[Japanese Children's Songs] Carefully selected timeless masterpieces loved across generations!
Japanese shoka—songs everyone has hummed at least once—include classics like “Furusato,” “Haru no Ogawa,” and “Momiji.” The nostalgic melodies we learned in music class or sang with friends in childhood stay with us no matter how much time passes.
These works, which sing of seasonal landscapes and everyday scenes, are filled with the sensibilities of the Japanese people.
In this article, we introduce a selection of shoka that have been sung across generations.
Just seeing the titles will make you want to start singing—be sure to check out these beloved Japanese classics.
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[Japanese Shoka] Carefully Selected Timeless Classics Loved Across Generations (71–80)
Blue-Eyed Doll
It is said to be a song about the first time American dolls appeared in Japan, meant to build friendship between Japan and the United States.
Do the lyrics, which depict the anxiety of coming to Japan and not understanding anything, also express, from a Japanese perspective, the bewilderment of not really understanding Americans?
A gentle green breezehibari jidō gasshōdan
It gives a refreshing and very bright feeling.
A soft, springtime scene comes to mind.
Whether you’re in a meadow or by a stream, whatever you’re doing, a sense of comfort comes through.
It was at the 70th anniversary concert of the Hibari Children’s Chorus; they’re adults now, but their singing voices are still beautiful.
Summer has comeZa · Pīnattsu
It seems the piece was created quite a long time ago, but since we’ve been singing it at school all along, it doesn’t feel dated.
That’s probably how much it has continued to be loved.
Summertime traditions flit through the lyrics, breezily announcing the season’s arrival.
The Peanutts’ song choice was unexpected.
The unadorned harmony is lovely.
I found a little sign of autumn.bonījakkusu
I felt that this song captures the moments when, in the midst of playing or going about daily life, something you hear, feel, or see suddenly makes you sense autumn.
Maybe it’s called a “little autumn” because it’s a feeling that belongs only to oneself.
We often sang this song in the school chorus, too.
I think it’s a song that enriches the heart.
Watermill in the ForestNamiki Michiko
It’s a lively, bouncy song.
It says, “Let’s work happily—the waterwheel keeps moving without rest while singing.” It feels like it encourages us, saying that someday our efforts will be rewarded.
The waterwheel is always working at a relaxed pace.
It seems this cheerful song was banned from release during the strongly wartime period.
That Town, This TownKuboki Sachiko
By the famed duo Shinpei Nakayama and Ujo Noguchi, this is another song that brings back memories of childhood, a melody I’ve long been familiar with.
That said, viewing it now through adult eyes, I can’t help but wonder how far these children must have wandered for the sun to set and the stars to come out—were they so completely absorbed in their play?
Plover on the BeachSakushi: Kashima Naruaki / Sakkyoku: Hirota Ryūtarō
It is said to be inspired by the coast of Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture.
It’s a quiet piece, yet it feels somewhat melancholy.
Perhaps that’s because it’s searching for its parent.
More than the beauty of the plovers on the beach, what lingers is the sorrow of disappearing beyond the sea.
In the Taisho era, it seems that many different types of lyrics were being published.