Koto ha, To: Shiro o Matoeba
“Koto ha, To” is a three-member musical project made up of vocalist Ayako Tsuchiya, pianist Kozue Tsukayama, and bassist Yuki...
“Koto ha, To” is a three-member musical project made up of vocalist Ayako Tsuchiya, pianist Kozue Tsukayama, and bassist Yuki Ito. Their album is titled Shiro o Matoeba and was released in 2017.
To begin, a quick overview of the Japanese words in the band name and album title gives a nice first impression of the phrases, poetically vague as they may be. A translation of their band name (ことは、と in Japanese) would be something like “The Thing Is, …” or “About That, …”, and the album title (白をまとえば) something like When/If I Wear White.
Shiro o Matoeba includes eight beautifully delicate songs, all originals with music written by the three musicians individually. All lyrics were written by vocalist Tsuchiya and are sung in Japanese, except for the two tracks #5 “Vocalise” and #6 “Flower” which Tsuchiya sings in wordless vocalization using her voice as an instrument along with the piano and bass.
The album sequencing is also artful, as the opening and closing tracks (#1 “Shiro o Matoeba” and #8 “Dialog”) act as the album’s prologue and epilogue with storytelling timing and decorative musical structures folded like origami. Along the same lines, track #4 “Maware” (まわれ, turn) features a spoken-word recitation over musical loops and appears in the middle of the album as an intermission of poetry and music.
Bracketed by these three pieces, the rest of the songs find the three musicians playing in a more straightforward and jazzy style. #2 “Selene’s Dance” is a highlight with its romantic and mysterious atmosphere depicting the drama of Selene. This Greek goddess of the moon had her lover Endymion placed in eternal sleep, and eternal youth, out of love, and visited him each night. Compellingly, the tune initially seems to share certain characteristics with other great songs—Radiohead’s “Exit Music (For a Film)” and Chopin’s “Prelude, Op. 28, No. 4”—but “Selene’s Dance” moves along at a brisk pace with the spice of 5/4 time and additional well-placed beats of punctuation.
Other songs are just as evocative and moving. Track #3 “Higenashi” (ひなげし, poppy) is a pretty waltz with a fragile lightness obscuring a weighty past love as Tsuchiya’s high-reaching vocals express a vulnerable sweetness brilliantly. #5 “Vocalize” is a crafted jazz sculpture with an almost operatic melody and space for bass and piano jazz improvisations. #6 “Flower” opens into a slowly sad, Latin mood with pop lovesong fringes. #7 “Muchu Sampo” (夢中散歩, wandering in a dream) is another odd-meter addiction where striking chords angle over plumb bass notes with coordinated accents over shifting sands.
Speaking of odd-meter, the use of non-4/4 time signatures on Shiro o Matoeba adds to the overall allure of the Koto ha, To’s music. Additional measures, mixed meters, and asymmetrical phrases are carefully inserted in the written scores in several places. Along with the charm of the three dramatic rubato and stop-start pieces, over half of the songs feature non-4/4/ meters (3/4, 5/4, and 7/4) with extra measures or beats used subtly to adorn specific points in the delivery.
Lyrics
(Lyrics transcribed from the liner notes, with English translations by me)
1. 白をまとえば when i wear white
Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Kozue Tsukayama
白をまとえば when i wear white
苛立つ風は優しく gentle, restless wind
冷たい水は甘温く sweetly mild, cool water
流した涙は flowing tears
さらさらと smoothly
さらさらと smoothly
わたしに自然に融けてゆく melt naturally into me
さびしく人をもとむ日も on days i’m lonely, desiring another
白をまとえば when i wear white
白をまとえば when i wear white
震えた樹々に隠れて hide in the trembling trees
血汐は緩く湧き上る blood slowly rises
抱えた痛みは carried pain
ひたひたと slowly
ひたひたと slowly
わたしに自然に融けてゆく melts naturally into me
はげしく日とを想う日も on days i think intensely of the past
白をまとえば when i wear white
2. Selene’s dance
Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Yuki Ito
なぞる指でそっと閉じる瞼 fingers trace and gently close eyes
濡れた口に甘い媚薬を sweet aphrodisiac on moistened mouth
しどけない貴方にかけた魔法で by a spell cast on innocent you
綺麗なまま永遠に remain beautiful forever
解けることなく never lifted
夢をみせ続けてあげる i’ll keep you dreaming
眩しい光に身を委ねて yield to the dazzling light
溶けてゆくよに愛を誓って、と melting away, pledging love -
虚ろな瞳に願ってみても try to beg of vacant eyes
無駄ね it’s hopeless
朝が来る頃に when morning comes
銀の船は呼ぶ the silver vessel calls
また夜を待つだけ just wait for night again
冷たい胸に燃えた火花 burnt spark in my cold heart
望みは一つ今日も誓って？ one wish, promise me again today?
