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Kazuko Oshikawa
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Haha no kokoro (Mother's heart)
Performed by Kazuko Oshikawa
Written by Funato Okino
Composed by Hironobu Dohi
Music arranged by Jirō Takemura
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 a mother whose son died in
a tokkō mission.
Gentle since when you were small
You in my thoughts
Were my dear precious life
When cherry blossom season comes each year
It brightens my eyes
I feel you're coming home
When your last letter arrived
Relieved at your cheerful news
Not imagining such a thing as tokkō [1]
From the first, if it were your fate
When in the future the sad day came
My heart should have been ready
From the far off south
Your spirit that returned home
Continues living with me
My prayer for you to be at peace
Someday I'll live with you
In a world of eternal peace
Note
1. The word tokkō (or
often shown as tokko) means "special attack," a Japanese euphemism for "suicide attack." Kamikaze pilots were part of Japan's tokkōtai
(Special Attack Corps).
Translated by Bill Gordon
August 2006
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