Folksongs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes of Fukushima: the heart of our hometown passed down in song
The Tohoku region has traditionally been rich in folk songs.
Since ancient times, there have been festival songs and the like that are rooted in the local land.
Many of these songs are ones that everyone from the area would know, but this time we’ve gathered pieces to help more people appreciate the beauty of folk music.
Younger people and others may not be very familiar with it nowadays, so I’d be happy if this sparks your interest!
Folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes of Fukushima: The enduring heart of our hometown (1–10)
Niida Rice-Planting SongSukagawa Shiritsu Niida Shōgakkō & Taue-odori Hozonkai
A traditional performing art handed down in the Niida district of Sukagawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, it is still kept alive mainly by local residents.
At Sukagawa Municipal Niida Elementary School, fourth- and fifth-grade students play a central role in carrying on the tradition of the rice-planting dance.
The dance embodies prayers for the growth of rice and a bountiful harvest, and the rice-planting song is even referenced in Matsuo Bashō’s Narrow Road to the Deep North.
Sōma Packhorse Driver’s SongSaitō Hajime
This is a folk song that was sung while leading not just one or two, but more than ten horses from the Sōma region to horse markets such as Shirakawa.
You can picture the quiet scene early in the morning, with mist everywhere you look in the mountain landscape.
Still, one can’t help but say that the skill of handling dozens of high-strung horses is truly remarkable.
Soap bubbles flewaikou mika
Although the widely known songwriter Ujo Noguchi was born in Ibaraki Prefecture, during his eventful life he lived for a time in Yumoto, Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, a place famous for its hot springs.
He became tea-drinking friends with the young proprietress of a long-established inn that still exists today, and afterward wrote the children’s song “Yoiyoi Yokocho.” This poem was inspired by watching the moon change shape morning, noon, and night along the narrow lanes of the hot-spring district.
I couldn’t find a URL for it, so I chose a version you can hear in Yumoto, Iwaki City, where the Ujo Noguchi Memorial Museum is located.
dragonfly glassesKondō Yoshiko
Dragonflies have become a rare sight in the city center, but these lyrics were written by Dr.
Seishi Nukaga, a physician who lived in Hirono Village, Naraha District, Fukushima (now Hirono Town, Futaba District).
He composed them while out on house calls, after seeing children playing with dragonflies.
It’s a simple poem, but it’s a children’s song that makes one deeply feel that the blue sky and beautiful nature truly existed there.
Haguro-bushiten ten
There is also a Mount Haguro in Yamagata Prefecture, but the one sung about in this folk song is the “Mount Haguro” located on the border between Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture and Marumori Town in Miyagi Prefecture (pronounced Haguro-san).
In the Nara period, there was an ancient custom called utagaki, where young men and women gathered at specific times to sing; these became their lines for wooing each other.
It’s said that if you couldn’t express your feelings in the 5-7 rhythm and compose a love letter that reached the other person’s heart, you wouldn’t be popular.
Gen’nyo FestivalBaba Yukari
There are two theories: one says that village girls adored a handsome monk named Genjo and turned their feelings into song; the other says that village youths fell in love with a beautiful girl named Genjo and sang about her.
It is a folk song handed down in the Aizu region, but it is said to be rarely sung today.
In fact, it’s a fairly complex folk song featuring call-and-response between male and female voices.
At present, a person named Inomata Tomeno is the sole bearer of the tradition, but it seems difficult to perform every part alone, especially the call-and-response.
I hope that someone will reliably inherit it in the future.
Koriyama Mochitsuki SongTakahashi Ryu Hideki Yokai
It’s a folk song handed down in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, but there are folk songs called “Mochitsuki-uta” (rice cake pounding songs) all over the country.
In fact, Fukushima Prefecture also has the “Aizu Mochitsuki-uta,” and without a place name attached, it can be hard to tell them apart.
What they have in common is that they are sung on celebratory occasions.
At first glance, since pounding mochi is fairly hard work, I thought the songs were meant for that task, but they are sung at weddings, festivals, and housewarming celebrations for new construction.
Come to think of it, at framework-raising ceremonies, in some regions people throw mochi.
That might be related.