why "Maria"?
 

For a brief moment I was going to say that I've heard the name "Maria" in a lot of J-pop songs, but now only two come to mind (Ayu & hitomi). Anyways, is there some religious aspect to these songs? I've read translations for both of them and "M" sounds like it has a bit more spiritual influence in comparison to hitomi's "Maria", does Ayu refer to the Virgin Mary in "M"? Cause, in a way, it sounds like she's praying. Also, is Maria a popular name in Japan? I swear i've heard it in some other songs, I just can't remember who...

yep that song is for virgin mary ^^ i often sing it before i pray

Yeah, some J-Artists have songs entitled or with references to "Maria".
Gackt-san has one, too. And LUNA SEA have a song called "VIRGIN MARY".

so cool and so nice!!

it's weird, isn't it. i doubt the people are christian.. somehwo they just like maria :P

It has been rumoured a lot though that Ayu is a christian. I dunno, I'm guessing she isn't but I can't be 100% sure.

well... she's always wearing those crosses... i can't really picture you doing that ^^. at least i wouldn't... but maybe if the record company demands...

aargh... it's... so......... confusing!!

She flirts with all kind of religions, not just being a christian.

all kinds? which other? i never saw her with anything else than a cross....

Buddhism and such.

well, i don't really hear songs about some buddism people.. only maria... isn't weird...

what a coincidence.... maria just starts playing here on my winamp shuffle mode ^^

The www.ayu-mi-x.com 's database says that Ayu's 'M' isn't a song about the 'Virgin Mary'

From the site:

Ayu wrote this song after reading the story of Mary Magdaline. For those of you unfamiliar, Mary Magdaline is NOT the mother of Jesus (as according to the christian bible) - thats another Mary - but rather a reformed prostitute and friend to Jesus and Mary (Jesus' mother). The story of heartbreak and seperated lovers im 'M' was drawn from Mary Magdaline's story.

I wasnt talking bout songs, Chrono, but about image. Uraayu book.

aha

now the lyrics make more sense i think :)

yea, the virgin mary and love didn't quite connect...

I highly doubt ayu is anything other than christian. she always wears crosses, she did that whole thing on joan of arc (though joan of arc can be seen as a feminist figure rather than a christian one) and, of course, M.

if she does do buddhist thing (none of which I'm aware of) it's simply cultural.

shiso's right, but it wouldnt be that odd if it was the ohter mary

The cross thing isn't necessary a sign she's christian! Crosses are really popular in Japan even though some Japanese don't know what they represent... the topic "is Ayu a Christian?" is an often topic here... there aren't any proofs that she's a Christian or not... and about the crosses - I wear a cross too... on a lace, but I'm an atheist... :)

but the music video made it very confusing.. with the church and stuff..

the option 'different mary' didn't even pop up here :)

I still think Ayu is representing Virgin Mary and not Mary Magdaline.

Reasons:

-Virgin Mary is much more well known worldwide, even for people from different religions. While Mary Magdaline, some christians don't even know about her so how would ayumi talk know about her like that? :shrug

-In the PV Ayu is in a wedding dress...ok so what does it matter? well the dress is WHITE! A girl who marries in white represents that she is VIRGIN. Thus Ayu is representing Virgin Mary (Nalso notice that she isn't marrying of course because she has no pair. The wedding dress was just a way to show Ayu is representing a virgin). And Magdaline was anything but virgin lol

-Ayu is praying in the PV. Most obviously to Virgin Mary and not for Mary Magdaline :shrug I've never seem someone praying for Mary Magdaline.

Hmm... I dunno. It makes sense that it was a story about Mary Magdaline that got her thinking along these lines, but it's not possible that she was praying to such a person. She's praying to the Virgin Mary in the song, known in Japanese Catholicism as "Maria" just as in Spanish and Portugese culture.

In my experience, the Virgin Mary is seen in Japan by non-Catholics and perhaps some Catholics as a deity of mercy. Popular culture associates her with love, though this is likely not the intention of any Japanese Catholic. I remember reading an article about Ayu's thoughts on the song and said something like she had regarded Mary as some holy person but then understood that she was a person as well.

Okui Masami sang a song called Maria some years ago on her album Her-Day and it mentioned "cross" and "love" as concepts along with a song-prayer to the Virgin Mary. Ayu's seems very much in line with this song as well. I think that she is seen as a deity of mercy by people in love. I could be wrong, but in my experience, this is the feeling I get.

