Beautiful Folk Songs Passed Down in Miyagi Prefecture: A Collection of Masterpieces that Play the Heart of the Hometown
The many folk songs that live on in Miyagi Prefecture are sonic treasures that vividly reflect Tohoku’s culture and the lives of its people.
From mountain songs set against majestic peaks to fishermen’s songs praising the bounty of the sea, the rich voices born from the land and people’s way of life can still be heard across the region.
This article brings together folk songs from Miyagi, centered around Sendai.
Why not lend an ear to the gentle melodies imbued with the feelings of our forebears—melodies that evoke the changing seasons, the bustle of festivals, and the joys of farm work?
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Beautiful Folk Songs Handed Down in Miyagi Prefecture: A Collection of Masterpieces That Play the Heart of the Hometown (1–10)
Sendai Yoshiko’s
It’s a folk song that brings to mind the tranquil landscapes of Miyagi Prefecture and the warm-hearted people who live there.
The simple tones of the shamisen and shakuhachi evoke scenes of the region—the majestic mountains and the bounty of the sea.
This piece has been recorded multiple times by master folk musicians and has been lovingly passed down through the present day.
It’s perfect for moments when you’re thinking of your hometown or want to immerse yourself in traditional Japanese sounds.
The gentle vocals, imbued with the labors and joys of our predecessors, seem to slowly seep into the heart.
Great Haul Chant
This is one of Miyagi’s signature folk songs, known for its spirited calls and powerful vocals that seem to resonate through the earth.
The lyrics proudly sing of local landmarks such as Matsushima and Ishinomaki, conveying both the joy of people who live with the bounty of the sea and a deep affection for their homeland.
It was familiar to many as the arrival chime at JR Tohoku Shinkansen’s Sendai Station until 1991, and the band NeoBallad has also created a modern arrangement titled “Tairyo Utaikomi ~Saitaro-bushi~.” You can enjoy it in many ways—by joining voices with friends to feel a sense of unity, or by letting it evoke the majestic landscapes of Miyagi.
Weeding Song of Miyagita
This song, born from people encouraging each other through the grueling task of weeding rice fields, carries the earthy scent of Miyagi.
You can feel the resilience and warmth of those who tried to brighten the monotonous, back-bending work through the power of song.
Over the years, it has been passed down not only by locals but also by various folk singers.
Why not listen to this simple melody—one that has accompanied people’s lives—while picturing the tranquil rural landscapes of Miyagi? If you play it when you’re working hard at something, it will surely give you a gentle push forward.
Beautiful Folk Songs Handed Down in Miyagi Prefecture | A Collection of Masterpieces that Play the Heart of the Hometown (11–20)
Millstone Grinding Song
This is a work song from the Senhoku region in northern Miyagi Prefecture, conveying both the harshness of farm labor and the breath of the people who lived it.
Born from the backbreaking task of hulling rice, the song proclaims a universal truth: even when a job may look easy at first glance, every kind of work comes with hardship.
Its powerful melodic turns evoke the image of our forebears silently facing grueling labor.
Simple yet deeply moving, the tune reminds us of the dignity of everyday life.
Why not listen to it when you want to connect with the unpretentious spirit of the people rooted in their homeland?
Summer Mountain SongMizuho Akemi
This is the folk song “Natsu no Yama-uta” (Summer Mountain Song), hummed while cutting miscellaneous firewood in the rural mountain villages of Kurokawa and Monou District.
It is said that as the jinku verses of a sake-feast song came to be sung outdoors, the melody took on a more relaxed phrasing.
Before the war it was called the “Grass-Cutting Song,” and it is a kind of “Grass-Cutting Packhorse Driver’s Song” that was sung in farming villages in the Miyagi, Monou, and Kurokawa district areas during summer grass-cutting trips.
Nagaochi-uta (Long-Mochi Song)
It is said that the “Nagamochi-uta” originally was the “Kumosuke-uta,” songs sung by itinerant men known as kumosuke—homeless porters who carried palanquins and stayed around post stations in the Edo period.
Farmers conscripted as laborers for the daimyo’s alternate attendance learned these songs, and after returning home, passed them down; this is what came to be known as the “Nagamochi-uta.”
Jūsan-hama Jinku
This is the folk song “Jūsanhama Jinku,” handed down in the Jūsanhama area facing Nabeuri Bay in Ogatsu Town, Monou District, on the northern part of Kinkasan Island, which floats in the Pacific off Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture.
The song was sung by fishermen as a raucous drinking song.
It is a type of “Hama Jinku” known throughout the Sanriku coast, and is closely related to other Miyagi folk songs such as “Tōjima Jinku.”