BUMP OF CHICKEN『Kinensatsuei』| Capturing Untouchable Scenery with the Lens of the Heart | Focus #472
Cover photo by filmtaaabooo777
BUMP OF CHICKEN’s ‘Kinensatsuei’ is a quiet yet powerful song that gently redefines the meaning of “commemoration.” The lyrics feature terms like lens, shutter, and focus, evoking photography, but what it captures is not a physical photograph—it’s “the scenery of the heart from that day.”
Moments spent with someone, subtle gestures, something hidden in the silence... These are the “inner photographs” that remain within us, invisible yet undeniably present.
Photo by _kai_photograph
The Unchanging Scenery Beyond the Lens
“From the unchanging scenery in the palm of my hand, we are watching ourselves”—this line depicts the self captured within the frame of memory. While real photographs record the “outside world,” the lens in ‘Kinensatsuei’ turns inward.
It’s as if your past self is quietly gazing at your present self through the camera of the heart, transcending time with a profound perspective.
A Record Without the Sound of a Shutter
“Waiting for the shutter to click, standing in front of the lens”—this lyric symbolizes the moment of posing for a photo. However, what truly matters is not whether the photo was taken but the memory of a time that was “so joyful, so unfair, and so dazzling.”
Photo by aoneko355
This reflects a perspective unique to music: the idea that something can be commemorated even without being photographed. The heart’s shutter captures emotions, atmosphere, and even silence, leaving an indelible mark.
Photography as Connection, Not Just a Record
In the final lyrics, “Standing in a future that’s not imagined, even as my own yesterdays pile up” and “From the unchanging scenery, it’s all connected to here,” the song portrays ‘Kinensatsuei’ not as a nostalgic look back at the past but as a memory that connects to the future.
Photo by Shimakou
Like photographs, music allows us to revisit and reconnect the present with the past. It gently reminds us that music, too, is a medium of reconnection rather than mere recording.
