zawawa zawawa,

　さとうきび畑
　　(Sugar Cane Field)

　　(作詞/作曲：寺島尚彦)
　　(Word & Compose Naohiko Terashima)

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　広い　さとうきび畑は　　　　Through the large sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　今日も　見わたすかぎりに　　Today again， looking around the field，
　　緑の波が　うねる　　　　　　Green waves are roaring
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　広い　さとうきび畑は　　　　Through the large sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　むかし　海の向こうから　　　Old days， over the sea，　
　　いくさが　やってきた　　　　The war came along，
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　広い　さとうきび畑は　　　　Through the large sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　あの日　鉄の雨にうたれ　　　That day，exposed to the rain，
　　父は　死んでいった　　　　　Dad was dying，
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　広い　さとうきび畑は　　　　Through the large sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　そして　私の生れた日に　　　The day when I was born，　
　　いくさの　終わりがきた　　　The war came to an end，
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　広い　さとうきび畑は　　　　Through the large sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　風の音に　とぎれて消える　　Mom’s lullaby
　　母の　子守の歌　　　　　　　Broken by the sound of the wind
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　広い　さとうきび畑は　　　　Through the large sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　知らないはずの　父の手に　　I dreamed that I was held by Dad　
　　だかれた夢を　見た　　　　　I’ve never known
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.
　
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　広い　さとうきび畑は　　　　Through the large sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　父の声を　探しながら　　　　Searching for Dad’s voice，
　　たどる　畑の道　　　　　　　I trace the path to the field，
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　広い　さとうきび畑は　　　　Through the large sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　お父さんと　呼んでみたい　　I want to call you Dad.　
　　お父さん　どこにいるの　　　Dad， where are you?
　　このまま　緑の波に　　　　　I am almost drown
　　おぼれてしまいそう　　　　　in the green waves.
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　けれど　さとうきび畑は　　　But through the sugar cane field，
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風が　通りぬけるだけ　　　　The wind just passes.

　　今日も　見わたすかぎりに　　Today again， looking around the field，
　　緑の波が　うねる　　　　　　Green waves are roaring
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa　　　
　　忘れられない　悲しみが　　　The grief crossing my mind
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　波のように　押し寄せる　　　Rushes to me like a wave.

　　風よ　悲しみの歌を　　　　　Wind， give this song of grief　
　　海に返してほしい　　　　　　Back to the sea，
　　夏の　ひざしの中で　　　　　With the sunlight in a summer day.

　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　風に涙は乾いても　　　　　　The wind may make my tears dry.
　　ざわわ　ざわわ　ざわわ　　　Zawawa Zawawa Zawawa
　　この悲しみは　消えない　　　This grief never fades out.

Army's role in suicides mustn't be removed

10/04/2007

I like the song "Satokibi Batake" (Sugarcane fields) that starts with zawawa zawawa, the sound of a wind blowing through sugarcanes. It expresses the anguish of Okinawans with much feeling. But I have always been bothered by the part that says: "A long time ago, war came from across the sea."

War is not a typhoon that breeds in the ocean. The tragedy of the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, known as the "Typhoon of Steel," was not a consequence of a natural disaster but a result of human folly. The image that "war came from across the sea" brings to mind is too beautiful. After all, what really came was "Japanese and American forces" carrying weapons.

Not only did the Japanese army not evacuate residents, it even mobilized them to fight. The battleground where soldiers and civilians were mixed gave rise to horrors that a member of the U.S. military described with the phrase "all hell broke loose." Mass suicides also occurred in many places of Okinawa. It is a commonly accepted view in Okinawa that many islanders were forced by the Imperial Japanese Army to take their own lives.

Enraged by the government's decision to remove from high school textbooks references to the military's role in wartime civilian mass suicides, some 110,000 people rallied in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in protest. "It may be a single sentence or even a word in a thick textbook. But it contains many precious lives that were lost," said Natsumi Teruya, a senior high school student. Her words are heartrending.

Teruya wants to go on to university and become a teacher of Japanese history. No matter how ugly, the truth should be put down in textbooks so that the Japanese people may share the anguish of Okinawa. Perhaps her appeal contained such a message to the Japanese mainland.

The lyrics and melody of "Satokibi Batake" make us feel sad. At the same time, the song is marvelously soothing and healing. But we must remember that the song that heals us is rooted in "all hell" put together, and the sufferings of the island do not fade easily.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 3(IHT/Asahi: October 4,2007)