the official one piece channel released a music video to promote volume 109 much like how they did with volume 106 and the start of egghead:
youtube
and i watched it and i started bawling almost instantly. below the cut is the rough (very rough, i'm not great at translating music) translation i did of the lyrics, so you all can cry along with me.
例えば誰か一人の命と/tatoeba dareka hitori no inochi to
引き換えに世界を救えるとして/hikikae ni sekai wo sukueru toshite
僕は誰かが名乗り出るのを待っているだけの男だ/boku wa dareka ga nanorideru no wo matteiru dake no otoko
if, for example, by saving the life of one person
i could save the whole world
i would be a man who only waits for that one person to declare himself
愛すべきたくさんの人達が/aisubeki takusan no hitotachi ga
僕を臆病者に変えてしまったんだ/boku wo okubyoumono ni kaete shimattanda
to all the many people dear to me
i sadly became a coward
小さい頃に身振り手振りを/chiisai goro ni miburiteburi wo
真似てみせた/manete miseta
憧れになろうだなんて/akogare ni narou da nante
大それた気持ちはない/daisoreta kimochi wa nai
the gestures i learned when i was small
i've showed you how to copy
and i've come to yearn for something
no grand ambitious feeling
でもヒーローになりたい/demo 'hero' ni naritai
ただ一人君にとっての/tada hitori kimi ni totte no
つまずいたり転んだりするようなら/tsumazuitari korondari suru you nara
そっと手を差し伸べるよ/sotto te wo sashinoberu yo
but i want to become a hero
if only to you alone
if you ever stumble or fall
i'll quietly reach out a hand
駄目な映画を盛り上げるために/dame na eiga wo moriageru tame ni
簡単に命が捨てられていく/kantan ni inochi ga suterareteiku
違う 僕らは見ていたいのは/chigau, bokura wa miteitai no wa
希望に満ちた光だ/kibou ni michita hikari da
for the sake of bringing this no-good movie to its climax
lives were simply thrown away
but no, what we dream of seeing is
the light that has fueled our hopes
僕の手を握る少し小さな手/boku no te wo nigiru sukoshi chisana te
すっと胸の淀みを溶かしていくんだ/sutto mune no yodomi wo tokashiteikunda
that small hand gripping mine
all of a sudden melts all the hesitation from my heart
人生をフルコースで深く味わうための/jinsei wo furucosu de fukaku ajiwau tame no
幾つものスパイスが誰もに用意されていて/ikutsumono supaisu ga daremo ni youi sareteite
時には苦かったり/toki ni wa nigakattari
渋く思うこともあるだろう/shibuku omou koto mo aru darou
そして最後のデザートを笑って食べる/soshite saigou no dezaato wo waratte taberu
君の側に僕は居たい/kimi no soba ni boku wa itai
so that you might deeply savor life as a full-course meal
with all its many spices laid out for everyone
though at times it may be bitter
and full of sour thoughts
and at last you'll eat dessert laughing
i want to be by your side
残酷に過ぎる時間の中で/zankoku ni sugiru no naka de
きっと十分に僕も大人になったんだ/kitto juubun ni boku mo otona ni nattanda
悲しくはない 切なさもない/kanashiku wa nai, setsunasa mo nai
ただこうして繰り返されてきたことが/tada koushite kurikaesarete kita koto ga
そうこうして繰り返していくことが/sou koushite kurikaeshite iku koto ga
嬉しい 愛しい/ureshii, itoshii
i certainly came to adulthood
in the midst of these times that are far too cruel
but i'm not sad, and i'm not in pain
although things have just repeated like this
yes, although things will repeat like this
i'm happy, my dearest
ずっとヒーローにありたい/zutto 'hero' ni aritai
ただ一人君にとっての/tada hitori kimi ni totte no
ちっとも謎めいてないし/chittomo nazomeitenai shi
今更もう秘密はない/imasara mou himitsu wa nai
i always want to be a hero
if only to you alone
without any mystery left
after everything, i have no secrets anymore
でもヒーローになりたい/demo 'hero' ni naritai
ただ一人君にとっての/tada hitori kimi ni totte no
つまずいたり転んだりするようなら/tsumazuitari korondari suru you nara
そっと手を差し伸べるよ/sotto te wo sashinoberu yo
but i want to become a hero
if only to you alone
if you ever stumble or fall
i'll quietly reach out a hand
[Image above: Kyoto Sanzenin Temple, statue of Mahāsthāmaprāpta]
What is the 23 nights temple? [Part 1]
Thank you for your continued support of the ‘A Message from 23 Nights Temple’ blog. We have received quite a few questions from our readers about the ‘23 Nights Temple’, so we would like to answer them here in two parts.
23 nights is one of the folk rituals on the night of a specific moon phase, such as the 13th, 15th, 17th or 19th night, to wait for the moon to rise, make offerings, eat and drink together. Hundreds of years ago, halls where these events used to be held were scattered all over Japan, but unfortunately most of them have now been demolished and replaced by parking lots and modern ossuaries, especially in urban areas. The moon-waiting rituals of the Mid-Autumn Moon, 15 Nights (Full Moon), are still practised today. Although most modern Japanese are agnostics, some ritual events incorporating Buddhism and Shintoism remain.
The moon phase on the 23rd night is the ‘waning moon’, the half moon after the full moon, when the left half of the moon appears to be shining. The moon on the 23rd night is characterized by appearing late, around midnight, and in some mountainous areas surrounded by mountains, it can appear as late as 1 a.m.
In moon-waiting, the object of worship was determined by the time of the lunar phase at which the event was held. The object of worship on the 23rd night was Mahāsthāmaprāpta (bodhisattva mahāsattva), who was also said to be the incarnation of the moon. The light of wisdom possessed by Mahāsthāmaprāpta was thought to illuminate everything, freeing people from suffering and giving them strength.
In Shinto, Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto (Ref) is another name for Mahāsthāmaprāpta. He is also known as the god of agriculture and fishery, due to his characteristic control over the moon calendar.
The widespread ritual of waiting for the moon on the night of the 23rd lunar phase can be attributed to the worship of Mahastamaprapta, the savior of all things.
In “ A Message from 23 Nights Temple,” one of those shrines is featured. However, 2 years ago, the shrine, built over 1,000 years ago, was removed and converted into a commercial ossuary (August 2022), and the monk who left many of his messages died at the same time, but we continue to present the Zen words he left behind.
And personally, I am posting this not quite as a religion, but with the hope that as many people as possible will remember the philosophy of the prehistoric people, who lived with a sense of the cosmos, worshipping nature and enjoying the beauty of flowers, birds, wind and moon.