[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 Children's Songs] Carefully Selected Masterpieces Loved Across Generations! (21–30)
Morning on the Ranch
It was released in 1932.
It is said to have been modeled after Iwase Ranch in Fukushima Prefecture.
It has been featured on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” and a yogurt of the same name has also been released.
The lyrics depict a fresh and invigorating morning scene on a ranch, and the melody is expansive, making it a fitting song for the morning.
puff
The music was composed by Peter Yarrow and performed as a folk song by Peter, Paul & Mary.
Akiko Furyo’s Japanese translation appears in the third-grade elementary school music textbook.
It’s a song about a gentle monster, pairing a friendly melody with slightly wistful lyrics.
[Japanese School Songs] A Selection of Timeless Classics Loved Across Generations (31–40)
Osaka City Streetcar Song
A song with a pleasing seven-five rhythm invites you on a journey through springtime Osaka.
Starting in Umeda, it sings its way through the era’s celebrated spots—Dojima, Shinsaibashi, and on to Tempozan—so vividly that the city’s lively scenes come to life before your eyes.
Don’t you feel the excitement of people swaying along in the streetcars? It’s said this piece was created in 1908 as a PR song for the Osaka Municipal Tramway.
As you listen to its nostalgic melody, you can sense the bustle of the old, beloved “City of Water.”
Spring Stream
Published in 1912, it has been sung for over a century.
The lyrics were altered in 1942 and 1947.
Although it originally had three verses at the time of release, they were removed in the 1942 revision.
One can picture a spring brook with flowers blooming along the banks and small fish swimming.
OompapaSuginami Jidō Gasshōdan
It’s one of the songs from the musical “Oliver!”, and the Japanese translation by Miné Akira is widely known.
In addition to being broadcast by NHK with Peggy Hayama’s performance, it has also been sung by Kurumi Kobato.
It appears in elementary school textbooks as well, and its triple meter makes you want to move your body.
BELIEVE
It is the third ending theme of NHK’s “Ikimono Chikyū Kikō” (A Journey of Life on Earth), written and composed by Ryuichi Sugimoto.
After its release in 1998, it was arranged as a choral piece and has been sung in elementary and junior high schools.
The gently flowing melody gradually builds up, reaching its climax together with the English lyrics.
Dona Dona
The music was composed by the American Sholom Secunda in 1938, but the Japanese version is by Kazumi Yasui.
It is a song about a calf being taken to market, and its lyrics, together with the melancholy melody, gently sink into the heart.
It is included in elementary school textbooks.