[Japanese Military Songs and Marches] A collection of famous Japanese pieces deeply etched in the hearts of the Showa and wartime generations

Pray at dawnAikawa Yumi

Pray at dawn

When I hear it sung by Ms.

Aikawa with her resonant voice, and especially in a female voice, instead of simply sounding like the brave march of military boots, a certain sadness seeps through and resonates in my heart.

Looking at the background, I think a female voice suits the content well.

The motif is a lynching of prisoners of war, which was even adapted into a film.

That too is heartrending.

March of My Beloved SteedNoboru Kirishima · Misao Matsubara

War Horse Marching Song - Noboru Kirishima & Misao Matsubara

On the battlefield where they went prepared even for death and spent time advancing together, I found their affection for the horses heartwarming.

In the lyrics that show care for the horses, offer encouragement, and share joy with them, I felt that—though comrades are of course present on the battlefield—one is still lonely.

It’s a military song of a different kind from the others.

Comrades-in-arms cherry blossomsTsuruta Koji

“Synchronized Cherry Blossoms” with lines/dialogue, by Koji Tsuruta — To the heroic spirits who fell in the great sky

With Mr.

Tsuruta’s lines included, it really sinks into the heart.

Because there’s an underlying premise of “cherry blossoms = falling,” it feels all the more sorrowful.

I had only the impression of military songs, so I thought he might be someone who glorifies war, but I came to feel that by speaking about the fallen, there is a sense of remembrance and mourning woven into it.

Song of the Navy of the Greater East Asia WarKingu dansei gasshoudan

[Military Song] Navy Song of the Greater East Asia War

Is it a song that starts with the attack on Pearl Harbor? After that, we can see the Navy’s successive feats.

My feelings are complicated when I think this isn’t just a world of song but an actual battle, yet the tone is triumphant, and I imagine it greatly boosted morale afterward.

Restoration March ~Miya-san, Miya-san~Kingu dansei gasshoudan

[Military Song] Restoration March ~Miya-san Miya-san~

It’s bright and humorous, but it’s said to be Japan’s first military song, and indeed, if you look closely at the lyrics, it’s undeniably bellicose.

I’ve heard that “Miya-san” refers to Prince Arisugawa, and I’m a bit surprised that even in those days they felt free to make light of him so casually.

Militarist Lullabyshiomazaru

Militaristic Lullaby (Masaru Shio) 1972

A mother is singing to her little boy a lullaby about his father, a soldier stationed in Manchuria.

She sings of an unwaveringly valiant father, as if teaching the child about his father’s strength and Japan’s strength.

It feels a bit heartbreaking to imagine that this child, too, will one day be sent to the front.

Praying to the vast skyMatsubara Misao, hoka

Praying to the vast sky

It was said to be a mother’s prayer song, so I thought it expressed the shared feelings of many mothers.

But the sad part is that the prayer is not for her son’s safety, but for him to achieve glory.

Saying she’s hiding her true feelings is something only those of us who don’t know war in our time can say, but it is a song from a sorrowful era.