The translators at Centigrade-J (http://centigrade.blandplanet.com/) said this on the song in their translation notes:

MARIA is the Christian Religion Holy Mother of Christ. The whole song is a prayer to MARIA to help Ayu find everlasting love in a world where that doesn't seem possible.

But please notice that THE LYRICS aren't THE PV!

Ayu's PVs very often don't match with the lyrics, so while the lyrics is about Mary Magdaleine, the PV is about Virgin Mary ;)

hahaha...

i don't think it's a prayer to maria... it just doesn't feel like one

ahha and how can you tell the difference? O_o;

i can't.. plain feeling and intuition

M was for MARIA? o.o whos maria?

The virgin mary. The song is kinda like a prayer...she's singing to Maria. Maria is the first thing said in the song.

Hmm..I remember hearing from someone a while ago that the song was actually for someone Ayu knew named Maria.. forgot where I heard that from :think

...er are you sure about that? I mean the PV takes place in a church, the musical rendition from the A ~Museum~ has like organ, bells, and choir sounds going on too (which sound VERY similar to the beginning of the song "Ave Maria").. and the lyrics have a line like "I'm praying now that this is my final love". I dunno, but it sounds like she's talking about the Virgin Mary to me ^.^****

Yea, the song M is about one of the Marys of the Bible, not some book. She said it herself in an interview

That's the name I heard! I used to think it only related to the Virgin Mary, because of the church, the cross, the outfit, etc. , but then I thought that Ayu's probably not Catholic, so that kinda threw me off for a while ^^

Mary Magdelene, isn't she the women who Jesus saved that commited adultery?They were going to stone her if memory serves me right.And, I don't remember where, but I read that M does refer to the Virgin Mary and Ayu wrote the song because a friend told her the story of Mary and Jesus.

Ahh..I see now... sorry for going off-topic :(

Guess my mind has been thinking of a lot of things lately (moving, etc), so I'm surprised I didn't remember this from before :laugh

Ok..back to the topic at hand.. :)

well..... whatever M stands for~ i'm sure ayu has her reasons..

A little thing off topic,
I read in an article a few days that now the McDonalds Logo, the BIg golden M arch logo is more famous than the Chrisitian cross :P

wohohohoho ^^ i think even its bout mary magdalaine... but its a prayer song... but its depend of everyone perception :) my perception could be different to others :) :D

i read somewhere that ayu wrote "M" after her friend told her the story about the virgin Mary. They were talking on phone, as i remember. Ayu inspired by the story and she wrote the song. it's what i know :shrug

totally agree with you,

she's acting like virgin mary in the PV, not as the other Mary


I think that the verb flirting is very adequate to what she's doing with religious culture

I suppose she has only one religion, that of avex! LOL

perhaps! she has wanteed to make amix, but I don't think that she knows about that stories.... i think she is very busy "mending" her past.... the name of Maria is just a kind of cliche, she has not made a thesis about christiany, I suppose...

i have always wanted to ask this, and now i have the answer..in fact i have two answers...and i have to make up my mind which one to believe :)

Maria definitely refers to mary magladene... she said it in one of the interview.. if u actualli read the da vinci code, some parts of the book talks abt in the drawing of the last supper, jesus and mary magladene together forms a letter "M" in the drawing, and thus the name of the song "M" ..it;s an interesting book btw
there is this myth that mary and jesus were actualli lovers... and such... that;s the idea of the whole thingy..
i;m pretty sure Maria refers to mary magdalene

I also think it is refering to Mary Magdalene. Yes, there is the bible rendition that says Magdalene was a prostitute but, there are many people that believe she and jesus were married. Thus the PV and the lyrics do then fit with Mary Magdalene more than the virgin Mary imho.

Also to answer someones question about whether people worship Magdalene in churches and what not. The answer is yes, there are several churches in Europe, especially in France that are devoted to and named after Mary Magdalene.

What Interview? I'd like to see that please.

When I heard the song, watched the PV and read the lyrics I thought Maria was the Virgin Mary.

do you know that some of Ayu's songs have the same title as hitomi's songs?

E.g.: poker face, I am.

that is not a surprise. there are so many songs called 'love' or 'goodbye' and similar things :)

um... O.o I got lost with accouple paragraphs..and now im double LOST....Um...(*Confuesed & Scared *) Um...What should i DO?!!?!!?!?! (*-*) so she IS or ISNT referring to a religion mary, or just a chick name'd mary? .. lol... or wait, mabe shes in the church becazuse she wanted to be, and so happends she liked a dress that look'd like a wedding dress, and thought it'd be cool, and probley she has a home gal thats name'd "maria", Hey it COULD happen...lol.. and pluss i wear a cross, and i aint catholic..Heh. I didnt even know that wearing a whyt dress means ur virgen..i just thought that it fitt'ed the senerio...lol
I feel so much smarter :D................NAh...Still dumb..lol

well, i dunno much about Mary Magdalene, Virgin Mary nor MARIA because i'm not a christian myself, but i can tell from the lyrics that ayu is praying to MARIA [i dunno which one] about her love or sort of...

