The Story of the Byakkotai

The Byakkotai were a group of samurai that lived in Fukushima just prior to the dissolution of the feudal system of the Shogun. Apparently, as the story goes, a group of twenty young samurai, aged around 16 years of age, embarked upon an expedition to defend their lord, only to see upon returning that the castle of their lord was on fire. Thinking that their lord was dead and that they had failed him, nineteen of these samurai committed harakiri in their disgrace. It turns out that they had been optically deceived, however, since the trees in front of the castle, while burning, had appeared to their vantage point as the burning of the castle itself. Their lord still lived and they had died in vain.

This story was told to me by my Ji-chan as translated from my Ba-chan.

This is a poetry trilogy based on this tale and recast for modern times:

The Song of the Byakkotai

The Song of the 100th/442nd - "The Liberation of Dachau"

The Song of the Heart Mountain Resistance

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