Japanese Shoka, Children's Songs, and Nursery Rhymes | Timeless masterpieces that resonate in the heart, passed down across generations

chick

Chick — Ordinary Elementary School Songs (for First Grade)

Written for first-grade elementary school students, this song teaches the importance of siblings getting along and acting as a group.

Included in “Elementary School Songs for the First Grade,” compiled by the Ministry of Education and published in May 1911, the piece conveys a message that young children still need adult protection and bonds with their peers, illustrated through little chicks walking together and helping one another under their parent bird.

With a bright, easy-to-sing melody and a meter that matches a walking rhythm, its warm imagery offers a comforting sense of security.

Ninomiya Kinjiro

Ninomiya Kinjiro — Ministry of Education Song

This children’s song portrays the childhood of a great figure who, while diligently doing household chores and studying late into the night without neglect, eventually became someone who saved others.

Included in the 1911 collection “Elementary School Songs for the Second Year,” it expresses Confucian values such as diligence and frugality, care for one’s family, and a passion for learning, all in simple language and a straightforward melody.

The image of a boy reading a book with firewood on his back is etched in the memories of many Japanese people.

It’s a song that teaches the importance of maintaining a positive, hard-working attitude even in difficult circumstances.

Winter night

Winter Night (♫ Near the Lamplight ~) by Sunflower ×4 [Chorus] with Lyrics

Since it was published in March 1912 in “Songs for Elementary Schools: For the Third Grade,” this Ministry of Education song has been sung for over a century.

It depicts a warm family gathering around the hearth while a fierce blizzard rages outside.

Listening to their mother’s handiwork and their father’s old tales, the children exude a sense of gentle happiness and close family bonds.

Selected in 2007 as one of the “Hundred Best Japanese Songs,” this piece invites you to hum along during the cold season as you look back on memories with your family.

Rain of the Four Seasons

Shiki no Ame (Japanese Children's Song)

This is a uniquely Japanese school song that delicately captures the rich expressions of rain in each of the four seasons.

Published in 1914 in the collection Songs for Elementary Schools, Sixth Grade, it has long been cherished as a Ministry of Education song.

From the mist-like rains of spring to the sounds of winter rain that convey the cold, the lyrics—depicting the changing seasons in beautiful Japanese—leave a strong impression.

Its gentle, unhurried triple-meter melody is a classic that brings a deep sense of calm to listeners.

The Clock Song

The Clock Song (Tokei no Uta), Elementary School Songbook (Jinjō Shōgaku Shōka), for Second Grade

Since its inclusion in the 1910 textbook “Jinjō Shōgaku Tokuhon Shōka” (Elementary School Reader Songs), this Ministry of Education song has been sung for generations.

Set to a steady onomatopoeic rhythm, it depicts a clock that keeps moving tirelessly from morning till night.

Its recording history is also long: as early as 1932, an SP record by Chiyoko Fumiya and the Nippon Victor Junior Orchestra was released, among other various recordings.

Cherished in NHK educational programs and school teaching materials, it may evoke nostalgic classroom scenes for some listeners.

morning glory

Morning Glory (Asagao) - Ordinary Elementary School Song (for First Grade)

This is a Ministry of Education school song that depicts a child’s perspective as they count the flowers that bloom each morning, feeling close to the morning glories that increase day by day—more today than yesterday, and more tomorrow than today.

It was included in The Common Elementary School Songbook (1), for First Grade, published in 1911 (Meiji 44).

In this piece, which was sung in elementary schools across the country, children count the flowers and naturally learn a sense of time: the big buds will bloom tomorrow, the small buds the day after.

Tied to summer observation diaries, the subject of morning glories evokes a sense of nostalgia that transcends generations.

Konoha (tree leaves / leaves of a tree)

Konoha (Tree Leaves) – Ordinary Elementary School Songs, “For First Grade”

This is a children’s song that carefully follows, from a child’s perspective, a single leaf carried by the wind as it gets caught in a spider’s web and falls onto the surface of a pond.

Included in The Elementary School Songbook (Volume 1), published by the Ministry of Education in May 1911, it humorously portrays scenes from the lives of small creatures in nature—like a spider mistaking the leaf for prey and approaching it, or a carp rising to the surface thinking it is food.

It’s a perfect song for early childhood settings where children connect with nature while gathering autumn leaves, or for moments when you want to quietly savor the changing seasons.