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| The Song of the Fall of Singapore, Victor Records Japan. Photo : Codyrex via Carousell |
This article is the first in a series commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore.
Gibraltar of the East
Singapore has been an important trading post and colony of the British Empire ever since its founding by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. By the beginning of the 20th century, this tiny island at the southern tip of the Malaya Peninsula has been transformed from a fishing village with an estimated population of about a thousand to become a modern city with deep water ports and an estimated population of 228 thousand. With hardly any natural resources or land at its disposal, Singapore had thrived on being the premier entrepot or transshipment hub for regional and international trade. Its total trade volume comprising of imports and exports was $457.3 million in 1900 and reached a pre-WWII high of $1886.7 million in 1926 before declining due to prevailing global economic conditions which would later include the Great Depression. Its strategic location straddling between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean along the east-west trade route made it the preferred spot* to base a military garrison to protect British interests in the Far East, which then included territories such as Hong Kong, Burma, Brunei, North Borneo, Sarawak, Malaya and the Straits Settlement which Singapore was itself part of.
In the years immediately following the end of World War I, Japan was the only Asian power that could be a threat to the possessions of the British Empire east of the Suez Canal. It had defeated China in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and emerged as a Great Power after convincingly trashing Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. As a result Japan had gained prestige and territorial concessions such as the Island of Formosa ( Taiwan ) from the Chinese and southern Sakhalin from the Russians, events that probably fueled its military and empire ambitions further. By 1910, Japan had annexed and occupied Korea and as a member of the Allied Powers had wasted no time in seizing German-leased territories in the Far East and German colonies in the Pacific when WWI broke out in 1914.
In the inter-war years between 1919 and 1939, exhausted and saddled with vast war debts, the British embarked on cost cutting measures that drastically reduced its military strength to levels way below what was required to protect its Empire interests. The Royal Navy in particular had been further hamstrung by disarmament treaties and was thus severely decimated in both ships and men. It was however still expected to maintain its global foot print and operational tempo, frequently under perilous and dated illusions of grandeur.
To counter the Japanese threat in the Far East, the British came up with the Singapore Strategy in 1921 which was to use the building of a modern main fleet base and dock yards with advanced repair capabilities in Singapore as a pivot while the main fleet could remained in Home waters. In times of crisis, a powerful naval task force would be assembled and dispatched to Asia to deter or repel an invasion. This military bastion would be adequately stocked with fuel and supplies to service the expeditionary fleet and would be well defended with 15 inch coastal guns and a huge garrison of soldiers, with air support provided by the Royal Air Force. It would be an unsinkable aircraft carrier, an impregnable fortress, touted the Gibraltar of the East by none other than Winston Churchill himself.
Unfortunately, the glaring deficiency in this ill conceived war plan was the lack of an indigenous Eastern Fleet. What if the Home Fleet was tied down and none could be spared? Should war with Japan be unavoidable, the Singapore garrison was supposed to protect the naval base and airfields and hold out against the invasion force long enough for reinforcements to arrive. It was assumed that the relief forces would somehow not only expel the aggressors in Singapore and Malaya but perhaps also go on northwards to liberate Hong Kong if necessary and to blockade the Japanese Isles in order to sue for a negotiated settlement of peace!
And so the British diverted significant resources to begin in 1923 the construction of the Sembawang Naval Base in the northern part of Singapore. It was not completed until 1938, after spending a staggering £60 million and numerous changes including down-sizing that ultimately resulted in a base too small to host a fleet large enough to defeat the Imperial Japanese Navy in a full engagement. Nonetheless in those turbulent pre-war years a false sense of security was created and life went on more or less as usual on the island. It was an audacious military bluff that would soon be called.
Transition To War
By the early 1930s global economic recession would give new impetus to the long standing Japanese imperialist policy of expanding its influence militarily and politically to secure access to raw materials, labour and food for its industries and population. Japan had invaded Manchuria in 1931 and would later also wage war in greater China with the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War ( 1937 to 1945 ). The war effort was a huge undertaking that had to be supported with the uninterrupted supply of commodities like oil, steel and iron, most of which Japan had to import from America. As its troops became bogged down in China, Japan started eyeing the resource-rich countries in South East Asia, top of the list being the oil fields of the Dutch East Indies ( modern day Indonesia ).
