is a 1915 song that was popular during Taishō period

Taisho period

The , or Taishō era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taishō Emperor. The health of the new emperor was weak, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Diet...

 Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Lyrics were written by Isamu Yoshii, melody by Shinpei Nakayama

Shinpei Nakayama

was a Japanese songwriter, famous for his many children's songs and popular songs that have become deeply embedded in Japanese popular culture....

.
Lyrics in Kanji

Kanji

Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...

:

いのち短し　恋せよ少女

朱き唇　褪せぬ間に

熱き血潮の　冷えぬ間に

明日の月日の　ないものを

いのち短し　恋せよ少女

いざ手をとりて　彼の舟に

いざ燃ゆる頬を　君が頬に

ここには誰れも　来ぬものを

いのち短し　恋せよ少女

波に漂う　舟の様に

君が柔手を　我が肩に

ここには人目も　無いものを

いのち短し　恋せよ少女

黒髪の色　褪せぬ間に

心のほのお　消えぬ間に

今日はふたたび　来ぬものを

In rōmaji

Romanization of Japanese

The romanization of Japanese is the application of the Latin alphabet to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is known as , less strictly romaji, literally "Roman letters", sometimes incorrectly transliterated as romanji or rōmanji. There are several different romanization systems...

:

inochi mijikashi

koi seyo otome

akaki kuchibiru

asenu ma ni

atsuki chishio no

hienu ma ni

asu no tsukihi no

nai mono wo

inochi mijikashi

koi seyo otome

iza te wo torite

ka no fune ni

iza moyuru ho wo

kimiga ho ni

koko ni wa dare mo

konu mono wo

inochi mijikashi

koi seyo otome

nami ni tadayou

fune no yo ni

kimiga yawate wo

waga kata ni

koko niwa hitome mo

nai mono wo

inochi mijikashi

koi seyo otome

kurokami no iro

asenu ma ni

kokoro no honoo

kienu ma ni

kyou wa futatabi

konu mono wo

In English:

life is brief.

fall in love, maidens

before the crimson bloom

fades from your lips

before the tides of passion

cool within you,

for those of you

who know no tomorrow

life is brief

fall in love, maidens

before his hands

take up his boat

before the flush of his cheeks fades

for those of you

who will never return here

life is brief

fall in love, maidens

before the boat drifts away

on the waves

before the hand resting on your shoulder

becomes frail

for those who will never

be seen here again

life is brief

fall in love, maidens

before the raven tresses
begin to fade

before the flame in your hearts

flicker and die

for those to whom today

will never return

It was used as a theme song in Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa

was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...

's 1952 film Ikiru

Ikiru

is a 1952 Japanese film co-written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a minor Tokyo bureaucrat and his final quest for meaning. The film stars Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe.-Plot:...

.

The song is also referenced in the Japanese manga titled, Fushigi Yūgi Genbu Kaiden

Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden

is a manga written by Yuu Watase. It premiered in Japan in 2003 in Sho-Comi, moved to an off-shoot magazine, Fushigi Yûgi Perfect World, in 2004. It was serialized sporadically in Monthly Flowers until 2008 when the series went on hiatus until spring 2010, when it began serialization in Rinka...

.

This music is also used in a Japanese Drama titled "Haikei Chichiue sama".

The song is sung in Clemens Klopfensteins's film, Macao (1979).

From the song, the phrase "Life is short, fall in love maidens..." (Inochi mijikashi, koi seyo otome...) has gained some popularity during the 1990s Japan. Especially the phrase "Koi Seyo Otome" has been used as the title for several songs and a Japanese television drama

Japanese television drama

, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...

.