1. 眠らない夜の街 ざわめく光の洪水

Romaji: Nemuranai yoru no machi / zawameku hikari no kouzui

Cultural Nuance: The city night that never sleeps. An overflowing flood of streetlights and neon signs surges toward you with nowhere to go.

🗣 Japanese Insight: The phrase "Nemuranai yoru no machi" (The city night that never sleeps) specifically refers to vibrant urban areas where neon lights never dim, even in the dead of night or early dawn. These are districts where restaurants, casinos, and entertainment facilities remain open, bustling with people as if it were broad daylight. The light here is described as "Zawameku" (rustling/noisy)—it isn't just a visual brightness, but a chaotic restlessness that seems to dwell within the light itself. This light doesn't offer peace; instead, it is depicted as a "Kouzui" (flood) that swallows everything and toys with the people caught in its current.

2. 通り色どる女 着飾る心と遊ぶ

Romaji: Toori irodoru onna / kikazaru kokoro to asobu

Cultural Nuance: Fashionable women color the streets. They aren't interacting as their true selves; they are indulging in a hollow game between their decorated "outer hearts."

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Kikazaru" (着飾る) means to dress up or adorn oneself with beautiful clothes and accessories. Here, Onuki suggests that this "decoration" extends even to the heart. It depicts the emptiness of people interacting through the personas they’ve crafted to fit the "stage" of the city, rather than showing their true faces. It’s a cold, sharp piece of human observation hidden beneath the city's glamour.

3. 値打ちもない 華やかさに包まれ

Romaji: Neuchi mo nai / hanayakasa ni tsutsumare

Cultural Nuance: Surrendering oneself to a brilliant, superficial world that possesses absolutely no intrinsic value.

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Neuchi" (値打ち) refers to the inherent value, merit, or the "right price" of something. Onuki dismisses the city's neon lights and extravagant lifestyles in a single stroke as having "no value." While the superficial "Hanayakasa" (glamour/brilliance) may appear happy at first glance, she views it as a hollow deception. Her stoic and intellectual perspective, which refuses to hide her discomfort with being "wrapped" in such emptiness, is what defines the cool, detached essence of this song.

4. 泡のように増え続け あてもない人の洪水

Romaji: Awa no you ni fuetsuzuke / atemonai hito no kouzui

Cultural Nuance: People wandering aimlessly appear one after another like bubbles that burst and vanish, filling the streets to the brim.

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Atemonai" (あてもない) describes a state of having no destination, no goal, or nothing to rely on. Comparing the crowds of the city to "Awa" (bubbles) is highly symbolic. It captures the lack of substance as people appear and disappear, along with the intense solitude of individual existence vanishing into anonymity. Paired with the earlier "flood of light," it vividly portrays the urban void where both light and people overflow, yet nothing possesses a solid, reliable touch.

5. その日暮らしは止めて 家へ帰ろう　ー緒に

Romaji: Sonohi gurashi wa yamete / ie e kaerou / issho ni

Cultural Nuance: Let’s end this hollow, precarious way of living with no future in sight. Let's return to the place (home) where we can be our true selves. Together.

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Sonohi gurashi" (その日暮らし) means living from hand to mouth, or living only for the moment without any plans or savings for the future. This is a strong message to "stop" (yamete) surrendering to the city's fleeting temptations and return to a grounded life. "Ie" (home) here isn't just a physical building; it’s a symbol of a place where peace and true love reside. By ending with the warm invitation "Issho ni" (Together), this song transcends mere social critique and becomes a song of true salvation.

🎤 Emotional Summary

Taeko Onuki’s "都会" is a timeless truth that echoes from 1977 to the present, revitalized by the 2026 remake.

Amidst the floods of light and people, the song encourages us not to be deceived by valueless glamour but to quietly face our solitude. What lies beyond is a strong sense of independence—the desire to shed all pretense and seek the place where we truly belong. When Onuki’s cool vocals drift over Ryuichi Sakamoto’s sophisticated sound, we find the courage to return to our own true hearts even in the midst of the city's roar.