[Childcare] Summer songs: Full of fun! Summer nursery rhymes & finger-play songs

We are children of the sea.Sakushi sakkyoku: Monbushō shōka

We Are Children of the Sea [With Song] Children's Song / School Song

Ware wa Umi no Ko (We Are Children of the Sea), which also appears in music textbooks, is a Ministry of Education song first published in 1910 in the Elementary School Reader Songs.

In 2007, it was selected for the 100 Best Japanese Songs by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs and the National PTA Council, making it one of Japan’s most emblematic songs in both name and substance.

Although the lyrics, which make extensive use of archaic language, can be somewhat difficult to understand, the content conveys the image of a boy born by the sea growing up strong and resilient.

Listening to its melody, which stirs a deep sense of nostalgia in Japanese people, you are reminded anew that Japan is a nation surrounded by the sea.

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KOH-1

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Dolphins are ZAMBRACO.sakushi: Azuma Tatsuo / sakkyoku: Wakamatsu Masashi

[Nursery Rhyme] The Dolphin Is Zanburako ~Strawberry Club ver.~

If you were in the lower grades of elementary school sometime from the 1970s to the mid-1990s, there’s a good chance you looked forward to NHK’s school program “One-Two Don.” The show’s concept gave rise to many great songs for musical play, and today I’d like to introduce “Iruka wa Zanburako” as a recommended summer tune.

It was created for bamboo dance, featuring a waltz rhythm and playful lyrics full of puns that cleverly use the characteristics of Japanese—humorous and lots of fun.

It’s used in elementary school classes, and it’s a summer song that parents and children can enjoy together, so be sure to sing and dance along!

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KOH-1

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paprikaYonezu Kenshi

Kenshi Yonezu – Paprika

Paprika was created by Kenshi Yonezu as a cheer song for the “NHK 2020 Cheer Song Project.” It was performed by Foorin, a five-member music unit of elementary and junior high school students selected through auditions for the project.

After its 2018 release, the song and dance quickly spread among children across Japan, becoming a popular kids’ song.

In 2019, Kenshi Yonezu himself performed a self-cover, which was broadcast on NHK’s Minna no Uta.

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Housui Sachiyo

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The Hill Where Mandarin Orange Blossoms BloomSakushi: Katō Shōgo / Sakkyoku: Kainuma Minoru

The Hill Where Mandarin Orange Blossoms Bloom – Shoko Haida

This song, with lyrics by Shogo Kato and music by Minoru Kainuma, was composed in 1946, the year after the war ended.

It is said to depict the scenery of mandarin orange groves in Shizuoka.

The song is also famous for the hand game performed while singing it, and many of you may have played the hand game as you sang.

At Kameishi Pass in Usami, Ito City—the model for the song—there is said to be a monument inscribed with the lyrics of “Mikan no Hana Saku Oka” (The Hill Where Mandarin Blossoms Bloom).

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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