Song Name: Umi Yukaba (no widely accepted English translation)
Year of Release: 1937
Written by: Kiyoshi Nobutoki and Otomo no Yakamochi
Released by: No original recording exists, though later renditions are available
Key Lyrics: "大おほ君きみの 辺へにこそ死しなめ/かへりみはせじ (Let me die by the side of my sovereign!/Never will I look back)."
Description: The song is based on an 8th-century poem by Otomo no Yakamochi. The original song has nothing to do with battles or conquest but instead celebrates the discovery of gold in modern-day Tokoku, and the poem reflects the desire of the members of the poet's clan to serve the emperor. During World War 2, Kiyoshi Nobutoki took the stanzas of the poem and wrote his own arrangement. The song gained popularity during the war and was frequently sung by kamikaze pilots before they took off. Though the song was banned after Allied forces began occupying the country in 1945 along with other wartime songs, the song came back to prominence after the occupation ended.
Why It Was Important: The original poem, despite not having anything to do with the military, reflects an undying devotion to the emperor, and this was perfectly captured in the fact that kamikaze pilots would sing it before going on missions where they intended to die for the emperor, as opposed to soldiers who saw death as a possibility but were not going into combat with the specific intent of dying. The song's lyrics are told from the perspective of an individual who says that if he dies at sea, his body will be soaked, and if he dies on land, his body will be covered with grass, before ending with a wish to die at the side of the emperor with no regrets. They perfectly encapsulate the fanatical devotion of a kamikaze pilot to laying down his life for his country. The song continues to stay relevant in Japan and is popular within the armed forces, serving as one of many examples of how an attempt to silence wartime music (with the postwar ban) will not erase it.
Recordings:
Umi Yukaba - (Recording in 1941) (Tokyo Music School Band rendition)