The Smells of Tokyo

I was born in Tokyo and I've been living in Tokyo until now.

I love Tokyo, and I'm always looking for the flavor of Tokyo in literature and music.

In modern Japanese literature there are two types of authors. The first are the ones that came to Tokyo from rural areas, and the second are the ones that were born in Tokyo.

The authors that came from rural to Tokyo wrote novels about the conflicts between their families back in the rural parts of Japan, and their new lives in Tokyo. But I'm not interested in such conflicts.

I love authors that were born in Tokyo. They have the same smell as me. I want to feel the scents of Tokyo from their novels, Soseki Natsume, Junichiro Tanizaki, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Soetsu Yanagi and Shuzo Kuki.

Haruomi Hosono, who were also born in Tokyo, made music that smelled very Tokyo. He sung that "It smells of the earth and the paint" and "It smells of the rain and the mold" in his song "The Love Is Rosy". I'm quite sure that was very reminiscent of Tokyo.

"The Love Is Rosy" Haruomi Hosono




Where am I? I don't care.
Can I forget how to arrive here?
It smells of the earth and the paint.
The walls are the color of ivory and the skies are the color of glass.

Since I've arrived in the night,
Blowing cheerful songs out,
a fired car is going into darkness,
and playing tag with the red moon.

I've walked on this road
along the river before.
I find the town that I've been to
through the breaks in the clouds.
Trutururu, trutururu, truturururu.

When it rains in your body,
Can I get wet closing my umbrella?
It smells of the rain and the mold.
The skies are gray and the love is rosy.

I've walked on this road
along the river before.
I find the town that I've been to
through the breaks in the clouds.
Trutururu, trutururu, truturururu.