[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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- [Local Songs] Recommended tracks packed with Japan’s nationwide classics and hometown pride
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[Japanese Shoka] Carefully Selected Timeless Classics Loved Across Generations (71–80)
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.
Height comparisonSatoko Koga
I can feel the relaxed, close-knit bond between siblings from that era.
It also reminded me of the marks on our house’s pillar where we measured our height.
The second song, of all things, sings about comparing height with a mountain, which I found endearing.
I sensed Japan’s original landscape and a good, nostalgic time.
This roadOhnuki Taeko
The atmosphere is quite different from the image I’d had of this song until now.
Rather than a “path of memories,” it feels like a grown woman quietly walking, step by step, along the road she once traveled.
You can even feel a sense of life in it.
The setting seems to be Hokkaido and perhaps Kumamoto, and it feels as though it calmly speaks to us about life.
Desert of the MoonYamazaki Hako
I was surprised at first—Hako-san singing this song? But as I listened, I felt a deep drama in the vocals.
It didn’t feel like the usual fairytale of a prince and princess; it seemed to carry a more tragic tone, and I genuinely wondered where the two of them were headed.
Hako-san’s expressive power is amazing!