Tengu No Monogatari
Hullo! My semester as 3rd year 1st semester will end in few days with the external portfolio~ but the burden is lesser after the internal portfolio just now so I'm free!~ after weeks of hellish drawing and design > < barely has time for fandom *shivers*
Alrite on with the subject I intend to write about! ^^V I was encouraged by fellow fans to write about the story behind tengu song after I told them the story that I discovered a couple of years ago based on several KAT-TUN interview back in 2004-2005 on how they came about being called Tengus by their seniors and all.. so I'll start with that...
Before all that let me brief you Tengu are goblins with long noses in japanese myth, but today in Japan the word is also used to mean 'show-off'.
On with the story....
This happened when the group KAT-TUN is still new and still back dancers obviously during the period 2001-2002. During this era despite their status as merely Domoto Koichi's back dancer in the show Pop Jam, KAT-TUN gradually gain more attention than anyone ever expected due to their good looks and cool/stubborn/carefree personality. This appeals to the younger as well as older audience very much that they received demand for concert tickets that doesn't even exist and merely started with rumors, thus eventually Johnny decide to make one because the demands could easily fill 2 days of Tokyo Dome and Johnny is greedy huhu. This achievement is very big considering the fact they are still Johnny's Jr. and even their senior having a hard time gathering that much audience. Yet this is merely the start of their many success to come in the future such as film role(Koki and Junno), drama role, successful sold-out concert and etc.
So to put it simply all these success get to KAT-TUN's then young head.. and they gradually became a little bit cocky as what usually happened to young people who reach fame suddenly. This bothers the senior especially when their jr. surpassed them and acted cocky about it and what anger them more is when KAT-TUN were so stubborn to follow orders like dressing properly and dancing in sync. This slowly become a well-known tension among jr. and KAT-TUN started to get the name bad boys of Johnny and senpai called them tengu because of that.
However for KAT-TUN being cocky and cheeky as they are, they named this era a tengu war huhu. Where any attitude from any of the members that trigger irritation from the senior members was called Tengu war I, like World War I you know and so on with the Tengu War II and etc. You can read the interview they talked about it here.
So with this tengu war KAT-TUN reflect on their bad personality and gradually change but not before making fun of how cocky they are during this period and express it into a very sarcastic song huhu namely TEN-G which debut its' performance in the spring concert of 2005. However they stop performing it after they've debuted, until in 2008 QOP concert where they make a comeback of the performance which create a great excitement among the loyal fans. So let us look at the lyrics shall we? XD
TEN-G by KAT-TUN
This the original lyrics in 2005 performance before they change it a bit in 2008
Tengu ni natteru
Hana ga nobiteru
Choushi ni nochatteru
We're becoming devils
Our noses are growing
We're getting caught up in it
---------------> This chorus directly imply that they are getting cocky and lost themselves in the sudden fame
Tengu ni natteru
Dare nimo chuui saretemo Ha? Ha?
We're becoming devils
No matter who cautions us. Ha? Ha?
--------------->This verse hinting that they are getting cocky no matter how much the senior scold them about it and even make a rude remarks about it the "Ha? Ha?" part basically means did-you-say-something-coz-I-can't-hear-you kind of attitude XD
Tengu ni natteru
Sou orera tengu
We're becoming devils
Yes, we are "devils"
--------------> This imply the attitude yes-we-are-cocky-so-deal-with-it!
Sude ni orera wa top jan?
Nani wo yattemo kimareba hop jan?
We're already at the top?
Whatever we do, we'll hop to the top?
--------------> This verse simply said they climb to the top easily and they are overwhelmed with it so they came to attitude where we're so popular that anything we did will end up successful.
Ore no mon wa ore no mon (Ma, masaka?)
Omae no mon wa ore no mon
My things are mine (What, for real?)
Your things are mine too
--------------> Basically means the Jaian(the bully character in Doraemon) attitude
Machi wo arukeba sokora no onna ga muragaru
Everybody say “Kakkou ii~!”
“Puraibeeto chuu dakara shashin toka shameeru yamete kunna?”
“Ah jaa sain kudasai!”
“Sain hoshii no? Sarasara… hiroe!”
If we walk around town, the girls there swarm around us
Everybody say, "You're so cool~!"
"It's my private time, so could you stop taking photos?"
"Ah, autograph then please!!"
"You want my autograph? Scribble, scribble, scribble... take that"
One word from us, we’re popular, forever that’s us…
-----------------> They are saying that even as jr. due to their increasing popularity girls were going crazy over them and starting to act all celebrity like hence the cocky attitude XD and admitting yes they are very popular
Dorama no shichouritsu sanjuu paasento koeta zo
DVD wa shoudou no uriage No.1
Our dramas had over 30% viewership ratings
Our DVDs impulsively go on sale at No.1!
--------------->Referring to Gokusen and Kaizokuban success
Dansu shuuzu hakanee yo!
Dansu kihon odonnee yo!
Rihaasaru nante da~I kirai
Buttsuke honban da~I suki
We won't wear dance shoes!
We don't dance basic dances!
We hate rehearsals
We love the real events
---------------> Referring to their stubborn attitude to follow their senpai's order and their attitude which loves impromptu act and live performance because that's the strength of their group.
Machigaeteru nowa ore janai
Machigaeteru nowa kamera wari
The ones who are mistaken aren't us
The ones who are mistaken are blocking the cameras
------------->The situation here is that they don't dance in sync and makes adjustment to the dance arrangement but it is never their fault but it's the front man fault, hence the senior huhu and they even interpret it in a very "ore-sama" attitude hence the lines "the ones who are mistaken are blocking the cameras" XD
Mochiron aisatsu wa mukou kara
“Ah ohayou gozaimazu”
“… Ohayo”
Naturally it's others that come up to greet us
"Ah, good morning"
"... Morning"
-------------> Referring to Jr. who respect and awe with KAT-TUN due to their popularity which boost they ego more ^^"
Tengu ni natteru
Sou orera tengu
Choushi ni note shimatte suimasen deshita~
We're becoming devils
Yes, we are "devils"
Sorry for getting so caught up in it~
-----------> The last verse where they repent on their cocky attitude and ended the Tengu War XD
There you go our cheeky boys~ I was having a good laugh at how err.... a bunch of idiots they are back in their jr. days but hey without this phase we wouldn't see the mature KAT-TUN now would we? There's another interview about tengu that one they talk mainly about how their senpai hated them so much because of their tengu attitude but I couldn't trace it back but 90% of the fact is in the link I gave to above anyway so it doesn't matter.. ja it's getting really long ne~ have fun reading I know I did! XD Till the next time!
Oh! and in case you didn't notice the link to the interview I gave you above here it is again
http://ricci.bidan.de/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=10&p=11&hilit=tengu&sid=aa0fa4634228456958b12b6c0dd6ceaa#p11
Source: Hadaka No Johnny
Lyrics and Translation credit to: http://goro-chan.livejournal.com/126491.html edit by sesshyandbyakuyalover