Folk Songs, Children's Songs, and Nursery Rhymes of Aomori: Japanese Songs from Tsugaru and Hachinohe that Resonate with the Heart
Aomori Prefecture is alive with a rich tradition of culture and performing arts.
In the lands of Tsugaru and Hachinohe, the emotive strains of folk songs still resound today.
Coupled with the powerful tones of the Tsugaru shamisen, Aomori’s folk music speaks deeply to our hearts.
In this article, we have carefully selected “folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes of Aomori,” born from the lives of people shaped by mountains, the sea, and a harsh climate.
We present timeless masterpieces that have been lovingly sung and passed down through the ages.
Won’t you lend an ear to the world of songs that can truly be called the heart of Aomori?
- [Songs of Aomori] A collection of local songs depicting the grandeur of nature and the warmth of its people.
- [Japanese Folk and Regional Songs] A Collection of Beloved Masterpieces from Across Japan, Brimming with Local Pride
- Folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes of Iwate: the heart of the hometown passed down through song
- [Folk Songs and Children's Songs of Akita] A curated selection of local masterpieces that evoke love for one’s hometown
- Beautiful Folk Songs Passed Down in Miyagi Prefecture: A Collection of Masterpieces that Play the Heart of the Hometown
- Folksongs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes of Fukushima: the heart of our hometown passed down in song
- Ranking of Popular Folk Songs
- Niigata’s folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes: the heart of our hometown passed down in song
- Folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes of Toyama: the enduring heart of our hometown passed down through song
- [Folk and Children's Songs of Hokkaido] Songs of Hokkaido that continue to be loved across generations
- [February Songs] Introducing children's songs, folk songs, nursery rhymes, and hand-play songs about Setsubun and winter!
- [Folk Songs of Yamagata] The Heart of Our Hometown Passed Down in Song: Feelings Woven into Nostalgic Melodies
- Tokushima’s Folk Songs, Children’s Songs, and Nursery Rhymes | Traditional Songs Rooted in the Region, Including Awa Odori
Aomori Folk Songs, Children's Songs, and Nursery Rhymes: Japanese Songs That Resonate in the Heart, Alive in Tsugaru and Hachinohe (21–30)
Silver Killer
This song blends the wistful strains of the Nanbu Jinku with the familiarity of a children’s lullaby.
Set in the port town of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture, it gives voice to the fishermen’s conflicted feelings about visiting the red-light district and the guilt they carry toward the families they leave at home—an aching, helpless state of mind.
Some may wonder why such a heavy theme has been passed down in so gentle a melody.
Originally an orally transmitted song, it was compiled as a new folk song around 1954 by Narita Untyoku, a promoter of Tsugaru folk music.
When you want to enter a musical world infused with the complex emotions of people who lived in a harsh land, you’ll find yourself drawn to listen closely to its profound depths.
Dear TorajoSeino Akiko
Upon looking into it, it’s also well known as a folk song from Iwate Prefecture, but as a regional tradition it’s a Bon dance song sung over a wide area from Ninohe City in Iwate to Shichinohe Town in Aomori.
There are various theories about the term “torajo,” but it’s thought to be a dialectal corruption of Torazō; in some areas it’s also called “Lady Tora” (Torajo-sama).
As a folk song of Aomori, it’s referred to as “Nanbu Torajo-sama.” Because the lyrics vary by region, there are slight differences, but it’s a curious and fascinating Bon song.
Aomori Folk Songs, Children’s Songs, and Nursery Rhymes | Japanese Songs that Resonate in the Heart, Alive in Tsugaru and Hachinohe (31–40)
Nambu Cattle Drivers’ Song
A cattle-driving song sung by drovers from the former Nanbu domain’s Sannohe region as they led their oxen on the road.
They loaded salt, fish, and sundries landed at Hachinohe Port onto the oxen’s backs to sell in Kazuno District, Akita Prefecture, and on the return trip carried ore from Kazuno.
It is said the song was sung like a lullaby to the oxen, as if to ease the drovers’ loneliness during the long journey.
Thirteen SandhillsMitsubishi Michiya
Thirteen Sandhills is a Bon dance song handed down around Lake Jūsan in Jūsan Village, Shiura Village, former Kitatsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture.
From the Kamakura period through the Muromachi period, the area flourished as a major gateway for importing culture from the capital, but in 1340 it was struck by a massive tsunami, and the village fell into decline.
The melody, tinged with the pathos of rise and fall, is a popular folk song.
The tsunami is said to have reached 20 meters, and is considered to have been far larger than the one in the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Tsugaru Shiogama JinkuSasaki Rie
This is a song sung by people involved in salt making in the early Meiji period.
The Shiogama Jinku from Miyagi Prefecture is also well known, but the original song is “Nambu Aiya-bushi,” and up until the mid-Meiji period the Shiogama Jinku was called “Aiya-bushi.” It was then effectively reimported by Same Port in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and became known as “Tsugaru Shiogama Jinku.” Perhaps they sought to soothe the harshness of their heavy labor through song.
Tsugaru Mountain SongSatō Nobuo
It is a celebratory song that has been sung in mountain villages in the western part of Aomori Prefecture.
It is also known as a celebratory song called “Jūgosshichibushi,” found across the Tohoku region in Akita, Iwate, and Aomori.
In Aomori, it serves as a celebratory song dedicated to the mountain deity in connection with mountain worship, such as at Mount Iwaki.
Tsugaru mountain songs have two styles of singing: the “East Route” and the “West Route.” The “East Route mountain song” has a rather old-fashioned melody and is not often sung today, whereas the “West Route mountain song” is the folk style that is commonly performed.
Tanabu Oshima-koYamamoto Takeyuu
What does “Oshimako” mean? When I looked it up, I found that the origin of this song goes back to a woman named Oshima.
She was said to be so beautiful, and to sing with such a lovely voice, that Shigenao Nanbu, the third lord of the Nanbu domain, rewarded her.
In Shimokita City, her name has become synonymous with a beautiful woman.
Every year, the city of Mutsu in Aomori Prefecture holds the “Miss Oshimako” contest.