About

Name: Joseph
Date of Birth: April 19th
Place of Residence: Tokyo, Japan

Hello and welcome to my translation website! Here is where I will post my translations of songs by the various artists that I enjoy the most. The site's name comes from Takahashi Hitomi's song "Otenkiame", which really impacted me emotionally at the time.

Honestly, I got into translating as a way to try my skills at Japanese, and have seen vast improvements in my translation skills over the years. Comparing something I translated in 2008 to something I translated in 2014 is always satisfying, as the difference in levels is outstanding. There's still room for improvement, but that goes for anything, really. I tend to translate literally in order to keep it as true to the original as possible, and I'm also horrible at making something sound poetic, so apologies for that.

For those wishing to use my translations for subbing or even to post on fan-sites, I would appreciate that you let me know first, and, after letting me know, please credit me with the translation. Stealing/plagiarism is not something I take kindly to. If anyone finds a site using my translations without crediting me, please let me know as soon as possible.

Anyway, enjoy your time here! And leave a comment every once in a while!

80 comments:

  1. hello nice to meet you i am treas from indonesia .,.,.,i like sing a song japanese.,., thank you for publish all lryic this blogspot

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  2. Hello. (^^) I just want to say thank you for translating Do As Infinity's "X" album...AND I also think you're an EXCELLENT translator.

    I run a Do As Infinity website (called "We are For the Future"), and I've compared some of your translations to a friend of mine's (who is now a professional translator). Both of your translations are nearly identical. (^^) You're definitely more skilled than you give yourself credit for. Hopefully you'll become a professional translator yourself one day. :D

    I also have a question: is it okay if I use your "X" translations on my website? I'll give your blog credit (and post a URL) and I won't change your translation at all. I'll even include any comments/notes that you make. ^_^

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  3. Oh thank you very much! I really appreciate your comment! ^^;

    Actually, I know of your website, and have always enjoyed the effort you've put into it! Therefore, it'd be an honor if you used my translations, though I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy (especially with the song "Renge" which was especially hard to translate at some points.)

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  4. Aww...thank you for the compliment! And thank you for giving me permission to use your lyrics; I really appreciate it. :D

    If you want, I can have my friend review your translation of "Renge" for you. (I'm planning on contacting her today, and I'll mention what you said.) She's very helpful when it comes to critiquing lyrics; I've sent her my crappy attempts and I learned a lot from her.

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  5. No problem at all!

    I don't mind if you do that. lol I'm a bit sensitive even to constructive criticism, but I don't mind too much. Haha.

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  6. Hello, thank you for your translations, I'm a big fan of UVERworld and i'm very thankful that you translate their songs :D by the way...do you have a facebook or twitter ? ^^

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    Replies
    1. Thank you!
      I have both, but they are private, so I won't make them public, sorry!

      Delete
  7. Hello, I'm so thankful for your Nightmare's lyrics translations, your work is so great! And I want to ask may I use your translations to make subtitle for Nightmare's songs? I'll credit you, of course. Thank you in advance.

    English isn't my first language, so please excuse any mistakes. (^ ^)

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    Replies
    1. Thank's no problem! As long as you credit me, that's fine! :) And your English is great!

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    2. Thank you very much! You're so kind. <3

      Delete
  8. thanks for the amazing translations ;w; really appreciate them *A* as I said in a comment post for IMPACT, I have used your translations for subbing UVERworld songs, before even asking -guilty- ;///m///; sorry! but I've always given credits! hehehee TmT anyways, if you wanna check them --> https://www.facebook.com/UVERdake x'D

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  9. Hello!! I wanna thank you about all the lyrics that you translate. I'm really in love with Koda Kumi, Ayumi Hamasaki and Namie Amuro and you make me feel closer to them. You're really great. I wish to see your translations of the last songs about Kuu because only you translate songs that I have never seen in other websites translated and yes, no one else but you translate it so thank you so much. You have to know the good work that you do.

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  10. Thanks you SO SO SO SO MUCH for translating Hitomi Shimatani's songs.....I waited SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS to finally read El Dorado and Prague no Onna lyrics...just discovered your website yesterday and it definetly changed my life!!!!
    Congratulations, my friend!!

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  11. Hell Takashi\Joseph!
    I'm really happy that you have this site of japanese songs translations!! It's a big asset to have it as a lot of the jpop lovers like to know what they hear and here they can get as much as accurate as possible translations of their favorite songs!

    I wonder if you take requests by any chance? If so and if it's ok to ask, I always looked for a translation for 2NE1's COME BACK HOME (Japanese Version) as I really love it! Thank you very much for making the translations!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words!

      I usually don't take requests at the moment, but this time I made an exception. Hope you enjoy!

      Delete
  12. Hello, thanks for your translations, I'm a fan of Tackey and Tsubasa and I´m very thankful that you translate their songs.

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  13. Thank so much for the Masami okui translations from me and the masami okui fans group in facebook.
    I informed them of your website translating her songs.

