Theme of Roningai

２００４年に、唐沢寿明さんと松たか子さん主演で舞台化した、「浪人街」のテーマ曲を教授が
作っていたので、最近わたくし、歌詞を作って歌いました。
その歌詞について、それと、１９９０年盤の映画（原田芳雄さんと樋口可南子さん主演）も最近観たので、英語でレビューも含めて書いてみました。
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I made a poem for a tune " roningai".
It's a theme tune by RS for a Japanese drama, "roningai" in 2004.
It was originally a Japanese movie released in 1928.
and was remade in 1990.
Then, It was remade as a play in 2004 written by another scenario writer.
RS made the theme tune for it.
Roningai means " town in masterless sumurais".
I've never seen the play or movie.
So I watched the movie latest version---made in 1990.
There's a DVD of the play 2004 version, too.
but I couldn't get it.
So it's OK I saw the movie.
In the movie, hero is a ronin------loadless samurai.
and he doesn't work.It is near the end of Edo period----the end of 19th century.
japan has been peaceful, no war for a long time.
So Jap
an was full of masterless samurais like this hero.
and heroine is doing business as a prostitute called "Yotaka" in Japanese
----a woman of the street.
I heard there were several kinds of institute in Japan in Edo period.
So I looked up what's "Yotaka" like?
and found they were lowest rank of them.They work outside for the minimum wage.because they are people dismissed from regular office, and not be employed byany office with illness or to get old.
Heroine is a beautiful girl, but somehow she is a yotaka, street walker.
and she has a boyfriend----who never worked.
He is hero in this movie, though.
She left from him once, but meet again and love each other.
He looks insincere and the meanest man.
In the play, situation is a little different.
An article says, the heroine is a pickpocket.
Anyway, this story is about people dropped out from general society, in the movie or the play.
masterless samurais and yotakas---streetwalkers.
They live in the town----a kind of slum.

On the other hand, there are official samurais, direct vassals of the shogun.
and in this story, they are very wicked persons.
They started to kill yotaka one by one every night.
and say people like yotakas made society bad, and they are doing it for justice.
But actually, they do that for fun-----just for fun.
Heroine is considered wicked person----good-for-nothing because she is a yotaka.
But actually she is faithful to her friends and a kind person.
And she decides to take revenge on the official samurais who killed her friend.
But she fails and is caught by them.
They decide to kill her in horrible way and make a show it.
They have a plan that make a trap and throw into that hero---her boyfriend.
They know that several ronins are very angry with a series of murder and they knowwho are doing it.
And ronins----especially our hero is gonna take revenge.
So official samurais want to kill him.
and they gather 100 samurais to kill him and wait him with the trap.
On the other hand, hero knows they are setting a trap using heroine, and wait him gathering more than 100 samurais.
So he will not stand up easily at first.
But at last, he stands up to help her by himself, against 100 soldiers!
Meanwhile, heroine is tied up to poles and waits for the execusion.
She looks not afraid----she looks a little sad and she is ready for death---but not only that----she looks she is thinking about something with attention and waiting something---giving up, thinking and expecting something----mixed expression--but she looks a kind of noble person and so beautiful.
When her boyfriend, our hero finally appears in front of all of them---100 samuraisby himself, her face shines with happiness.
And her face shows that she knew it----she believed in him.

After that, his friends come to help him.
As a result, he can save her and they leave the slum together.
When I wrote the poem, I didn't see the movie yet, just read the out line.
So I looked up the Yotaka and ronin, masterless samurai I felt they are hopeless.
If they leave the slum and go somewhere faraway, they must be arrested and executed.
If they can escape successfully they will never agree.
because he is not gonna work and she can nothing to do except yotaka.
I thought it's a terrible story----too miserable at that time.
I can't make any poem for that, I felt listening to RS's play "roningai"
I was in trouble.
And suddenly, I noticed I didn't listen to the music at all----I set the music player,
and it surely played the tune, but actually I didn't listen to.
I just concentrated my thought not listen.
I started to listen to the music.
Then, I suddenly found it's just a small world---these people living in slum, officialsamurais, and even the times they were living.
What make their situation is age they are living.
The age--time makes them they are the lowest people.
I read the story is about the end of Edo period----soon, a new age is coming.
In fact, the people cold samurai disappeared around 30 years later because of theMeiji restoration.
Anyway, my mind changed suddenly by listening to his music.
status, rank, situation, even person's character---they are decided by the time the person live.

Hero and heroine in this story might be lowest rank people, but they have one greatproperty.That's they are young.
That means they are strong---they have strength and strong feet.
That means they might can do everything----at least they have some possibilities toact for their future.
They are all right----i'm sure they can live long happily.
I often forget to listen to RS's music when I make a poem because I think too much about the story.I hear it, but not concentrate.
As a result , I'm taking a narrow view of thing.
If I see only the surface of things, I might could see nothing.
So I made a poem with the idea.