Dōki no Sakura

{{Nihongo|"Dōki no Sakura"|同期の桜||Synchronized cherry blossoms}} is a Japanese gunka (composition of military music) During the late stages of the Pacific War, it was sung throughout Japan.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} It compares cherry blossoms with the destiny of soldiers who graduated from a military academy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/viaggi/2019-03-11/le-tappe-rito-ciliegio-fiore-giappone-080015.shtml?uuid=AB88MjcB|title=Potere ai petali: il rito del ciliegio in fiore in Giappone|last=Carrer|first=Stefano|date=2019-03-11|website=Il Sole 24 Ore|language=Italian|trans-title=Power to petals: the rite of cherry blossoms in Japan|access-date=2019-05-17}} The song was composed by {{Interlanguage link|Nōshō Ōmura|ja|大村能章}}. Although {{Interlanguage link|Yaso Saijō|ja|西條八十}} was thought to have written the original lyrics, he did not write the lyrics directly.{{Cite web|url=http://www.tachibana-u.ac.jp/research_area/general_academic/src/relay_essay/pdf/relay_essay_13.pdf|title=リレーエッセイ "研究者のつぶやき"|last=Haruna|first=Takeo|date=May 2018|website=Kyoto Tachibana University|language=Japanese|access-date=2019-05-17}}

Originally released as {{Nihongo|"Sen'yū no Uta"|戦友の唄||Song of comrades}} in 1939, the third and fourth verses were not added along with the original first, second and fifth verses until around 1944.{{Cite book|date=2015-03-09|title=早わかり介護なんでも解決事典|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CfotDwAAQBAJ&q=%E5%90%8C%E6%9C%9F%E3%81%AE%E6%A1%9C+1944&pg=PA330|language=Japanese|publisher=主婦の友社|page=330|isbn=9784072997956}} In the revised version, the story of two kamikaze pilots was established. In the song, although a pilot dies, his bond with another surviving pilot remains strong.{{Cite book|last1=Craig|first1=Timothy J.|last2=King|first2=Richard|date=2010-10-01|title=Global Goes Local: Popular Culture in Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bs0NPIzoZTkC&q=doki+no+sakura&pg=PA238|publisher=UBC Press|page=237|isbn=9780774859790}} Before their mission, kamikaze pilots would sing "Dōki no Sakura" together.{{Cite book|last=Standish|first=Isolde|date=2013-11-05|title=Myth and Masculinity in the Japanese Cinema: Towards a Political Reading of the Tragic Hero|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fdj5AQAAQBAJ&q=%22doki+no+sakura%22&pg=PA68|publisher=Routledge|page=68|isbn=9781136837616}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/yoshinos-arent-the-only-cherry-out-there-its-worth-knowing-and-growing-these-others/2019/04/01/84645ab8-50aa-11e9-a3f7-78b7525a8d5f_story.html?noredirect=on|title=Yoshinos aren't the only cherry out there. It's worth knowing, and growing, these others.|last=Higgins|first=Adrian|date=2019-04-02|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-05-17}}