I was heading to bed. Really. Put nice, fresh sheets on and everything. They taunt me now, all comfy and fresh and not at all slept in. What's been keeping me from this freshly laundered paradise, you may ask?

For starters... Well, it's funny you should mention "paradise". (Though maybe not so much "laundry".) On a random whim I checked what Igarashi Shunji's up to these days. Looks like he'll be in the upcoming Paradise Kiss movie, playing the role of Isabella (Yamamoto Daisuke). I know I've called him a girl in the past (I mean, bubble baths? Really?), but I hadn't quite meant it like this. Pictures, for the curious.

And for swtjemz, it has Mukai Osamu and Yamamoto Yuusuke in it as well.


From ParaKiss the conversation segued into the Kyoto dirge, since the one episode of the ParaKiss anime I've seen happens to contain said dirge. (Click here for an amusing commentary on it, followed by the dirge itself.) Turns out the piece is entitled "Tooryanse", and it's a traditional children's song. The lyrics are apropos for a crossing, and yet somewhat terrifying:


Let me pass, let me pass
Here is the underworld's narrow pathway
It's the narrow pathway of the demon's shrine
Please allow me to pass through
Those without sacrifice shall not pass

(Note to self: Keep sacrifices on hand when crossing the street in Japan.)

The full lyrics, as well as more information on the song, can be found on the Wiki page, here.

And thus I have been waylaid from my well-deserved rest by a transvestite and a dirge. Sweet dreams!