[Japanese Children's Songs] Carefully selected timeless masterpieces loved across generations!

Ninomiya Kinjiro

Ninomiya Kinjiro — Ministry of Education Song

This children’s song portrays the childhood of a great figure who, while diligently doing household chores and studying late into the night without neglect, eventually became someone who saved others.

Included in the 1911 collection “Elementary School Songs for the Second Year,” it expresses Confucian values such as diligence and frugality, care for one’s family, and a passion for learning, all in simple language and a straightforward melody.

The image of a boy reading a book with firewood on his back is etched in the memories of many Japanese people.

It’s a song that teaches the importance of maintaining a positive, hard-working attitude even in difficult circumstances.

Konoha (tree leaves / leaves of a tree)

Konoha (Tree Leaves) – Ordinary Elementary School Songs, “For First Grade”

This is a children’s song that carefully follows, from a child’s perspective, a single leaf carried by the wind as it gets caught in a spider’s web and falls onto the surface of a pond.

Included in The Elementary School Songbook (Volume 1), published by the Ministry of Education in May 1911, it humorously portrays scenes from the lives of small creatures in nature—like a spider mistaking the leaf for prey and approaching it, or a carp rising to the surface thinking it is food.

It’s a perfect song for early childhood settings where children connect with nature while gathering autumn leaves, or for moments when you want to quietly savor the changing seasons.

scarecrow

Scarecrow | With Lyrics | The One-Legged Scarecrow in Yamada

This is a Ministry of Education song that personifies a one-legged figure standing in a rice field, set against a rural landscape from the late Meiji era.

It humorously yet wistfully portrays the figure wearing a straw raincoat and hat even on sunny days and standing from morning till night, as well as being teased by crows.

It was included in the June 1911 collection “Songs for Ordinary Elementary School, Second Grade,” and was reintroduced into textbooks after the war in 1947.

Evoking the rice-harvest season, it’s a classic autumn repertoire piece—perfect for revisiting nostalgic satoyama scenes—and is often sung in sing-along salons at senior facilities and in early childhood settings.

Ushiwakamaru

Ushiwakamaru — Ordinary Elementary School Songbook, “For First Grade”

This is a Ministry of Education school song that celebrates the historic, iconic scene where the mighty Benkei meets a quick-witted boy on Kyoto’s Gojo Bridge.

Included in elementary school textbooks in 1911, it soon became beloved by children across Japan.

The story’s introduction, development, twist, and conclusion are masterfully contained within its three-verse structure, reflecting its high level of completion as an educational song.

The image of a small boy outwitting a giant through cleverness and courage has continued to captivate children’s hearts across generations.

Why not let the nostalgic melody carry your thoughts to Japan’s legends?

Adorable foalSakushi: Satō Hachirō / Sakkyoku: Niki Takio

Adorable Foal - Children's Song - Showa-era Song - Radio Kayō / National Kayō - With Lyrics

This song warmly portrays the life of a foal and a child, while carrying a curious, poignant sense of the times quietly creeping in.

You dry the foal’s wet mane, run together, and eventually part ways.

Such scenes unfold alongside rhythmic calls and responses.

The lyricist, Hachirō Satō, was active across a wide range from children’s songs to popular music, and the composer, Takio Niki, was a seasoned talent also known for film scores.

The work was released in December 1940 and broadcast nationwide the following January 1941 on NHK’s “National Songs.” It is closely connected to the film “Uma” (Horse), and has long been loved, later even featured in animated films.

Singing it as a family invites reflections on life in earlier times, and in early childhood settings it can be enjoyed as a play activity by imitating a foal’s movements.

Born on this planet

Born on This Planet [Chorus] With Lyrics

Composed and written by Ryuichi Sugimoto, it was the second ending theme song for the program “Ikimono Chikyū Kikō,” included on a CD in 1996.

With the message “Don’t give up on your dreams,” its grand-scale lyrics and flowing, beautiful melody have made it widely cherished and sung.

Summer Memorieshaida shouko

Shoko Haida “Summer Memories” – Parent–Child Performance with Her Pianist Father, Masaki! (Full) [Official]

I feel like I learned both the name of the place Oze and the flower skunk cabbage from this song.

The piece itself seems to be quite old, but I think I got to know it through “Minna no Uta.” The lyrics, which sing of memories of Oze, bring to mind a serene and beautiful landscape.