Nursery rhymes and fingerplay songs to enjoy in May! Songs perfect for the fresh green season
May is the season when fresh green leaves shine brightly and playing outside becomes so much fun.
On walks, you can hear many little birds and feel the pleasant breeze, which lifts your spirits.
At times like that, why not spend the moment singing children’s songs that let you feel the joys of spring?
We’re introducing many songs—from ones that capture the comfortable feeling of May to tunes perfect for spring field trips and fun outings.
Let’s sing children’s songs that you can enjoy together with May’s nature—everyone with friends and family!
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- [Children’s Day Hand-Play Songs] A Collection of Nursery Rhymes & Traditional Children’s Songs for Parents and Kids to Enjoy Together
- [For Seniors] Songs to Sing in Refreshing May When the Fresh Green Shines
- Memories gifted with the songs of May: timeless spring classics and moving tales of music
- [Children’s Songs for June] Fun finger-play songs and traditional nursery rhymes perfect for the rainy season
- [Karaoke Songs for May] A list of classic tracks that capture the lingering spirit of spring and the arrival of early summer
- Blow away the May blues! Cheer songs and feel-good tunes to listen to in May
- March nursery rhymes & hand play songs! Spring songs you can enjoy with your kids
- [For Seniors] Spring Songs You'll Want to Hum: Feel the Season with Nostalgic Classics
- Spring songs from the early Showa era: a collection of kayōkyoku and shōka that evoke spring
- [Hand Play] Popular with kids! A collection of trendy hand-play songs and nostalgic traditional children’s songs
Nursery rhymes and fingerplay songs to enjoy in May! Perfect songs for the fresh green season (21–30)
Summer has comeSakushi: Sasaki Nobutsuna / Sakkyoku: Koyama Sakunosuke
It’s still a little early for summer, but May is when we start to feel summer in the warm weather.
Perfect for May, the beginning of early summer, is the song “Natsu wa Kinu.” At first glance, “kinu” might make you think that summer hasn’t come, but in old Japanese usage it actually means “summer has come.” The lyrics mention various things you can see in May.
When you start seeing many of those things, you really feel that summer is just around the corner.
That sentiment is woven into the song.
It might be nice to go out and look for the early-summer scenery that appears in May, just like in the lyrics!
motherSakushi: Tanaka Nana / Sakkyoku: Nakada Yoshinao
The children’s song “Okaasan” (Mother), perfect for Mother’s Day, sings about a kind mother.
The child tells their mother she smells nice and realizes that the scent comes from the household chores she does every day for them.
A mother filled with such lovely scents deserves nothing but gratitude! How about trying to do some of those chores yourself on Mother’s Day? She will surely be happy—not only because you help with the chores, but also because she can see how you’re growing by taking the initiative.
Nursery rhymes and fingerplay songs to enjoy in May! Perfect songs for the fresh green season (31–40)
Koinobori Swimming Through Space!machi akari
Koinobori is a custom that started in the Edo period, said to have begun among samurai families to pray for the healthy growth of boys.
Nowadays, people raise them to wish for children’s health regardless of gender.
The famous song “Koinobori” is such a well-known nursery rhyme that every Japanese person can sing it.
Do you know a fun song that’s like a parody of that “Koinobori”? Akari Machi’s “Swimming Through Space! Koinobori” tells the story of carp streamers swimming beyond rooftops, past the clouds, and all the way into outer space.
It even has a proper punchline where they get hungry and come back home, making it a real delight.
Listen once and you might get hooked!
soap bubbleSakushi: Noguchi Ujō / Sakkyoku: Nakayama Shinpei
It’s a classic children’s song that straightforwardly portrays the scene of playing with soap bubbles.
The bubbles, reflecting light and soaring beautifully, can also prompt us to notice the surrounding scenery.
In early summer, when the plants are a vivid green and the sky a deep blue—especially in May—soap bubbles look particularly beautiful.
The song expresses a pure wish for the bubbles to keep flying without ever popping, conveying the joy and excitement of engaging with them.
Because it evokes the image of children playing with soap bubbles, it seems perfectly suited as a song to represent Children’s Day as well.
On the busSakushi sakkyoku: Taniguchi Kunihiro
May is a month with more chances to go on field trips a little farther by bus.
This song, “On the Bus,” makes those boring bus rides fun.
It sings about all the different movements you experience on a bus—turning right and left on curves, going up and down hills, and more.
You can move your body up, down, left, and right to match the lyrics’ motions, raise your hands to show the bus going farther and farther, or act out a countdown—so instead of just singing, you can enjoy the time by moving your whole body.
The song even describes arriving at the destination at the end, so after repeating the song several times, try to have the song “arrive” right when you actually reach your destination!
Oh, the pastures are greenLyrics: Czechoslovak folk song · Ugo Nakada / Composition: Czechoslovak folk song
In the fresh, shimmering greens of May, a song that’s perfect for singing while feeling nature’s warmth is the Czechoslovak folk song “Oh, the Meadows Are Green.” In Japan, the lyrics written by pastor Ugo Nakata are widely known, and the song gained popularity after being featured on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” in 1961.
The lyrics, which describe how the snow melts as winter turns to spring and nourishes the growing greenery, let you feel the changing of the seasons.
Enjoy the spirit of May and sing it out with lots of energy!
The Hill Where Mandarin Orange Blossoms BloomSakushi: Katō Shōgo / Sakkyoku: Kainuma Minoru
When it comes to winter foods to enjoy by the kotatsu, mikan (mandarin oranges) are a must! Before the fruit forms, mikan trees begin to bloom around early May.
This children’s song, which evokes the sight of hills covered with lots of cute white mikan blossoms, is absolutely perfect for May! The lyrics—reminiscing about a mother while looking at ships and islands seen from a place filled with blooming mikan flowers—also make it fitting for Mother’s Day.
There’s even a slightly challenging hand-play version of this song, so it might be fun to try it together with Mom on Mother’s Day!