To invade South East Asia and create its envisioned Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Japan would have to first secure its northern flank which it did by entering a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in April 1941. A staging area would be needed to launch and support the invasion and that was achieved with the occupation of Hainan Island in Feb 1941 and of French Indochina ( modern day Vietnam ) in July 1941. It also had to deal with the British and the Americans, the only two powers that could thwart its empire ambitions. The US Pacific Fleet based in Hawaii and the US colony of the Philippines which had the potential to interfere due to its proximity had to be taken out. The British forces had to be driven out of Malaya though Japan would not have dreamt of defeating the British unless it was already engaged with fighting another foe elsewhere. This opportunity had already presented itself when war broke out in Europe in Sep 1939 and Britain had to fight Nazi Germany and later Italy as well as it joined the Axis Alliance. With both the Atlantic Fleet and Mediterranean Fleet tied down with fighting in Europe, the door was wide open for the invasion of Malaya and Singapore.
The final push on the path to war was probably the complete oil embargo by the United States on Japan from July 1941 in response to Japanese aggression in China and French Indochina. At that time America accounted for 80% of Japan's oil imports. The British and Dutch would later join the oil embargo. The freezing of Japanese assets, closure of the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping and the additional embargo on scrap iron, tools, steel, copper, bronze and many other critical metals from America meant the trade sanctions had pushed the Japanese to the brink and had exactly the opposite effect of what they were supposed to achieve. War was coming and the Singapore Strategy would soon be put to the test.
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| Malayan Campaign : Japanese Advances Dec '41 to Feb '42 Source : Singapore : The Pregnable Fortress |
The Malayan Campaign
Nineteen Japanese transports carrying General Tomoyuki Yamashita's 25th Army left the port of Samah on Hainan Island with their escorts on 4th Dec 1941. Three days later they rendezvoused with seven transports from Saigon in the middle of the Gulf of Siam. Shortly after midnight on 8th Dec, Japanese forces attacked and made amphibious landings around the Thai-Malayan border at Singora, Patani and Kota Bahru simultaneously, triggering the start of the Pacific War. The attack on Pearl Harbor came 70 minutes later but would have deemed to occur on 7th Dec because of the intercurrence of the International Date Line and time zone differences. Within the next 12 hours Japanese forces also invaded Hong Kong and made air assaults on Clark Air Base in the Philippines, on Guam and on Wake Island.
For the Malayan Campaign, the main landings were at Singora and Patani in southern Thailand which was achieved without much resistance. The landing at Kota Bahru was more a diversionary attack made to capture the north-eastern airfields of Malaya. From the Thai ports the main invasion force followed the roads southwards to the Malayan border near its west coast, crossing it on 10th Dec. They overran the British northern defences around Jitra within 3 days and surged on, taking town after town.
The naval fleet sent to reinforce the garrison at Singapore comprising of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse and their four destroyers were hastily dispatched to seek out the invasion fleet off Kuantan on the east coast of Malaya. Without an adequate air cover**, they were sunk by land based bombers in what was known to the Japanese as the Naval Battle of Malaya on 10th Dec.
Penang subsequently fell on 19th Dec and failure to stop the IJA at Slim River meant Kuala Lumpur too would fall on 11th Jan 1942. Malacca suffered the same fate just four days later. Equipped with tanks and enjoying complete air superiority the Japanese thus put the Allied forces on a continuous retreat along the north-south axis of the Malayan Peninsula towards Johore, beyond which lies Singapore. Predictably, the Muar-Segamat-Mersing line in northern Johore failed to hold and all Allied forces were ordered to withdraw to Singapore on 25th Jan.
