He whose every word and deed gave to men an example of what the war-folk of the Empire of Nippon should be,—Commander Hirosé: is he really dead?
Though the body die, the spirit dies not. He who wished to be reborn seven times into this world, for the sake of serving his country, for the sake of requiting the Imperial favor,—Commander Hirosé: has he really died?
"Since I am a son of the Country of the Gods, the fire of the evil-hearted Russians cannot touch me!"—The sturdy Takeo who spoke thus: can he really be dead?...
Nay! that glorious war-death meant undying fame;—beyond a thousand years the valiant heart shall live;—as to a god of war shall reverence be paid to him....
Observing the playful confidence of this wonderful people in their struggle for existence against the mightiest power of the West,—their perfect trust in the wisdom of their leaders and the valor of their armies,—the good humor of their irony when mocking the enemy's blunders,—their strange capacity to find, in the world-stirring events of the hour, the same amusement that they would find in watching a melodrama,—one is tempted to ask: "What would be the moral consequence of a national defeat?"... It would depend, I think, upon circumstances. Were Kuropatkin able to fulfill his rash threat of invading Japan, the nation would probably rise as one man. But otherwise the knowledge of any great disaster would be bravely borne. From time unknown Japan has been a land of cataclysms,—earth-quakes that ruin cities in the space of a moment; tidal waves, two hundred miles long, sweeping whole coast populations out of existence; floods submerging hundreds of leagues of well-tilled fields; eruptions burying provinces. Calamities like this have disciplined the race in resignation and in patience; and it has been well trained also to bear with courage all the misfortunes of war. Even by the foreign peoples that have been most closely in contact with her, the capacities of Japan remained unguessed. Perhaps her power to resist aggression is far surpassed by her power to endure.
Footnote 1: [(return)]
Asagao (lit., "morning-face") is the Japanese name for the beautiful climbing plant which we call "morning glory."
Footnote 2: [(return)]
This is the Japanese reading of the Chinese name.
Footnote 3: [(return)]
"Ho! Tanabata! if you hurry too much, you will tumble down!"
Footnote 4: [(return)]
There is no mention, however, of any such village in any modern directory.
Footnote 5: [(return)]
For a translation and explanation of this song, see infra, page 30.
Footnote 6: [(return)]
Pueraria Thunbergiana.