Yabu and Hanashiro at War

In my last two articles, I first presented the obituary that Hanashiro Chōmo wrote for his friend Yabu Kentsū, followed by a letter that Yabu composed shortly before his deployment to war, addressed to his former school principal. Both documents make reference to the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), with Yabu’s letter written on the eve of his departure to the front. From Hanashiro’s words, further valuable details can also be gleaned, as he specifies the exact battalion to which they belonged. As I noted in the previous article, Yabu set foot on Chinese soil for the first time on January 23, 1895.

Even greater insight can now be gained from an official report written by Yabu’s regiment: although Yabu and Hanashiro are not mentioned by name, the knowledge of their battalion allows us to clearly establish the context. Finally, it is worth noting that even the roughly 60 kilometers traversed by the Japanese army at that time were preserved in musical form.

It should be noted, however, that only the music is connected; the film scenes, on the other hand, depict another dreadful event which has already been filmed twice.