Naraku no Hana (奈落の花, lit. Flower of Hell) is the opening for the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai anime adaptation. It was performed by Eiko Shimamiya and written by Shimamiya herself. A titular single featuring the full version was released on 22nd August, 2007.
Sonna basho de
Sakanaide
Sakanaide
Karametorarete ikanaide
Oto mo naku tobikau
Toki no kakera
Break free and escape, it says
Break free and escape, it says
From this unbelievably sad fate
You are not a flower of hell
In the likes of that place,
Don't you blossom, it says
Don't you blossom, it says
Don't be ensnared and taken away
Soundlessly, they flit by—
The fragments of time
誰がこの手を
にぎってるの？
誰がこの髪を
なでているの？
今泣いていた
もえぎの中で
感じてる
合図
Dare ga kono te wo
Nigitte iru no?
Dare ga kono kami wo
Nadete iru no?
Ima naite ita
Moegi no naka de
Kanjiteru
Aizu
Who is the one
Grasping my hand?
Who is the one
Caressing my hair?
Amongst the sprouts which
Were crying just now,
I can feel
Their sign...
飛び越えてって
飛び越えてって
運命のはぐるまから
あなたは 奈落の花じゃない
そんな場所で
散らないで
散らないで
そして種を残さないで
芽を出せばふたたび
廻るカルマ
Tobikoetette
Tobikoetette
Unmei no haguruma kara
Anata wa naraku no hana ja nai
Sonna basho de
Chiranaide
Chiranaide
Soshite tane wo nokosanaide
Me wo daseba futatabi
Mawaru karuma
Fly away and beyond, they say
Fly away and beyond, they say
Far away from the gears of fate
You are not a flower of hell
In the likes of that place,
Don't scatter, they say
Don't scatter, they say
And don't leave behind any seeds
Once they begin to bud,
Karma shall go round once more[2]
抜け出してって
抜け出してって
悲しすぎる運命から
あなたは 奈落の花じゃない
そんな場所で
咲かないで
咲かないで
からめとられて行かないで
音もなく飛び交う
時のかけら
Nukedashitette
Nukedashitette
Kanashisugiru unmei kara
Anata wa naraku no hana ja nai
Sonna basho de
Sakanaide
Sakanaide
Karametorarete ikanaide
Oto mo naku tobikau
Toki no kakera
Break free and escape, they say
Break free and escape, they say
From this unbelievably sad fate
You are not a flower of hell
In the likes of that place,
Don't you blossom, they say
Don't you blossom, they say
Don't be ensnared and taken away
Soundlessly, they flit by—
The fragments of time
Notes[]
↑ 1.01.1Naraku (奈落, Sanskrit:Naraka) refers to the realm of hell in Indian religions. However, it is not a place of eternal damnation as opposed to other conceptions of hell, and souls may be sent to the next realm to attain rebirth once they have received the rightful punishments for their sins. The period of one's stay in Naraka depends on their karmic debt and even virtuous people who have committed minor sins are to stay until their punishments are dealt with.
↑Karma refers to the deeds one commits during their lives. Good deeds bring happier lives and rebirths, whereas bad deeds beget suffering and misery. One's karmic debt may be too heavy for them alone to shoulder and be passed onto the coming generations they father—hence the lyrics warn the flower to not "leave behind any seeds".
Trivia[]
The chants beginning at 03:14 are in fact the reversed audio of the chants heard multiple times throughout the opening song of the anime's first season. The chants which were unclear in the first opening song are finally coherent in Naraku no Hana, and can be transcribed as "Nigebanainda" (逃げ場ないんだ, lit. No place to escape to).
This little detail is in line with the fact that the first season comprises of the question arcs and the second season provides the solutions to those mysteries.
