O My Brother, You Must Not Die (1904 by Akiko Yosano)
Dear my little brother,
I will cry for you. Please do not die.
Since you are the youngest child in my family,
you are the best child of your parents.
Did you parents teach you that take the gun and kill the others?
Did your parents bring you up until twenty four years old
for kill the people and die in the war?
for kill the people and die in the war?
Did your parents teach that?
Since you are the inheritor of my family in this city,
please do not die in this war, my little brother.
It does not matter whether the enemy's city will be destroyed or not.
You do not know, but this has nothing to do with us merchants.
Oh my little brother, please do not die.
The emperor, never showing up in the battle field,
"Spread others' blood,"
"Die like the animals," or
"Die in the battle field as your honor,"
He would not think such a thing,
as he is a truly compassionate person.
Oh my little brother, please do not die in the battle.
Your mother is in lament.
Having your father passing away,
and having you taken to the war,
she is the sole protector of the house now.
Look at her hair,
though we were always told that our country was safe and in peace.
Oh my little brother, please do not forget your young wife.
She cries alone behind the curtain.
You only spent ten months together.
Did you forget about her or do you think of her?
You have a wife now, you are not alone.
Who can we rely on?
Oh my little brother, please do not die.
Vimy Ridge 2011
The memorial statue at Vimy Ridge is not a celebration of war.
There are no depiction of soldiers or weapons, but the figures that grieve for her lost sons.
Neue Wache, Berlin 2012
Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the victims of war and tyranny.
Did you know that Hitler ordered his SS to protect Vimy Ridge?
When it comes to war, there is no victim side or agressor side.
We are all war victims and we are killing our fellow homo sapiens.
War never ends if we keep taking sides.
A hero on one side is probably a glorious bastard to the other side.
It is as simple as this:
War cannot be carried out if we had no weapons or soldiers.
I lost my grandfather to WWII.
My grandmother raised her children by herself.
My father grew up without a father.
Japan invaded neighbouring Asian nations.
What do I do now?
I am a war victim but I also accept my responsibility of being a Japanese descent.
What do I do now?
I refuse to glorify heroism of any form
so that no more people should become a victim of war.
so that no more people should become a victim of war.
I remember what I learnt in kindergarten.
"Do not hurt anybody."
