Anti-war songs that pierce the heart: Japan’s masterpieces conveying prayers for peace
Music sometimes has the power to move people’s hearts and exert a great influence on society.
Among such works, anti-war songs imbued with wishes for peace have appealed across generations, conveying both the horrors of war and the preciousness of peace to many.
The anti-war songs etched into Japan’s musical history contain profound messages that we who live today must never forget.
In this article, we highlight Japanese anti-war songs—focusing mainly on popular Japanese music—and explain the backgrounds of the tracks and the sentiments embedded in their lyrics.
We invite you to take this opportunity to reflect anew on war and peace.
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Anti-war songs that pierce the heart: Prayers for peace conveyed by Japanese masterpieces (91–100)
Lesson IKagawa Ryo
It’s a signature anti-war song included on folk singer Ryo Kagawa’s first album, released in 1971, which urges that nothing is more important than life.
It drew renewed attention in 2020 when actress Anne performed it in a stripped-down, self-accompanied rendition.
The lyrics resonate even more because of the contrast with the warmth of the instrumentation and its pastoral atmosphere.
Even if one has a strong will to defend the nation, protecting life is what truly leads to the future.
It’s filled with a hope that compels us to believe in that.
Invisible Sunporisu
The lyrics are about people living in war-ravaged or impoverished countries who believe in an unseen sun and keep living with strength.
Even within the dark musical mood and lyrical imagery, you can feel a strong will to live.
The music video includes footage shot during the conflict in Northern Ireland, but due to its content, it was banned from broadcast by the BBC.
[Anti-war songs that pierce the heart] Prayers for peace conveyed by Japan’s classic masterpieces (101–110)
Message — kotodute —Porunogurafiti
It’s a song with a gentle rock sound imbued with deep prayers and wishes.
The 55th single by Porno Graffitti, created with Hiroshima—marking 80 years since the atomic bombing—as its theme, it was released digitally in April 2025.
The track was used as the ending theme for NHK Hiroshima’s documentary program “Connect: Messages to the Future — Porno Graffitti Connects Through ‘Song.’” The program featured the background of the song’s production and conversations with atomic bomb survivors.
Give it a listen when you want to feel a commitment to peace or to quietly calm your mind.
Black RainKojya Misako
Black rain describes the sight of mud and dust scattered by an atomic blast falling from the sky.
When atomic bombs were dropped in Japan, it is said that black rain actually fell.
This song is about that black rain, performed by Misako Koja from Okinawa.
Set to the melody of Okinawan folk music, it sings of the ceaseless downpour of black rain.
Reading the lyrics, the terrifying scenes of that time come vividly to mind.
Please listen while reflecting on the lyrics, in the hope that this rain will never fall anywhere in the world again.
Dead girlHajime Chitose
This is an anti-war song that sings the unbearably sad reality just as it is.
It is a poem published in 1956 by the Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet, based on a seven-year-old girl who died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and it became a famous song that was translated and sung around the world.
The Japanese lyrics can truly be called a genuine anti-war song that is painful and heartbreaking.
What offers some solace is the fact that this song has been sung by people across the world.
It overflows with the resolve that it must never be repeated.
Younger Brother of the Vast SkyFukurai Suzuko
This song, sung by Suzuko Fukurai, is a moving piece that delicately portrays the feelings of a family living under the shadow of war.
It gently expresses her thoughts for a younger brother far away and the anxieties of everyday life, touching the hearts of listeners.
Performed as an in-story song in the NHK morning drama series “Boogie Woogie,” the track is included on the album “Suzuko Fukurai Masterpieces,” released in December 2023.
Imbued with the experiences of those who lived through war, it conveys the importance of peace.
It is a song for everyone who knows the pain of war and for all who yearn for peace.
Pigeons of the RuinsZa Taigāsu
Known by his nickname “Julie,” Kenji Sawada continues to be active as a musician and actor, and this is the seventh single by The Tigers, the group he fronted.
The lyrics, carried by the distinctive melancholy and airy feel of Group Sounds, poignantly depict the darker sides of human nature.
They convey both the folly of war—which can destroy in an instant what people have built—and a sense of hope that we can learn from our mistakes.
In acknowledging human frailty while believing in our strength, the song can be heard as a kind of prayer.
With its memorable message that anyone can start over as many times as it takes, it’s an anti-war song the whole world should know.
