Popular Okinawan Songs Ranking [2026]

Tōfun Doirinken bando78rank/position

Rinken Band: Kadeku ~ Tōfuné Dōi

This is a representative Kachāshī song.

It is performed almost without fail at events such as Eisa dances during the old Bon festival, banquets, and folk music taverns.

In the past, it was enjoyed as a fast-picked tune during ke-asobi, the leisure activities of young men and women.

It is also the departure melody at Tsubogawa Station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail.

Akata Shuriden79rank/position

"Akata Sun Dunchi" by Rimi Natsukawa

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.

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Be Nankuru-kunBEGIN80rank/position

BEGIN / Be Nankuru-kun (Music Video)

BEGIN captivates with a warm yet powerful sound that only three musicians from Ishigaki Island, Okinawa could create.

This piece, which closes their first masterful album in seven years, Taiyo (The Sun), is a song that deeply evokes the spirit of the island songs at their roots.

The Okinawan phrase “nankuru nai sa,” which carries the profound meaning, “If you keep doing the right thing without losing heart, a good day will come,” resonates gently through the melody.

Even as we are buffeted by the waves of life and bear the sorrow of losing what we hold dear, these lyrics softly encourage us to keep facing forward, warming the heart as they do.

When your heart feels a little tired, why not let yourself be wrapped in the kindness this song offers?

Seibumon-bushiChimei Sadao & Miyazato Yasuko81rank/position

Seibumon-bushi Nishingyo — Sadanao China, Yasuko Miyazato

Seibumon refers to the entrance to the Tsuji district, where a red-light quarter once existed.

In the Tsuji area, prostitution and social gatherings took place, and at that time human trafficking also occurred, with children from poor rural areas being sold there.

These girls were called “juri,” and they trained in the performing arts of song and sanshin, developing new songs and advancing their sanshin techniques.

The song Seibumun-bushi is about a Shuri official and a courtesan.

FamreutaShin Ara Yukito82rank/position

Yukito Aragusuku / Famureuta

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.

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Araki Jakkan

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Kunigami JintōyōKadekaru Rinshō83rank/position

Rinsho Kadekaru Kunigami Jintoyo

This is a duet-style song between a man and a woman set in the nature-rich region of Yanbaru.

At the time, Kunigami was deep in the mountains, so life must have been difficult.

The song carries a message that no matter how harsh the environment or how poor the living conditions, everyone should help one another and cherish their mindset and appearance.

Ase-mizu FestivalOshiro Misako84rank/position

Okinawan folk song “Ashimizu-bushi (Asimizu-bushi)” by Misako Oshiro

With its very rhythmic melody, it has been loved by many and continues to be sung today as a didactic song.

Reflecting a time of poverty, it conveys the greatness of work, the importance of providing children with an education, and the significance of working for the benefit of others.