Hibari Misora (美空ひばり Misora Hibari, May 29, 1937 - June 24, 1989) was a Ja… Read Full Bio ↴Hibari Misora (美空ひばり Misora Hibari, May 29, 1937 - June 24, 1989) was a Japanese singer and the predominant figure in postwar enka music. Born Kazue Kato (加藤和枝) in Yokohama, she was an accomplished singer by the age of seven, and appeared in film for the first time at age 12. Between 1949's Kanashiki kuchibue and 1971's Onna no Hanamichi, she appeared in over 60 movies.

In April of 1987, on the way to a performance in Fukuoka, she suddenly collapsed. Rushed to hospital, she was diagnosed with bilateral femoral necrosis brought on by chronic hepatitis. Until August she was confined to hospital and eventually showed signs of recovery. She commenced recording a new song Midaregami in October, and in 1988 performed at a concert called Fushichou konsaato (Phoenix Concert) at the Tokyo Dome. Against overwhelming pain in her legs, she performed a total of 39 songs while assuring her fans that she had completely recovered. However, on 24 May 1989, having been re-admitted to the Juntendou hospital in Tokyo, she died from interstitial pneumonitis at the age of 52.

In July 1989 after her death, she became the first female recipient of the National Prize of Honour (国民栄誉賞) for her longstanding contributions to the music industry.

In 1993, the Misora Hibari-kan opened in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Its popularity with fans and tourists has endured through to the present.

Her most famous song, "Kawa no nagare no yō ni," (1989) was voted #1 in a 1997 NHK poll of the best Japanese songs of all time.

無情の夢
美空ひばり Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

あきらめましょと
別れてみたが
何で忘りゃう忘らりょか
命をかけた恋じゃもの
燃えて身をやく恋心

よろこび去りて
残るは涙

何で生きよう生きらりょか
身も世もすてた恋じゃもの
花にそむいて男泣き
男泣きあきらめましょと
別れてみたが
何で忘りゃう忘らりょか
命をかけた恋じゃもの
燃えて身をやく恋心

よろこび去りて
残るは涙
何で生きよう生きらりょか
身も世もすてた恋じゃもの

花にそむいて男泣き
男泣き

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song 無情の夢 by the celebrated Japanese singer 美空ひばり are a poignant tale of heartbreak and unrequited love. The opening lines of the song, あきらめましょと別れてみたが何で忘りゃう忘らりょか (Akiramemasho to wakarete mita ga nande wasuryau wasurarika), translate to "Even though I tried to give up and part ways, why do I forget you?" These lines express the deep longing for a lost love, and the inability to move on from the pain of the separation.

The next verse, 命をかけた恋じゃもの燃えて身をやく恋心 (Inochi wo kaketa koi ja mono Moete mi wo yaku koigokoro), which roughly means "It was a love that I staked my life on, a burning passion that consumed me," speaks of the intensity and passion of the love that was lost. The singer laments that the flames of this love still burn within her, despite the pain it has caused her.

The final lines of the song, 花にそむいて男泣き (Hana ni somuite otoko naki), meaning "Facing the flowers, I weep like a man," express the ultimate helplessness and vulnerability of the singer, who feels like she has lost everything to this unrequited love.

Line by Line Meaning

あきらめましょと
Let's give up

別れてみたが
Even though we've parted

何で忘りゃう忘らりょか
Why do we forget, can we forget?

命をかけた恋じゃもの
It was a love that we risked our lives for

燃えて身をやく恋心
A passionate love that burnt our hearts

よろこび去りて
The happiness has gone away

残るは涙
All that remains are tears

何で生きよう生きらりょか
How can we continue to live?

身も世もすてた恋じゃもの
It was a love that we gave up everything for

花にそむいて男泣き
Going against the norm and shedding tears like a man

男泣きあきらめましょと
Let's give up and cry like a man