Warship march
The Warship March ( Japanese 軍艦 行進 曲 , Gunkan Kōshinkyoku ; English Warship March , also 軍艦 マ ー チ , Gunkan Māchi ) is a march by the Japanese musician Setoguchi Tōkichi from 1900. The text, which comes from the same year and the title "Warship" ( 軍艦 , Gunkan ) was written by Toriyama Hiraku . It was the official march of the Imperial Japanese Navy and has also been the official march of the Japanese Sea Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) since the end of World War II . The first performance took place in April 1900 on the battleship Fuji by the military band belonging to the ship's crew .
Since the outbreak of the Pacific War between the Japanese Empire and America in 1941, the march has been played frequently on the radio, during launches and during troop inspections. After the war it was often heard in pachinko halls, which contributed to the great popularity of the piece of music.
overview
The march was originally composed in B flat major. In order to make it easier to sing for male voices, it was first transposed to G major and then to F major in the Taishō period . The copyright changed over time from the Polydor company to the Japanese Ministry of Navy ( 海軍 省 , Kaigunshō ) and the Japanese Ministry of Finance ( 大 蔵 省 , Ōkurashō ). It has been copyright-free since 1991.
The "Announcement on the Unification of the Military Ceremony " ( 儀礼 曲 の 統一 に つ い て の 通達 , Gireikyoku no tōitsu ni tsuite no tsūtatsu ) of the Japanese Ministry of Defense of 1986, revised in 2002, determines the "Warship March" for the ceremonial piece of music of the sea armchairs :
- as a march at troop inspections
- Ceremonial handing over of the flag on the occasion of the embarkation of teams of the Self-Defense Forces
- on the occasion of the launching of ship christenings of Japanese ships of the self-defense forces
- for other necessary purposes - not specifically defined here.
song lyrics
The performance practice of the past was to sing the first verse first and insert the song Umi Yukaba at the end of the second verse . In current performance practice, the song Umi Yukaba follows the second verse at the end.
| Japanese | transcription |
|---|---|
|
守るも攻むるも黒鐵の |
Mamoru mo semuru mo kurogane no |
reception
- The Army of Myanmar uses the song under the title "Myanmar Tot Ya Tatmadaw" with a different text and a slightly modified melody as a military march. In addition, the program of the television station under the military opens with this song in the morning.
- In 1983 the song was played by the United States Navy Music Corps for the reception of Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro in the USA .
- The melody is often used by the film director Furusawa Kengo in arrangements by Dan Ikuma for his films.
- In 1996, a group of Japanese citizens set up a stone tablet in Mikasa Park in Yokosuka , Kanagawa Prefecture , with the melody engraved on the front and the text on the back. Although the mayor approved the installation, the Yokosuka Green Area Administration disapproved of the installation of a memorial stone with bellicose lyrics. She therefore decided that the text on the back of the memorial stone should be covered with a black plastic tarpaulin when it was installed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 軍艦 行進 曲 . In: 世界 大 百科 事 典 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved December 16, 2014 (Japanese).
- ↑ 儀礼 曲 の 統一 に つ い て (通達) . (PDF) Ministry of Defense (Japan) , May 6, 1986, accessed December 16, 2014 (Japanese).
Web links
- 軍艦 行進 曲 . City of Tarumizu,accessed December 16, 2014(Japanese, with notes and the text of both stanzas).
