"Umi Ukaba 海行かば"(composed by Kiyoshi Nobutoki in 1937), literally meaning "If you go to the sea--" , however, it is deeply rooted in the Japanese culture, dating back to AD 700s when the Emperor Shoumu decided to erect Great Buddha Statue in Nara in 743. "Umi Ukaba 海行かば" is originated from The Zoku Nihon Shoki 続日本書紀, a history book dealing with the period of 95 years from AD 697 to AD 791, a sequel to The Nihon Shoki 日本書紀, often translated as The Chronicles of Japan completed in 720.
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Dimensions of the Daibutsu
Height: 14.98 m (49.1 ft) Face: 5.33 m (17.5 ft) Eyes: 1.02 m (3.3 ft) Nose: 0.5 m (1.6 ft) Ears: 2.54 m (8.3 ft) The statue weighs 500 tonnes (550 short tons)
The music was originally composed by Mr. Sueyoshi Tougi in 1880 with the words ( written by Nobleman and Poet 大伴家持Ootomo no Yakamochi in 740s) originated from The Zoku Nihon Shoki 続日本書紀. It was often played and aired on radio whenever the resuslts of the battles were reported in the past. It was once considered as the secondary national anthem to "Kimi ga yo". Umi yukaba is considered as a vow to 聖武天皇the Emperor Shoumu written by Nobleman and Poet Ootomo no Yakamochi in 740s to express the feelings of loyal subjects to do whatever required to erect Great Buddha Statue in Nara in 740s. The building of Great Buddha Statue 奈良の大仏is said to have required a total of 2.6 million workers and $5.7 billion at the current value.
I will go wherever required to go whether I have to go to the sea or to the mountain. I will not look back with any regrets at all regardless of how I die as long as I die for His Majesty the Emperor.
The above is an translation of Umi yukaba to give you what it really means.
by Ted Yokohama
The below is a translation of Umi yukaba as a lyrics found in Wikipedia.
海行かば
Umi yukaba
If I go away to the sea,
水漬く屍
Mizutsuku kabane
I shall be a corpse washed up.
山行かば
Yama yukaba
If I go away to the mountain,
草生す屍
Kusa musu kabane
I shall be a corpse in the grass,
大君の 辺にこそ死なめ
Okimi no he ni koso shiname
But if I die for the Emperor,
かへり見は せじ
Kaerimi wa seji
It will not be a regret.
"Umi Ukaba" is being played at The 59th Memorial Service for the Soldiers killed in Minesweeping Operations-Japan Naval Defense Force
Singing "Umi Ukaba" on August 15, 2011-an anual event at Yasukuni Shrine where about 2,468,000 fallen soldiers are enshrined at.
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