A dark cinematic collage intertwining historical tragedy with visceral soundscapes.
A symphony of malice, ice, and lead.Chicago, February 14th, 1929.
The promise is kept.
Musical Influence:
The soundscape is a cinematic reimagining of winter in Chicago, woven with motifs from:
Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor (The coldness of the North)
Vivaldi: “Winter” from The Four Seasons (The sharpness of the wind)
Paganini: Caprice No. 24 (The frantic energy of the underground)
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Vol.1
人を殺すにふさはしい
煉瓦の塀の横のまひる日
そのコチラ側に
罪悪が在る
或る時コンナ予言をした
俺を抹殺するものがある……と
悪念が重なり合つて
笑つて立つてゐる
だから俺も眼がくるめいて
邪道に陥ちるんだ
だから俺も眼がくるめいて
邪道に陥ちるんだ
吾が姿をニヤリと笑つて
ふり向いて見る
ジツト眼をあけて
俺の所業を睨んでゐる奴
Drawn from Yumeno Kyūsaku’s Ryōkika (“Lays of Morbid Whimsy”), these fragments are rearranged to evoke the psychological undercurrents of the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre.
Stopped dead.
A place to kill, so apt—
By the brick wall, in the stark noon.
The winter sky rises up like a precipice.
And on this side of it,
There lies sin.
Christ once uttered a prophecy—
One like this:
“There is one who shall erase me…”
A precipice stands before my eyes.
Malice upon malice, piled high—
Smiling, as they stand.
Round and round and round, The heights and depths entwine—
And so my senses reel,
Falling into the wicked path.
Round and round and round, The heights and depths entwine—
And so my senses reel,
Falling into the wicked path.
I am watching that which must not be seen—
With a grin at my own reflection,
I turn to look back.
From a corner of the blue sky,
With an unblinking gaze,
A presence is glaring at my deeds.
English translation ©Tsukiyonokarasu, 2026
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Vol.2
と思ひつゝ人ごみの中を
濶歩して行く
血みどろの俺にぶつかつた
あの横路地のくら暗の中で
俺と俺とが真黒く睨み合つた儘
動くことが出来ぬ
そんな心恋し
こがらしの音
殺してみたいと思ふ時
君一人かい…………
………と友達が来る
やるせなや
街のあかりに霧のふるとき
にほひばかりでは何か物足らず
手品を見てゐる
ズドンと云つた
アハハのハツハ
無数の瓶が立並び
口を開けて居り呼吸をせずに
一つ咳をした
霜の夜更けに俺が通つたら
犯人に見えまいと
鏡のぞいてたしかめてみる
やるせなや
街のあかりに霧のふるとき
にほひばかりでは何か物足らず
手品を見てゐる
ズドンと云つた
アハハのハツハ
Drawn from Yumeno Kyūsaku’s Ryōkika (“Lays of Morbid Whimsy”), these fragments are rearranged to evoke the psychological undercurrents of the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre.
To kill means nothing—
So I walk on,
Through the crowd.
Suddenly,
I slammed into my blood-smeared self,
In the darkness of that side-alley.
In the dark,
I and my shadow, blackened, glared at one another—
Sinking into the gloom,
Unable to move.
To kill, and yet to close the eyes so gently—
I long for such a heart.
The winter wind moans.
When the urge takes me
To kill someone, anyone—
“Are you alone…?”
…A friend arrives.
The touch of the pistol spring,
So hollow, so bleak—
When the mist falls upon the city lights.
The scent of the pistol smoke alone
Is not enough, something is missing—
I watch a trick unfold.
The pistol glared at the space between my eyes,
ZUDON.
Aha-ha-no-ha-ha!
Down in the cellar,
Countless bottles stand in rows,
Mouths wide open, yet holding their breath.
A policeman at the station
Gave a single cough,
As I passed by on a frost-bitten night.
“Surely, this face of mine
Cannot look like a criminal’s”—
…I peer into the mirror,
Just to be sure.
The touch of the pistol spring,
So hollow, so bleak—
When the mist falls upon the city lights.
The scent of the pistol smoke alone
Is not enough, something is missing—
I watch a trick unfold.
The pistol glared at the space between my eyes,
ZUDON.
Aha-ha-no-ha-ha!
English translation ©Tsukiyonokarasu, 2026
The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: An Overview
The Date: February 14, 1929
The Location: A garage at 2122 North Clark Street, Chicago
The Event: At the height of the Prohibition era, the city of Chicago was a battlefield for control over the illegal alcohol trade. On the morning of Valentine’s Day, seven men associated with the “Bugs” Moran gang were lined up against a brick wall and executed by men dressed as police officers.
The Aftermath: Seventy rounds of ammunition were fired. No one was ever brought to trial for the murders. While the world suspected Al Capone—the “King of Chicago”—as the mastermind behind the hit, his alibi remained unshakable.
The Symbolism: This was not merely a gangland hit; it was the moment the “American Dream” revealed its darkest side. It remains the most notorious unsolved crime in mob history—a cold-blooded reminder that in the underground, “promises” are kept only in lead and blood.
Kyusaku Yumeno & “Ryokiuta” (Lays of Morbid Whimsy)
The Author: Kyusaku Yumeno (1889–1936) was a titan of Japanese avant-garde and detective fiction. A former Zen monk, journalist, and mailman, he is best known for his masterpiece Dogra Magra, often cited as one of the most “disturbed” and complex novels in Japanese literature. His work dwells in the blurred lines between sanity and madness, the subconscious, and the inherent darkness of the human soul.
The Work: “Ryokiuta” (獵奇歌) “Ryokika,” or The Songs of Bizarre, is a collection of Tanka (traditional 31-syllable poems) that Yumeno composed throughout his life. However, these are not poems of nature or romance. They are “observations of the abyss.”
With a cold, clinical gaze, Yumeno used these poems to dissect the grotesque, the cruel, and the “innocent malice” hidden behind the veneer of civilization. In this project, these verses serve as the psychological blueprint—connecting the cold-blooded streets of 1929 Chicago to the timeless, universal nature of human depravity.