In terms of the war, an old saying 'Life is heavier than Mount Taishan in a sense, and lighter than a feather of a stork in another sense' was put in a phrase 'Keep it in mind that justice is heavier than a mountain and life is lighter than a feather of a stork,' that was an order meaning 'Do not waste life usually, but sometimes die for justice, for example for Emperor and the state' (cf. Senjinkun military code says, "Do not live as a captive to be subjected to humiliating treatment", and the Senjinkun idea of denying surrender), though why it was rephrased is unclear.
戦いに於いては「義は山嶽より重く死は鴻毛より軽しと心得よ」と、「死は或いは泰山より重く或いは鴻毛より輕し」という古諺を言換え、「普段は命を無駄にせず、けれども時には義のため、喩えば天皇のため国のために、命を捨てよ」と命じた物とされる（戦陣訓『生きて虜囚の辱を受けず』、戦陣訓降伏・投降の否定の思想を参照）が、換言の意図は不明である。