[Hand Play] Popular with kids! A collection of trendy hand-play songs and nostalgic traditional children’s songs
Hand-play songs that you can sing and play are hugely popular with children, aren’t they?
As times change, lots of new hand-play songs have appeared, and through these songs you can really feel children’s interests and curiosity.
Trendy songs are fun, but we also want to cherish the traditional warabe-uta that have been sung for generations.
Their melodies are warm, the back-and-forth of the words is amusing, and the fact that you can sing them without a piano is also very appealing.
This time, we’ll introduce plenty of hand-play songs that are favorites with kids!
From trending hits popular in childcare settings to traditional warabe-uta, we’ve got a full lineup of hand-play games that will bring smiles to children’s faces.
Be sure to join in and play along!
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- [February Songs] Introducing children's songs, folk songs, nursery rhymes, and hand-play songs about Setsubun and winter!
- Nostalgic Children’s Songs, Folk Songs, and Nursery Rhymes: The Heart of Japan Passed Down Through Song
- Useful for childcare! Today’s recommended recreational activities, including fingerplay and games!
- Popular hand games and hand game songs for toddlers and children! Full of ideas for childcare/early childhood education.
[Hand Games] Popular with Kids! Trending Hand-Play Songs & Nostalgic Traditional Nursery Rhymes (61–70)
Piglet-raccoon dog-fox-cat
The children’s song “Kobuta, Tanuki, Kitsune, Neko” sings animal names while playing shiritori (a word-chain game).
It was written and composed by Naosumi Yamamoto, who created many songs for children, as well as music for dramas and films, including “Ichinensei ni Nattara.” Because the song repeats the animal names that appear in the title, it’s easy to remember, and children who are just beginning to talk may be able to sing along by imitating it.
In the second verse, you mimic each animal’s call.
The quirky onomatopoeic words are likely to feel mysterious and amusing to children.
Try singing it while adding gestures that match each animal.
Ogre’s Pants
“Oni no Pantsu” is a song about the very sturdy pants worn by ogres that never rip no matter how many years you wear them.
It’s sung to the cheerful melody of the Italian popular song “Funiculì, Funiculà.” The hand movements match the lyrics, showing the number of years to indicate how long they last, and bending the arms to make “muscle” poses to express how tough they are.
In short, let’s show off just how strong they are to the fullest! During Setsubun and other occasions, it can be fun to wear pants with the same pattern as the ones the ogres wear.
One, two, three, four, two, five
This traditional children’s song, beloved across generations, features a simple way to play: sing rhythmic number phrases while raising and bending your fingers.
It has been featured on NHK’s children’s program Nihongo de Asobo and is popular on video-sharing sites.
The piece has been carried forward in new forms by contemporary artists such as dmg’s “Ichi Ni San Shi” and Gen Hoshino’s “Ichi Ni San.” It’s a fun song you can enjoy with parents or friends while nurturing finger dexterity and a sense of rhythm.
butterflied sardine(s)
Let’s play the fingerplay song “Iwashi no Hiraki,” which features lots of fish! The song starts with sardines (iwashi), using one finger.
Next comes herring with two fingers, then Pacific saury with three, salmon with four—each fish gets a little bigger, and the number of fingers increases by one.
And the final character is a whale! Its spout is extra big, and at the end everyone goes BOOM! Make it big and expressive with your whole body.
You can also add a little talk about autumn seasonal fish like sardines and saury.
Gonbe-san’s Baby
“Gonbe-san’s Baby” is a song based on an American folk tune.
It features a character named Gonbe-san, who covers his head with a tenugui and ties it under his chin, and a baby.
The song depicts a scene where the baby catches a cold, and you use your hands to act out holding the baby, having a sudden idea, and more.
There’s also a unique movement where, in a fluster, you end up putting a compress on yourself by mistake.
Once you get used to it, try speeding up the tempo—it’s recommended.
Give this hand-play activity a try, set to a melody everyone has heard at least once.
The fish jumps.
“Sakana ga Hanete” is a classic hand-play song that children love.
In addition to moving their hands to the music, you can adapt it to use familiar items like hats, masks, and gloves to help check for forgotten belongings.
You could also change the items that “stick” to different parts of the body—for example, a ribbon, crown, or straw hat on the head, sunglasses or a telescope for the eyes, and on pool days, goggles would be fun too.
Incorporating seasonal items will make it even more exciting!
From inside the bamboo grove
A simple yet rhythmic melody, combined with hand-play and rock-paper-scissors, makes this an ideal song for nurturing children’s imagination and sense of rhythm.
In educational settings, it also helps improve communication skills, and its appeal spans all ages.
Passed down orally, the piece features subtle regional variations that reflect local character and culture—an interesting point in itself.
It is widely used in nursery schools and kindergartens and is beloved as a staple for hand-play songs and rock-paper-scissors games.
Horsetail shoots are poking up.
A masterpiece of children’s song that lets you feel the breath of nature.
Within its simple wordplay, it deftly weaves in the moment when plants sprout, offering the delight of a stroll through spring fields and hills.
More than lofty musical artistry, it’s the easy singability that has kept it beloved for many years.
It’s also enjoyed with hand motions and is widely used in early childhood education settings.
This work beautifully expresses the Japanese sense of the seasons and a heartfelt reverence for nature, making it enjoyable across generations, from children to adults.
Why not sing it together with family and friends, feeling the arrival of a nature-rich spring?
Denden parent-and-child thumb
It’s a fingerplay song with lots of fun variations: the “Denden Parent-and-Child Thumb Exercise.” Make fists with both hands and hold them out in front.
To the tune of the children’s song “Denden-Mushi,” alternately stick out the thumb and pinky of your right and left hands.
When your right hand shows the pinky, your left hand shows the thumb, so it might be a bit confusing at first.
Try it slowly while singing.
Start by showing the right, then the left in sequence with a fist in between each.
Once you get used to it, try doing right-left without returning to a fist, or speed up the tempo a little to add variety and have more fun!
all over each other; stuck together; clingy
Hittsuki Mottsuki, created by Keropons, a music duo that delivers songs and exercises for children.
It’s a song themed on a Hiroshima dialect word that means “to stick together and not come apart.” A bright melody rides on a sprightly ukulele accompaniment.
Starting with choreography where you open both hands and move them side to side, you can enjoy a unique move where your heads end up sticking together.
The key is to really show the expression of “We got stuck together!” Try playing by sticking not only your heads but also various body parts like hands and backs.