Children Who Don't Know War

"Children Who Don't Know War" (戦争を知らない子供たち, Sensō o Shiranai Kodomo-tachi) is a 1971 single released by the Japanese duo Jiros. Released on February 5, 1971, it ranked eleventh in Oricon charts, selling a total of 196,000 copies. The song was adapted into a movie with the same name in 1973.

"Children Who Don't Know War"
Single by Jiros
ReleasedFebruary 5, 1971 (JP)
Recorded1970
GenreJapanese Pop
LabelToshiba EMI
Songwriter(s)Osamu Kitayama, Jirō Sugita

Background

In the early 1970s, when "Children Who Don't Know War" was released, the United States of America found itself in the midst of the Vietnam War. Though Japan wasn't directly involved in the conflict, the country allowed the stationing of American troops on Japanese soil, a decision which was met with internal criticism coming mainly from the country's intellectual elite, composed of academics and students, who upheld deep rooted anti-war beliefs, mainly due to Japan's experience during World War II.

Though the duo never bore any affiliation to the pacifist movement, the song, composed to express a mild anti-war message, but later regarded by Kitayama as a puerile effort to satirize, and rebel against, the contempt felt by older generations who experienced World War II for younger people born in the post-war period – who were denounced for weak-mindedness and lack of self-discipline – became indelibly attached to the movement and its title an iconic expression, used in sports,[1] anime,[2] magazines,[3] books[4] and newspaper articles[5]

Track listings
  • A side – "Children Who Don't Know War" (「戦争を知らない子供たち」)
    • Lyrics: Osamu Kitayama (北山修), Composition: Jirō Sugita (杉田二郎), Arrangement: Toshikazu Makaino (馬飼野俊一)
  • B side – "Peace Peace For The Love & You" (「愛とあなたのために」)
    • Lyrics: Osamu Kitayama (北山修), Composition: Jirō Sugita (杉田二郎), Arrangement: Toshikazu Makaino (馬飼野俊一)

References
  1. The song was parodied in the year of 1985 and released under the title 'The Children Who Don't Know Victory of the Hanshin Tigers' (阪神タイガースの優勝を知らない子供たち)
  2. In the first Urusei Yatsura movie
  3. Ubu Mode Magazine, July 2007, edition (うぶモード2006年7月号), in an article entitled 'Children who Don't Know Penises' (チンポを知らない子供たち)
  4. 'Children Who Don't Know Program Assembly' (闘う●プログラマー―アセンブラを知らない子供たち)
  5. 'Children Who Don't Know Fear' (【生と死の教育】恐れを知らない子供たち), published on the Sankei Shinbun.
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