Folk Songs, Children's Songs, and Nursery Rhymes of Aomori: Japanese Songs from Tsugaru and Hachinohe that Resonate with the Heart

Yosare Great Catch SongMatsuda Takayuki

Pat Savage – Yosare Great Catch Song (Yosare Tairyo Bushi)

This is a song that was sung at celebratory banquets after big catches in Hachinohe Port, Aomori Prefecture, and the Sanriku region, and the fish referred to in this poem is herring.

Speaking of herring, many people think of Hokkaido’s Soran Bushi, but the origins of herring fishing are actually in Aomori Prefecture.

The herring mansions of Hokkaido are famous, but there are also herring mansions in Goshogawara City, Aomori.

Although the herring fishery declined, some of these mansions have been restored and are used as lodging facilities, helping to promote local tourism.

Herring fishing was truly incredibly profitable.

Tsugaru Kobi-ki Uta (Tsugaru Woodcutter’s Song)Kikuyasu Katsuyō

Tsugaru Lumberjack Song

Its origin lies in songs sung in unison when people working in the mountains sawed timber.

Woodcutters would come as seasonal migrant workers during the winter off-season from farming—farmers from southern Aomori to Iwate, as well as from Hiroshima Prefecture.

Perhaps for that reason, the song spread nationwide, but it split into east and west: east of the Kinki region it is called the Nanbu Kobi-uta (Southern Aomori/Iwate Woodcutters’ Song), and to the west it is known as the Hiroshima Kobi-uta (Hiroshima Woodcutters’ Song).

Michi no UmafushiGotō Ginchiku

Michiyuki Makafabushi (Vocal: Goto Ginchiku; Shakuhachi: Takahashi Chikuzan)

Mr.

Goto Ginchiku, a beloved disciple of the celebrated Narita Untiku, won the Japan Folk Song Association’s national competition in 1962 with this piece.

In the Tohoku region, horse traders would travel to and from horse markets, timing their movements with the market schedule.

Because they handled large numbers of horses and wished not to cause a disturbance, they would move at night, and the songs sung along the way were known as “Uma-kata-bushi” (Horse Driver’s Song).

Kenryō-bushiNarita Takeshi

Kenryō-bushi - Takeshi Narita

It’s pronounced “Kenryō-bushi.” It’s a folk song sung at celebratory occasions such as New Year’s around Aomori City, but it’s said to have originated in Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture.

It is sung in Akita, Aomori, and Hokkaido, as well as in Nagano and Ishikawa, and depending on the region it is also called “Nikata-bushi,” “Niigata-bushi,” “Matsuzaka-bushi,” “Matsuzaka,” or “Kengyō-bushi.” Kenryō-bushi is thought to be a corrupted form of these names.

Waiha BushiNarita Untiku

Waiha-bushi by Narita Untyoku (4)

In the Tsugaru dialect, “Waiha” means something astonishing.

When Master Narita Untyoku, a pioneer in the world of folk songs, spent about nine months overseas (in places like Saipan) to promote folk music, he composed a new folk song for Aomori using the word “Waiha,” inspired by his homesickness.

You can really feel the sentiment of remembering one’s hometown and thinking, “Aomori is a wonderful place!”