穏やかに空は限りの時を告げるの calm sky marks the time’s end
香り染み付けて soaked-in scent
髪引かれながら as hair is pulled
また夜を待つだけ just waiting for night again
3. ひげなし
Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Yuki Ito
頬を撫でた 五月の風 a may wind caressed my cheeks
青い匂いが 抑えにきた scent of youth came to restrain me
可愛い夢 並べれたね we arranged cute dreams, didn’t we
叶いもしないこと things that could never come true
隠してたのは what i was hiding
知ってたから because i knew
胸に咲いた 花は見せなかった unrevealed flowers bloomed in my heart
目と目が合う 君が笑う our eyes meet, you smile
丘を駆け上がれば 街は遠くへ run up the hill and the town fades away
陽の光に 紛れ込んで mixed in the sunlight
もろい幻 拾った i grasped a delicate vision
指先から 流れてゆく slipping from my fingertips
君の優しいとこ your gentle side
懐かしいね、と ‘i miss you’
寂しかった、と ‘i felt lonely’
ポケットの中でぎゅっと伝えた i let you know, tight in my pocket
目と目が合う 君が笑う our eyes meet, you smile
丘を駆け上がれば 街は遠くへ run up the hill and the town fades away
4. まわれ
Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Yuki Ito
握りしめていたははずの熱は heat i should have tightly held
トウニ、ワタシカラハナレ ‘long ago, left me’
貴女の方へ、漂っていた towards you, it drifted
鈍い瞬き a dull blink
乾いて刻む、針の音 a dry scratch, sound of a needle
ゆっくり母音を 置くように as if slowly placing vowels
大事に胸を 打つように like beating the chest with care
まわれまわれ 世界よまわれ spin, spin, o world, spin!
ワタシと貴方を you and i
置いてゆけ leave it behind
5. Vocalise
Music: Kozue Tsukayama
6. Flower
Music: Yuki Ito
7. 夢中散歩 (Muchu Sampo, wandering in a dream)
Lyrics, Music: Ayako Tsuchiya
星 導かれるように降って falling stars as if being guided
そって ここにいるよと伝えた gently i told you i’m here
子供の頃の春のままの僕に as i was in the spring of youth
冷たい君の手が触れた touched by your cold hand
Rhythm 鼓動を倍に感じて rhythm, feel the heartbeat double
長い 髪なびかせて 宙を舞い long hair flutters dance in air
ガラスのような君と 二人で together with you, like glass
夢は 続く 続く the dream continues continues
涙で潤む 瞳の奥の deep within tear-filled eyes
その台詞が好きさ i love those words
「可哀想ね」 ‘poor thing’
（飽きることなく） (never gets old)
笑った 記憶もやがて消え去る even memories of laughs will fade
何も出来ない僕を許して？ will you forgive me who could do nothing?
哀しい顔して 切なく魅せれば with a sad look you painfully display
夢は 続く 続く the dream continues continues
「可哀想ね」 ‘poor thing’
8. Dialog
Lyrics: Ayako Tsuchiya Music: Kozue Tsukayama
穏やかにみえる 静かな空に in the calm quiet sky
ふと 寄る 影 unexpected, a shadow approaches
うしろで みつけた found behind me
輝く 太陽を the shining sun
痛みに似ている 憧れにいつも like pain, a yearning, always
追いかけられ pursuing me
疲れた わたしは i’m tired
光が 恋しくて i miss the light
まっすぐ うしろに 進んだ i moved straight back
そーっと softly
また 曇り空が出て again, the cloudly sky appears
気まぐれに わたしに on a whim, to me
木洩れ陽を みせるの showing sunlight through the trees
影を追いかけ chasing shadows
なぞる 白！ tracing white!
無理に描いた 穏やかな空に the calm sky, impossible to draw
消えた 太陽 the vanished sun
Shiro o Matoeba by Koto ha, To
- Ayako Tsuchiya - vocal
- Kozue Tsukayama - piano
- Yuki Ito - bass
Released in 2017 on KOTOHATO as KTHT-0001.
Japanese names: 土屋絢子 Tsuchiya Ayako 津嘉山梢 Tsukayama Kozue 伊東佑季 Ito Yuki
Audio and Video
- Excerpt from track #5: “Vocalise”
Jazz of Japan #318 • Jul 12, 2025 • Brian McCrory
Related albums: Retattanni no Mori (2019)