THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
In unbroken line
Stand from age to age.
To that God our sires
Service leal and true
Rendered with strong hearts,
Leaving for their sons
A mirror to all time.
Sons, the ancestral name
Lose not from your hearts;
Sons, Otomo's fame
Cherish by brave deeds.
Stand from age to age.
To that God our sires
Service leal and true
Rendered with strong hearts,
Leaving for their sons
A mirror to all time.
Sons, the ancestral name
Lose not from your hearts;
Sons, Otomo's fame
Cherish by brave deeds.
II
In the age divine
Otomo's earliest sire,
Okomenushi hight,
Loyal service wrought.
If at sea he served,
To the waves his corpse,
If on shore he served,
To the moor his bones,
Would he gladly fling
For the sovereign's sake.
You, his sons, to whom
He bequeathed his name,
His heroic name;
Guard it by your deeds,
By your loyal deeds
Make it loved of men.
Bow and shaft in hand,
Blade and sword in belt,
Gladly hold the charge;
Guarding stand at morn,
Guarding stand at eve.
Otomo's earliest sire,
Okomenushi hight,
Loyal service wrought.
If at sea he served,
To the waves his corpse,
If on shore he served,
To the moor his bones,
Would he gladly fling
For the sovereign's sake.
You, his sons, to whom
He bequeathed his name,
His heroic name;
Guard it by your deeds,
By your loyal deeds
Make it loved of men.
Bow and shaft in hand,
Blade and sword in belt,
Gladly hold the charge;
Guarding stand at morn,
Guarding stand at eve.
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