Aikoku Kōshinkyoku
"Aikoku Kōshinkyoku" (愛国行進曲, Patriotic March) is a Japanese patriotic song composed by Tōkichi Setoguchi with lyrics by Yukio Morikawa. It was released in December 1937.[1]
"Aikoku Kōshinkyoku" | |
---|---|
Song | |
Language | Japanese |
English title | Patriotic March |
Released | December 1937 |
Genre | Patriotic song |
Composer(s) | Tokichi Setoguchi |
Lyricist(s) | Yukio Morikawa |
History
At the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Cabinet of Japan sponsored several public competitions for lyrics to Aikoku Kōshinkyoku in September 1937.[2] There were 57,578 entries for lyrics that were received, and Morikawa's entry was selected as the winner. For the music, 9,555 entries to accompany the lyrics were then received, and Setoguchi was declared the winner. Setoguchi was already a noted composer who had written the Gunkan kōshinkyoku, the official march of the Imperial Navy.
A few days after its release, Aikoku Kōshinkyoku sold a hundred thousand copies from six labels. It sold over a million by 1938.[3][4]
In popular culture
This song is used in the 1972 Malaysian film Laksamana Do Re Mi, but with different lyrics.
Lyrics
Japanese script | Latin script | Literal English translation | Poetic English translation |
---|---|---|---|
見よ東海の空明けて |
Miyo Toukai no sora akete |
Look at the bright eastern sky, |
Look above the eastern sea clearly dawns the sky; |
References
- "愛國行進曲". 西洋軍歌蒐集館. Retrieved 29 July 2017. (in Japanese)
- Ewbank, Alison J.; Papageorgiou, Fouli T. (1997). Whose Master's Voice?: The Development of Popular Music in Thirteen Cultures. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 162. ISBN 9780313277726.
- Galliano, Luciana (19 November 2002). Yogaku: Japanese Music in the 20th Century. Scarecrow Press. p. 117. ISBN 9781461674559.
- Craig, Timothy J.; King, Richard (1 October 2010). Global Goes Local: Popular Culture in Asia. UBC Press. p. 234. ISBN 9780774859790.