[Childcare] Summer songs: Full of fun! Summer nursery rhymes & finger-play songs
When the rainy season ends, summer finally arrives! Here, we’ll introduce a variety of children’s songs to help you enjoy the season.
We’ve gathered songs that kids love, as well as hand-play songs often sung in nurseries and kindergartens.
Listening to these songs will make you look forward to the long-awaited summer even more.
Hand-play songs are also fun for little ones, so be sure to incorporate them into your childcare activities.
While the days will be getting hotter, some children’s songs can make you feel cooler just by listening.
Enjoy a fun-filled summer together with the children!
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[Childcare] Summer Songs. Full of Fun! Summer Nursery Rhymes & Hand-Play Songs (21–30)
There’s no such thing as ghosts.Sakushi: Maki Minori / Sakkyoku: Mine Akira
Speaking of summer, it’s the season for ghost stories and spirits.
This song is a Japanese children’s song with lyrics by Minori Maki and music by Akira Mine, broadcast in 1966 on NHK’s program “Minna no Uta,” sung by Mieko Hirota.
In 2015, Kaela Kimura covered it, and it was selected as a required piece for the 2016 childcare worker practical exam, making it one of the children’s songs still actively used today.
Summer has comeSakushi: Sasaki Nobutsuna / Sakkyoku: Koyama Saku-nosuke
This is an old children’s song published in 1896, with lyrics by Nobutsuna Sasaki and music by Sakunosuke Koyama.
In 2007, it was selected as one of Japan’s 100 Favorite Songs.
The lyrics celebrate early-summer scenes such as deutzia flowers and cuckoos, and although its classical literary style may feel unfamiliar to children today, it is truly beautiful.
It is one of the Japanese songs we hope to keep singing and passing down.
Beyond the rainbowSakushi Sakkyoku: Sakata Osamu
The children’s song “Niji no Mukō ni” conjures up a dazzling summer scene that awaits beyond the gloomy, rainy monsoon season.
When the rain stops, what do we see? A rainbow, of course! The rainy season can be such a drag when you can’t even go out to play.
But just like in this song, thinking about the sparkling sun and beautiful rainbow that appear after the rain can fill you with hope, right? And beyond that rainbow you see, there are surely all kinds of dreams and hopes packed in! It’s a song that makes you look forward to the summer that comes after enduring the rainy season.
There’s also a hand-play version that matches the lyrics, so be sure to give that a try too!
seaSakushi: Hayashi Ryūha / Sakkyoku: Inoue Takeshi
This song, released to the public as one of the pieces in Utanohon (Volume 1) published in 1941, features lyrics by Yanagiha Hayashi and music by Takeshi Inoue.
Its simple lyrics and gentle triple meter evoke a vast image reminiscent of slowly rolling waves, making it a children’s song that seems to conjure scenes just by singing it.
Selected in 2007 as one of the 100 Best Japanese Songs, it is a Ministry of Education school song beloved by the nation—one that people of all ages can sing, and surely one of the wonderful songs we should pass down to future generations.
Ho! Ho! Ho!Sakushi: Itō Akira / Sakkyoku: Koshibe Nobuyoshi
You sometimes hear this song on NHK programs for young children.
The oldest known recording dates back to 1972, sung by Kurumi Kobato—a children’s singer who also starred as the lead voice actor in the popular volleyball anime Attack No.
1.
Since then, it has been passed down through shows like Okaasan to Issho (With Mother).
The unique lyrics in the chorus are sure to delight little kids.
Why not try singing it yourselves toward the blue summer sky?
King Kamehameha of the Southern Islandssakushi: itō akira / sakkyoku: morita kōichi
The children’s song “Hamehameha the Great King of the Southern Island” is about King Hamehameha, who lives on a southern island that’s warm like summer all year round.
On this island, not only the king and his wife, the queen, and their children, but in fact every single islander is named “Hamehameha”! The song is about the king, queen, children, and islanders who all share the same name.
Its unique and friendly lyrics make you feel happy just by singing along.
There are hand motions to go with the lyrics, so be sure to enjoy them together with the song!
Tsupin Flying FishSakushi: Nakamura Chieko / Sakkyoku: Sakurai Jun
This is a song from “Okaasan to Issho,” with lyrics by Chieko Nakamura and music by Jun Sakurai.
While listening to this fun tune, try to let your imagination run wild about what it’s like when flying fish do their “tsuppin”—something children might not be very familiar with.
If you ever see real flying fish doing tsuppin on a summer beach one day, you’ll surely be amazed!