Umi Yukaba


"Umi Yukaba" is a Japanese song whose lyrics are based on a chōka poem by Ōtomo no Yakamochi in the Man'yōshū, an eighth century anthology of Japanese poetry, set to music by Kiyoshi Nobutoki.

History

The poem is part of Ōtomo no Yakamochi's famous long poem celebrating the imperial edict on the discovery of gold in Michinoku province in 749. The distant ancestors of the Ōtomo clan were known as masters of the royal Kume guard.
The poem reflects their pledge to serve their sovereign.
"Umi Yukaba" later became popular among the military, especially with the Imperial Japanese Navy. As set to music in 1937 by Kiyoshi Nobutoki it became popular during World War II, and was sung frequently by kamikaze pilots before takeoffs. After Japan surrendered in 1945, "Umi Yukaba" and other gunka were banned by the Allied occupation forces. With the ending of the occupation, the song has now been widely played across military circles in Japan, including performances by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Prior to Nobutoki’s composition, the poem had been set to music in the trio section of the Gunkan kōshinkyoku.

Lyrics


Umi yukaba / Mizuku kabane /

Yama yukaba / Kusa musu kabane/

Ookimi no / he ni koso shiname /

Kaerimi wa seji
At sea be my body water-soaked,

On land be it with grass overgrown.

Let me die by the side of my Sovereign!

Never will I look back.
海行かば / 水漬く屍 /

山行かば / 草生す屍 /

大君の / 辺にこそ死なめ /

かえりみはせじ

In popular culture