    Arvin

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  14. Hello Joseph, appreciate if you could help to translate" further " by Garnidelia, been looking for the English translation on the web but nowhere to be found. 😢😢

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  15. Dude, you are AWESOME!! :'D
    Thank you for your translations. We used it for our UVERworld Fansub!! ♥
    Please, check our page: www.fb.com/UVERandom :3 ♥

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  16. I always appreciate your translations! Thank you so much for your hard work! I come back here many times to look at Tackey & Tsubasa.

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  17. Just dropping by to say thank you for finding time on translating all UVERworld songs. I love the band since 2006 and a fan since. I have a dream on creating their songs into sing-able english translation... but screw that, it's very hard. Again, Thank you for your hard work from the bottom of my kokoro.

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  18. Happy birthday, dear Joseph! Thank you again for all your hard work. You're the best!
    Greetings from Guatemala. (=^w^=)

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  19. Happy Holidays! Love your work.

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  20. Hi, Josep! I've just found your blog and OMG thanks for take the time to translate!!!!! I wonder if can I use your translations? (Of X4, i want to translate them to spanish and make subbed videos)

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    Replies
    1. Hello!

      I do not mind at all!

      Delete
    2. Thank you so much QwQ!!!!!!!!!!! (I'll credit you of course btw!)

      Delete
  21. Hello, I really love the translations you do for UVERworld, I feel like they are always on point. If possible I would like to use the translation for "Koko Kara" in a story I'm about to post online, always respectfully giving you credit for translating it.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for letting me know! I don't mind!

      Delete
  22. OMG

    Your job is great, you put a lot of care in the meaning and coherence; I'm grateful for letting me know what Rurutia's song are saying.

    I'm sorry for asking this, but...may I ask for your permission to translate to spanish Rurutia's songs? I want her to be more known, and your translations are really really good.


    :)

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry this is such a late reply, but feel free to do!

      Thank you for the compliment, by the way!

      Delete
  23. You might not be the best person to ask this, but for the lyrics of "Rhetoric" by Hello Sleepwalkers (the ones available on the Internet at least), how come they don't sound like they match the song at all?

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure! Sometimes this does happen though.

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  24. Hi, any social media account :D last.fm / ig / fb?

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    Replies
    1. If you’d like, you can follow my ig jojo_otenkiame.

      Delete
  25. hello i use your translation uverworld - good and evil and i looking for another translation like LiSA song. Hope you make more LiSA translation song.
    if you have some free time, you can visit my blog too.
    here's the link : www.unlimitedsubtitle.blogspot.com

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  26. I'm not sure if you knew this, but on your Artist page, Home Made Kazoku links to the AAA tag.

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  27. Hi!
    I pushed all your Koda Kumi lyrics & translations on WKKW website. I credited your website in ach of them !
    is it OK?

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  28. This site reminds me a bit of the Cherry Blossom Garden translations that I used to refer to in the 2000s. It got taken down since. Would you happen to be familiar with it?

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    Replies
    1. Hello!
      Yes! I do remember that site! I used to use it a long time ago before I knew Japanese. I wonder what happened to it.

      Delete
  29. hello.i'd like to say thank u so much for translating Do.As.Infinity lyrics i by date order in release.it helps a lot to find meaning behind of song. it's their new song hope u would translate it next time~
    https://youtu.be/osvl1Dl0mzk

    thanks^

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words!
      And thank you for reminding me! I was going to translate the song on its release, but totally forgot to.

      Delete
  30. Hi Joseph, Thank you for making translations of UVERworld! it' amazing that you do. I wanted to ask, would it be possible to use part of your translation of ALL ALONE, on a video we are working on which is a subbed version of the ALL ALONE MV, here is the link, it alredy has your translations it it, the video is just currently on unlisted, so I could ask you! thanks for being the best!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for letting me know!

      I don’t mind at all!

      Delete
    2. Thank you very much! the video has been published: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZgrbXmYzMc

      Could I ask that we are able to use your UVERworld translations in future, or shall we ask on a case by case basses?

      Thank you!

      Delete
    3. Hello, sorry I saw that this got published, but you didn't unser (lol)

      Delete
    4. I’m sorry! I’d thought I replied to it.
      I don’t mind if you use them in the future!

      Delete
    5. Thank you very much Joseph, you're the best!

      Delete
  31. Thank you for the great translations! Would it be acceptable if I posted a link to your blog on myanimelist.net?

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  32. Hi Joseph, I'm a Vietnamese who loves your translation. I just want to say thank you for your beautiful translations àd thank you for working hard.
    By the way, can I ask you a favor? I'm going to make a lyrics video of the song "My type" (Japanese ver) by Takeuchi Miyu & Yoon Jong Shin and would you mind if I use your translation (maybe Kanji and Romanji lyrics too) as lyrics? I promise I'll credit you. Thank you very much!!!
    Hope to get your response soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello!

