| Title | A Song to Incite National Spirit ‘We Are a Nation of the Sun’ | ||||||||
| Lyricist | Yoshiaki Tezuka (1881–10/17/1965) | ||||||||
| Music Composer | Kiyoshi Nobutoki (12/29/1887–8/1/1965) | ||||||||
| Client | Governor of Niigata Prefecture | ||||||||
| Date of Commission | 3/18/1924 | ||||||||
| Source | “5/1916–5/1926 Music Commission Dossier” | ||||||||
| Description |
Commissioned by the governor of Niigata Prefecture in 1924 (13th year of the Taisho period). The surviving documents consist of a commission form, award advertisement for the lyrics, original lyrics sheet, and a musical score. This song is believed to have been written under “The Imperial Edict for Inciting National Spirit” to warn against “extravagance” and “dangerous thinking” amid the chaos that ensued after the Great Kanto earthquake in November 1923. The lyricist was the principal of the Niigata Prefectural Muikamachi Middle School and Niigata Prefectural Sanjo Middle School, and he wrote many school anthems for neighboring schools as well. The music composer, then a professor at the Tokyo Academy of Music, is known for songs such as Umiyukaba (“If I Die at Sea”) and Kaido Tosei (“The Eastern Expedition on the Sea”). |
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| Restoration Recording Date |
2/23/2012 (Studio A, Tokyo University of the Arts, Faculty of Music, Senju Campus) | ||||||||
| Restoration Collaborator |
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| 第一章 | 我等は太陽民族 歴史を負いて 輝くゆくての みちをば踏まん 蒼空の太陽の如 君をば仰ぎ 自由の愛もて 祖国を抱かん | 第二章 | 我等は太陽民族 身ぬちをめぐる 濁らぬ血潮ぞ 民族の誇り 我等の希望は 太陽の如若し 我等の力は 太陽の如強し |
| 第三章 | 我等は太陽民族 み祖に稟けし ゆるがぬ信仰ぞ 民族の生命 我等の心は 太陽の如明し 我等の愛は 太陽の如博し | 第四章 | 我等は太陽民族 蒼空を仰ぎ 大地に根ざして 人とし萌えん 光のみ親が 萬有生む如く 人類栄ゆく 世界をば創生まん |
