🎭 Ateji in J-POP: Where the Kanji You Read and the Sound You Hear Overlap

Welcome to the JLR (Japan Lyric Room) blog, where we explore the lyrics of J-POP and anime songs through their wordplay!

In our earlier "Homophones" feature, we looked at one of the most interesting things about Japanese: the same sound can carry completely different meanings. This time, we come at it from the opposite direction and look at a device especially well suited to Japanese lyrics. The theme is ateji (当て字): singing a kanji word with a reading that is different from its usual one, and doing it on purpose.

In Japanese lyric booklets, a small reading guide (called ruby or furigana / 振り仮名) is sometimes printed next to the kanji. Lyricists use this to prepare two separate words: one "seen with the eyes" and one "heard with the ears." For example, if you write 武者震い (musha-burui) but sing it as "high tension (ハイテンション)", a reader of the lyric booklet pictures someone rousing themselves before a battle, while the ear takes in a modern sense of excitement. A single phrase delivers two meanings or nuances at once.

Strictly speaking, these expressions go by several names, such as ateji (当て字), ruby (ルビ), and jukujikun (熟字訓). In this article, we'll call any expression that shifts the reading away from the kanji to layer meanings "ateji."

Here we introduce six songs JLR has covered before, grouped by the type of device they use.

• Type A: Pairing a kanji with the reading of an entirely different word (1–4)

• Type B: Giving a familiar word kanji other than its usual ones (5–6)

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1. AIZO / King Gnu

【武者震い → ハイテンション】

• 武者震い (musha-burui): Trembling as your spirit rises before a battle or an important moment

• ハイテンション (hai tenshon): A state of elevated mood, of being very pumped up

King Gnu's "AIZO" was written as the opening theme for the TV anime Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, "The Culling Game." As the title suggests, it takes "aizō / 愛憎" (love and hate) as its theme and portrays the duality of human nature laid bare in the middle of a chaotic battle.

"咬ませ狗の武者震い（ハイテンション）" (Kamase-inu no musha-burui [hai tenshon])

The "musha / 武者" in musha-burui means "warrior" (samurai), and the word has an old-fashioned, valiant ring to it. What reaches the ear, "hai tenshon / ハイテンション," comes from the English "high tension." In Japanese, though, it doesn't mean "tension" in the sense of nervousness. It's used to describe a state of being very excited and pumped up.

Read on the page, it's an old word that smells of battle. Heard aloud, it's modern youth slang. Both words express "being worked up," yet two words from entirely different eras and with entirely different textures are stacked in a single spot. Kamase-inu / 咬ませ狗 refers to someone set up as a loser to make the main character look good. The trembling shown by this "kamase-inu" can also be read as either bravado or genuine fighting spirit.

👉 Read the full song breakdown: King Gnu "AIZO"

2. ハルカミライ (Haruka Mirai) / Kankaku Piero

【幸運 → キセキ】

• 幸運 (kōun): Good luck, an unexpected stroke of fortune

• キセキ (kiseki): A sound that evokes "奇跡 / miracle"; a mysterious event that shouldn't be possible

Released on October 24, 2017, "Haruka Mirai" was written as the first-cour opening theme for the TV anime Black Clover. It's a high-speed rock number that expresses protagonist Asta's "never give up" attitude through sound, and it remains beloved as the theme song that symbolizes where the series began.

"これを幸運(キセキ)って呼ぼうか" (Kore o kiseki tte yobō ka)

What's written in the lyric booklet is "kōun / 幸運," a statistical kind of "luck." But what reaches the ear is the sound "kiseki / キセキ," and here most Japanese speakers will probably picture "奇跡 / miracle." Notice that the kanji for "miracle" itself appears nowhere in the line.

In writing, it modestly says "luck." In the voice, it calls that same thing a "miracle." The gap between how the line is written and how it's sung conveys a wish not to let a meeting end as mere chance, and to receive it as something special. The soft question "yobō ka / 呼ぼうか" ("shall we call it...") adds a warmth, as though celebrating that miracle together with the other person.

👉 Read the full song breakdown: Kankaku Piero "Haruka Mirai"

3. NIGHT DANCER / imase

【髪 → ヘア】

• 髪 (kami): The hair that grows on your head

• ヘア (hea): A katakana word derived from the English "hair"

Released on August 19, 2022, imase's "NIGHT DANCER" is a polished, city pop-style dance number that evokes a city at night. Sparked by dance videos on TikTok, it also made a big impact in South Korea. In February 2023, it became the first J-POP song ever to enter the Top 100 of the overall chart on Melon, a Korean music streaming service.

"乱れた髪（ヘア）に 掠れたメロディー" (Midareta hea ni kasureta merodī)

Unlike the examples above, "kami / 髪" and "hea / ヘア" mean almost exactly the same thing. What changes is the impression the word gives.

The kanji 髪 carries a calm, slightly raw sense of the body. Pairing it with the light-sounding English-derived "hea / ヘア" creates a small gap between how the word looks and how it sounds. This is an ateji that switches the texture of a word rather than doubling its meaning. It helps create the effortless, stylish atmosphere typical of city pop, and it shows us that ateji is a tool for shaping not only "meaning" but also "atmosphere."

