[Children’s Day Hand-Play Songs] A Collection of Nursery Rhymes & Traditional Children’s Songs for Parents and Kids to Enjoy Together
May 5th is Tango no Sekku—Children’s Day, a holiday celebrating children’s healthy growth! Many families decorate with carp streamers and samurai dolls and enjoy a festive meal.
In this article, we’ve gathered some recommended hand-play songs perfect for Children’s Day.
How about trying them with your family after the celebration? These are all ideal for kids in nursery school and kindergarten, so have fun adding Children’s Day–themed twists as you play!
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Children’s Day Hand-Play Songs: A Collection of Nursery Rhymes and Traditional Children’s Songs for Parents and Kids (21–30)
Banana Parent and ChildSakushi: Seki Kazuo / Sakkyoku: Fukuda Wakako
A simple song depicting a parent-and-child pair of bananas living on a southern island.
Its gentle melody conveys the bond between parent and child, and the rhythmic, easy-to-remember lyrics leave a strong impression.
After airing on NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho” in 1982, it was included on the albums “Okaasan to Issho Memorial Album” and “NHK Okaasan to Issho 40 Years: Best 100 Songs,” winning the hearts of many.
With its bright, cheerful rhythm, it’s a song you can move your body to while singing, making it perfect for indoor fun even on rainy days.
Ideal for singing with family, or with friends at daycare or kindergarten.
Give it a try on a rainy day when spirits tend to sink.
Koi koi koinobori
Koi Koi Koinobori is a playful activity that compares gently swaying carp streamers to a family.
Set to a bright, cheerful melody, it introduces the father, mother, and children in turn.
After the wind-blowing gesture, try expressing the carp streamers swimming.
It’s also fun to add choreography that reflects family traits, like showing off your arm muscles or placing your hands on your face.
In the part where you count 3, 2, 1, parents and children should count out loud together with energy.
Give this hand-play activity a try, themed around koinobori—carp streamers that symbolize Children’s Day.
[Hand Play Songs for Children’s Day] A Collection of Nursery Rhymes & Traditional Children’s Songs for Parents and Kids to Enjoy (31–40)
Ipponbashi Nihonbashi
A hand-play song where you make various things with your hands using numbers, “Ipponbashi Nihonbashi.” The lyrics were written by Tonbo Yuasa, who penned many play songs, and the music was composed by Hirotaka Nakagawa, a picture-book writer and author who composes various children’s songs.
You play by forming numbers like 1 and 2 with your fingers to make a mountain, a jellyfish, and more.
In addition to the original lyrics, there are many variations, so try playing in different versions! It’s also fun to create your own original ones.
carp streamer
This is the most famous song among the ones about koinobori.
Children might already be very used to singing it.
For kids who have it down perfectly, let’s add some hand motions while they sing! Try using your hands to show the size of the father koinobori being big and the child koinobori being small.
You can also express the koinobori leisurely swimming in the sky by gently waving your hands.
Even a familiar song can be enjoyed in a new way when you add hand play!
carp streamer
Feeling tired of the same old fingerplay songs? How about a tango-style fingerplay song! The lyrics include essential Children’s Day words and dates like “kabuto” (samurai helmet), “kashiwa-mochi” (oak-leaf rice cake), and “koinobori” (carp streamers), so kids can learn while they play—two birds with one stone! The top recommendation for children is definitely the rolled “r” when saying “koinobori.” They’ll surely repeat it over and over! And don’t forget the pose matching.
You can imagine how exciting it gets when the poses line up perfectly!
Raise the carp streamers.
This is a fingerplay song that depicts the scene of raising a large carp streamer (koinobori) displayed in home gardens and elsewhere.
Set to a lively rhythm, you use your hands to show the action of pulling up the koinobori.
You can enjoy a unique twist where “just when you think you’ve got the koinobori, it slips right out of your hands.” A key point is experiencing failure the first time and success the second time.
Letting it slip from your hands repeatedly is also a fun way for parents and children to get excited together.
Try a variety of play styles, such as having children or caregivers take the role of the koinobori.
A Piglet’s Stroll
This fingerplay song, “Piggy’s Stroll,” features a little piglet walking through town and encountering the sights and sounds there.
As the piglet walks and meets certain things, surprising events happen.
It’s a song you can enjoy while acting it out with gestures.
The story even takes an unexpected turn where the piglet transforms into certain animals, so it’s wonderful if you can enjoy it like reading a story, mixing in the hand motions! What in the world does the little piglet encounter?
