Asian Kung-Fu Generation (アジアン・カンフー・ジェネレーション Ajian Kanfū Jenerēshon, styliz… Read Full Bio ↴Asian Kung-Fu Generation (アジアン・カンフー・ジェネレーション Ajian Kanfū Jenerēshon, stylized as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION) is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama, Japan, in 1996. For nearly its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotō, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi. Starting out as a college band, Asian Kung-Fu Generation released a series of independent EPs featuring lyrics mostly sung in English. In 2002, they released their major-label EP debut Hōkai Amplifier, from that point singing their lyrics in Japanese. The band's musical style is influenced by seminal Western alternative rock acts as well as their own local Japanese indie-rock and punk scene. Their songs incorporate various aspects of the genres, most typically expressing fast tempos and prominent power chord guitar riffs in addition to rhythmic groove and emotional lyrics. Despite the indie nature of their music, the band has enjoyed worldwide commercial success in addition to critical acclaim. Asian Kung-Fu Generation has been cited as one of the best, most balanced modern rock bands to emerge from Japan in the 2000s.

The four of them came together in the music club of their university in 1996; for Gotoh, Kita, and Yamada, ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION was the first band they ever formed.

After a while, they began to perform at the school and in the local Yokohama area. Interestingly, their first songs were all written in English and, in fact, their first independent 6 track album (released in 2000) was entirely sung in English. The CDs were sold at concerts and over the internet.

In 2001, beginning with "YMD" they held many self-planned events at Yokohama's CLUB24.

Once "Konayuki," the first song in which they used Japanese lyrics, was completed, they sent copies to all the independent shows on the FM stations, and were consequently able to get their music played for the first time on FM radio.

After that, they released their second CD of original works, this time using Japanese lyrics. It achieved great success within the region and at all the Live Houses.
From this time on, starting at Shibuya, Shimokitazawa, Kichijouji and other places, they started putting on shows famed for their energy.

In 2002, they submitted a track to the Underflow Records Compilation CD. In November of the same year, they released "Houkai Amplifier," their first Mini Album to be produced professionally. This album, which would decide their future, debuted in the number 1 spot of Highline Records weekly charts, and also made it to the number 35 spot in the Oricon Indies Chart.

On April 4, 2003, "Houkai Amplifier" was re-released under Ki/oon Records. That summer, they appeared at FUJI ROCK (on the "ROOKIE A GO GO" stage), and at SUMMER SONIC '03 in Osaka.

Following their October 16, 2003 single "Kimi to Iu Hana," their first full album "Kimi Tsunagi Five M" was released on November 19.

From January 19 to February 25 2004, they went on the "five nano seconds" tour. All shows immediately sold out and were a massive success.

In 2004, their first proper single "Siren" and their second single, the iconic "Loop & Loop," were released, the former on April 14th and the latter on May 19th.

Their self-planned event ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION presents "NANO-MUGEN FEST" took place on July 1st at Nihon Budoukan and, that summer, they appeared live at festivals in areas all over the country. On August 4th, their new single "Rewrite" was released, followed by "Kimi no Machi Made" on September 23rd.

On October 20, 2004, their long-awaited new album "Sol-fa" was released and this really pushed the band to the forefront of the J-Rock scene. Then, on November 2nd, they started their second national tour: ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Tour Suihai No!

June 8 2005 saw the release of "NANO-MUGEN COMPILATION," an album composed of songs from various acts, both Japanese and English-language alike. Included was their first single after "Sol-fa": "Blackout." Later, the band released their first real single in over a year; "Blue Train."

In 2006, the band released another single "World Apart," followed by their third album, "Fanclub." A month later, they released their latest album "Feedback File," which includes live versions of some of their most popular tracks.