On 31st Jan, the causeway linking Singapore to Johore was demolished in a last ditch attempt to slow the Japanese advancement. In all, the retreat from the Malaya Peninsula had taken place in just 55 days. The IJA now occupied all the high grounds overlooking Singapore from across the Straits of Johore and used that to their advantage, subjecting the defenders to intense artillery barrages. They eventually landed at Sarimbun Beach in north-western Singapore on 8th Feb and fought their way towards the city centre.
By 15th Feb which happened to be the first day of the Chinese New Year, with casualties mounting and faced with dwindling supplies of water, ammunition and fuel, the British forces capitulated. The General Officer Commanding ( Malaya ) Lieutenant General Arthur Percival formally surrendered to General Yamashita at the Ford Motor Works Factory in Bukit Timah shortly after 17:15. An estimated 85000 men were made POWs. What was incredible was that the invading Japanese forces numbered only 30000.
Following their victory, the Japanese renamed Singapore Syonan-to ( 昭南島 ), meaning Light of the South, and began a 3 year and 8 month rule of terror that lasted for the rest of the War until their surrender on 15th Aug 1945.
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| Lt Gen AE Percival ( far right ) surrendering on 15th Feb 1942 Photo : Imperial War Museum |
The Song of the Fall of Singapore
The Japanese arguably had all the right to be jubilant on their victory in the Battle of Singapore. They had destroyed the British relief fleet, overcome the supposedly impassable tropical jungles of Malaya, and captured the impregnable fortress of Singapore. They achieved their objectives with an attacking force numbering less than a third of the defenders, and did it all in a matter of 69 days.
In those days the Japanese had the habit of releasing songs to celebrate their military accomplishments. Radio was a popular media to reach out to the masses and such war songs, known as gunka ( 軍歌 ) in Japanese, apart from its news and propaganda values, could bring a sense of pride and patriotism to the citizens and troops alike.
So there was a " Song of the Annihilation of the British Eastern Fleet " to commemorate the victory in the Naval Battle of Malaya and of course the " Song of the Fall of Singapore " which is the main subject of this article. These were by no means the only Japanese war songs on Singapore. Many others are in existence such as 陥したぞシンガポール ( Singapore Has Fallen ), 星港撃滅 ( Destruction of the Port of Singapore ), 戦友の遺骨を抱いて ( Holding the Remains of A War Buddy ).
The Song of the Fall of Singapore is known as シンガポール陥落の歌 ( Shingaporu Kanraku no Uta ) in Japanese. It was composed by Fukami Zenji ( 深海善次 ) with lyrics by poet Ozaki Kihachi ( 尾崎喜八 ) and was released by the Victor Record Company of Japan in March 1942, one month after the fall of Singapore. It was performed by Namioka Soichiro ( 波岡惣一郎 ) who is a renowned singer from Aomori, Obata Minoru ( 小畑実 ) who originally hailed from Pyongyang, the Kachidoki Men's Choir ( かちどき男声合唱団 ) and the Japan Victor Orchestra ( 日本ビクター管弦楽団 ).
What was the public reaction to the release of the song? In the March 1942 issue of Record Culture ( レコード文化 Rekodo Bunka ) NHK producer and music critic Maruyama Tetsuo ( 丸山鉄雄 ) had frowned upon the various record companies that rushed to release jikyokuka ( 時局歌 current affairs song ) after the fall of Singapore the previous month. He believed that the companies were eagerly awaiting for the announcement of victory in Singapore so that they could sell their songs, presumably all composed and written in advance. However particularly on The Song of the Fall of Singapore he gave rare high praise, extolling it as an exceedingly powerful song, boldly underlining the fall of Singapore.
Though it definitely fits the description of a gunka or military song, The Song of the Fall of Singapore was instead labelled as a national song ( 国民歌 kokuminka ) by the record company. That was frequently the case especially if the song was produced for an official purpose or was meant to be sung by a wide range of people or played to a wide audience.
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| Song of the Fall of Singapore lyrics pamphlet featuring singers Namioka Soichiro ( R ) and Obata Minoru ( L ). Note the His Master's Voice doggy logo of RCA Victor Records on the top left corner. Photo : Codyrex via Carousell |
You can also listen to it on Youtube here.
