Popular Okinawan Songs: Artist Rankings [2026]
A ranking of popular Okinawan songs and Okinawan artists.
Songs that embody the spirit of Okinawa—featuring the Okinawan scale or highlighting the sound of the sanshin with a tropical atmosphere—as well as hit tracks by popular artists from Okinawa, have made the list.
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- Recent songs sung by male vocalists in Japanese music [2026]
Popular Okinawan Songs. Artist Rankings [2026] (71–80)
Irayoi Tsukiyo BeachOshima Yasukatsu71rank/position
This is an Okinawan song that evokes a sense of nostalgia.
It’s sung by Yasukatsu Oshima, a singer from Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture.
It was included on the 1993 album “Kitakaze Minamikaze” (“North Wind, South Wind”).
He was a high school classmate of BEGIN, one of Okinawa’s most renowned bands.
Through that connection, Higa Eisho handled the composition.
the beautiful moonDaiku Tetsuhiro72rank/position
This is a nighttime lullaby sung in the Yaebama region.
It is a song praising the beauty of the moon, saying that the moon on the thirteenth night—before it becomes full—is the most beautiful.
The same is said of women: the lyrics “miyarabi kaisha to onanatsu (Onna warabi misha 17)” mean that a young woman around seventeen, not yet fully mature, is considered the most beautiful.
This song is used as the departure melody at Furujima Station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail.
No Woman, No CryDaitōjin73rank/position
This is a cover of Bob Marley’s classic “No Woman, No Cry” in Uchināguchi (Okinawan).
The lyrics are completely different from the original and the song has been arranged as an Okinawan piece, which was extremely striking.
It is performed by three princesses from the Daitō Islands.
Basho-fu (traditional Okinawan banana-fiber cloth)Ota Rumi & Inami Isamu74rank/position
A song that is unusual for Okinawan folk music in that its lyrics are sung mainly in Japanese.
“Washita shima Uchinā” means “my island, Okinawa.” The title’s bashōfu (banana-fiber cloth) was commonly used for the clothing of ordinary people in Okinawa.
The piece is crafted to evoke an overall Okinawan atmosphere.
It is used as the departure melody at Gibo Station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail.
Yui-YuiYamakawa Mayumi75rank/position
It’s a song that was aired around 1992 on “Hirake! Ponkikki.” It’s memorable for an Okinawan girl singing while riding a sabani, a traditional Okinawan boat.
The word “yuimaaru,” which appears many times in the song, is an Okinawan dialect term that means cooperation and mutual help.
Scenes reflecting that idea also appear in the song, and although it was used in a children’s program, it’s a song that reminds us that people live by helping one another.
Women Workers’ DayWagōku Yoriko76rank/position
This is a song born in the midst of the Great Depression, just before the outbreak of the Pacific War.
At that time, especially in the Hanshin region, many young workers fled Okinawa’s food shortages and moved to the Japanese mainland.
In particular, women were used as cheap labor.
It is a sorrowful song about those women who left Okinawa and the harsh lives they endured on the mainland.
FamreutaShin Ara Yukito77rank/position
This is the Okinawan lullaby “Famureuta.” It’s sung by Yukito Ara, a musician from Ishigaki Island, who is also well-known as the lead vocalist of the band Parsha Club.
His deep, resonant voice really touches the heart.
It’s a song you’ll want to listen to leisurely at night.