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

Where are you from?

Where Are You From? children's song with lyrics

A peaceful scene of children playing with a bouncing ball while telling their friends about their homes.

In the countryside of Kumamoto.

A song that brings to mind mountain landscapes.

With a slow tempo, it’s a song that suits everyone—from older adults to small children.

Rabbit, rabbit

Japanese nursery rhyme ~ Mid-Autumn Festival (Night of the 15th) “Rabbit”

This is a children’s song themed around rabbits and the moon, depicting rabbits hopping as they gaze at the full harvest moon.

The connection between rabbits and the moon is said to trace back to the Buddhist Jataka tale, Sasa Jataka.

It’s a nostalgic song I listened to in childhood while enjoying sweet dumplings.

The Hare and the Tortoise

Bunny and Turtle – Usagi To Kame | Hello, hello, Turtle, dear Mr. Turtle [Japanese Song / Shoka]

The hare and the tortoise—at first glance, you can tell who will win.

But when you listen to the end, the overconfident hare lets his guard down.

Even without much ability, the tortoise, who works steadily and earnestly, ends up winning or succeeding in the end.

That’s the lesson sung in this song.

Seagull Sailor

“The Seagull Sailors – Seagull sailors, sailors in a row~” (with hand motions)

It’s a song that uses the seagulls seen at the sea as a metaphor for sailors, explaining it in a way that’s easy for children to understand.

It is said that Junko Takeuchi, who wrote the lyrics, composed it after seeing many seagulls when she went to the seaside to see off a relative, and that later, during international exchanges, it was translated into English and other languages.

This road

This Road (Summer Children's Song)

The lyricist of this song, Hakushu Kitahara, set to verse an itinerary from Hokkaido to his mother’s family home in Kumamoto Prefecture.

The scenery of Yanagawa in Kumamoto, where Kitahara grew up, was a place he revisited every time he returned home and held deep affection for.

This song, composed in his later years, overflows with nostalgia as he looks back on memories with his mother.

Sakura, sakura

Sakura, Sakura [Lyrics]—as far as the eye can see, the Yayoi skies

Cherry blossoms are flowers every Japanese person knows, but it’s said that the song is not merely about their beauty; composed in 1941, before the war, it is also seen as glorifying militaristic Japan.

Hidden within it is the idea that soldiers should bloom beautifully like cherry blossoms and then fall honorably for the sake of the nation.

Zuizui Zukkorobashi

♪Zui Zui Zukkorobashi – Zui Zui Zukkorobashi | ♪Zui Zui Zukkorobashi, sesame miso zui [Japanese songs/children’s songs]

It’s a traditional hand game song, but it seems that the background to its creation was to remind children to go inside and stay quiet so they wouldn’t be rude—such as by crossing in front—when a feudal lord’s procession passed by.