From J-pop to folk songs! Popular and classic Okinawan tunes
For those of you looking for songs from Okinawa, this article introduces a wide variety of music related to the islands.
We’ve picked out everything from J-pop themed around Okinawa and Okinawan pops to traditional folk songs that have been passed down for generations.
Okinawan music is so captivating, isn’t it? From instruments like the sanshin and other traditional Japanese instruments to its distinctive vocal style—and that unmistakably Okinawan vibe!
Getting a bit musical here, but Okinawan music often uses a five-note scale known as the Ryukyu scale or the yo-nuki scale, built on the notes do–mi–fa–so–ti–do.
That very resonance of the Ryukyu scale is the secret behind the uniquely Okinawan atmosphere you feel in these songs!
Listen to the tracks we’re about to introduce and soak in the spirit of Okinawa.
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Ryukyuan Classical Music (1–10)
Tōfun Doi
This piece is a representative Ryukyuan folk song known as a kachāshī, featuring rapid sanshin playing.
It is one of the most popular songs in Ryukyuan folk music, sung by many artists, a standard finale for Eisa performances, and also a celebratory song.
“Tōshin Dōi” is said to mean “A trading ship from China has arrived.” It’s a song that evokes the old days of the Ryukyu Islands.
Sanzan-bushi
It is one of the pieces of Ryukyuan classical music and possesses the most sorrowful musical character.
The lyrics mean: “Whether this is truly real or not, my heart is stunned, as if I had been dreaming and then awoke in shock.” Along with Hisesu-ji, Komochi-bushi, Nakakaji-bushi, and Jukkai-bushi, it is a representative solo piece in the Ni-age mode.
In kumiodori (classical Ryukyuan dance-drama), it is often used in scenes depicting the sad parting of mother and child, or to express a person’s heart pushed to the depths of despair.
Akata Fu-bushi
Long ago, there was a married couple.
The wife found a job, but because it was limited to unmarried women, she lied that she was single and took the position.
There, she caught the king’s eye and became one of his ladies-in-waiting.
The husband learned of this, but could no longer bring himself to reveal that they were married.
Instead, he secretly slipped in from Akatamon to Uchihara to meet her in secret.
Before long, even those clandestine meetings became impossible, and it is said that the husband composed this poem expressing his feelings for his wife.
It could be called an ancient love song, one that sings of a helpless, heartrending love.
Onna-bushi
It is based on a poem by Onna Nabe, a female poet from the Ryukyu Kingdom era.
After seeing a posted notice that said “Do not leave the village,” issued to secure tax revenue and labor, she criticizes the government of the time by essentially saying, “Surely they can’t mean to forbid me from going to see my lover outside the village, can they?”
Akata Shuriden
This song is said to be a children’s tune that was sung during the Miroku-Umuke (Mīrukū Unkee) festival in Akata, Shuri, Naha City, Okinawa, a ceremony centered around the Ishikawa family since the Ryukyu Kingdom era.
Although it died out in the early Showa period, it began to be sung again in 1994.
It was also broadcast on NHK Educational TV as one of the children’s songs known nationwide, so some of you may have heard it.