[For Seniors] Autumn Songs That Touch the Heart: From Nostalgic Children’s Songs and School Songs to Showa-Era Kayōkyoku

The Apple SongNamiki Michiko

Apple Song - Michiko Namiki - Showa-era song

“Ringo no Uta” (The Apple Song), featured as the theme and insert song for the film “Soyokaze.” In Japan after the end of World War II, its bright and cheerful melody lifted people’s spirits.

As it was often used as a symbol of postwar recovery, many older adults are likely familiar with it.

The lyrics are charming, expressing a girl’s honest feelings through apples.

Try singing it together with friends at your facility to its lively rhythm.

It’s a song that works well for singing while sharing memories of the past or while taking a walk under the autumn sky.

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mutō

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Moon

Children’s Song: The Moon

This is a traditional children’s song that has long been beloved and is familiar to many older adults.

With simple, heartfelt lyrics, it expresses the beauty of the moon floating in the autumn night sky.

The way the moon appears and disappears behind the clouds is depicted so vividly that you can almost see it before your eyes.

First published in 1911 as a Ministry of Education song, it has been sung for generations.

Many people may remember singing it during school music classes.

This piece can help older adults—who may find it harder to sense the seasons—feel the arrival of autumn.

It’s great for group singing, and also enjoyable with clapping or gentle movement.

An Apple’s SoliloquySakushi: Takeuchi Toshiko / Sakkyoku: Kawamura Mitsuyo

An Apple’s Soliloquy: Kasumi Midorisa sings a nursery rhyme

This is a children’s song released in 1940.

As the title suggests, it’s sung from an apple’s point of view, telling the apple’s feelings and memories from the time it’s harvested until it’s sold in a shop.

It’s a heartwarming, lovely song to listen to.

It’s said that Toshiko Takeuchi, who wrote the lyrics, composed it while in the hospital after seeing a get-well apple, and many people may have found themselves humming it while cooking.

It’s a nostalgic tune for older listeners, and plenty of people make apple dishes in autumn.

Why not try singing it again for the first time in a while?

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sasashina

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Homesickness on a JourneySakkyoku: Jon P. Oodowei / Yakushi: Inudou Kyuukei

Nostalgia for a Journey (Autumn Children’s Song / School Song)

The song “Nostalgia for a Journey,” translated from John P.

Ordway’s “Dreaming of Home and Mother,” features lyrics rendered by Gyūkei Indō, who left behind many translations of Western songs.

It sings of fond memories of one’s hometown scenery and family.

Even those living away from where they were born and raised may recall nostalgic scenes.

This is a piece we especially hope older adults will listen to in the season when the air turns chilly and we long for companionship.

Why not spend a long autumn night with its tender yet heartrending melody?

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mutō

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campfireSakushi: Tatsumi Seika / Sakkyoku: Watanabe Shigeru

Campfire - Vocals: AI Kiritan, AI Youko (with lyrics)

This is a winter song that evokes a heartwarming scene of everyone keeping warm together around a campfire.

It was introduced in 1941 on NHK’s radio program “Songs for Young Children” and became widely known after being sung on the network’s “The Singing Lady” in 1949.

In 2007, it was selected as one of Japan’s 100 Best Songs.

The piece is truly a song for children: its vocal range is designed to be easy for them to sing, and the repeated words convey the excitement of children gathered before the fire.

Singing it together may bring back nostalgic memories of days spent warming yourselves by a campfire.

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motherSakushi: Tanaka Nana / Sakkyoku: Nakada Yoshinao

Mother nursery rhyme with lyrics Mother

Speaking of May, it’s Mother’s Day—how about singing this children’s song, known for its gentle call to mothers? Written by lyricist Nana Tanaka and composed by Yoshinao Nakada, famed for classics like “Chiisai Aki Mitsuketa,” this piece portrays a mother’s warmth through the familiar scents of everyday life, such as laundry and cooking.

Since its release in 1954, its dialogue-like lyrics—reminiscent of a parent and child—have endeared it to listeners, making it a beloved classic across generations.

It conjures up scenes of home that everyone has experienced, wrapping you in a feeling of nostalgia.

During recreation time, why not hum it together while sharing memories of your mother?

Look up at the stars in the nightSakamoto Kyu

Miagete Goran Yoru No Hoshi Wo

“Look Up at the Night Stars” is a heartwarming song that finds hope while gazing at the night sky.

Kyu Sakamoto’s gentle voice tenderly embraces the struggles of young people during Japan’s period of rapid economic growth.

Released in 1963, it won the Composition Award at the 5th Japan Record Awards.

Beloved by many, it was even included in school textbooks.

If you hold hands and sing while looking up at the stars, your heart will surely be soothed.

Along with fond memories, why not feel the light of hope through this song?