Gesang, a self-taught musician who was illiterate in musical notation, supported himself and his family by writing songs and singing at local functions such as weddings and other formal occasions.

In 1940, just before the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in World War II, the impoverished 23-year-old musician composed a tune (using a flute) in the popular urban local style known as kroncong, a musical tradition of the region which combined Javanese chord progressions with Westernised vocal stylings, instrumental arrangements, and melodies.

The simple, nostalgic lyrics and popular-sounding melody held equal appeal to the long-standing resident and the homesick soldier.

As World War II drew to a close, the returning soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army brought the song back to Japan.

Its fame soon spread throughout the country after best-selling recordings were released by popular singers, starting with Toshi Matsuda's 1947 rendition.

[3] In 1991, a group of appreciative Japanese war veterans arranged for a life-size statue of Gesang to be erected in a Surakarta park, to mark their respects for the composer of the tune that had managed to cross the cultural barriers of wartime.