is a Japanese gunka whose lyrics come from a poem written by in 1882 and whose melody was composed by the bandmaster of the Imperial Japanese Army Band, , in 1887. The song was based on the Battle of Tabaruzaka, and the poem that made up the lyrics was inspired by the 1854 English poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade". A variation of the song, titled "Army March," has served as the march of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) since 2007.
Background The song references the Battōtai, who fought in the Battle of Tabaruzaka during the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion. Due to supply problems and heavy rain, the Satsuma rebels were forced to engage with the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) in hand-to-hand combat. The Satsuma rebels inflicted heavy casualties against Imperial forces, who were mostly conscripts with no experience in wielding swords. Lieutenant General Yamagata Aritomo selected and deployed men from the surrounding area who were proficient with swords. He named this unit the Battōtai, or "Drawn-Sword regiment."
History
The song's lyrics were originally a poemTakeshi Kodama. Popular Song of the Meiji Era: A Study of Hayariuta and the Nature of Their Popularity Based on Song Collections in the Kindai Digital Library, thesis for University of New England, 2010, pp. 92—94 written by . Toyama had been inspired by the English poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, which he had translated. He published "Poem of the Battōtai" in book Selection of Poetry in the New StyleTakeshi Kodama. Popular Song of the Meiji Era: A Study of Hayariuta and the Nature of Their Popularity Based on Song Collections in the Kindai Digital Library thesis for University of New England, 2010, pp. 92—94 (『新体詩抄』), published 1882. Despite the name of the book, Toyama's poem was written in the "old style". The poem gained immediate popularity amongst boys and young men. The genre of gunka, the Japanese term for military music, gives a favorable bias towards themes of death.
, a French bandmaster and composer, arrived in Japan in 1876 as part of a French military advisory group. He composed a melody for "Battōtai" in 1887 that used both major and minor keys while he served as bandmaster of the Imperial Japanese Army Band.
"Battōtai" was first publicly performed the same year at a concert hosted by the Greater Japan Music Society at the Rokumeikan. It was considered the first Western-style military song in Japan and the first to become popular across the country, although it was initially believed to be difficult to sing for Japanese individuals unaccustomed to modulation.
Variations
Army March
Leroux took the tune of "Battōtai" and another one of his songs, "Fusōka", and created an arrangement called the "Army March". It was used as the official march of the IJA and was used to announce military successes during World War II. The march is still part of the repertoire of the military bands of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the National Police Agency. It has been the march of the JGSDF since 2007.
Others The song's tune was borrowed for a song titled "The Normanton Sinks Beneath the Waves", written after the English ship Normanton sank off the coast of Japan. The tune was also used for a wide variety of songs, including "The Voice of the Pines," "The Tsingtao Motif," "Naramaru's Chaos," "The Ancient Moon and Flower," and "First Comes Ichinomiya Shrine."
