Lovely nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs

[Japanese Military Songs and Marches] A collection of famous Japanese pieces deeply etched in the hearts of the Showa and wartime generations

Representative, Elysion Philharmonic Orchestrasai-kisaragi
Heisei College of Music, Composition Course. Studied composition and conducting under Keizo Ideta, piano under Chinami Kira, and arts management under Takuma Konishi. With a focus on community and music, I work to revitalize my hometown of Saga Prefecture. While performing as a double bassist with wind ensembles and orchestras across Kyushu, I participated on double bass in the “Orchestra Without Borders” orchestra camp of the professional game and anime music ensemble Eminence Orchestra, held in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture in September 2012. During CAPCOM’s Kyushu Tour in 2016, I not only performed as an orchestra member but also served on the production staff. I currently serve as the managing representative for the game and anime performance groups Elysion Philharmonic Orchestra (Saga Prefecture) and Fukuoka Game Music Wind Orchestra (Fukuoka Prefecture), and handle conducting, arranging, and public relations.

The rousing “Warship March” by Fujiyoshi Setoguchi, Koji Tsuruta’s “Sakura of the Same Class” echoing in the spring as cherry blossoms fall, and Aya Shimazu’s “Comrade” that pierces the heart with thoughts of fallen friends.

In Japan’s military songs and marches reside pride in the homeland, the resolve of soldiers heading to the front, and deep prayers in remembrance of comrades who never returned.

These melodies, at times powerful and at times sorrowful, pass down the memory of war and ask us to reflect on the preciousness of peace.

Here, we introduce gem-like masterpieces that remain etched in many hearts even today, alongside Japan’s history.

[Japanese Military Songs and Marches] A collection of renowned Japanese pieces deeply etched in the hearts of the Showa and wartime generations (21–30)

Women's War Service SongPeggy Hayama

[Military Song] Women's Service Song

Women’s Military Service Song, Peggy Hayama

This is a song by a Japanese Red Cross military nurse.

Sung from the perspective of a nurse, its concrete lyrics make the wounded soldiers feel all the more pitiful.

Peggy’s calm singing seems to soothe the wounded, and it carries a quietly enveloping, heartfelt persuasiveness.

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Camping SongHibari Misora

Camp Song by Hibari Misora

Camp Song by Hibari Misora

The Rising Sun flag, the advance, the victory.

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Even if it was an era dyed in a single color, being encouraged in a dream to die and come home is such a sorrowful song.

The young men in the song would still be high school students today.

Though it is a time of peace, they were slack—completely the opposite of now.

I sense the sad courage of those days, when one had to accept this as right.

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[Japanese Military Songs and Marches] A collection of famous Japanese tunes deeply etched in the hearts of the Showa and wartime generations (31–40)

March of My Beloved SteedNoboru Kirishima · Misao Matsubara

War Horse Marching Song - Noboru Kirishima & Misao Matsubara

Beloved Horse March Song — Noboru Kirishima & Misao Matsubara

On the battlefield where they went prepared even for death and spent time advancing together, I found their affection for the horses heartwarming.

In the lyrics that show care for the horses, offer encouragement, and share joy with them, I felt that—though comrades are of course present on the battlefield—one is still lonely.

It’s a military song of a different kind from the others.

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Comrades-in-arms cherry blossomsKoji Tsuruta

“Synchronized Cherry Blossoms” with lines/dialogue, by Koji Tsuruta — To the heroic spirits who fell in the great sky

Koji Tsuruta, The Cherry Blossoms of the Same Class

With Mr.

Tsuruta’s lines included, it really sinks into the heart.

Because there’s an underlying premise of “cherry blossoms = falling,” it feels all the more sorrowful.

I had only the impression of military songs, so I thought he might be someone who glorifies war, but I came to feel that by speaking about the fallen, there is a sense of remembrance and mourning woven into it.

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Restoration March ~Miya-san, Miya-san~King Men's Chorus

[Military Song] Restoration March ~Miya-san Miya-san~

Ishin March ~Miya-san Miya-san~ King Male Chorus

It’s bright and humorous, but it’s said to be Japan’s first military song, and indeed, if you look closely at the lyrics, it’s undeniably bellicose.

I’ve heard that “Miya-san” refers to Prince Arisugawa, and I’m a bit surprised that even in those days they felt free to make light of him so casually.

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Militarist LullabyMasaru Shio

Militaristic Lullaby (Masaru Shio) 1972

Militaristic Lullaby, Masaru Shio

A mother is singing to her little boy a lullaby about his father, a soldier stationed in Manchuria.

She sings of an unwaveringly valiant father, as if teaching the child about his father’s strength and Japan’s strength.

It feels a bit heartbreaking to imagine that this child, too, will one day be sent to the front.

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Little Cedar of the MountainAiko Anzai and others

Little Cedar of the Mountain

The Little Cedar Child of the Mountain — Aiko Anzai and Others

I heard it a long time ago, and the sun is speaking humorously to a young cedar, so I never thought it was a military song.

I’ve heard it was a song meant to encourage children who had lost their fathers in the war.

It tells the story of a small child who was laughed at by other trees but grows into a splendid cedar, and the way it proves useful is so moving that I can’t listen without tears.

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