Ode of Showa Restoration
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The Ode of Showa Restoration (昭和維新の歌, shōwaishin no uta) is a 1930 song by Japanese naval officer Mikami Taku. It was composed as an anthem for the Young Officers Movement.
The song makes strong appeal to natural and religious imagery. It also references the tragic ancient Chinese hero Qu Yuan, a righteous official and poet of the doomed Chu State in pre-imperial China.
Background
[edit]The Showa Restoration was a movement promoted by Japanese author Kita Ikki, with the goal of restoring power to the newly enthroned Japanese Emperor Hirohito and abolishing the liberal Taishō democracy.[1] The aims of the "Showa Restoration" were similar to the Meiji Restoration as the groups who envisioned it imagined a small group of qualified people backing up a strong Emperor. The Cherry Blossom Society envisioned such a restoration.[2]
The 2-26 Incident was another attempt to bring it about, failing heavily because they were unable to secure the support of the Emperor.[3] The chief conspirators surrendered hoping to make their trial advance the cause, which was foiled by having the trials conducted secretly.[4]
Although all such attempts failed, it was a first step on the rise of Japanese militarism.
| English translation | Japanese lyrics | Romaji lyrics |
|---|---|---|
| Angry waves swell from the depths of the Miluo[P 1]
Mount Wu's peak is hazy with swirling clouds Alone I stand in this murky and turbid world My blood simmers in righteous anger |
汨羅の淵に波騒ぎ
巫山の雲は乱れ飛ぶ 溷濁の世に我れ立てば 義憤に燃えて血潮湧く |
Bekira no fuchi ni nami sawagi
fuzan no kumo wa midaretobu kondaku no yo ni ware tateba gifun ni moete chishio waku |
| The monied elite, beholden to nought but wealth and status
Thinking nothing of this land and its fate Conglomerates boast of their wealth but Have not hearts which think of the soil and grain[P 2] |
権門上に傲れども
国を憂ふる誠なし 財閥富を誇れども 社稷を思ふ心なし |
Kenmonkami ni ogodoredomo
kuni o ureuru makoto nashi zaibatsu tomi o hokoredomo shashoku o omou kokoro nashi |
| Alas, these signs of the nation's collapse
The masses dancing blindly in the stupor of this world In this nightmare, a political din The world is reduced to a round of Go |
ああ人栄え国亡ぶ
盲たる民世に踊る 治乱興亡夢に似て 世は一局の碁なりけり |
Ā hito sakae kuni horobu
meshiitaru tami yo ni odoru chiran kōbō yume ni nite yo wa ikkyoku no go narikeri |
| Under the spring sky of the Showa Restoration
The man[P 3] who marshals a righteous cause In his heart is the march of a million troops Ready to fall like ten thousand sakura blossoms |
昭和維新の春の空
正義に結ぶ丈夫が 胸裡百万兵足りて 散るや万朶の桜花 |
Shōwa ishin no haru no sora
seigi ni musubu masurao ga kyōri hyakuman hei tarite chiru ya banda no sakurabana |
| Transcending the shell of crumbled bones
One body among the wisps of clouds Standing up with concern for the nation the righteous man's ode begins |
古びし死骸乗り越えて
雲漂揺の身は一つ 国を憂ひて立つからは 丈夫の歌なからめや |
Furubishi mukuro norikoete
kumo hyōyō no mi wa hitotsu kuni o ureite tatsu kara wa masurao no uta nakarame ya |
| Whether the rage of heaven or the cries of earth
The roar of the epoch is thundering now From the people's sleep, endless kalpa past Arise, Japan, at this morn's light! |
天の怒りか地の声か
そもただならぬ響あり 民永劫の眠りより 醒めよ日本の朝ぼらけ |
Ten no ikari ka chi no koe ka
somo tadanaranu hibiki ari tami eigō no nemuri yori sameyo Nihon no asaborake |
| Storm clouds gather in the heavens nine
Across the four seas, waves rage and crash The hour[P 4] of revolution is here and nigh Sweeping Japan like the winds of dusk |
見よ九天の雲は垂れ
四海の水は雄叫びて 革新の機到りぬと 吹くや日本の夕嵐 |
Miyo kyūten no kumo wa tare
shikai no nami wa otakebite kakushin no toki itarinu to fuku ya Nihon no yūarashi |
| O the boundless sky and land
A labyrinth path the man must tread Of the splendors and praises in this dusty earth Whose high castle may yet be seen? |
ああうらぶれし天地の
迷ひの道を人はゆく 栄華を誇る塵の世に 誰が高楼の眺めぞや |
Ā urabureshi ame tsuchi no
mayoi no michi o hito wa yuku eiga o hokoru chiri no yo ni taga kōrō no nagame zo ya |
| Fame and glory are but the figments of a dream
What is immutable is the truth alone Feeling the will and spirit of mortal life Who holds the keys to failure or success? |
功名何ぞ夢の跡
消えざるものはただ誠 人生意気に感じては 成否を誰かあげつらふ |
Kōmyō nani ka yume no ato
kiezaru mono wa tada makoto jinseiiki ni kanjite wa seihi o tareka agetsurau |
| A tragic ode, the Sorrow at Parting[P 5]
Here the heavy elegy finds its end Setting our hearts we draw our swords A surging sweep, a dance in blood of massacre. |
止めよ離騒の一悲曲
悲歌慷慨の日は去りぬ われらが剣今こそは 廓清の血に躍るかな |
Yameyo risō no ichi hikyoku
hikakōgai no hi wa sarinu ware-ra ga tsurugi ima koso wa kakusei no chi ni odoru kana |
- ^ The Miluo River that feeds into Dongting Lake is where Qu Yuan famously drowned himself in protest.
- ^ “Soil and Grain” is an ancient literary Chinese term for the nation and its land. Its use here equips the piece with strong sense of gravity.
- ^ The Sino-Japanese term 丈夫, used here and in the fifth stanza, means something like “a masculine character.”
- ^ The Japanese kanji here means “opportunity” but its specified phonetic reading means “time.”
- ^ “Sorrow at Parting” (Li Sao) is one of Qu Yuan’s most famous works. Here, the poet despairs that he has been plotted against by evil factions at court with his resulting rejection by his lord and then recounts a series of shamanistic spirit journeys to various mythological realms.
References
[edit]- ^ James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History p 414 ISBN 0-393-04156-5
- ^ James L. McClain, Japan: A Modern History p 415 ISBN 0-393-04156-5
- ^ Meirion and Susie Harries, Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army p 188 ISBN 0-394-56935-0
- ^ Meirion and Susie Harries, Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army p 193 ISBN 0-394-56935-0
- ^ "青年日本の歌（昭和維新の歌）". gunka.sakura.ne.jp. Retrieved 2017-06-02.