Lyrics +JapaneseTransliteration into rōmaji我は官軍我敵は 天地容れざる朝敵ぞ 敵の大將たる者は 古今無雙の英雄で
之に從ふ兵は 共に慓悍决死の士 鬼神に恥ぬ勇あるも 天の許さぬ叛逆を
起しゝ者は昔より 榮えし例あらざるぞ
敵の亡ぶる夫迄は 進めや進め諸共に 玉ちる劔拔き連れて 死ぬる覺悟で進むべし
皇國の風と武士の 其身を護る靈の 維新このかた廢れたる 日本刀の今更に
又世に出づる身の譽 敵も身方も諸共に 刃の下に死ぬべきぞ 大和魂ある者の
死ぬべき時は今なるぞ 人に後れて恥かくな
敵の亡ぶる夫迄は 進めや進め諸共に 玉ちる劔拔き連れて 死ぬる覺悟で進むべし
前を望めば劔なり 右も左りも皆劔 劔の山に登らんは 未來の事と聞きつるに
此世に於て目のあたり 劔の山に登るのも 我身のなせる罪業を 滅す爲にあらずして
賊を征討するが爲 劔の山もなんのその
敵の亡ぶるそれ迄は 進めや進め諸共に 玉ちる劔拔き連れて 死ぬる覺悟で進むべし
劔の光ひらめくは 雲間に見ゆる稻妻か 四方に打出す砲聲は 天に轟く雷（いかづち）か
敵の刃に伏す者や 丸に碎けて玉の緒の 絶えて墓なく失する身の 屍は積みて山をなし
其血は流れて川をなす 死地に入るのも君が爲
敵の亡ぶる夫迄は 進めや進め諸共に 玉ちる劔拔き連れて 死ぬる覺悟で進むべし
彈丸雨飛の間にも 二つなき身を惜まずに 進む我身は野嵐に 吹かれて消ゆる白露の
墓なき最期とぐるとも 忠義の爲に死ぬる身の 死（しに）て甲斐あるものならば 死ぬるも更に怨なし
我と思はん人たちは 一歩も後へ引くなかれ
敵の亡ぶる夫迄は 進めや進め諸共に 玉ちる劔拔き連れて 死ぬる覺悟で進むべし
我今茲（われいまここ）に死ん身は 君の爲なり國の爲 捨つべきものは命なり 假令（たと）ひ屍は朽ちぬとも
忠義の爲に捨る身の 名は芳しく後の世に 永く傳へて殘るらん 武士と生れた甲斐もなく
義もなき犬と云はるゝな 卑怯者となそしられそ
敵の亡ぶる夫迄は 進めや進め諸共に 玉ちる劔拔き連れて 死ぬる覺悟で進むべしWare wa kangun waga teki wa Tenchi irezaru chouteki zo Teki no taishou taru mono wa Kokon musou no eiyuu de
Kore ni shitagou tsuwamono wa Tomo ni hyoukan kesshi no shi Kijin ni hajinu yuu aru mo Ten no yurusanu hangyaku wo
Okoseshi mono wa mukashi yori Sakaeshi tameshi arazaru zo
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume morotomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Mikuni no fuuto mononofu no Sonomi wo mamoru tamashii no Ishin kono kata sutaretaru Yamato-gatana no ima sara ni
Mata yo ni izuru mi no homare Teki mo mikata mo moro tomo ni Yaiba no shita ni shinu beki zo Yamato-damashii aru mono no
Shinubeki toki wa ima naru zo Hito ni okurete haji kakuna
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume morotomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Mae wo nozomeba tsurugi nari Migi mo hidari mo mina tsurugi Tsurugi no yama ni noboran wa Mirai no koto to kikitsuru ni
Kono yo ni oite manoatari Tsurugi no yama ni noboru no mo Waga mi no naseru zaigou wo Horobosu tame ni arazushite
Zoku wo seibatsu suru ga tame Tsurugi no yama mo nann' no sono
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume morotomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Tsurugi no hikari hirameku wa Kumoma ni miyuru imazuma ka Yomo ni uchidasu housei wa Ten ni todoroku ikazuchi ka
Teki no yaiba ni fusumono ya Tama ni kudakete tamanowo no Taete hakanaku usuru mi no Kabane wa tsumite yama wo nashi
Sono chi wa nagarete kawa wo nasu Shichi ni iru nomo kimi ga tame
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume morotomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Dangan'uhi no aida nimo Futatsu naki mi wo oshimazu ni Susumu waga mi wa noarashi ni Fukarete kiyuru shiratsuyu no
Hakanaki saigo wo togurutomo Chugi no tame ni shinuru mi no Shinite kai aru mono naraba Shinurumo sarani uraminashi
Ware to omowan hitotachi wa Ippo mo ato e hikunakare
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume morotomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Ware ima koko ni shinan mi wa Kimi no tame nari kuni no tame Sutsu beki mono wa inochi nari Tatoi kabane wa kuchinu tomo
Chugi no tame ni sutsuru mi no Na wa kanbashiku nochi no yo ni Nagaku tsutaete nokoru ran Bushi to umareta kai mo naku
Gi mo naki inu to iwaruruna Hikyou mono to na soshirare so
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume morotomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Score
References
External links "Battotai March (抜刀隊)", SoundCloud