“‘Umi Yukaba…’
After the war, this song
began to be heard everywhere.
But when I hear it, I can’t help but think of those days,
and I can’t sing without tears”
Regarding the song “Umi Yukaba” sung in this video,
91-year-old Nobuko Kikuchi, who participated in the filming,
wrote:
At the end of the war, when she was 11 years old,
Ms. Kikuchi recalls the intense moment when she made eye contact with the pilot of a B-29 that flew over fields in Iwate.
The sky filled with bombers.
A neighbour who was weeding in the field
was shot and killed…
The air raid sirens blared.
Day after day fleeing to the mountains in terror.
The experience of making eye contact with the American pilot
flying at ultra-low altitude to kill,
was etched into the heart of an 11-year-old girl
and will never fade away.
At the end of the war, when she was 11 years old,
Ms. Kikuchi recalls the intense moment when she made eye contact with the pilot of a B-29 that flew over fields in Iwate.
The sky filled with bombers.
A neighbour who was weeding in the field
was shot and killed…
The air raid sirens blared.
Day after day fleeing to the mountains in terror.
The experience of making eye contact with the American pilot
flying at ultra-low altitude to kill,
was etched into the heart of an 11-year-old girl
and will never fade away.
At that time, people were sent off to war
with military songs.
‘Umi Yukaba’ was
also sung as a song of mourning.
But for
Ms. Kikuchi,
it was nothing but a sad song.
Still, she sang it with all her heart.
To connect memories.
And we sing.
With agony, sadness, joy,
and all the feelings that were there.
Lead vocalist Kumiko’s
98-year-old aunt doesn’t understand much anymore.
But she sings ‘Umi Yukaba’ cheerfully.
‘All the men went off to war,
so I couldn’t get married,’
she says, explaining why she has remained single all her life.
The generation who has told the memories of war that never fade is about to disappear.
We must pass on these memories
to future generations.
For many, it is a song of sorrow.
But ‘Umi Yukaba’ is undoubtedly a piece of the youth
of the boys and girls of that time.
War must never happen again.
However, the ‘true memories’ of those who lived through that era,
especially the young people,
must not be erased.
Through this work,
for the sake of those of us living today,
for the sake of the people we love,
and for the sake of protecting the future,
I hope that the efforts of those who gave their all,
reach all those who seek peace.