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Michio Oda

 
Akatsuki no kassouro (Runway at dawn)
Performed by Michio Oda
Written by Funato Okino
Composed by Hironobu Dohi
Music arranged by Jiro Takemura
From Tokkou no haha: Heiwa e no inori (Tokko mother: prayer for peace)
King Record Co., 1987, Audiocassette

Below is an English translation of a Japanese enka song about a pilot departing on a kamikaze mission.

Dawning sky, no wind
Quiet before the storm
Ah, the time to leave is coming
My life entrusted to fuel for one way
Runway to which I'll not return

We were drilled day and night
I'll show a manly spirit
Ah, the time to leave is coming
With signal to start engines
Runway roars with thunder

I urged my plane to go
My parents, farewell
Ah, the time to leave has come
Cherishing memories of the past
Young cherry blossoms vanish into the clouds

Translated by Bill Gordon
August 2006