曼珠沙華 / Manjushage

Description

"欢迎来到桃源乡ーーーWelcome to the Land of Peach Blossoms ―――Hello, I am Mafumafu.I wrote of destiny. It is pronounced 'Manjushage'."

## Notes

1. ↑ The song’s title, “Manjushage”, does mean “red spider lily”. However, the flower is most often referred to as 彼岸花, which essentially translates to “flower of the autumn equinox”, due to its anthesis (flowering period). Thus, the name “Manjushage” is likely a reference to the ancient myth of Manju and Saka.
2. ↑ “The Land of Peach Blossoms” refers to this fable. It connotes an imaginary land of plenty, without suffering, wherein people live in harmony with nature. The term is sometimes also used with the meaning of an “unrealistic dream”.
3. ↑ “Kashou’s country” refers to a dream seen by the Yellow Emperor, wherein, again, everything is natural, there are no rulers, no one has any desires, and the people live long, happy lives.
4. ↑ The flower language meaning behind violets is “innocent love”, and “chastity”.
5. ↑ 「月並み」, although defined as “monthly”, also means “commonplace”; this is a double-meaning, implying that tears shed within spring are cliché. Furthermore, as「月」(meaning “moon”, in this case) is a word closely affiliated with autumn in traditional poetry, it can also allude to a spring that sheds tears with autumn: a refusal of seasonal boundaries.
6. ↑ Peach blossoms symbolize feminine beauty, a “sex-symbol” of sorts (one of their meanings is literally "I am your prize / captive"). They are also said to give immortality — referencing the Peach Blossom Spring (note 1)
7. ↑ Red spider lilies represent, generally, final partings, and two separately inseparable sides of the same coin, destined to never meet (see: fable in title note). In addition, they are said to guide spirits to the afterlife, and generally hold the flower meaning of “death”, although that is only a limited definition.
8. ↑ This is a euphemism for a courtesan, connoting “a woman so beautiful that she could tilt a country”.
9. ↑ Water lilies symbolize pure hearts, trust, and faith in the language of flowers.
10. ↑ “Peaches” was written in Chinese.
11. ↑  Referencing the Yellow Springs: a euphemism for a certain Chinese afterlife wherein souls of the departed do not suffer, but reside.
12. ↑ This line used the word 「泡沫」which means “bubbles” as a noun, and “ephemeral” as a metaphorical adjective — think, “disappearing, like the fleeting bubbles on the surface of liquid,” or, “something fleeting, easily made to disappear; love, dreams.”

## Additional Information

"Manjushage" is a song that contrasts the flower language of peach blossoms (submission, feminine beauty) with that of red spider lilies. The lyrics draw heavily upon symbolism from classic Chinese poetry, including the notion that spring is for falling in love (seasonal poetry dictates that affection follows the will of the four seasons). However, as the pleasure district does not abide by the rules of pure affection, such boundaries are destroyed. What is meant to be “spring” exists within every season, as written in the first verse, so even barren autumns are adorned with the arduous desire of love, despite there being no emotional attachment to speak of.

Autumn is the opposite; instead of affection growing, it decays. Thus, the petals of the red spider lily bloom in autumn and wither come spring: the opposite of peach blossoms. Moreover, the "floating world" (red light district) was often seem to be a place of boundless pleasure and fulfillment, but in truth, it was a place of endless sorrow and suffering. Like the "Peach Blossom Spring", that perception is an unrealistic dream, far removed from reality.

In Mafumafu's own words, it is the "sorrowful tale of a young woman".

This is the twelfth track on Mafumafu's album, "Kagura-colored Artifact".