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Location of Former Chiran Air Base
Otome nadeshiko chiran kichi (Chiran Base, devoted girl)
Performed by Kazuko Oshikawa
Written and composed by Yoshimori Uchi
Music arranged by Yasukatsu Ikeda
From Tokkō no haha: Heiwa e no inori (Tokkō mother: prayer for
peace)
King Record Co., 1987, Audiocassette
Below is
an English translation of a Japanese enka song about Chiran Air Base, the Army's
main kamikaze base during the Battle of Okinawa. The term tokkōtai in the
lyrics means Special Attack Corps, who carried out suicide attacks near the end
of World War II. Kamikaze pilots were part of Japan's tokkōtai.
Their eyes turned from learning to battle
She took care of them
Tokkōtai, flowers with no tomorrow
Will grieve her heart
Chiran Base, devoted girl
Their lives turned to bullets, a one-way trip
They say it's for their country
But what's best to say
To someone leaving never to return
Chiran Base, devoted girl
Full of tears, waving cherry blossom branches
They turn around smiling
Leaving the country for southern skies
Their vanishing figures forever
Chiran Base, devoted girl
Translated by Bill Gordon
August 2006
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