Their song "Haruka Kanata" was chosen to be a theme song for the anime series "Naruto," and the popular single "Rewrite" was selected as a theme song to the hit anime series "Fullmetal Alchemist." The song "Aru Machi no Gunjou" was used in the animated movie "Tekkon Kinkreet," and the song "After Dark" was used as a theme song for the animated series "BLEACH." The song "Maigo Inu to Ame no Beat" was used as the opening theme for the anime "The Tatami Galaxy".

Sono Wake wo
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

思い描くことさえ僕らは忘れたよ
吐き出す焦燥の否
散る訳をその訳を

伝えたいことさえ僕らは失くしたよ
吐き出す焦燥の否
散る訳をその訳を
絶望の果て繋いだ手の

僅かに浮かんだ消えたはずの模様
幻想の果て現状に手を
溶け残る記憶燃やす真の情熱
求め合うより与え合うように
僕ら差し伸べる灯を
分かり合うより想い合うように
届け色褪せぬ永遠のまま

思い描くことさえ…
失くした意味を
君のその訳を
絶望の果て繋いだ手の
僅かに浮かんだ消えたはずの模様
幻想の果て現状に手を
溶け残る記憶燃やす真の情熱
こぼれ出すより溢れ出すように
心照らしだす灯を
分かり合うより想い合うように
届け色褪せぬ永遠のまま
求め合うより与え合うように
僕ら差し伸べる灯を

分かり合うより想い合うように
届け色褪せぬ永遠のまま

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Sono Wake wo" by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION convey a sense of lost hope and desperation. The first two lines reveal that the singer and his compatriots have forgotten even their own dreams, while they can’t express their frustration or the reason why their hopes are shattered. The repeated phrase, "吐き出す焦燥の否 (hakidasu shousou no i)", which means "the denial of spewing anxiety," signifies that they are unable to find a way out of their hopeless situation. They feel that they have lost everything that is important to them, even their desire to communicate with others, as they can’t convey their message to anyone.

The second stanza "絶望の果て繋いだ手の僅かに浮かんだ消えたはずの模様幻想の果て現状に手を溶け残る記憶燃やす真の情熱 (Zetsubou no hate tsunaida te no wazuka ni ukanda kieta hazu no moyou Gensou no hate genjou ni te wo toke nokoru kioku moyasu shin no jounetsu)" describes the futile attempt of the singers trying to find something to hold onto to keep them going. The phrase "繋いだ手の (tsunaida te no)" suggests that they have joined hands and are fighting together, but the little they got that floated with them disappeared like a pattern, and they are left with only memories of the past that remain, burning their passion.

The final stanza "こぼれ出すより溢れ出すように心照らしだす灯を分かり合うより想い合うように届け色褪せぬ永遠のまま (Koboredasu yori afuredasu you ni Kokoro terashidasu hi wo Wakari au yori omoi au you ni Todoke iroasenu eien no mama)" is a call to keep moving forward and find hope in the small lights that they can create together. They acknowledge that it is better to give than to receive and to express their feelings rather than trying to understand others. The last line, "届け色褪せぬ永遠のまま (todoke iroasenu eien no mama)" signifies that they want to keep those feelings pure and eternal. Overall, the song Sono Wake wo speaks about the struggles and feelings of despair that people go through and the hope that can be found in connecting with others and expressing our true feelings.

Line by Line Meaning

思い描くことさえ僕らは忘れたよ
We have forgotten even the things we used to imagine

吐き出す焦燥の否
We deny our feelings of restlessness

散る訳をその訳を
The reasons for scattering are also scattered

伝えたいことさえ僕らは失くしたよ
We have lost even the things we want to convey

絶望の果て繋いだ手の
At the end of despair, holding hands

僅かに浮かんだ消えたはずの模様
Pattern that should have disappeared, faintly floating

幻想の果て現状に手を
At the end of fantasy, we choose reality

溶け残る記憶燃やす真の情熱
We ignite our true passion that burns persisting memories

求め合うより与え合うように
We offer light to each other, rather than seek it

僕ら差し伸べる灯を
The light that we reach out with

分かり合うより想い合うように
We strive to empathize rather than understand