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Special attack monument
near former Bansei Air Base
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Tokkō heishi yo yasuraka ni
(Kamikaze pilots, rest in peace)
Performed by Michio Oda
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
This singer of this Japanese enka song remembers the
kamikaze pilots who gave their lives for their homeland. Below is
an English translation:
Believing in your homeland's glory
Your lives given in honor
Please rest in peace
Surely your pure hearts will not be wasted
| (spoken) Over forty years already have passed since that terrible war. Now
those fighting days seem like a fantasy. We have peace and quiet days.
However, as we stand before this kamikaze monument, a thousand emotions
fill our hearts, and we cannot help being overcome by emotion. We
earnestly pray for the repose of the spirits of everyone who died in
battle so tragically in the air and sea. |
Born to this world for a short time
You left even your loved ones
Kamikaze pilots, rest in peace
Hands together in prayer, even now recalling your faces
Our journey to peace was very far
A tough thorny path
Countless spirits, rest in peace
Lasting renown, forever
Translated by Bill Gordon
September 2006
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