1. 失ったりして初めて／犯した罪を知る

Romaji: ushinattari shite hajimete / okashita tsumi o shiru
Nuanced English meaning:
“Only after losing something do we finally realize the sin we committed.”

🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Here, tsumi (“sin”) does not necessarily mean a legal crime.
It often refers to emotional wrongdoing —
losing trust, relationships, or irreplaceable time.

In Japanese lyricism,
the deepest punishment is not external judgment,
but the moment of painful realization that something cannot be undone.

2. 今の僕には／何ができるの？ 何になれるの？

Romaji: ima no boku ni wa / nani ga dekiru no? nani ni nareru no?
Nuanced English meaning:
“What can I do now? What can I become?”

🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
The key phrase is ima no boku — “the me I am now.”
The focus is not on future dreams,
but on self-worth in the present moment.

This is not motivational language.
In Japanese, asking an unanswered question itself expresses emotion —
here, quiet self-doubt rather than hope.

3. 真っ新に生まれ変わって／人生一から始めようが

Romaji: massara ni umarekawatte / jinsei ichi kara hajimeyō ga
Nuanced English meaning:
“Even if I were reborn completely, and could start life from zero.”

🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
The ending 〜ようが (“even if”) carries resignation.
It implies that no hypothetical reset would truly change reality.

In Hakujitsu,
“pure white” is not salvation —
it is an unreachable fantasy.

4. 真っ白に全てさよなら

Romaji: masshiro ni subete sayōnara
Nuanced English meaning:
“I want to turn everything pure white, and say goodbye.”

🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Sayonara does not imply emotional coldness.
It suggests a farewell that still carries unresolved feelings.

The desire to erase everything
collides with the understanding that nothing can be fully erased.
This contradiction lies at the emotional core of the song.

5. 曖昧なサインを見落として／途方のない間違い探し

Romaji: aimai na sain wo miotoshite / tohō no nai machigai sagashi
Nuanced English meaning:
“Missing ambiguous signs, endlessly searching for what went wrong.”

🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Japanese communication often relies on implication rather than clarity.
People are expected to sense meaning without it being spoken.

Failing to notice these subtle cues does not lead to confrontation,
but to endless self-reflection and self-blame.

6. 首の皮一枚繋がった／どうしようも無い今を／生きていくんだ

Romaji: kubi no kawa ichimai tsunagatta / dō shiyō mo nai ima o
Nuanced English meaning:
“Barely hanging on, I’ll keep living through this hopeless present.”

🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Kubi no kawa ichimai (“by one strip of skin at the neck”)
describes survival without dignity or optimism.

Rather than celebrating rebirth,
the song affirms something quieter and harsher:
continuing to live, even when nothing improves.

7. いつだって人は鈍感だもの／わかりゃしないんだ肚の中

Romaji: itsudatte hito wa dongan da mono / wakarya shinai nda hara no naka
Nuanced English meaning:
“People are always emotionally dull — you can’t know what’s inside them.”

🗣 Cultural & linguistic nuance:
Hara no naka (肚の中) has two layers of meaning:

• Literal: the inside of the body (stomach, guts)

• Figurative: one’s true feelings, hidden intentions, inner emotional core

In lyrics, it almost always refers to the latter —
what someone keeps hidden from others.

Even with words, full understanding is impossible.
Yet people continue to live and connect anyway —
a deeply Japanese acceptance of emotional ambiguity.

🎤 Emotional Summary

Hakujitsu is a song about living on
while carrying regret, emotional blindness, and miscommunication.

People make mistakes.
They miss signs.
They realize too late what they have lost.

And still —
they continue living, barely holding on,
trying to understand others
while knowing they may never be fully understood themselves.

That quiet resolve and restrained despair
is what makes Hakujitsu a profoundly Japanese masterpiece.