Collection of winter nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs. Includes fun winter hand-play songs too.
Do you like winter?Although winter is very cold, there are many unique ways to enjoy it: you can see a beautiful silver world created by pure white snow, and you can feel a special kind of warmth you can only experience in winter, like hot pot dishes or sitting in a kamakura snow hut.There are also lots of fun events like Christmas and New Year’s!Children are probably looking forward to making snowmen, having snowball fights, and enjoying Christmas presents and cakes, aren’t they?In this article, we’ll introduce nursery rhymes, folk songs, traditional children’s songs, and hand-play songs themed around various aspects of “winter.”There are many songs that will turn a winter that’s “just cold” into wonderful memories, so please give them a listen!
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Collection of winter children's songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes. Fun winter hand-play songs too (101–110)
pine coneSakkyoku: Kobayashi Tsuyae
It’s a singable song with lyrics that go, “There was a pine cone on a tall mountain, and a little monkey ate it.” It’s a simple song where the first verse is repeated twice, so you can sing it with small children.
It’s short, but it’s the kind of song that makes you feel at ease when you listen to it.
The Song of KonkonshyanSakkyoku: Yuyama Akira
Colds tend to go around in winter, don’t they? Were these made so that children would be more willing to wear masks when they catch a cold? Various popular animals for children who have caught colds wear masks and sneeze a lot.
The characteristics of each animal are also depicted, so kids can have fun while learning.
Winter Constellation
Here is a song with lyrics set to the popular song “Annie Laurie,” composed by William Hayes in 1871.
The lyrics were written by Keizo Horiuchi and published in 1947 as one of the pieces in the national textbook Chuto Ongaku (Middle School Music).
The original song features sweet lyrics professing love for Annie Laurie and is completely different in content from these lyrics for “Fuyu no Seiza” (Winter Constellations), yet the melody is so beautiful that it feels as if it were made for these words.
It was also selected in 2007 as one of Japan’s 100 Best Songs.
I recommend listening to it alongside the original and comparing the two—it’s both fun and enlightening.
Daikoku-sama
“Daikoku-sama” may be the spark that inspires interest in various aspects of Japanese culture.
The lyrics were written by Wasaburo Ishihara and the music composed by Torazo Tamura, and the song was already widely known by 1905.
The story depicts the meeting between Daikokuten, a deity believed to preside over fortune and industry, and the White Hare of Inaba, a rabbit that appears in Japanese mythology.
Learning about each of their backgrounds and stories will deepen your appreciation of the song.
It’s also recommended because its structure makes it easy to sing—so much so that it has been adopted in school lessons.
KodANUKI PonpoSakkyoku: Ooyama Takateru
Konaduki Ponpo is memorable for its catchy chorus.
This children’s song aired on NHK Minna no Uta in 1983, with lyrics by Etsuo Suzuki, music by Takateru Oyama, and vocals by Atom Shimojo.
In the first half, a young tanuki is troubled by chilblains when a human girl kindly lends it her gloves; in the second half, the tanuki tries to return them.
It’s delightful how the ending—and the story overall—leaves room for imagination.