雪の進軍 [Yuki no Shingun]

[1895]



"Yuki no Shingun" (Japanese: 雪の進軍, lit. 'The Snow March') is a Japanese gunka composed in 1895 by Imperial Japanese Army musician Nagai Kenshi who reflected his experience in the Battle of Weihaiwei during the First Sino-Japanese War.

The song was banned in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and was used in the 1977 film Mount Hakkoda.

During the Battle of Weihaiwei, the Imperial Japanese Army experienced heavy snow and low temperature, while being under-equipped with water, food and fuel.

Nagai reflected in his song the hardship Japanese soldiers experienced and their discontentment about the war.

The song, which was popular at the time of its publication and is described by scholars to have an upbeat melody, was said to be favoured by Ōyama Iwao.

It was also taught and sung in Japanese schools during the late Meiji period.

Nagai's song was later widely referred to by soldiers during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War. The discontentment about the war and the disillusionment about the patriotic propaganda expressed in the song were viewed as antagonistic to Japanese militarism and prohibited by the Imperial Japanese Army, though the effectiveness of the order was in doubt.

Yuki no Shingun - Wikipedia

[1] Traslitterazione / Transliteration
(da/from Lyricstranslate)

Yuki yuki no shingun shingun kōri ko hori o funde
Nani doko ga kawa ka wa yara michimichisa e chi shirezu
Uma uma wa ta fureru sute mo okezu
Ko wa nani izu kozo kai mina teki teki no kuni kuni
Ma yo dai daitan ippuku ippuku yareba
Yoriyukita nomi shō sukuna ya tabako tabako ga ni hon nihon

Yakanu inuigyo himo no ni han Han ni ni e meshi meshi ni
Namaji seimei inochi no aru sono uchi uchi wa
Tama kora e setsu kirenai samu samusa no takibitaki bi
Kemuri kebui hazu hazu da yo namaki na maki ga ibushi iburu
Shibui ka hoshite kōmyō koumyōdanbanashi
" sui" to un ifu no wa umeboshiu meboshi ichi hitotsu

Tsuki nomi tsuki noma kiraku na fushido fushi do
Hainō hainoumakura makura ni gaitō gaitou kaburi ya
Se se na no nurunu kumi de yuki yuki tōru to ke ka ru
Yagu yagu no kibi kara ki bigara shippori nurete
Yui musubikane taru ro roei no yume yume o
Tsukitsuki wa hiya tsumetaku ka ho nozokikomu

Inochi inochi sasagesage te dedetekita mi mi yu we
Shishi nuru satoru satoru kakugo de tokkan sure do
Buun buun tsutana tsutanaku uchishi ji ni seneba
Giri giri ni karameta juppei juppei Makoto mawata
Soro ri sororito kubiku bi shime shime ka ru
Dōse nama ikashite kae ka hesanu seki tsumori