Nostalgic Children’s Songs, Folk Songs, and Nursery Rhymes: The Heart of Japan Passed Down Through Song

All mothersamerika min’yō

[Children’s Song] All the Horses / Daisuke Yokoyama

This is a song arranged for Japanese audiences from a folk tune that originated in 19th-century America.

Tomoko Nakayama’s Japanese lyrics pose questions like why a horse goes clip-clop as it runs and why a piglet’s tail curls—“no one knows why.” Easy-to-remember onomatopoeia is repeated to the rhythm, making it appealing and well-suited for creating parody verses.

Sung on NHK’s children’s programs, this piece has reached many homes and childcare settings through performances by Yuko Kanzaki and Osamu Sakata.

Combined with fingerplay or marching movements, it’s a perfect nursery song for parents and children to enjoy together.

Ten thousand feet in the Alps

[Official Pokémon] Nursery Rhyme “Alps Ichiman-jaku” – Pokémon Kids TV [Children’s Song]

When it comes to hand-clapping songs played face-to-face by two people, this is probably the one everyone thinks of.

Its melody originates from the American marching song “Yankee Doodle,” but the snappy Japanese lyrics give it a unique charm.

The “Koyari” mentioned in the lyrics refers to a rocky peak near the summit of Mount Yarigatake in the Japanese Alps, at an elevation of around 3,000 meters.

The song paints a grand scene of dancing in such a place.

It spread nationwide after being featured on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” in August 1962.

It’s perfect for livening up a hand-clapping game by changing the tempo, and if you sing it while hiking or camping, the landscape will overlap with the world of the lyrics, making for unforgettable memories!

seaSakushi: Hayashi Ryūha / Sakkyoku: Inoue Takeshi

[Children’s Song] Umi (The Sea) / Daisuke Yokoyama

A well-known school song that conjures up vivid images of the vast blue sea.

It’s also famous that lyricist Ryuha Hayashi and composer Takeshi Inoue both came from Gunma Prefecture, which has no coastline.

Perhaps that’s why the piece overflows with pure awe and longing for a scene they encountered for the first time.

Introduced in a Ministry of Education textbook in 1941, it was later selected in 2007 as one of the “100 Best Japanese Songs.” Many people may find childhood memories of singing it coming back.

It’s a classic that brings gentle moments, inviting parents and children to hum along together.

Zuizui Zukkorobashi

Zuizui Zukkorobashi (with gestures) — Zuizui Zukkorobashi, sesame-miso paste; chased into the teapot, toppinshan 〜 (Children’s song, by request)

There is also a theory that it recounts events from the Tea Jar Procession, and, as expected of the era of “kirisute-gomen” (the right to cut down and ask no questions), it is a song reflecting a time when even children were shown no mercy.

The procession that presented the year’s first tea to the shogun was called the Tea Jar Procession; people would snap their doors shut and hold their breath, waiting for the line to pass—a song about a life-or-death moment.

It was also often sung when deciding who would be ‘it’ in children’s games.

Mother in the EveningSakushi: Satou Hachirou／Sakkyoku: Nakata Yoshinao

Evening Mother (♬ The kanakana cicadas chirped in the distance) by Himawari 🌻 with lyrics | Children's song | Evening mom |

Another classic autumn song by lyricist Hachiro Sato and composer Yoshinao Nakada, the creators of “Kawaii Kakurenbo” (Cute Hide-and-Seek) and “Chiisai Aki Mitsuketa” (I Found Little Autumn).

This piece portrays the somewhat lonely scenery of an autumn evening and the warmth of a mother felt within it.

With the gentle, heart-penetrating melodies so characteristic of Yoshinao Nakada, it resonates deeply with listeners.

The work spread through radio and other media in the 1950s, and can be heard on albums such as “Yoshinao Nakada: Selected Children’s Songs – Kawaii Kakurenbo / Medaka no Gakko.” There is a touching anecdote that at Hachiro Sato’s funeral in 1973, all the attendees sang the song accompanied by Nakada himself on piano—an episode that conveys the depth of their bond and the special power of this song.

It is a tender, embracing piece, perfect for moments of thinking about family on an autumn evening.

Ongo

Ongoku ~Bon Song~ Osaka Children's Song III

It’s a nostalgic children’s song that conjures up the scene of kids parading in a line through the streets of Osaka on a summer evening.

An anonymous traditional song, it was preserved in a valuable recording on the album Folk Songs of Osaka, published by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education in 1990.

Beyond the bustling image of the “nation’s kitchen,” you may discover another side of Osaka in the voices of children that once echoed through its back alleys.

It’s a song that evokes the warm spirit of a bygone hometown.

The scenery of the whole world

Hifu-mi-yo (the scenery of the four directions)

A play song long cherished in Osaka, it carries a warmth you can feel as you listen.

It celebrates the arrival of spring, conjuring a serene scene of watching a bush warbler chirp on a plum branch.

The wordplay that links the warbler’s call with the Lotus Sutra also shines with the refined wit unique to people of the past.

Listening to this piece, you can almost hear the innocent voices of children echoing through the town long ago.