[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, known as Children’s Day, a time to celebrate kids’ healthy growth!

Many families display carp streamers and samurai dolls and enjoy special meals.

In this article, we’ve gathered recommended fingerplay songs perfect for Children’s Day.

Why not try them together with your family after the celebration?

These fingerplays are ideal for children in daycare or kindergarten, so have fun adding Children’s Day–themed twists as you play!

Playlist

[Children’s Day Hand-Play Songs] A Collection of Nursery Rhymes & Traditional Children’s Songs for Parents and Kids to Enjoy Together
	Title	Playlist	Review
1	cherry		A hand-play song themed around cherries
2	Squeeze, squeeze, kashiwa mochi.Sakushi: Sakura Tomoko / Sakkyoku: Ozawa Tatsuyuki		Enjoying with children using the Kashiwa-mochi hand-play song
3	A caterpillar		Children fascinated by bugs in a springtime park
4	A-I-U-E-O nigiriSakushi Sakkyoku: Shuu Saeko		Singing about the joy of making rice balls and the bonds of family
5	Get on the busSakushi sakkyoku: Taniguchi Kunihiro		The charm of a nursery rhyme that delights in the bus’s jostling
6	Animal Exercises 1-2-3Sakushi • Sakkyoku: Abe Naomi		A fun kids’ exercise song with animal movements
7	Bamboo Shoot ExercisesSakushi: Nakazawa Yoshihiro / Sakkyoku: Koshibe Nobuyoshi		Supporting children's growth through fun gymnastics
8	Playing bus (pretend bus play)Sakushi: Kayama Bi / Sakkyoku: Yuyama Akira		A cheerful song melody on the bus
9	Picnicdeguchi takashi		Takashi Deguchi’s Field Picnic Hand-Play Song
10	tea pickingbunkashō shōka		A masterpiece portraying Japan’s traditional culture and natural beauty
11	Piglet-raccoon dog-fox-catSakushi sakkyoku: Yamamoto Naozumi		Let's have fun with Naosumi Yamamoto's hand-play nursery rhymes
12	To the Sun in the Palm of Your HandSakushi: Yanase Takashi / Sakkyoku: Izumi Taku		Lyrics by Takashi Yanase, a classic loved by many generations
13	Let’s draw a picture in the blue sky.Sakushi: Kazumi Kazuki / Sakkyoku: Hajime Kamishiba		The Appeal of Songs That Nurture Children's Dreams and Hopes
14	Song of a little birdsakushi: Yoda Jun’ichi / sakkyoku: Akutagawa Yasushi		An adorable nursery rhyme of a little bird calling out to its parent.
15	a big drumSakushi: Kobayashi Junichi / Sakkyoku: Nakada Yoshinao		A fun hand-play song with taiko rhythms
16	soap bubbleSakushi: Noguchi Ujō / Sakkyoku: Nakayama Shinpei		A beloved classic with a gentle melody is still cherished today
17	Obento-bako no Uta		Obentōbako no Uta hand play song
18	carp streamer		With a tango-style fingerplay song, children can enjoyably learn words related to Children's Day.
19	Koinoborin		A hand-play song where you pretend to be a carp streamer
20	magic hand		Expressing animals and vehicles through fingerplay songs
21	Carp streamer hand play song		Two kinds of hand-play songs with a Koinobori theme
22	Head, shoulders, knees, pong		Hand play songs for babies and parents to enjoy
23	Under the big chestnut tree		Enjoying gymnastics under the big chestnut tree
24	Shopping at the bakery		Let's enjoy the baker's hand play song
25	rolling egg		A song that expresses the growth from egg to chick to chicken through hand play.
26	Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star		Introduction to the hand play for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
27	Close It, Open It		Clap-along songs have simple choreography and offer a high degree of freedom.
28	The fish jumps.		A fun hand game where fish jump and stick together
29	Banana Parent and ChildSakushi: Seki Kazuo / Sakkyoku: Fukuda Wakako		The song of a banana parent and child on a southern island, fun to sing.
30	bento (boxed lunch)Sakushi: Amano Chou sakushi / Sakkyoku: Ichinomiya Michiko		A children's song that nurtures table manners and a spirit of gratitude
31	Let’s pretend to be koinobori!		Let's express the movement of the carp streamers in a fun way.
32	Denden parent-and-child thumb		Alternate extending the thumb and little finger in a hand play song
33	If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands		“If You're Happy and You Know It,” popular among children
34	Ipponbashi Nihonbashi		A nursery rhyme for fingerplay with numbers
35	spool (of thread); winding thread; Itomaki (traditional toy spinning top), depending on context		Enjoying the Itomaki (Spool) nursery rhyme with hand play
36	It fell, it fell.		Ochita Ochita: A Nostalgic Hand-Clapping Song Game
37	the head monk at a temple		Speed up while playing rock-paper-scissors
38	Ogre’s Pants		Let's get stronger with the ogre's pants
39	Story Finger		An educational finger-play song using nicknames for fingers
40	gluttonous gorilla		Hand-play song of the gluttonous gorilla
41	hair play		A fingerplay song that expresses hair through finger movements
42	carp streamer		Expressing the Koinobori song playfully with hand motions
43	Raise the carp streamers.		A hand-play song about pulling a koinobori (carp streamer)
44	Humpback Grandpa		Character hand-play songs for parents and children to enjoy together
45	A Piglet’s Stroll		A fingerplay song where a piglet transforms into animals in the city
46	Gonbe-san’s Baby		A song about holding a baby with a tenugui (Japanese hand towel)
47	Choki-choki Dance		A fun hand-play song danced with a scissor pose
48	Knock knock knock, Anpanman		Play with the Anpanman hand-play song
49	Donguri Korokoro		Hand play song of Donguri Korokoro
50	It’s starting.		A Children’s Day fingerplay song that playfully expresses numbers
51	Yakiimo goo-choki-pa		Introducing a hand play song about baked sweet potatoes
52	Vegetable Song		A hand-play song that makes it fun to memorize vegetable names through word sounds and puns.
53	Ten thousand feet in the Alps		A hand-clapping game sung in pairs
54	The Curry Rice Song		Make curry rice with a hand play song
55	What shall we make with rock, scissors, paper?		A hand-play song that combines rock, scissors, and paper to imagine various things.
56	Playing bus (pretend bus play)		Enjoying with the family through a bus driver play song
57	Panda, Rabbit, Koala		The hand-play song “Panda, Rabbit, Koala”
58	Crocodile family		Hand play song of a crocodile family
59	Let’s clap our hands		Clap Your Hands, a hand-play song for families to enjoy together
60	Tanuki of Fist Mountain		How to Play “Genkotsu-yama no Tanuki-san”
61	Koi koi koinobori		A hand game that likens carp streamers to a family
62	Zuizui Zukkorobashi		The hand-clapping song game “Zuizui Zukkorobashi”
63	all over each other; stuck together; clingy		A clapping-and-cuddling play song for children
64	mixed juice		Making mixed juice with fruit