use enough onomatopoeia when I'm speaking Japanese :P
I love that you were able to talk to the musicians afterwards. I fell like people who can write a song with deep feelings and then share it are like gods haha. I could never perform a song I wrote, so talking to musicians would be a bit nerve-wracking for me.
@Aki_ オノマトペをその場で作れるのは語彙力のなさではなく才能です✨choke up は知らない表現だったので覚えておきます📝
@schmamie Yes, that night he played an electric guitar, which was also quite unusual. Onomatopoeia comes naturally to us, so I didn’t realize it could be challenging for Japanese learners.
@Ersatzjello You like udon, right? Yumi-san definitely knows some great udon shops in Kansai. When I was working in Harajuku, Tokyo, there was a favorite udon shop of mine nearby. However, I looked it up yesterday, and it seems to have become so popular that you’d have to wait in a long line now, so unfortunately, I can’t really recommend it anymore.
@via-chan I understand how you feel. However, musicians from Tokyo or Osaka tend to be more relaxed when performing at small rural venues, and most of them are very talkative. Some of them are incredibly talented but not wealthy, so music lovers like us often let them stay at our homes or apartments. We’re quite close to them. I’ll write more about them in the future.