Recording made on August 8, 1939 by the Imperial Japanese Army Band conducted by Ōnuma Satoru [ja]. The B and C sections of the march use the "Battōtai" melody.
"Battōtai" (抜刀隊, Drawn-Sword Regiment) is a Japanese gunka composed by Charles Leroux [ja] with lyrics by Toyama Masakazu [ja] in 1877. Upon the request of the Japanese government, Leroux adapted it along with another gunka, "Fusōka" (Song of Fusang), into the military march Rikugun bunretsu kōshinkyoku [ja] in 1912.
The song references the Battōtai who fought in the Battle of Tabaruzaka during the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion. Because of supply problems and heavy rains, the Satsuma rebels were forced to engage with the Imperial Japanese Army in hand-to-hand combat. They inflicted heavy casualties against Imperial forces, who were mostly conscripts with no experience in wielding swords. Lieutenant General Yamagata Aritomo selected and deployed men from the surrounding area who were proficient with swords. He named this unit Battōtai or "Drawn-Sword regiment."[1]
Charles Leroux, a bandmaster and composer born in Paris, arrived in Japan in 1876 as part of a French military advisory group. He composed his "Battōtai" in 1877, while serving as bandmaster of the Imperial Japanese Army Band. The song was first publicly performed the same year at a concert hosted by the Greater Japan Music Society at the Rokumeikan. It was considered the first Western-style military song in Japan and the first to become popular across the country, although it was initially believed to be difficult to sing for Japanese unaccustomed to modulation.[2]
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (April 2021) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article.
Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:%E6%8A%9C%E5%88%80%E9%9A%8A_(%E8%BB%8D%E6%AD%8C)]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template {{Translated|ja|%E6%8A%9C%E5%88%80%E9%9A%8A_(%E8%BB%8D%E6%AD%8C)}} to the talk page.
Battōtai is included in the first volume of poetry compilation Shintai Shishiyou, thanks to the common effort of Tokyo University's professors Masakazu Toyama, Ryoji Yatabe, and Tetsujirō Inoue, 10 years into Meiji's rule, in 1878; the poem posted below was contained in said compilation.
Ware wa kangun waga teki wa Tenchi irezaru chouteki zo Teki no taishou taru mono wa Kokon musou no eiyuu de
Kore ni shitagou tsuwamono wa Tomo ni hyoukan kesshi no shi Kijin ni hajinu yuuaru mo Ten no yurusanu hangyaku wo
Okoseshi mono wa mukashi yori Sakaeshi tameshi arazaru zo
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume moro tomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shisuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Mikuni no fuuto mono no fu wa Sonomi wo mamoru tamashii no Ishiin kono kata sutaretaru Yamato gatana no ima sara ni
Mata yo ni izuru mi no homare Teki mo mikata mo moro tomo ni Yaiba no shita ni shisu beki ni Yamato-damashii aru mono no
Shisubeki toki wa ima naruzo Hito ni okurete haji kakuna
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume moro tomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shisuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Mae wo nozomeba tsuruginari Migi mo hidari mo mina tsurugi Tsurugi no yama ni noboranwa Mirai no koto to kikitsuru ni
Kono yo ni oite manoatari Tsurugi no yama ni noboru nomo Wagami no naseru zaigou wo Horobosu tame ni arazushite
Zoku wo seibatsu suru ga tame Tsurugi no yama mo nann' no sono
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume moro tomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Tsurugi no hikari kirameku wa Kumoma ni miyuru imazuma ka Yomo ni uchidasu housei wa Ten ni todoroku ikazuchi ka
Teki no yaiba ni fusumono ya Tama ni kudakete tama no o no Taete hakanaku usuru mi no Kabane wa Tsumite yama wo nashi
Sono chi wa nagarete kawa wo nasu Shichi ni hairu nomo kimi ga tame
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume moro tomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Dangan'uhi no aida nimo Futatsu naki mi wo oshimazu ni Susumu wa ga mi wa noarashi ni Fukarete kiyuru shiratsuyu no
Hakanaki saigo wo togurutomo Chugi no tame ni ususu mi no Shishite kai aru mono naraba Shisurumo sarani uraminashi
Wareto owowan hitotachi wa Ippo mo ato e hikunakare
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume moro tomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
Ware ima koko ni shinan mi wa Kimi no tame nari Kuni no tame Sutsu beki mono wa inochi nari Tatoi kabane wa kuchinu tomo
Chugi no tame ni usuru mi no Na wa kanbashiku nochi no yo ni Nagaku tsutaete nokoru nan Bushi to umareta kai mo naku
Gi mo naki inu to iwaruruna Hikyou mono to na soshirare so
Teki no horoburu sore made wa Susume ya susume moro tomo ni Tamachiru tsurugi nuki tsurete Shinuru kakugo de susumu beshi
We are the imperial army and Our enemies are The Emperor's enemies, forsaken by heaven and earth The enemy's commander is one who through history has no equal — a hero
The soldiers who follow him are United as fierce warriors ready to fight to the death Though the wrathful deities shake their courage not Heaven will not forgive their rebellion
Those who have risen up against us since olden times Have never had their moment of glory
Until that time that our enemy is destroyed Charge, charge, together as one Drawing our swords, glistening like a broken jewel We must charge forth, determined to die
Our divine nation's ways and the samurai's Bodies were defended by the spirits Though thrown away after the restoration Our Japanese swords now and again may be carried
Again in our era, our reputation returned; Enemy and ally together as one Must die under the edge of the blade And to those with the Japanese spirit
The time to die is now Do not disgrace yourself with delay
Until that time that our enemy is destroyed Charge, charge, together as one Drawing our swords, glistening like a broken jewel We must charge forth, determined to die
As I look ahead, there is a sword To my right and to my left, everywhere a sword To climb a mountain of swords They say is a deed for the future
Seeing this world from the top with my own eyes I climbed this mountain of swords Not for the sake of atoning For the sins I have committed
But for the sake of subjugating the rebels The mountain of swords — what does it matter?
Until that time that our enemy is destroyed Charge, charge, together as one Drawing our swords, glistening like a broken jewel We must charge forth, determined to die
The glint of light on a sword — Is it a flash of lightning between the clouds? The voice of the artillery firing in all directions — Is it the roar of the thunder?
The ones defeated by the enemy's blades Or those struck by the enemy's rounds — Their life ended, their bodies without a grave The corpses piled up into a mountain
Their blood streaming into a river — They go into certain death for the sake of the Emperor
Until that time that our enemy is destroyed Charge, charge, together as one Drawing our swords, glistening like a broken jewel We must charge forth, determined to die
Even amidst a rain of bullets The body of which there is no two, without regret Charges forward — myself, like the tempest's Gusts that blow away the white dew
Should I meet my end unburied For loyalty's sake I will have died If it be that I die to that effect Then to death I will hold no grudge
Those people who think they are as me Do not tread back one step
Until that time that our enemy is destroyed Charge, charge, together as one Drawing our swords, glistening like a broken jewel We must charge forth, determined to die
Now and here, my body is to die For the good of the emperor, the good of the country Discarded shall be our lives Even if our corpses may rot
For our loyalty and composure, our names Esteemed among the later generations Shall long be passed down by those who remain As a warrior you were born — a life without worth
And let nobody call you an immoral dog Nor let them slander you as a coward
Until that time that our enemy is destroyed Charge, charge, together as one Drawing our swords, glistening like a broken jewel We must charge forth, determined to die