      Thank you for letting me know. Yeah, I do not mind at all if you do that. Please feel free to!

      Delete
    2. My baby is released, hope you enjoy it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEww6gmKeAg

      Delete
    3. Thank you for sharing! I loved being able to see my lyrics with the actual song playing!

      Delete
  33. Hey Joseph, Thank you for the translation of リトル・エロイカ that you did. With that being said, I was wondering if I could use it in a video, particularly one that I'd be uploading to youtube. ありがとうございます!

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  34. Joseph, you're the friggin MAN for making this site! You're doing a true service for the global music community.

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  35. Hell. Thanks for translating countless songs! Could I use your translation of "Sweet 19 Blues" for Namie Amuro on my blog? Will credit back to you! Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for asking!
      I don't mind at all! Please feel free to!

      Delete
    2. Letting you know that I am use your translate for Namie Amuro/Super Monkey's "Mister USA" for my blog. Will credit back!

      Delete
  36. Hello! I was wondering if it'd be possible to add your translation of Asagao no Chiru Koro ni to its page in Vocaloid Lyrics Wiki?

    We'll credit and link back to you of course, but if you're uncomfortable with that then please don't feel forced!

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    Replies
    1. Yes! It's no problem with me! Feel free to do so. :)

      Delete
  37. Hi! I was wondering if it'd be possible to add your translation for shiroi chou no samba at the hello project lyrics wiki? (with credit and link). :)

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  38. I was wondering if you could post the English lyrics to polyrhythm by perfume. Also love your work it’s very helpful and thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment! I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner.
      Unfortunately, at the moment I am not taking free requests, as I have very little free time in my life at the moment.
      I may try in the future, but I can't guarantee anything now.

      Delete
  39. Hi Joseph!

    For many months I wanted to propose you some songs to translate, but I didn't want to bother you since you took a break, and it is very understandable considering all the work that commissions entail.

    So I wanted to know two things... Is your Twitter account still active? So I can recommend some songs to subtitle.

    And finally I wanted to know if you can translate the song "Spirit Of Love" by the band SING LIKE TALKING. Here I leave the lyrics in Japanese next to the song:
    https://mojim.com/twy109797x5x14.htm
    https://youtu.be/p65_Yr3snu4

    I write to you from Argentina, greetings!

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry for taking so long to respond!

      Unfortunately I don't accept free requests anymore due to being very busy in my real life.
      The Twitter is still active! So you can always check it out, though!

      Delete
  40. Hi Joseph, as a fellow lyrics blogger translation, I wanna ask you something? Did your post in this blog also get a take down copyright notice from JASRAC?

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    Replies
    1. Hello!

      Yes, I had the same situation happen to me last summer. It seems like JASRAC is going around doing this to many people recently. Basically, we're not allowed to have the kanji lyrics on our sites. Romaji and translations are fine, though.

      Delete
    2. Still wondering why they only put that limitation on "blogspot" only. Nothing happened on the other web lyrics with top level domain.
      I read some of the complaint that saying romaji and translations aren't allowed too T-T

      Delete
    3. Yeah, you're right. I don't know why it's only Blogspot. There are other, much bigger sites like Jpopasia that has kanji lyrics everywhere, but nothing seems to happen to them.

      Romaji and translations should be fine since translations are the translator's work and romaji isn't the kanji. I've never heard of them taking those down. I think, if you posted an official translation, then that would warrant a takedown request.

      Delete
    4. Am I get it wrong?

      以下日本語歌詞部分が許可を受けて掲載されている歌詞と同一 楽曲の全量を利用 それより上のアルファベット表記は歌詞の読みをそのままローマ字にしたもので同一内容の歌詞

      Delete
    5. Is there anymore to it?
      It does say that the romaji is identical to the kanji lyrics.

      Delete
  41. Do you have Instagram? I have used your translations for years and have wondered how to send thank you and appreciation.

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    Replies
    1. Hey! Thank you for your comment.
      I do have an instagram account, though it's currently "on hiatus" at the moment. You can still check it out if you want at jojo_otenkiame.

      Delete
  42. Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right place to reach out but I wanted to ask you for your permission to use your translation for a lyrics video. I want to make a video for Jaejoong's (or J-Jun's) "Bang". Ofc course I would credit you properly as well. You can check my YT channel to see that I always do :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello!
      Thank you for letting me know!
      I don't mind at all. Feel free to use them.

      Delete
  43. Hello! Thank you so much for providing translation to many songs. I want to ask if it's okay to use your translation of X4's Rainbow Road and Snow Flake in lyrics videos? I actually used them a few years ago back in my careless youth, and while I did credit you and link back to this blog, I wasn't aware that I needed to let you know beforehand. I'm very sorry and would like to ask for your permission now if I can keep the videos containing your translation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello!
      Thank you for letting me know. I don't mind at all!
      Please feel free to use as long as you credit. ^_^

      Delete