FYI
M is my all-time favorite ayu song, it's her first song that i heard, i've been listening to her since then

yes, which interview?

what does "FYI" mean? and btw???

Mary Magdaline is actually very well known and is considered a savior in some smaller classes of catholicism and Christianity. Some people believe that she will become a prophet before christ returns. After all, she was one of the key people to find Christ's grave empty. And the angel called out to her directly.

There are anime series with Mary Magdaline in it with little mention of Mary wife of Joseph. Take Chrno Crusage: Rosette, the main female character, is the reincarnation of Mary.

But we can't know for sure what Ayu means unless she flat out tells us. I think it's up in the air for everyone.

If you think about the lyrics, she's saying there is someone she SHOULD have loved. Obviously, the Virgin Mary (I'm no theologian, btw) has never had any issue of love or anything. However, if Mary MAGDALENE was indeed in love with Jesus and we go by the catholic teachings, she never got the chance to truly love him.

I"m not christian/catholic btw...

I didn't know that M had so much deeper meaning to it..=D

haha i was going to say because it was the name of my mother XDDD but i guess i was wrong :rolleyes

I read somewhere that was about Mary Magdaline, but I don't remember where....

Close, but i heard that Ayu wrote this song when she first heard Mary Magdelene's story (she was not Jesus's mother. This Mary was the prostitute). Ayu was greatly inspired by this story, especially about love and heartbreak, and that's why she wrote "M".
i also dont think that Mary Magdelene and Jesus were in love...O_o...that just sounds wrong. And the Da Vinci Code was never meant to be taken seriously...Moreover, wasn't the person sitting next to Jesus in the Last Supper the disciple John? (though it wasn't directly said in the Bible). Yeah, i just happen to remember certain parts of the Bible.
Anyway, a change of subject:
Did you also know that "M" was gonna be named "Bliss"? But it was changed for the purpose of the song's meaning.

Ah, in regard to Ayu's religion. Just becuase she wears a cross, doesn't mean she's Christian. The cross is mostly just a fashion statement. After all, American's wear the Egyptian ahnk and the Tao yin yang, but have little knowledge of the religions they're connected with.

As far as the meaning of 'M'. Well, the letter obviously stands for 'maria' a common Japanese spelling of the name Mary. I, too, believe that Ayu is referring to Mary Magdalene, and not the Virgin Mary. My reasons are basically the same as those already stated.

nv

Funny because I've never seem catholics going to churchs and praying for Mary Magdelene. I've seem them praying for Virgin Mary. Is ayu praying for Maria Magdalene in the start of the PV? I doubt it.
The song is obviously a Prayer, a prayer she's making wondering about how life can have it's up and downs, how relationships can begin slowly but they can end fast, how some people are facing happiness and other sadness at the same time, and in order to bear such insecurities people usually resort to praying, so she's doing that now, praying for Maria (she's not talking about Maria, she's praying for Maria). I don't really think she would be praying for Mary Magdalene :think

It's nice to make an understanding to the concept of religion and the concept of listeners and fans. When artists make a reference to a religious figure (japanese figuratively choose maria, based on roman catholic traditions that are closely linked and related to Shinto, which ayumi happens to be a member of) they always try to make a spiritual connection in their music.

Maria, happening to be the "Virgin Mary" is a glorious and misunderstood figure that looks like an angel even in human form, but yet is battered down and slain because of her deathly beauty.

Another take on this is Mary Magdeline the supposed mother of Jesus Christ. A good concept on this that ayumi could have been doing is to promote a cultural shock in her music, a balad song is good mix with spirituality and however the momentum used, Maria is a figurehead that is easily rejoiced in music over... however never in anything rockish as seen in "greatful days" or "ourselves."

It's good to think of this as a call.. or a prayer.
When someone can connect to ANY spiritual energy, then they too can understand the passion that can be felt by song or by writing. Hamasaki-san has a wonderful ability to use these objects and ideals in her music to promote a figure that makes you fall to your knees to shout "MARIA!"

It helps to think of this open-mindedly... Don't fall into the religion traps thinking that Hamasaki-san is Catholic or anything of the suit, that only brings up rumors and unfortunately can disbain the name of our glorious white princess.

