Senyu [With Eng and Romaji sub]

戦友 / Sen'yū / Comrade in arms
- Japanese military song
Singer: I. George(Joji Ishimatsu), Columbia Male Chorus
Performer: Columbia Orchestra
[About this song]
This song was made in 1905, with lyrics by Hisen Mashimo and music by Kazuoki Miyoshi. The lyrics are set during the siege of Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War and detail one soldier's parting with his comrade in arms. Later, it was banned as a war‐weariness song, but its popularity persisted, and it had been secretly sung among soldiers.
[About translation]
*Genkai Sea
It's a sea area that stretches across northwestern Kyushu.
[Support]
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[Rōmaji]
Koko wa okuni o nanbyakuri
Hanarete tooki manshū no
Akai yūhi ni terasarete
Tomo wa nozue no ishi no shita
Omoeba kanashi kinō made
Massaki kakete tosshin shi
Teki o sanzan korashitaru
Yūshi wa koko ni nemureruka
Aa tatakai no saichū ni
Tonari ni otta kono tomo no
Niwaka ni hata to taoreshi o
Ware wa omowazu kake yotte
Gunritsu kibishiki naka naredo
Kore ga misutete okaryouka
Shikkari seyo to daki okoshi
Kari hōtai mo tama no naka
Ori kara okoru tokkan ni
Tomo wa youyou kao agete
Okuni no tame da kamawazuni
Okurete kurena to me ni namida
Ato ni kokoro wa nokore domo
Nokoshicha naranu kono karada
Soreja yukuyo to wakarete ga
Naga no wakare to nattanoka
Tatakai sunde hi ga kurete
Sagashi ni modoru kokoro dewa
Douzo ikite itekure yo
Monona to ie to negouta ni
Munashiku hiete tamashī wa
Kuni e kaetta poketto ni
Tokei bakari ga kochikochi to
Ugoite iru mo nasakenaya
Omoena kyonen funade shite
Okuni ga miezu natta toki
Genkainada ni te o nigiri
Na o nanotta ga hajime nite
Soreyori nochi wa ippon no
Tabako mo futari wakete nomi
Tsuita tegami mo mise oute
Mi no ue banashi kurikaeshi
Kata o daite wa kuchiguse ni
Douse inochi wa nai mono yo
Shindara hone o tanomu zo to
Ii kawashitaru futarinaka
Omoi mo yorazu ware hitori
Fushigi ni inochi nagaraete
Akai yūhi no manshū ni
Tomo no tsukaana horou towa
Kumanaku hareta tsuki koyoi
Kokoro shimijimi fude totte
Tomo no saigo o komagoma to
Oyago e okuru kono tegami
Fude no hakobi wa tsutanai ga
Ando no kage de oyatachi no
Yomaruru kokoro omoiyari
Omowazu otosu hitoshizuku
[Japanese]
ここは御国を何百里
離れて遠き満州の
赤い夕陽に照らされて
友は野末の石の下
思えば悲し昨日まで
真っ先駆けて突進し
敵を散々懲らしたる
勇士はここに眠れるか
嗚呼戦いの最中に
隣に居ったこの友の
俄にはたと倒れしを
我は思わず駆け寄って
軍律厳しき中なれど
これが見捨てて置かりょうか
確りせよと抱き起し
仮包帯も弾丸の中
折から起こる吶喊に
友は漸う顏上げて
御国の為だ構わずに
後れてくれなと目に涙
後に心は残れども
残しちゃならぬこの身体
それじゃ行くよと別れたが
永の別れとなったのか
戦済んで日が暮れて
探しに戻る心では
どうぞ生きて居てくれよ
物等言えと願うたに
空しく冷えて魂は
故郷へ帰ったポケットに
時計ばかりがコチコチと
動いて居るも情無や
思えば去年船出して
御国が見えずなった時
玄界灘に手を握り
名を名乗ったが始めにて
それより後は一本の
煙草も二人で分けて喫み
着いた手紙も見せ合うて
身の上話繰り返し
肩を抱いては口癖に
どうせ命は無いものよ
死んだら骨を頼むぞと
言い交わしたる二人仲
思いもよらず我一人
不思議に命永らえて
赤い夕陽の満州に
友の塚穴掘ろうとは
隈無く晴れた月今宵
心染み染み筆取って
友の最期を細々と
親御へ送る此の手紙
筆の運びは拙いが
行燈の陰で親達の
読まるる心思い遣り
思わず落とす一雫

[@minnesotanfreedomist3147]

A very beautiful song. I remember another version with them being at Singapore witch I prefer.