シンガポール陥落の歌 Shingaporu Kan Raku no Uta
歓べ一億今日この日 Yoroko be ichi oku kyo ko no hi
新嘉坡は遂に陥つ Shingaporu wa tsui ni o tsu
あ～満々の 海越えて Aa man man no umi ko e te
我等が父は 同胞は Ware ra ga chichi wa harakara wa
今ぞ陥せり この城を Ima zo oto se ri ko no shiro wo
不落を如何に誇るとも Fu raku wo ikan ni hoto ru to mo
百練の業 此処に在り Hyaku ren no waza ko ko ni a ri
電撃一閃 轟けば Dengeki issen todoro ke ba
敵は慄き 山揺らぎ Teki wa onono ki yama yu ra gi
牙城忽ち 幕を閉ず Ga jou tachima chi baku wo to zu
祖国を出でて 幾千里 Sokoku wo i de te iku sen ri
血となり 火となり Chi to na ri Hi to na ri
弾丸となり Ta ma to na ri
進みし兵の この武勲 Su su mi shi hei no ko no _ isao
進路拡げて ただ涙 Shin ro hiro ge te ta da namida
銃後は哭けり Juu go wa na ke ri
みな哭けり Mi na na ke ri
歓べ十億今日のこの日 Yoroko be ju oku kyo no ko no hi
侵略遽点 遂に陥ち Shin ryaku kyo ten tsui ni ochi
旭日燦と 咲き栄ゆ Kyoku jitsu san to saki saka yu
いざ護るべき I za mamo ru be ki
亜細亜こそ Ajia ko so
我等の為の亜細亜なれ Ware ra no tame no Ajia na re
Translation of Lyrics
A hundred million would rejoice this day
For Singapore had fallen
From across the oceans, full to the brim
Our fathers and fellow compatriot
This city will fall today
Such claims of impregnability
Incessant training just for this moment
A lightning attack, an explosive roar
The enemy shiver and the mountains shake
The curtains are falling on this bastion
A thousand miles from the Motherland
Of blood, of fire
Of bullets
The valor of the advancing warrior
The way forward is forged with tears
Wailing after the guns are silent
All are sobbing
A thousand million would rejoice, this is the day
The point of invasion is finally falling
The rising sun is brilliant and magnificent
It will now be protected
Asia it is
We are for Asia
Of course we have always known that the Japanese never invaded British Malaya or Singapore or anywhere else out of altruism. It had only done so to fulfill its own imperialist and expansionist aspirations under the guise of the so called Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Not only that, the Japanese military would subject the conquered to extremely harsh treatment under occupation, much of it tantamount to war crimes.
Therefore most of these war song lyrics are nothing more than self-praise and empty wartime propaganda. They are however still an interesting and important source of historical information on life before and during occupation and as a window to the mindset of the lyricist and by extension those of the military and political leadership.
Many important documents and records pertaining to the invasion and occupation were deliberately destroyed by the Japanese military towards the end of the war as they could contain incriminating evidences of war crime. Songs and other cultural relics on the other hand are much more likely to endure and survive the war as they would have been too widely distributed in the first place to be retracted or destroyed.
With the advent of the television and later the internet, the radio had taken a back seat as a media for entertainment and for spreading news and propaganda. Vinyl records have all but disappeared. We are now in the era of virtual reality and deep fakes, of Facebook and Twitter, Tik Tok and Instagram. War songs are just memories from a distant past.
* In 1921 the Committee of Imperial Defence recommended Singapore as the preferred locality for building a far eastern fleet base. The other candidates considered were Sydney, Hong Kong and Trincomalee.
** RAF was supposed to provide the fleet with air cover up to 50 miles from the coast in the war plans. However by 10th Dec all the northern airfields had either been captured by the Japanese ( Kota Bharu ) or severely damaged by aerial bombing ( Alor Star, Sungai Petani and Butterworth ).
