Princess icicle
phant0m_wpGenre: Japanese Fantasy Ballad / 和風幻想
Style: Koto ・ Shamisen ・ Ethereal Vocal ・ Dreamlike Atmosphere
A fragile melody echoing through winter’s breath.
Tsurarahime blends snow, silence, and longing — a voice that hovers between frost and flame.
✨ Song Background & Meaning
“つららひめ (Tsurarahime)” emerged from a desire to give voice to silent winter spirits,
to portray the moment when snow meets human warmth.
Each verse weaves imagery of white fox lanterns, ethereal whispers, and the dance of frost blossoms.
The refrain “ふゆふりね” evokes the repetition of snowfall itself,
mirroring the uncertainty and yearning of winter-bound hearts.
“霜花ゆれて 夜空に溶けて” speaks to transient beauty dissolving in darkness.
The phrase 「微睡 現世 籠守」 appears subtly across my works — a motif of the boundary between dream and reality,
frozen breath and fragile devotion.
This song is not just emotional — it is sonic poetry,
where every syllable is chosen for how it feels in performance.
📜 Lyrics (Japanese)
[intro (koto) solo] [Verse1] 白狐の燈籠 ふわり千夜綴り ことのね跳ねる くぐり野のままよ 雪しののめ ゆらめく御伽節 たまゆらの貌（かたち） さわぐ霙笛 [Chorus1] ふゆふりね ふゆふりね ふゆふりね 霜花ゆれて 夜空に溶けて 写し絵綴る 指の先から 愛はたまゆら 冬のまほろば [Verse2] 木枯らしの鈴音 蓬の泡沫 雪のかんばせ 梔子に紛れ 旋のごとし 縁翻す 指切りの声 妖しう匂う [Chorus2] 雪湯気の 雪湯気の 雪湯気の 降る降る睫毛 白衣のまにま 滲む掌 冷たい微睡み 氷柱日和の 鏡の向こう [Bridge] まにまにたゆたう 刃の夢を 蘿蔔に沈む 不知火の唄 幻は踊る 現し身の輪舞（ろんど） 姫の啼き声 夜空に解ける [Verse3] 夜片の白き 音色に潜む 瞬きひとつ 含む雫に 夢より薄き 掌の恋 ほろほろ消えて 姫の跡先 [Chorus3] 恋こがれ 恋こがれ 恋こがれ 面影さして さゆらの旋 闇の中でも 必ずさわれる ふたりの通り道 つららひめ [ChorusReprise] 恋こがれ 恋こがれ 恋こがれ 光をなぞって 融けゆく氷柱 指先ふれる 夢の降る天 伝わる氷声 つららひめ [Ending (koto) solo]
Official Lyrics: https://ishipos.com/phantomtone/lyrics/princess-icicle/
🌑 Folklore Origin – Tsurarahime, the Snow Maiden (Yuki-onna / 雪女伝承)
This track is inspired by the Japanese folklore of Yuki-onna —a mysterious snow spirit who appears on freezing winter nights,
drifting softly between love, illusion, and the boundary of life and death.
In many regions of Japan, especially the northern provinces,
Yuki-onna is portrayed not merely as a ghostly figure,
but as a snow maiden, a winter deity carrying both beauty and sorrow.
Sometimes she guides travelers through blizzards;
other times she vanishes at dawn, leaving only memory
and a faint trace of frost-kissed longing.
“Tsurarahime” (氷柱姫 / Icicle Princess) draws from these
ancient folk belief traditions, reimagining the snow spirit not as a threat,
but as a fragile being whose love flickers in the coldest twilight.
Her lantern-like glow, fluttering frost flowers,
and the shimmer of snow dissolving into night
echo the language of classical yokai mythology.
Imagery such as:
・白狐の燈籠 (white fox lantern)
・霜花 (frost blossoms)
・雪湯気 (snow-breath steam)
・氷柱日和 (icicle daybreak)
・指切りの声 (pinky-promise whisper)
・姫の啼き声 (the maiden’s cry)
reflect motifs often seen in tales of Yuki-onna,
snow maidens, and wandering winter spirits.
“Tsurarahime” embraces the duality of the snow maiden myth:
the cold that protects, the warmth that melts,
and the love that disappears like breath in winter air.
Anime World References
This track evokes a wintery folklore dreamscape—snowlight, fox lanterns, quiet longing, and the faint presence of spirits. To help listeners visualize its atmosphere, here are three anime works that share a similar emotional and aesthetic tone:
- Natsume’s Book of Friends (夏目友人帳 / Natsume’s Book of Friends) – Gentle encounters with spirits, soft winter light, and a melancholic calm. Its emotional subtlety matches the song’s imagery of snow breath, faint memories, and fragile love.
- Mushishi (蟲師 / Mushishi) – Pale landscapes, drifting霧, and quiet supernatural presence. The serene yet mystical feeling aligns with motifs like 霙笛, たまゆら, and snowy dreams.
- The Garden of Words (言の葉の庭 / The Garden of Words) – Clear air, delicate emotion, and a world painted through silence and small gestures. Its crisp visual poetry resonates with this track’s winter romance, fingertip warmth, and dissolving snowlight.
These titles are not influences, but worldbuilding touchpoints that help international listeners feel the atmosphere of Japanese Folklore Hip-Hop expressed in this winter tale.
Tags:
Japanese Folklore, Yuki-onna, Snow Woman, Snow Maiden, Tsurarahime,
Yokai, Winter Spirit, Japanese Mythology, Frost Yokai,
Japanese Folklore Hip-Hop, Phantom Tone, Ritual Hip-Hop,
Yuki Onna Folklore, Icicle Princess Legend
📘 Writing Process & Reflections
This piece began with an image: a lantern in falling snow, lit by a silent fox.
I composed the melody on the koto first, imagining pale moonlight and drifting flurries.
Then, my Custom GPT model assisted me in crafting lyrics that breathe,
balancing beauty, repetition, and whispered emotion.
The structure of layering – intro, verses, chorus, bridge – mirrors a snowfall’s layering.
Lines like “雪湯気の 降る降る睫毛” are meant as visual breaths,
as if eyelashes themselves are catching snow.
I intentionally wrote in three refrains;
“ふゆふりね” as a soft wave, “恋こがれ” as a heartbeat in cold air,
“微睡 現世 籠守” as the silent thread pulling between fantasy and reality.
My hope is that listeners can hear both silence and longing,
that the spaces between notes and words echo as much as sound itself.
🎧 If this moved you, please Subscribe & Like. Your support helps me continue weaving these worlds.
📺 Phantom Tone Channel
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