[Minna no Uta] Beloved Across Generations: Nostalgic Classics and Popular Songs

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

At first, it’s not scary at all, but the song gradually takes on an eerie atmosphere.

And the ending is so traumatic that it might be too frightening unless you’re a bit older.

The outcome of continuing that dreamy journey of time travel might be scarier than many anime.

It’s even more chilling when it’s sung in a gentle female voice.

Kantarō the North Wind Kid

Kantarō the North Wind Kid

A classic winter song that makes you feel the chill of the season just by listening.

The part where they shout the name is especially memorable! You can sense the cold from the melody’s atmosphere and the lyrics describing the sound of the wind.

When the north wind whooshes in at the start of winter, it’s a song that makes adults and children alike think of Kantarō.

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I found a little sign of autumn.

I found a little sign of autumn.

This song is a classic representative of autumn.

Although it’s a children’s song, it’s sung with a wistful melody that captures the season’s melancholy atmosphere.

As the weather turns a bit cooler in autumn, it’s nice to sing this song while searching around your home for small signs of the season.

It’s a piece that lets you keenly feel Japan’s unique four seasons.

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King Kamehameha of the Southern Islands

[Popular Children's Songs for Summer Vacation] The Hamehameha Great King of the Southern Island / Minna no Uta (Covered by UtaSuta)

This song features a distinctive tropical-sounding melody.

We don’t often listen through all the lyrics, but in fact, the song says that not only the great king but every resident of this southern island was named Hamehameha! It’s one of those songs that, when you revisit the lyrics of something you casually sang as a child, you discover all sorts of new things.

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All mothersamerika min’yō

[Children’s Song] All the Horses / Daisuke Yokoyama

This is a song arranged for Japanese audiences from a folk tune that originated in 19th-century America.

Tomoko Nakayama’s Japanese lyrics pose questions like why a horse goes clip-clop as it runs and why a piglet’s tail curls—“no one knows why.” Easy-to-remember onomatopoeia is repeated to the rhythm, making it appealing and well-suited for creating parody verses.

Sung on NHK’s children’s programs, this piece has reached many homes and childcare settings through performances by Yuko Kanzaki and Osamu Sakata.

Combined with fingerplay or marching movements, it’s a perfect nursery song for parents and children to enjoy together.

Let’s go to the zoo.

Let’s Go to the Zoo (Okaasan to Issho) / Daisuke Yokoyama & Takumi Mitani

This is a song that celebrates the charm of the zoo that everyone loves.

I’m sure there were kids who begged their parents to actually take them to the zoo after hearing it.

Even listening to it again now, it’s the kind of song that makes you think, “Maybe I’ll go to the zoo this weekend.” How about heading to the zoo while listening to this nostalgic tune?

Mountain MusiciansDoitsu min’yō

[Children’s Song] Yama no Ongakuka / Daisuke Yokoyama

An endearing, picture book-like piece in which the animals of the forest become musicians and hold a concert.

In this song, mountain friends like squirrels and little birds appear one after another, each showing off their favorite instrument.

With a structure that layers on words imitating the timbre of the instruments, it carries a lively joy that makes your body start moving all on its own.

It became widely known in Japan after being featured in April 1964 on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” sung by Dark Ducks.

Since then, it has been sung for many years on educational programs and the like.

Part of its charm is that you can enjoy it with gestures and hand motions, too.