剣とパレット”Sword and Palette” by Yamato Mori – Japanese Song Lyrics Review

This article explores Yamato Mori’s Ken to Palette (剣とパレット), a song that embodies the dual forces of destruction and creation through both sound and imagery. By weaving together lyrical introspection, symbolic motifs, and bold musical architecture, Mori transforms personal struggle into a manifesto of renewal. This review examines the song’s lyrical detail, its unconventional musical structure, and its reception, while also considering its role in the artist’s broader career trajectory.

---

2. Background of the Song

Ken to Palette was released digitally on March 15, 2023, and later featured on Mori’s debut album 69 Jewel Beetle (released May 31, 2023). The track signaled a stylistic shift from his earlier “peaceful guitarist” persona toward a more aggressive and conceptual artistry. It was the first work to foreground Mori’s all-electric guitar approach, moving away from acoustic foundations. The title itself—pairing “sword” (剣) with “palette” (パレット)—suggests the juxtaposition of rupture and artistry, themes that pervade both lyrics and sound.

---

3. Reading the Lyrics

3.1 Exhaustion and Alienation

日本語: ああ今日も昨日を繰り返す 退屈な日々でもう疲れたね / 大人らしく大人しくと削いだ自分の本音
English: Ah, today repeats yesterday, in these tedious days I’m already exhausted / Cutting away my true feelings, told to be quiet and “adult-like”

https://www.uta-net.com/song/334137/

→ The opening sets a cycle of monotony and repression. The act of “削ぐ” (shaving away) signals the violence of conformity—identity eroded to fit external expectations.

---

3.2 Fear of Loneliness

日本語: 大勢の人の輪の中 居るはずなのに / 知らぬ間にずっと付きまと う孤独が怖くなってた
English: Even within the circle of many people where I should belong / Without noticing, I was haunted by loneliness, and I began to fear it

https://www.uta-net.com/song/334137/

→ Loneliness emerges not from isolation but from inauthentic connection. Being “inside the circle” yet detached highlights alienation embedded within community.

---

3.3 Defiance Against Fate

日本語: 狭い世界 囲のせい？ 自分 次第 生まれ変われるさ / 運命にすら反抗心でも
English: A narrow world—is it the fence’s fault? But it’s up to me, I can be reborn / Even with defiance against fate

https://www.uta-net.com/song/334137/

→ Here, Mori articulates the theme of rebellion. Fate itself becomes a target for refusal. The “fence” is both societal boundary and internalized limit, demanding rupture.

---

3.4 Self-Creation

日本語: 君には君だけの道があって / 誰かに委ねるものじゃなくて / 自分を決めるのは自分でありたい
English: You have your own path / It’s not something to entrust to others / I want to be the one who decides myself

https://www.uta-net.com/song/334137/

→ This is the heart of the “bullet” motif—assertion of authorship over one’s life. The song shifts from destruction to affirmation, weaponizing autonomy as creative power.

---

3.5 Resolution

日本語: 君自身が君を描け、創れ、描き散らせ
English: You yourself must draw yourself, create, scatter your strokes

https://www.uta-net.com/song/334137/

→ The imperative tone mirrors a manifesto. Through art-making metaphors, Mori reframes existence as canvas: fragmented, messy, but authentically self-determined.

---

4. Symbolic Motifs

The song’s title embodies duality: sword (剣) as an emblem of rupture and rebellion, and palette (パレット) as a metaphor for creativity and reconstruction. The lyrics’ imagery of “circles,” “fences,” and “loneliness” emphasize constraint, while “rebirth” and “drawing” evoke expansion. This interplay situates Mori’s work within the archetype of existential rock: cutting through imposed limits to reclaim creative agency.

---

5. Musical Architecture

Musically, Ken to Palette breaks from conventional J-pop patterns. Instead of symmetrical verse–chorus repetition, the track evolves with shifting BPM, spoken-word-like rap sections, and abrupt accelerations. The electric guitar dominates, both melodic and percussive, embodying the “sword” in its sharp riffs and the “palette” in layered tonal textures. Its form mirrors the theme: a refusal of predictability, choosing constant renewal over stasis.

---

6. Visual Storytelling

The official music video underscores fragmentation and reconstruction. Mori appears amid mirrors and enclosed spaces, symbolizing fractured identity, before moving into expansive frames that represent freedom. His guitar performance is central: every strum visualized as both a strike and a stroke, uniting the dualities of destruction and creation. Lighting shifts from shadowed interiors to radiant exteriors, reinforcing the journey from suppression to liberation.

---

7. Reception and Critical Response

Critics hailed Ken to Palette as a turning point in Mori’s artistry. Billboard Japan described it as “a manifesto of self-reinvention,” while Natalie highlighted its resonance with youth facing identity crises. Live performances, especially on the Mountain & Forest tour in 2024, saw audiences chanting the imperative lines, making the song a collective ritual of defiance. Fans and critics alike recognized it as one of the most aggressive yet empowering tracks on 69 Jewel Beetle.

---

8. Conclusion

Ken to Palette stands as Mori’s declaration of artistic adulthood. By binding the violent clarity of the sword with the creative openness of the palette, he crafts a philosophy of survival: break through imposed walls, then repaint the fragments into new meaning. The song affirms that even in cycles of monotony and fear, one can seize the brush—and rewrite fate itself.