Konjaku Monogatari by Eri Sugai
Konjaku Monogatarishū (今昔物語集, lit. Anthology of Tales from the Past) is a Japanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the late Heian period (794-1185). The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which only 28 remain today. The volumes cover various tales from India, China and Japan.
The first 5 volumes contain tales from India, the next five tales from China and the remainder tales from Japan. The subject-matter is drawn from Buddhism and secular folklore.
All of the tales in the collection start with the phrase Now long ago (今ハ昔 ima wa mukashi). The Chinese-style pronunciation of this phrase is Kon-jaku, and it is from this that the collection is named. (Wiki)
Eri Sugai (菅井えり, Sugai Eri) is a Japanese vocalist, composer, and arranger. She has been compared to Enya in that she “multitracks her voice into angelic choruses, soaring over spare but emotional arrangements.” She has lent talents to more than 1,000 television commercials, and has produced four personal albums to date. (Wiki)
Lyrics
* gift of the deities
this island of four seasons
do not forget, do not destroy our ancient ways
the heart of our true essence*
drops of tears for the hazy moon
I dreamt on the night of a full moon
do not forget, do not forget
the heart that feels and speaks
a boxwood comb for the (long) black hair
letters for the beloved, written with brush and ink
eyes alone speak to each other
on an island with a heart
cherry blossoms in the spring
coloring maple leaves in the autumn
many colors adorn
the prayers of the trees
hiding amongst the grass and reverberating,
the song of coming autumn
eyes closed,
it’s the sweet lullabies that I remember
* (repeat)
allured by foreign lands
this changing island
do not forget, do not forget
here I make this wish in my heart
lyrics ERI SUGAI
The English translation by Masako Suzuki
Source
Kitsune's Thoughts 
Wow…the music really travels you to past. So nostalgic. But i didn’t quite understand what is the song about and how it is connected with that collection of tales.
The pictures in the video are sooo beautiful…sakura and red mapples…breathtaking. I wanna go to Nippon!!! (but what the hell am I going to eat?)
I also like the music and pictures 🙂
Oh, there are many delicious foods in Japan 🙂
From the youtube video page:
* gift of the deities
this island of four seasons
do not forget, do not destroy our ancient ways
the heart of our true essence*
drops of tears for the hazy moon
I dreamt on the night of a full moon
do not forget, do not forget
the heart that feels and speaks
a boxwood comb for the (long) black hair
letters for the beloved, written with brush and ink
eyes alone speak to each other
on an island with a heart
cherry blossoms in the spring
coloring maple leaves in the autumn
many colors adorn
the prayers of the trees
hiding amongst the grass and reverberating,
the song of coming autumn
eyes closed,
it’s the sweet lullabies that I remember
* (repeat)
allured by foreign lands
this changing island
do not forget, do not forget
here I make this wish in my heart
lyrics ERI SUGAI
The English translation by Masako Suzuki
oh the lyrics are so matching! it’s really about what Japan is!
About the food…well, let’s say I want my food well-done…I don’t like sth alive to get down my stomach. When I go to Germany this summer I’ll try a japanese restaurant though. I’ll give it a chance 😉
Well now, Japanese food can be very delicious 🙂 Yes, some food will be alive, but only rarely 😛
Oh, going to Germany? Have fun 🙂
ramen is delicious~~~
It would be great if you could find the lyrics in japaneese and post them however you find them…
I updated the post with lyrics (English) 🙂
I was saying the same thing! I’ve been looking for years but I can’t find them anywhere. I’d love to sing along with all the correct words.
I have added another video with Japanese lyrics.
この曲は素晴らしいです。それは心の人々が、優雅に平和をもたらします。これは別れえり菅井行わ傑作です。
Thank you so much for the lyrics!!!!
I just want to say Thank You, listening I findmy self calm and quiet within.
Beautiful
Glad you enjoyed the song 🙂
thank you for the song lyrics from someone who finished the takeda game 3
thank you for the song lyrics from someone who finished the takeda game 3
You are welcome 🙂