A collection of classic nursery rhymes and hand-play songs for September! Enjoy autumn with your child through songs.

Tanuki of Fist MountainSakushi: Kayama Yoshiko/Shokyoku: Komori Akihiro

Kids Song | Genkotsuyama no Tanuki-san | Nursery Rhyme | Children's Song | Red Cat Reading

As everyone knows, it’s a classic hand-play song.

Children’s author Yoshiko Kayama wrote the story-rich lyrics, and composer Akihiro Komori set them to an easy-to-love melody.

This play song not only features the cute figure of a tanuki, but also conjures up gentle, idyllic autumn scenes—like the white butterfly and red flowers depicted in the lyrics.

The song and its story come together as one, enriching the listener’s imagination.

After it was featured on the TV program “Tobe Tobe Panpororin” in 1973, it spread across Japan.

The motions—like stacking clenched hands—and the lively choreography that matches the lyrics are great fun too.

Become tanuki together as parent and child, and give it a try!

The Bento Box Song

[Hand Play Song] The Bento Box Song [With Choreography]

With the pleasant autumn weather that’s neither too hot nor too cold, there are more chances to go on field trips and picnics with a packed lunch! “Obentou-bako no Uta” is perfect for times like these.

Let’s try making the foods you’d pack in a bento using hand motions.

For items like carrots and cherries, you add them in while counting, like a counting song.

You can also use your hands and arms to show the holes in lotus root and the strings in butterbur! Now the bento is complete! Actually, this song has not only an onigiri version, but also a sandwich version!

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shoulder tap

Hand play for Respect-for-the-Aged Day: “Shoulder Tapping” with lyrics

Respect for the Aged Day falls on the third Monday of September every year.

It’s a day to honor and celebrate the long lives of the elderly who have contributed to society for many years.

How about giving Grandpa and Grandma a shoulder massage to this song on such a day? Doing it while singing along to the rhythm makes it fun! Try gently patting their shoulders with a light tap-tap, putting your everyday gratitude into it.

If their grandchild does it for them, Grandpa and Grandma might even be moved to tears.

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field mouse

[Children's Song] The Field Mouse (A Single Wild Mouse)

It’s a nursery rhyme where imitating a mouse’s squeaks is lots of fun.

As the song progresses, the squeaks increase.

It’s a hand game like clapping your hands together, so you can do it alone, but it might also be nice to try it while holding hands with someone.

There are many nursery rhymes featuring mice, so take this opportunity to explore various ones.

They’re all delightful.

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Red sky at dusk

[Children’s Song] Yuyake Koyake (covered by UtaSuta) ♫ As the sunset glows, the sun sets, the bell at the mountain temple rings [Song Kids’ Song] Japanese Children’s Song

This is a children’s song born in the Taisho era.

Many towns broadcast this tune around 5 or 6 p.m.

instead of a time signal, so it’s probably familiar to many people.

You can do hand games with this song, like “Alps Ichiman-jaku” or “Otera no Oshō-san.” The method is almost the same, so try it with your child.

Once you get used to it, it’s fun to pick up the tempo.

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Mountain Musicians

Mountain Musicians [Uta no Mama Papa] Nursery Rhyme: Yama no Ongakuka - With Mother and Father

Autumn is often called the “season of the arts,” isn’t it? Perfect for September, when that season arrives, is The Musicians of the Mountain.

It depicts little squirrels, rabbits, and other animals living in the mountains playing various instruments.

Each one shows off the instrument they’re best at, and in the end they all perform together.

If you sing while pretending to play the instruments like the animals do, it becomes even more fun! It might also be interesting to actually try playing an instrument yourself.

Enjoy an autumn of the arts filled with music.

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Voices of InsectsMonbushō shōka

The Voices of Insects (Children’s Song) | Enjoy with an animation of insects performing

From around September, when the hot summer with cicadas comes to an end, you begin to hear the sounds of autumn insects.

The song “Mushi no Koe” captures this scene.

In it, autumn insects like the pine cricket (matsumushi) and bell cricket (suzumushi) appear, with their calls expressed in the lyrics.

Their voices are different from cicadas’, and they convey the arrival of a tranquil season.

Once you get a sense of how they sound, try listening carefully in the early evening to nighttime in autumn.

You’ll surely hear calls much like those in the song!

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