The Burmese Harp (1956)

Taketoshi Naitô: Kobayashi

Photos 

Quotes 

• Kobayashi : The war ended long ago, but it left indelibly sad stories in our hearts. What follows is one such story that happened to our company. It's a story we shall never forget. By July of 1945, the tides of war had turned against Japan even in Burma. Our company retreated from one mountain to the next. We wanted to reach the border somehow and cross over into Thailand.

• Kobayashi : We often sang. Our captain had graduated from music school and eagerly taught us the basics of choral singing. Those songs lifted our spirits in times of sorrow and pain. In our company, we had a special harp fashioned after one used in Burma. PFC Mizushima learned how to play it. He'd never studied music, but he had a natural gift and quickly mastered it. He composed wonderful accompaniments and variations and played along as we sang.

• Kobayashi : That monk was Mizushima after all. But we couldn't know that at the time.

• Kobayashi : It's true that I hadn't given Mizushima much thought before. I didn't even think about him much as we sailed home. All I thought about was how his family would feel as they read his letter. In an oddly sincere way, I hoped the captain would find a good way to explain it.