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Apollo Music Sheet (Aporo gakufu) No. 1
護れよ祖国
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Defend the Motherland (Mamoreyo sokoku)
Apollo Music Sheet (Aporo gakufu) No. 1
護れよ祖国
Designer: Artist unknown, Japanese
Composer: Sassa Kōka (Japanese, 1886 – 1961)
Lyricist: Shigure Otowa (Japanese, 1899 – 1980)
Publisher: Aporo shuppansha (Japanese)
Composer: Sassa Kōka (Japanese, 1886 – 1961)
Lyricist: Shigure Otowa (Japanese, 1899 – 1980)
Publisher: Aporo shuppansha (Japanese)
Japanese
Shôwa era
1929 (Shôwa 4), February 20
Medium/Technique
Color lithograph; ink on paper
Dimensions
Height x width: 31.4 × 22.4 cm (12 3/8 × 8 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mary and Robert Levenson
Accession Number2023.1182.1-6
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsMusical scores
DescriptionTranslation of lyrics from Japanese, by Kuniko and Kendall Brown:
"The morning mist parted, by marching feet
The heart and sky too, with passion,
The rising morning sun, today yet again
Polishes the immortal, spirit of Japan.
Dreams of bivouacs, red star lilies’
Magnificent fragrance, the fields of Susuno,
Night attack at daybreak, the charge of
Brave men embellish, the color of flowers.
Marching many miles, and many miles again
Carried by tanks, the sound of footsteps,
The night dew parted, the sound of footsteps,
Barracks beckon, with their windows’ light.
The barracks are clean, our ‘team’s’
Affectionate eyes, cannot be forgotten,
Defend the motherland, the Rising Sun Flag
Shines in the sky, for our country."
"The morning mist parted, by marching feet
The heart and sky too, with passion,
The rising morning sun, today yet again
Polishes the immortal, spirit of Japan.
Dreams of bivouacs, red star lilies’
Magnificent fragrance, the fields of Susuno,
Night attack at daybreak, the charge of
Brave men embellish, the color of flowers.
Marching many miles, and many miles again
Carried by tanks, the sound of footsteps,
The night dew parted, the sound of footsteps,
Barracks beckon, with their windows’ light.
The barracks are clean, our ‘team’s’
Affectionate eyes, cannot be forgotten,
Defend the motherland, the Rising Sun Flag
Shines in the sky, for our country."
ProvenanceBy 2019, Mary and Robert Levenson, Belleair, FL; 2023, gift of Mary and Robert Levenson to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 13, 2023)