Hotaru no hikari (Light of the fireflies) employs the melody of Auld Lang Syne. It opens with the image of someone who has studied ceaselessly day and night, whether by the light reflecting through the window from the snow during winter or by the light of the fireflies in the summer. Having now accumulated vast knowledge, he will leave his humble dwelling and move on to bigger and better things--all in the glorious service of his country.

(Nihon no uta, vol. 1 Meiji-Taishô [Nobarasha, 1998], p. 23)

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