👉 Read the full song breakdown: imase "NIGHT DANCER"

4. SAY-BYE!! / KOTOKO

【絶頂 → アソコ】

• 絶頂 (zetchō): The peak of something, a climax

• アソコ (asoko): A word pointing to a distant place, meaning "あそこ / over there (that place)"

"SAY-BYE!!" is sung by KOTOKO, known as the queen of denpa songs, and serves as the ending theme for the 2026 horror-comedy TV anime Ushiro no Shōmen Kamui-san. It's a thoroughly playful track, with phrases that sound like exorcism chants mixed together with high-speed electronic sound.

"共に逝[イ]きます　絶頂[アソコ]まで" (Tomo ni ikimasu asoko made)

Heard by ear alone, it sounds like an ordinary sentence: "We'll go together, all the way over there." But open the lyric booklet, and you'll find that the "i" is written with the kanji 逝く (to pass away / leave this world), and "asoko" is written with the kanji 絶頂 (climax). Fitting for a series with ghosts and supernatural beings, "going" (行く / iku) has been swapped out for "passing on" (逝く / iku) to the other world.

On top of that, "iku / イく" and "asoko / アソコ" are also used in Japanese with risqué, adult meanings. To match a series where horror and sexy humor live side by side, three layers are folded into a single line: "everyday conversation," "the afterlife," and "an adult joke." Playing with ateji to this extent is something only Japanese, where sound and writing can be handled separately, makes possible.

👉 Read the full song breakdown: KOTOKO "SAY-BYE!!"（comming soon）

From here on, we move to Type B ateji. The reading itself stays the usual reading of the kanji. By swapping out only the kanji of a well-known word, the lyricist slips in a new meaning.

5. 長く短い祭 (Nagaku Mijikai Matsuri - In Summer, Night) / Sheena Ringo

【飽く気ない（あっけない）】

• 呆気ない (akkenai): The standard spelling. Describes something ending far more easily than expected, leaving you unsatisfied

• 飽く気ない (akkenai): Sheena Ringo's original spelling, using the kanji for "飽く (aku) = to grow tired of"

Released on August 5, 2015, "Nagaku Mijikai Matsuri" was written as the commercial song for Coca-Cola's 2015 summer campaign. The lyrics are written throughout in historical kana orthography and literary phrasing. The contrast with the colloquial expressions that suddenly appear among them creates a distinctive tension.

"人生なんて飽く気ないね" (Jinsei nante akkenai ne)

To the ear, it's just the ordinary word "akkenai." In writing, though, the kanji "飽く / aku (to grow tired of)" is used in place of "呆." As a result, alongside the original meaning of "so short it leaves you stunned," the line can also be read with the added implication of "ending before you even have time to grow tired of it."

In this song, the sound also echoes "素気ない / sokkenai", which appears later. Perhaps it's precisely because this is a song that affirms short, intense moments like a summer festival that the kanji for "growing tired" was deliberately hidden inside.

👉 Read the full song breakdown: Sheena Ringo "Nagaku Mijikai Matsuri"

6. 飛ぶ時 (Tobu Toki - Time to Fly) / Vaundy

【解廊（カイロウ）】

• 回廊 (kairō): The original word. A long corridor running around a building or courtyard

• 解廊 (kairō): Vaundy's original spelling, combining "解 (toku / hodoku) = to untie, to release" and "廊 (a passage)"

Released on April 12, 2026, Vaundy's "Tobu Toki" is the opening theme for the TV anime Yomi no Tsugai, based on the manga by Hiromu Arakawa, known for Fullmetal Alchemist. It's a high-speed rock number that stays close to the story of Yuru, a boy who had lived in a closed-off village deep in the mountains, as he steps out into the outside world.

"擦り切れる突風が解廊" (Surikireru toppū ga kairō)

When they hear "kairō" by ear, what most Japanese speakers will probably picture is "回廊," meaning a long, continuous passageway. But what's written in the lyric booklet is "解廊." This isn't a common word. It's a spelling that uses the "解" from "解放 / kaihō (liberation)" and "解く / toku (to untie)."

The fiercely blowing wind itself unravels the closed world and becomes a passage leading outward. It's thought that Vaundy created this original word by layering the sound "kairō" with the meanings of multiple kanji. A message of "setting free," invisible from the sound alone, is quietly engraved in the writing.

👉 Read the full song breakdown: Vaundy "Tobu Toki"

Summary｜"Lyrics You See" and "Lyrics You Hear": Two Entrances

Songs are, by nature, received through the ears. But Japanese lyrics have one more entrance: the lyric booklet, which is "read with the eyes." Ateji is a technique that places a different word at each of these two entrances, giving a single word a double meaning or nuance.

Some stack words from different eras, like "musha-burui" and "high tension." Some change the size of a feeling, like "kōun (luck)" and "kiseki (miracle)." Some switch the texture of a word, like "kami" and "hea." And some slip in layers of jokes, like "zetchō" and "asoko." There's also a method of swapping out only the kanji behind a familiar sound to slip in a new meaning, like "飽く気ない" and "解廊."

Such expressions are possible because Japanese uses several writing systems (kanji, hiragana, and katakana) and can even shift readings freely. Countless devices you'd never notice from the singing voice alone lie hidden in the lyric booklet.

The next time you listen to J-POP or an anime song, try opening the lyric booklet along with it. If the word that reaches your ears differs from the kanji actually written on the page, the artist may have hidden "one more meaning" there.