A classic song about Kumamoto. The enduring spirit of our hometown passed down through song.

Fire Country Little SongFuji Keiko

Fire Country Folk Song ★ Keiko Fuji

This is a song by Keiko Fuji, who is also known as the mother of Hikaru Utada.

The lyrics weave in famous tourist spots in Kyushu, and you’re guaranteed to feel like taking a trip around the island after listening! As for Kumamoto, it highlights Aso’s fiery mountains and the gallant spirit of Kumamoto men.

Battens and BaterenKatte ni Kankō Kyōkai

Kumamoto Prefecture Local Song “Batten Bateren” / Unauthorized Tourism Association

When the spirit and warmth of Kumamoto are rendered by Jun Miura and Hajime Anzai, they turn into such a delightful and heartwarming local song.

This track sings about Kumamoto’s specialties and history—like horse sashimi, Mount Aso, and Amakusa Shirō—with affection, humor, and nostalgia.

The gentle tone of Miura’s guitalele and the cozy sense of place created by the “Ryoka-roku” inn recordings feel truly comforting.

It was included on the album “Vol.

1” in January 2003, and later featured on the February 2008 album “Katte ni Kankō Kyōkai Katte ni Gotōchi Song 47+1.” How about giving it a listen when you want to rediscover Kumamoto’s charm or are in the mood for music that warms the heart?

Hang in there, Kumamoto!Hayashida Kenji

Keep pushing, Kumamoto — for everyone.

An anthem born from the heartfelt wish for recovery after the Kumamoto earthquakes, bringing together the hopes of many.

Kenji Hayashida carefully transformed the real voices and earnest wishes of those affected into lyrics, creating this work together with the people of Kumamoto.

As symbolized by the Kumamoto dialect word meaning “hang in there,” it carries a warm yet powerful message of encouragement that speaks directly to the listener’s heart.

Included on the mini-album “Minna no Oto-gasane” released in January 2017, the song is deeply connected to support for the disaster-stricken areas, including Kumamoto Castle.

Enriched by the pure voices of the NHK Kumamoto Children’s Choir, it powerfully conveys undying love for one’s hometown and the bonds of people facing hardship.

It’s a song that gently stays by your side when your heart is about to break or when you long for human warmth, giving you a push toward tomorrow.

Aso Love Songsakushi: Matsumoto Yoshiro / sakkyoku: Mutsu Akira

Aso Love Song (Northern Outer Rim Version)

It’s a travel-evoking piece that brings to mind the morning and evening mists of Aso and the sight of horses crossing mountain passes.

Lyricist Yoshiro Matsumoto drew inspiration from a trip to Aso in 1948 (Showa 23), and composer Akira Mutsu set his gently nostalgic melody to those verses.

The work is said to have first been released as a record in 1961 (Showa 36), after which it was kept alive by tour bus guides and became a beloved departure melody at JR Aso Station.

Following the Kumamoto Earthquake, it also supported people’s spirits as a song of hope for recovery.

It’s a piece that will resonate deeply when you want to etch the emotions of a journey into your heart or be soothed by a melody that touches your heartstrings.

Batten LingoGaki Renjā

batten lingo

It’s a song by Gaki Ranger, a hip-hop group from Kumamoto Prefecture.

It’s an upbeat rap track, but all the lyrics are written in the Kumamoto dialect.

Many of their other songs are also in the Kumamoto dialect, and despite being in a regional dialect, they give off a very cool and uniquely captivating vibe.

Woman of the Land of FireSakamoto Fuyumi

The 10th Woman of the Land of Fire — Fuyumi Sakamoto

This is a song by Fuyumi Sakamoto, known for skillfully singing about women’s burning passions, as in the classic “Yozakura Osome.” It expresses the powerful feelings of a woman consumed by a fleeting love: “If you hold a woman, do it with the resolve to embrace fire!” Are women from Higo Province, Kumamoto, all passionate like this?

To the Land of FireIshikawa Sayuri

To the Land of Fire by Sayuri Ishikawa

A masterpiece by Sayuri Ishikawa that captivates listeners with her overwhelming vocal power.

It depicts the feelings of a woman traveling alone from Tokyo to Kumamoto—the land of fire—on a night train.

With a resolve to cast all the memories of their long years together into Mount Aso, an active volcano, and burn them to ashes, the song powerfully conveys a lingering attachment she can’t quite break away from.