The works of Sakubei Yamamoto
Various Social Conditions

A Picture of the Russo-Japanese War in the Show Box Brought to the Pit: Japanese Navy War Hero Commander Takeo Hirose
February 1966

Yama o Otozureshi Nichiro Senso no Nozoki-e: Gunshin Hirose Takeo Chusa
[A Picture of the Russo-Japanese War in the Show Box Brought to the Pit: Japanese Navy War Hero Commander Takeo Hirose]
37.9 x 53.9 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

During the second operation to block the entrance of Port Arthur on March 27, 1904, Commander Hirose searched for Chief Warrant-officer Sugino as many as seven times in vain on the sinking Fukui Maru, after she was forced to be scuttled. When he moved to his lifeboat, he was hit and killed by an enemy shell. It was said that a piece of his flesh as big as a 2-sen coin and his saber were all that were left. He died a heroic death. "Sugino, Sugino!" he shouted in the dark to his man many times.

Lyrics of a Popular Song at That Time
Waga kaigun no kesshitai
shichiju shichi no yushida (sic: normally yushira) ga
goseki no fune ni uchinorite
kaibanjaku (sic: normally daibanjaku) to isamashiku.
Ah, sokai! Ah, sokai!

Minato o mamoru tekikan no
sentoryoku wa use tare do
ogoso ni mamoru daiba yori
uchikuru tama wa amearare.
Ah, sokai! Ah, sokai!

Seventy-seven brave sailors
of the death squad of our Navy
on board those five ships
were as firm as a great rock.
How exciting! How exciting!

Though the fighting power of the enemy fleet
to protect the port was already lost,
our ships received a cloud of shells
from the batteries on the hills to cover the fleet.
How exciting! How exciting!
(The rest is omitted)

On the right was Mt. Huanjinshan and on the left were the batteries of Laotieshan. Behind him were Mt. Fenghuanshan and Fort Erlongshan, Fort Songshushan, Fort Yizishan, the batteries around Jiguanshan, etc.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

<<Last pictorial record    Next pictorial record>>

<<Last 10 items  11 | 12 | 13|14 | 15 | 16 |

13/16