Negai Yo Hiike - Make a wish
Afraid of the dawn, I wish again and again
Farewell to the lonely sky and the salvation of love
My prayer is distant, illuminates the crimson lotus
Ringing bells, carry my wish
Warm sleep, stretch your hand high today
Oh, if only I could be forgiven
Joy, sorrow, let us live together
Shining human voices full of smiles
Please, light, guide me, to the wondrous morning I've longed for
To the beautiful morning I've been waiting for
When I wake up, let's start walking
Along with my dreams
Ringing bells, carry my wish
I dance from my heart in the city that blooms today
Oh, now it's blooming beautifully
Joy, sorrow, let us all sing together
I dreamed so vividly of the love I shared with you
Please guide me, let the light guide me
Into Tomorrow
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Miedo al amanecer, deseo una y otra vez
Adiós al cielo solitario y la salvación del amor.
Mi oración es distante, ilumina el loto carmesí
Sonando las campanas, lleva mi deseo
Sueño cálido, estira tu mano alto hoy
Oh, si tan solo pudiera ser perdonado
Alegría, tristeza, vivamos juntos
Brillantes voces humanas llenas de sonrisas
Por favor, luz, guíame, a la maravillosa mañana que he anhelado
A la hermosa mañana que he estado esperando
Cuando me despierte, empecemos a caminar.
Junto con mis sueños
Sonando las campanas, lleva mi deseo
Bailo con mi corazón en la ciudad que hoy florece
Oh, ahora está floreciendo maravillosamente
Alegría, tristeza, cantemos todos juntos
Soñé tan vívidamente con el amor que compartí contigo
Por favor guíame, deja que la luz me guíe
The short, thorny, graceful hawthorn. The slender hawthorn trunk and branches twist as the years go by. In winter they are particularly beautiful, standing clinging to misty wildernesses and craggy rocky outcrops, or clustered on open ranges of hills that their appearance is spectacular. Leaves and flowers appear simultaneously in May, signalling the change of season from spring to summer. Hawthorn flowers bloom in clusters, so that at the height of spring, rows of white froth run across the fields and mountains, a scene aptly captured by the English writer H. E. Bates as 'the fluffy cream floating in May'.
In spring, when the hawthorn flowers are in full bloom, the air releases a musky, sweet, rich fragrance all around. Small round berries turn burgundy in autumn.
In Ireland, hawthorn is still cherished as a magical tree protected by the fairy kingdom. Tradition has it that if you cut down a single hawthorn tree standing alone in a field or burial mound, you will lose your livestock and household possessions.
Hawthorn trees protect wells and springs as fairy trees. The beautiful flowers of hawthorn are also said to deliver prayers to the heavens. Even today, many people tie rags and other items to hawthorn trees standing near wells and springs, wishing for good luck or that their love will reach the person they love.
Before Christianity, hawthorn was the supreme fertility symbol and at the May Festival, people confided their love, danced to their heart's content and made love in the woods. Among the Celts, spring was the season for marriage, and it was customary to bring a bouquet of hawthorn flowers to weddings to ensure that the couple would be blessed with children.
In Britain, the earliest known hawthorn goddess was Olwen ('white footprints'), a woman of courage, wit and beauty. The well-known mythological tale of Culhwch and Olwen, in which King Arthur's cousin, Culhwch, overcame 40 impossible tasks that seemed virtually unattainable set out by Olwen's father, the giant king, Yspaddaden, and marry his beloved Olwen.
As the beautiful, white hawthorn flowers opened, people celebrated the power of nature and love to bring new life into the world and marvelled at the miracles of sexual activity, pregnancy and childbirth. For the Celts, sexual activity, pregnancy and childbirth were not something to be ashamed of, but an essential part of life and a sacred expression that one could love.
Goodbye 2023!
Sum-up of debuts this year
Maiko/Hangyoku:
Kotsuta 小つた from Tokyo Mukojima - before 14. December
Saku 佐く from Tokyo Mukojima - 14. June
Komomo 小桃 from Arima Onsen - before 18. October
Kotono 古都乃 from Aizuwakamatsu - 20. October
Iori 伊おり from Aizuwakamatsu - 04. August
Momokichi 桃吉 from Shizuoka - 21. July
Waka 和香 from Tokyo Kagurazaka - 10. May
Minami 美波 from Tokushima - 6. January
Kikuyu 喜久有 from Gifu - 7. March
Kikyo 喜きょう from Gifu - 3. December
Misuzu みすず and Kazuha かづ葉 from Niigata - 16. May
Yumeka ゆめ花, Mamehana 豆はな, Matsuri まつりand Misaki 美咲 from Yamagata - 8. May
Iroha いろ羽 and Mameka まめ佳 from Akita - 16. May
Geiko/Geisha/Geigi:
Yoshiki 芳菊 from Nara - 29. April
Yutsuki 結月 from Yokohama - before 22. October
Kanayuki 叶雪 from Yokohama - before 8. October
Suzuhana すず華 from Nagasaki - before 6. September
Kosen 鼓千 from Dogo Onsen - 16. May
Chizuru 千鶴 from Osaka Nanchi - 27. November
Marizuru まり鶴 from Osaka Nanchi - 20. February
Momiji 萌美路 from Kanazawa - before 19. May
Ito 以と from Kanazawa - 7. February
Makoto 万琴 from Kanazawa - 12. October
Hazuki はづき, Masaka まちか, Kimika きみか and Ayano あやの from Ureshino Onsen - before 2. October
Nana 南成 from Tokyo Mukojima - 22. February
Hana 花 from Tokyo Mukojima - 15. June
Koyuki 小雪 from Tokyo Mukojima - before 6. September
Konatsu 小奈都 from Tokyo Mukojima - before 14. November
Itsuki 五希 from Izunagaoka - before 30. March
Kotori 小とり from Yokohama - before 13. October
Nanami 七々美 from Anjo - 24. July
Those are 38 new faces, plus Momiji, who was working as a Geigi in Kanazawa before and switched district from Higashi to Nishi.
[note I might TL this later, or someone else can, a lot of formal language is used so I'm not sure yet.
Anyway context: Okasaki Miho, Mahiru's actress, couldn't make it to the MILGRAM Live shows so she made a pre-recorded video apologising and answering some questions that played before both shows]