[@herbivore3277]

the two are diffrent this one is from 1902 i think and the one from singapore is from 1942 and the two are not related

[@minnesotanfreedomist3147]

@@herbivore3277 Really? Very interesting.They are very similar. I wonder if the Singapore one was like a re release of the song for wartime.

[@herbivore3277]

@@minnesotanfreedomist3147 The 1902 Senyu was written after the russo-japanese war but became banned during the second world war because it was seen as too depressive and defeatist (although it was still popular with old officers and was somewhat tolerated among them,), the 1943 was written independently of that and was famous after winning in a military song competition, the head of the competition said that although the song was very sad it reflected the trouth of war so it won

[@javo5270]

@@herbivore3277 how can it be written after the russo japanese war when the war started in 1904 and ended in 1905?

[@herbivore3277]

@@javo5270 you are right i think I got the dates wrong but I know it was written after the russo japanese war

[@velociraptor3313]

Sorrowful and beautiful, thank you.

[@IJNMikasa]

A wonderful gunka.

[@user-yj3qh9nh3p]

🇯🇵 戦友 Senyu

[@sirhenrymorgan1187]

Per this video's description, this song was written by a veteran of the Russo-Japanese War and it became popular among soldiers. The fascist WW2-era Shōwa government banned it due to the song "promoting war weariness".

[@junfa8686]

Very sad, many Japnese were anti-war. We must remember this.

[@sirhenrymorgan1187]

​@@junfa8686 Many people would rather not go to war. But corrupt governments and insane ultra-nationalists love manipulating normal peoples' emotions through pro-war propaganda and censorship of disagreements. Never Forget.

[@johnwatkinsjr2878]

Yeah, same with “Yuki no Shingun” or similar gunka from the First-Sino Japanese War (1894-1895) or the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

[@sirhenrymorgan1187]

@@johnwatkinsjr2878 It's so strange to see Japanese nationalists make comments under those songs: "TENNO HEIKA BANZAI 🙌🇯🇵🎌🎌🙌!!!" When the songs are very much protest songs... All that WW2 era propaganda really did their work, eh?

[@CallMeGeneWasTaken]

ww2 era government wasnt fascist, nor did the showa restoration succeed, creating a "showa government."

[@kamikazefilmproductions]

Kinda sounds like showa restoration

[@Lidavaz_]

this tune was used in a variety of songs, like "chichiyo anata wo tsuyokatta"

[@kamikazefilmproductions]

@@Lidavaz_ ahhh, make sense then

[@randomthoughts6625]

I think this is probably the most beautiful song and that the translation seems they were gay

[@azerbaijandemocraticrepubl9624]

what the fuck

[@lynarisevershadeshadowfall1684]

Sorry no gross gay here. Proper broship only.

[@randomthoughts6625]

@@lynarisevershadeshadowfall1684 how do you know where you there.

[@lynarisevershadeshadowfall1684]

@@randomthoughts6625 yes

[@randomthoughts6625]

@@lynarisevershadeshadowfall1684 Good to know that you are a 133 year old Japanese

[@user-mh2gh2feafd]

song i hear when i have odaeng for dinner

[@ShinnosukeTokuda1684]

nice! a few gentle suggestions: shikkari seyo = in this context, more like "hang on" than "get a grip" kari-houtai = temporary/jerry-rigged bandage (like he's tearing up his clothes to bandage his friend), this is just glossed over in the vid ato ni kokoro wa nokore-domo = "kokoro nokoru" literally means "leave heart" but idiomatically means "to have regrets", so it's wordplay on "leave [my] heart" and "leave [his] body" (i don't know how you'd translate this well though so fair enough)

[@JMSTranslation]

Thanks for pointing that out!