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?
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Aomori Folk Songs, Children's Songs, and Nursery Rhymes | Soul-Stirring Japanese Songs Living On in Tsugaru and Hachinohe (1–10)
Tsugaru Sangen Kudari
Among folk songs, the “Sangakudari” is said to be the most challenging in terms of tempo and timing.
In the folk music world, it’s known as a piece that only fairly advanced performers can sing or play well.
When you listen to performances by Kohei Fukuda, an enka singer renowned for folk songs, you can really tell how advanced he is.
Tsugaru Bayashi
Tsugaru Bayashi is said to have originated when people from Tsugaru who went to work in the Murakami area of Niigata Prefecture brought back and sang the local Bon Odori.
This folk song, cherished as a drinking song, is based on the original tune Murakami Jinku, and before the war it was reportedly sung by Tsugaru entertainers to draw in crowds.
Since it was originally a Niigata folk song, it was first called Echigo Jinku, but after the war it came to be widely known by its current title.
An Apple’s Soliloquy
This is a children’s song told from the very endearing perspective of a bright red fruit narrating its own journey.
It vividly sings, with rhythmic expression, of being jostled by a train from fields in the far north to the markets of the big city.
Knowing that lyricist Toshiko Takeuchi drew inspiration while bedridden from a get-well gift of apples may deepen one’s sense of her yearning for a freer world and her feelings for her hometown.
The song was recorded in February 1940, sung by Junko Kawamura.
It has even been adopted as the arrival melody at JR Gono Line’s Fujisaki Station, and is cherished as a piece that strongly evokes Aomori.
Ho-hai Festival
A folk song from the Tsugaru region, notable for its striking yodel-like falsetto calls that seem to stretch on without end.
It depicts the everyday lives of people living alongside harsh nature: mountain wildflowers, bountiful rice ears, and a mother working through back pain.
The song’s greatest appeal lies in the beautiful contrast between the clear, prayer-like falsetto and the earthy, grounded chest voice.
This ebb and flow grips the listener’s heart.
Tsugaru-shamisen player Hiroki Nakamura performed this piece on his April 2023 EP, “AYUMI.” It has also been given a modern arrangement as the theme song for the local sake brand “Houhai,” further expanding the ways it can be enjoyed.
Nambu Aiya-bushi
One of the representative folk songs of the southern region of Aomori Prefecture.
In port towns, it has long been a beloved, cheerful song with hand dancing, often heard at drinking gatherings and celebratory banquets.
Its bright, rhythmic melody and the lively call at the very beginning of the song leave a strong impression.
Combined with the sprightly tones of the shamisen, it conjures up a bustling scene of people dancing in a circle.
Through this piece—carefully passed down orally by the people of Aomori—you can get a feel for the cheerful spirit rooted in Aomori’s ports.
Yasaburō-bushi
It’s a folk song that was sung toward the end of the Edo period, but it’s a wife-bullying song to a degree that would be unthinkable today! It’s said to have as many as fifteen verses.
“Yasaburō’s wife’s hands are cracked and bloody, yet she’s not allowed to put oil on them,” “Even when given delicious botamochi, they hide it and eat it so the wife won’t find out”…
How does that make you feel?
Nambu Yosare-bushi
This is a lively zashiki-odori folk song that represents the southern region of Aomori Prefecture.
Counted among the seven great Nanbu folk songs, it features the brisk rhythm of the Tsugaru shamisen and cheerful calls and responses.
Just listening to it makes you feel like your body might start moving on its own.
The word “yosare” also carries a modest nuance like “please refrain,” giving the song a refined air beyond mere liveliness.
You can almost picture women at a banquet gracefully dancing with supple wrist movements.
As you listen to this song, why not let your thoughts wander to those warm moments when people gather together?