Umi Yukaba
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese patriotic song (gunka
) based on a waka
poem by Ōtomo no Yakamochi
in the Man'yōshū. As set to music in 1937 by it was popular during and after World War II
.
Yama yukaba
Kusa musu kabane
Okimi no he ni koso shiname
Kaerimi wa seji
If I go away to the sea,
I shall be a corpse washed up.
If I go away to the mountain,
I shall be a corpse in the grass
But if I die for the Emperor,
It will not be a regret.
海行かば
水漬く屍
山行かば
草生す屍
大君の辺にこそ死なめ
かへりみはせじ
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese patriotic song (gunka
Gunka
is the Japanese term for military music. While in standard use in Japan it applies both to Japanese songs and foreign songs such as Battle Hymn of the Republic, as an English language category it refers to songs produced by the Empire of Japan in between roughly 1885 and 1943.Japanese gunka were...
) based on a waka
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
poem by Ōtomo no Yakamochi
Otomo no Yakamochi
was a Japanese statesman and waka poet in the Nara period. He is a member of the . He was born into the prestigious Ōtomo clan; his grandfather was Ōtomo no Amaro and his father was Ōtomo no Tabito. Ōtomo no Kakimochi was his younger brother, and Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume his aunt...
in the Man'yōshū. As set to music in 1937 by it was popular during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Lyrics
Mizutsuku kabaneYama yukaba
Kusa musu kabane
Okimi no he ni koso shiname
Kaerimi wa seji
If I go away to the sea,
I shall be a corpse washed up.
If I go away to the mountain,
I shall be a corpse in the grass
But if I die for the Emperor,
It will not be a regret.
海行かば
水漬く屍
山行かば
草生す屍
大君の辺にこそ死なめ
かへりみはせじ
Umi Yukaba was sung before takeoff by many Kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
suicide attack pilots in the final stages of the Pacific War.
Umi Yukaba is also the name of a 1983 Japanese film.
External links
- Umi Yukaba from Victory in the Pacific, PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary on World War II - Kiyoshi Nobutoki Research guide in Japanese only
- Nihonkai daikaisen: Umi yukaba from IMDB
- The Emperor and Empress's Visit to Saipan account of an elderly Chamorro man singing Umi yukaba