Umi Yukaba

nihongo|Umi Yukaba|海ゆかば| is a Japanese patriotic song based on a waka poem by Ōtomo no Yakamochi in the Man'yōshū. As set to music in 1937 by nihongo|Kiyoshi Nobutoki|信時 潔|Nobutoki Kiyoshi it was popular during and after World War II

Lyrics

Umi yukaba
Mizuku kabane
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 you [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

col-end

("Kimi" means 'you', but it is also understood to mean "the Emperor of Japan", especially in this context.)

"Umi Yukaba" was sung before takeoff by many Kamikaze suicide attack pilots in the final stages of the Pacific War.

"Umi Yukaba" is also the name of a 1983 Japanese film.

ee also

*Kimi ga Yo
*Japanese militarism
*Japanese nationalism

External links

* [http://gunka.nanode.ojaru.jp/ Flash animation and music]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pacific/sfeature/sf_song.html Umi Yukaba] from "Victory in the Pacific", PBS documentary on World War II
* [http://home.netyou.jp/ff/nobu/ Kiyoshi　Nobutoki Research guide] in Japanese only
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086502/ Nihonkai daikaisen: Umi yukaba] from IMDB
* [http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/jicc/EJN_no2.htm The Emperor and Empress's Visit to Saipan] account of an elderly Chamorro man singing "Umi yukaba"