It's a nice song to listen too when you're down, when you need a chill pill... and I've even heard it saved a live from suicide.

If a song can touch even one person, Hamasaki-san should be proud.

Mary Magdalene is not Jesus' mother.

And ImpactBreaker is correct, Catholics nor Christians pray for Mary Magdelene. Catholics pray for Virgin Mary.

too lazt to read all these pages... but I don't see her singing to Mary Magdelene. Like alot of people have said... Catholics pray to Virgni Mary... plus I've heard if you are christian in Japan then you are Catholic... so Ayu could be Catholic... but at least it's more known than Baptist or Methodist, so she could have been educated or researched it in some way since Catholism is easier to come by than some other branches of christianity

chococii- Mary Magdalene is definately not Jesus's mother... now some do speculate that he married Magdaelene and had a child possibly (Davinci code and others) but none of that is proven... and VERY sacreligious to christians... but she is never been said to be his mother :)

Exactly what I was going to say! :yes Just because it has religous meaning in the west doesn't mean that Ayu is wearing it for religous purpose.

There could be a reference or allusion towards the story, but since Japanese-English translations are so liberal, and can be interpreted so many ways, it's almost impossible to make an absolute guess. This conversation is sort of like a Japanese person trying to find the hidden meaning behind an American band wearing an Ankh necklace, or a shirt with Buddah on it. We'll never know the truth unless we sit Ayu down and ask her personally.

You all realize that this thread is over a year old, right?

Anyways, in an old article, Ayumi says the song apparently came about because her producer was like, "Let's write a Christmas song" and they thought about it for a while (even sent out pleas to others to write the music, but in the end Ayumi/CREA was credited for it) So, I think any claims that Ayumi is Catholic or Christian just because of this song are most probably wrong.

Yeah, the fact she wrote the lyrics M doesn't mean she's christian or catholic. It's kinda like actors acting as a lawyer for example, they aren't one, but they study a bit of how a lawyer works and such in order to do a good acting. The same goes to novel writers, they can talk about things they don't really live in real life, just by reading and researching about it. (of course in the case of producing M, there wasn't really much to study about since the references picked were rather simple and ayu used a lot more of her personal thoughts than religious references).

ayu is catholic! ^___^
100%! ^^
and why maria? it's because it was shot in the church, she's in a white wedding dress. she has a cross necklace.. there were pigeons! ^^
so it resembles to virgin mary! ^^
and as the song says.. she's like talking to virgin mary and wishing that the guy she loves will meet her in that snowy day! ^^ but he didnt appeared and still ayu keep on waiting and keep on praying to maria. ^__^

^ Ok, seriously, that doesn't mean anything. It's just imagery for the PV. The first cross necklace Ayumi got was from her stylist and meant as a fashion accessory.

In all the articles I've read with "M" references, Ayumi never mentions anything significant about religious stuff and she never said that the PV was her idea (in fact, she's more likely to mention that her band was in the PV and that's what's so different about it)

^Mary Magdalene is way too specific for ayu to know about. A lot of people hardly know who she is. As far as I know catholicism is the religion that pray for saints, I don't think other christian religions pray for saints (might be wrong though). Most of these people pray for Virgin Mary, I'm actually yet to see someone praying for Mary Magdalene, because I've never seem that (I live in the country with the largest ammount of chatolic population in the world). And honestly, if there ate people who pray for Mary Magdalene, they must be a very restricted group compared to the ones who pray for Virgin Mary. Delirium that story you told is long and complex, do you really think ayu knows all that? We are not even sure about what her religion is, much less that she will know about controversial stories of christian religion. I honestly don't think so. I think it was much simpler, she just picked a very well known religious icon and put it in the song to make it sound like a prayer, and it is undeniable that there are far more people who knows who Virgin Mary was than Mary Magdalene, specially those who hardly knows anything about christian religion.

Plus, a lot of japasnese artists have songs for Virgin Mary (i.e LUNA SEA)

also dragon ash made a song named M

I heard that religious Japanese are either Christian or Buddhist.

There's a lot of religious ideology in the song "M" from what you guys have said. The song seems to have been inspired by the story of Mary Magdalene but the PV takes place in a church with Ayumi playing as the Virgin Mary. Maybe the PV portrays both, because there's Ayumi dressed in black right from the beginning, and only in the black outfit is she vocalizing (maybe role-playing as Mary Magdalene) while in contrast she's a silent figure when dressed in the white gown (Virgin Mary).

*shrugs* Just a thought.