“There is a beautiful beautiful goddess in the toilet…”

A Japanese singer song writer, Kana Uemura’s latest single, “Toire no kamisama (God of Toilet)” has met a lot of response in the country. But it is not because of the unique title. The heart warming lyrics grabbed the listeners’ hearts, and since it was first aired on radio, the requests for the song rapidly increased.

The song is about the relationship between the 27 year-old singer and her grandmother. She told Sankei News that the lyrics are 100% her real experience. While she was writing the words, she couldn’t stop crying. “I can’t sing anymore” she cried again when she was recording the demo. The producer responded to her crying “I can’t either.” Her song made her and staffs emotional.

The song is 9 minutes 52 seconds long, which is considered to be long as a pop song, but “every story in the song was indispensable, and if anything was missing, the song can’t convey its true value,” so they didn’t shorten it.

The music video of “Toire no Kamisama” is one of the YouTube’s most viewed music videos in 2010 in Japan.

 

Kana Uemura said “Because it is so personal, I didn’t expect it to be listened to by so many people. I think the emotion and mind in the deep inside of the song gained the listeners’ sympathy.”

 

This is the Music Video of “Toire no Kamisama (God of Toilet).” And English translation for the song is below.

 

 

 

“Toire no Kamisama (God of Toilet)” Written and Sung by Kana Uemura

 

About the time I was in 3rd grade

I lived with my grandma

My parent’s house was next door but

I lived with my grandma

 

Everyday I helped her out

I even played gobang with her

Only one thing I didn’t like was cleaning a toilet

So grandma told me this

 

“There is a beautiful beautiful goddess in the toilet

That’s why if you clean the toilet everyday

You can become beautiful like the goddess”

 

From that day on

I started making the toilet shine

I really wanted to be a beautiful woman

So I polished it everyday

 

When we went out to go shopping

We both ate kamo-namba (noodle with roasted duck)

When grandma missed recording Shinkigeki (a comedy show)

I cried and blamed her

 

“There is a beautiful beautiful goddess in the toilet

That’s why if you clean the toilet everyday

You can become beautiful like the goddess”

 

As I grew up a little

I conflicted with grandma

I couldn’t get along with my family

I lost place to stay

 

Even on my days off, I didn’t go home

I’d rather out with my boyfriend

Gobang and kamo-namba were

Behind grandma and me

 

Why people hurt others and

Lose things close to us

I left my grandma

Who was always by my side

I left the home alone

 

It’s been two years since I left for Tokyo

Grandma was in a hospital

She’s losing weight and got thin

I went to go see her

 

I said “Hey Grandma, it’s me!”

Just like I used to

We only spoke a little but

I was told to leave, so I left the hospital

 

The next morning, grandma

Peacefully passed away

It was just as if she was waiting for me to come see her

Even though she raised me well

I couldn’t do her anything in return

Even though I wasn’t a good grandchild

She waited for me

 

“There is a beautiful beautiful goddess in the toilet…”

Will grandma’s words make me of today beautiful?

 

“There is a beautiful beautiful goddess in the toilet

That’s why if you clean the toilet everyday

You can become beautiful like the goddess”

 

Wishing to be a good-natured wife

I make the toilet shine as usual

Grandma

Grandma

Thank you

Grandma

From the bottom of my heart

Thank you

 

The interview part was in Sankei News 3/16/2010

 

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