はい、みなさん、こんにちは！Welcome to Sakura Neko’s Japanese Study room. In this article, I am going to talk about the ending theme from Joshiraku ‘Nippon Egao Hyakkei’, more commonly referred to as ‘Jugem Jugem (Jugemu Jugemu)’. If you are interested in the meaning of the lyric of this song, please read on!
The first verse (the Jugemu Jugemu part) became very popular on TikTok, and the song is known as an ending theme of anime called Joshiraku (じょしらく). You may not know the anime is older than you think. Indeed, Joshiraku came out in 2012 and this song was made for the ending theme of the anime.
Jugemu Jugemu explained
You are probably wondering the meaning of the lyrics of this song. Actually, Jugemu one of the most famous rakugo, a form of Japanese story telling. In this Jugemu story, a couple just had a baby and they wanted to give the baby a name that can bring a good luck for the baby. However, there were so many words and phrases that they wanted, so they decided to put them all together. As a result the baby ended up having a very long name. The fact is, the Jugemu verse of this song is simply the name of this person.
These are the lyrics of 寿限無（じゅげむ/Jugemu)
じゅげむ じゅげむ (Jugemu Jugemu)
寿限無（じゅげむ）refers to a limitless life.
ごこうのすりきれ (Go Kō no Surikire)
When a celestial maiden takes a bath in a fountain, the surface of the rocks in the fountain gets rubbed. The length of time it takes to break those rocks in two by rubbing is ichi Ko, 4 billion years. Apparently, the celestial maiden comes to take a bath in this fountain only once every 3000 years. Go (5) Ko is 20 billion years = a very long time
かいじゃりすいぎょの(Kaijari-suigyo no)
There are lots of gravel and fish in the ocean. This is a synonym to limitless things
すいぎょうまつ うんらいまつ ふうらいまつ(Suigyō-matsu Unrai-matsu Fūrai-matsu)
This means ‘where water goes, clouds and winds come from’ and it refers to things that have no beginning nor ending.
くうねるところに すむところ(Kū-Neru Tokoro ni Sumu Tokoro)
‘Place to eat, sleep and live’ – essential item for life.
やぶらこうじの ぶらこうじ(Yaburakōji no Burakōji)
A hardy plant which is often used as a lucky charm for long life
パイポ パイポ(Paipo Paipo)
パイポのシューリンガン(Paipo no Shūringan)
シューリンガンのグーリンダイ(Shūringan no Gūrindai)
グーリンダイのポンポコピーのポンポコナーの(Gūrindai no Ponpokopii no Ponpokonā no)
Paipo is allegedly a kingdom in ancient China and others are the names of kings who lived long lives.
ちょうきゅうめいのちょうすけ(Chōkyūmei no Chōsuke).
Chōkyūmei refers to ‘very long life’, and Chōsuke a boy’s name made of two kanji: 長 (chō / long) and 助 (suke / help)
まとめ
In summary, I talked about the lyrics of the Jugemu song that’s become very popular recently on social media. I also explained the meaning of the lyrics. You should try memorising the lyrics and make your TikTok video with this song!
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