[Children's Songs] Cute songs recommended for childcare. List of popular nursery rhymes.

Tanuki of Fist Mountain

[Hand Play] Mr. Raccoon Dog of Fist Mountain ♪ (Marika) 1

“Genkotsuyama no Tanukisan” is well known not only as a Japanese children’s song but also as a hand-play song.

Since the hand motions are simple, you can do it with small children, and it’s an easy tune to remember.

It’s also sung as a game for playing rock–paper–scissors.

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kurichan

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Song of a little bird

Song of a little bird

It’s a cute children’s song about a little bird calling its father and mother with its chirps.

It was released in 1954.

The lyrics were written by Jun’ichi Yoda, a children’s author from Fukuoka Prefecture.

The composer, Yasushi Akutagawa, also wrote music for films such as Hakkōda-san and Village of Eight Gravestones.

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Araki Jakkan

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Elephant’s hat

Elephant’s Hat (♪ The elephant forgot and left it behind ~) by Himawari 🌻 With Lyrics | Cute Nursery Rhyme to Soothe Crying Babies – From “With Mother” | Zo-san no Bōshi | Elephant’s Hat

It’s a song about a baby kitten, a piglet, and a raccoon dog pup one after another climbing into an elephant’s forgotten hat.

It starts with just one, but more and more keep joining in, and just imagining the animals packed tightly inside the hat is funny.

Not only that, singing each animal’s cry the same number of times as the number of animals helps children learn numbers.

By using animals kids love and their sounds, it makes learning numbers fun.

But in the end, there are even five raccoon dog pups inside the elephant’s hat.

Just how big is it? After singing with the children, it might be fun to expand on the image and talk about it together.

Sparrows Samba

Sparrow Samba (With Mother) / Tetsu Kashiwa, Saeko Shuu, Akira Hayashi

It sings about three sparrows dancing in various places.

You can just picture the adorable scene.

As the title suggests, it’s an upbeat, samba-style song.

The lyrics and music are by Tetsu Kashiwa, who is active as a singer-songwriter and novelist.

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Araki Jakkan

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Horse’s tail, pig’s tail.Sakushi: Abe Hitomi / Sakkyoku: Yamamoto Naozumi

Horse tails, pig tails

Broadcast on NHK’s Minna no Uta in August 1983, this song is a humorous children’s tune themed around the tails of a horse and a pig.

Written by Hitomi Abe and composed by Naosumi Yamamoto, it was selected as an outstanding piece in NHK’s Children’s Song Lyrics and Composition Contest.

The story charmingly likens a boy’s puppy-love—teasing the girl he likes—to animal tails, sweetly capturing that childish urge to tug on her pigtails.

Sung by Kyu Sakamoto and the NHK Tokyo Children’s Choir, it became well-loved and was rebroadcast in 2010 and 2015.

There are also covers by various artists, including Seiji Tanaka, and it is widely sung in kindergarten and nursery school choirs.

Its lively melody and catchy refrain make it perfect for parents and children to sing together.

Mr. Elephant

[Children’s Song] Elephant / Daisuke Yokoyama

In this song, Michio Mado’s poem is set to a gentle triple-meter melody by Ikuma Dan.

Through the image of a baby elephant, teased for its long trunk, proudly replying, “My mother’s is the same,” it tenderly conveys a heart that embraces differences.

In the 2003 “Favorite Children’s Songs” ranking, it placed seventh and has continued to be loved across generations.

It has been included in many collections, such as King Records’ “Zō-san — Michio Mado Children’s Song Collection [White Jubilee Commemoration]” and Nippon Columbia’s “Michio Mado Works — Zō-san.” It’s a song to hum along with someone dear to you, nurturing a spirit that cherishes your own individuality.

Horse lessonswarabeuta

[Warabe-uta] The Horse’s Practice (a play where you do it for the child)

This is a very short traditional children’s song themed around horses.

With the chant “Onma-san no okeiko” (“Horsey’s practice”) and simple counting, it’s enjoyed as a movement play activity: seating a child on a parent’s lap to bounce them up and down, or carrying them on the back and walking slowly like a horse.

In January 2008, a roughly 25‑second version sung by Emiko Kobayashi was included on the album Warabe-uta, Nekase-uta: Songs to Nurture Babies’ Hearts and Bodies, and it has since been widely used in childcare settings.

Because the short phrases repeat, you can sing it over and over while watching the child’s reactions, making it perfect for deepening parent–child bonding.

Try incorporating it in a variety of situations—as a warm-up, as an introduction to group activities, or as a hands-on playtime at home.