Masterpieces that sing about play. Recommended popular songs.
We’ve put together a collection of songs themed around childhood games like hide-and-seek, marbles, swings, and paper airplanes.
Packed with bittersweet nostalgia for the games everyone has experienced and the tender, aching feelings of childhood, this playlist is full of heart-tugging tracks.
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Classic songs about play. Recommended popular tracks (31–40)
sparklersadamasashi
It’s a song released by Masashi Sada in 1976 as his solo debut.
In Sada’s hometown of Nagasaki, a large number of fireworks are set off on the night of the Spirit Boat Procession (Shōrō-nagashi), and after the procession people customarily enjoy more subdued fireworks like sparklers.
This masterpiece evokes those scenes and the late-summer landscape.
Janken Traintsuruno takeshi
This song is included on Takeshi Tsuruno’s first mini-album, “Churuno Uta,” which was released in 2011.
It was used as the ending theme for Fuji TV’s CG anime “Chuggington,” and the “Rock-Paper-Scissors Train Dance” that plays during the ending became very popular among children.
amusement parkyuzu
This song is included on Yuzu’s second mini album, “Yuzuman,” released in 1998.
Written and composed by Koji Iwasawa, it was performed during their 10th-anniversary live tour, and the track opens with audio that sounds like it was recorded at an amusement park.
Jigsaw puzzleSonin
It was released in 2004 as Sonim’s sixth single.
The acoustic guitar in the song is played by Sonim herself, and the lyrics and composition were handled by THETA, from the same agency, whom Asuka Fukuda (a former Morning Musume member) introduced to Wada.
It reached No.
9 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.
Life Hide-and-SeekItsuki Hiroshi
This is a song released by Hiroshi Itsuki in 1981, with lyrics by Taka Takashi and music composed by Tetsuya Gen.
It expresses the sorrow of a man’s broken heart and is one of Itsuki’s early signature songs.
The song won the Gold Prize at the 23rd Japan Record Awards.
Timeless songs about play: Recommended popular tracks (41–50)
Hide-and-seekHoriuchi Takao
It was released in 2002 as Takao Horiuchi’s 47th single.
The song was used as the theme for the TV Asahi drama Hagure Keiji Junjōha, and it was performed at the 53rd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 2002.
The lyrics were written by Toyohisa Araki, and the music was composed by Takao Horiuchi himself.
block playShiina Ringo
A track included on Ringo Sheena’s debut studio album, Muzai Moratorium, released in 1999.
The song features a synthesizer using a koto-like timbre, and despite being an album track, it also received a music video.
It’s a piece that showcases Ringo Sheena’s remarkable talent.