Spring songs from the early Showa era: a collection of kayōkyoku and shōka that evoke spring
When you hear “spring,” what songs come to mind?In the early Showa era, spanning from before to after the war, many popular songs, school songs, and children’s songs were created that delicately captured the changing seasons.In this special feature, we present a rich selection of songs and school songs about spring from that time.Some of the linked audio-video materials use original recordings from the era, so please savor the spring air of those days along with the retro sound.We hope you enjoy a gentle springtime, humming along to these nostalgic melodies.
- [Spring Songs Born in the Showa Era] A Curated Selection of Kayōkyoku That Colored the Times and Timeless Classics Still Sung Today
- [For Seniors] Spring Songs You'll Want to Hum: Feel the Season with Nostalgic Classics
- [For Seniors] Classic spring songs to sing in April: A heartwarming moment with nostalgic children’s songs and kayōkyoku (Japanese popular songs)
- [For Seniors] Recommended spring songs for people in their 90s: A collection of Shōwa-era spring tunes
- Nursery rhymes to sing in spring: a collection of classic songs you'll want to sing with your children
- [Spring Songs] Classic and Latest Hit Collections Perfect for a Bright, Gentle Spring
- [Spring Songs] Masterpieces to Listen to in April: Classic Tracks that Color the Month
- Moving songs to listen to in spring. Classic and popular spring tracks.
- [2026] Enka Spring Songs to Savor: A Collection of Classic Enka That Evokes the Japanese Spring
- Spring song medley. The best classic tunes to listen to in spring.
- A roundup of classic Showa-era kayō songs: a comprehensive introduction to timeless tracks loved across generations.
- [Spring Songs] Masterpieces for Mid-Spring to Listen to in March. Spring Tunes
- [2026] Time-Travel to Your Memories Just by Listening! Recommended Spring Songs for People in Their 50s
Spring songs from the early Showa era: A collection of popular songs and school songs that evoke spring (31–40)
Flowers and Sunshine of a Spring DayAirurando min’yō
The youth and beauty of a loved one inevitably change with time.
Yet this work is a gem of a love song that gently embraces those changes while proclaiming that the bonds of the heart remain eternal.
Set to a traditional Irish melody, its calm and warm vow of love resonates deeply.
First published in 1807, it has also been cherished as Harvard University’s alma mater and as a hymn.
In Japan, thanks to Keizo Horiuchi’s beautiful Japanese lyrics—and recordings by sisters Saori Yuki and Sachiko Yasuda—it has won the hearts of many.
It is often sung at life’s milestones, such as weddings and graduations, as a testament to unchanging love.
Sakura DōjōjiMikado Junko
Released in 1937 by Junko Mikado, it became a hit song.
“Dōjōji-mono” refers to works based on the legend of Anchin and Kiyohime—a popular theme featured in Noh, Kabuki, and Japanese dance.
The legend goes like this: Kiyohime falls in love at first sight with the traveling monk Anchin, but when her feelings are not returned, she transforms into a great serpent and, in the end, burns Anchin to death—a terrifying yet single-minded tale of love.
For a moment, place yourself in this dramatic theater of love, raging and in full bloom amid a flurry of cherry blossoms, and listen, quietly and intently.
Maiden’s SpringAwaya Noriko
This is a song by Noriko Awaya, a pioneer of chanson in Japan who was also affectionately known as the “Queen of Blues.” Otome no Haru (Maiden’s Spring) was released in 1934 (Showa 9), with music by Yuji Koseki and lyrics by Yoshifumi Shimada.
Strongly imbued with the atmosphere of the Showa era, its gentle sound by the Columbia Orchestra is striking, evoking the warmth of spring.
The lyrics depict a woman in scenes related to spring, expressing moments such as gazing into the distance in contemplation and shedding tears.
Song of SpringUchida Hajime
This is a heartwarming song that began airing in March 1937 (Showa 12) on NHK’s Osaka Central Broadcasting Station as a National Song.
Composed by Hajime Uchida with lyrics by Kunizo Kishi, its melody has a familiar warmth that resonated with people’s daily lives at the time.
Across its four verses, the lyrics depict charming scenes: the sweet gaze of a flower seller, the bustle of a market lined with fresh vegetables, the chirping of fledgling birds, and a spring landscape swaying in a gentle breeze.
A record was released by Polydor in July of the same year, followed by a release from Teichiku the next year.
The song has been covered by many artists, including Chieko Baisho and the sisters Saori Yuki and Sachiko Yasuda, and it continues to be beloved as a piece that lets listeners share the joy of spring’s arrival.
It’s a tune you’ll want to hum with family and friends as the season signals the beginning of spring.
Sakura OndoKouta Katsutaro, Mishima Issei, Tokuyama Tamaki
Sakura Ondo, a staple of Bon Odori festivals, is a famous song that most Japanese people have heard at least once, regardless of age or gender.
Although Sakura Ondo was born in 1934 (Showa 9) as a so-called popular song and also served as the theme song for a film of the same name, there are actually multiple versions, including the films themselves.
Released as a competitive project by four film companies, Sakura Ondo also saw its respective theme songs—each titled Sakura Ondo—issued competitively by four different record companies.
With different people handling the lyrics, composition, and vocals for each, they are effectively different songs despite sharing the same title.
The most famous version was composed by Shinpei Nakayama, who had worked on Tokyo Ondo released the previous year (1933, Showa 8), with lyrics by Takao Saeki, and vocals performed by four singers: Kouta Katsutaro, Issei Mishima, Ren Tokuyama, and Chiyoko Kobayashi.
Just hearing its lively opening will make you want to start dancing!
Spring songs from the early Showa era: A collection of kayōkyoku and shōka that evoke spring (41–50)
Spring is still young.Arishima Michio
“Spring, Still Shallow,” which incorporates a song that appears in Takuboku Ishikawa’s short story The Clouds Are Geniuses, is a piece created as the theme song for the 1936 film The Passionate Poet Takuboku: Hometown Chapter.
Takuboku, a leading poet and tanka composer of the Meiji era who died at the young age of 26, is central to its inspiration.
The music was composed by Masao Koga, one of Japan’s most celebrated national composers, and performed by Michio Arima.
In fact, the song is said to be an arrangement of a dormitory song Koga had worked on in the past, which explains why traces of the original’s atmosphere remain.
Has the plum blossomed?
Ume wa Saita ka has been sung as an Edo hauta.
Nowadays, it’s best known as a parlor song performed to shamisen accompaniment, with geisha dancing to it.
The plum blossom is a flower that heralds spring and makes us feel its approach, yet the plum season is still quite cold.
One might expect the song to be about yearning for what comes after the plums—the scene of cherry blossoms in bloom and the mild weather of that time—but in fact it sings of the changing of human hearts and expresses feelings toward the opposite sex.
Lyrics that seem neatly tied to spring—like references to clams and short-necked clams—turn out, on closer reading, to carry quite different meanings.
