[Children’s Songs of Autumn] Autumn songs, school songs, and traditional children’s rhymes. A collection of classic pieces to sing in autumn.
We’d like to introduce autumn nursery rhymes, songs, and traditional children’s songs that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults.
When you think of autumn, what comes to mind?
Pine cones, acorns, autumn leaves, moon-viewing… The more you think about it, the more images pop up, don’t they?
In this article, we’ve gathered wonderful classics that make autumn scenery unfold right before your eyes.
From gentle, soothing pieces unique to autumn that sink into the heart, to hand-play songs and traditional children’s tunes you can play and sing along with—these are all famous songs that let you experience autumn in many ways.
Be sure to listen together, sing along, and immerse yourselves in “autumn.”
- Song of the Maple Leaves. An autumn children’s song/nursery rhyme/folk song
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- [Childcare] Recommended songs and nursery rhymes for November: Fun autumn fingerplay songs
- A collection of classic nursery rhymes and hand-play songs for September! Enjoy autumn with your child through songs.
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- Children’s songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes about insects
- [Children’s Songs] Let’s Sing of Spring! A Fun Collection of Nursery Rhymes, Folk Songs, and Children’s Songs
- [February Songs] Introducing children's songs, folk songs, nursery rhymes, and hand-play songs about Setsubun and winter!
- Autumn anime songs: iconic tracks for the deepening fall
- In the season of colors. A collection of Vocaloid songs perfect for autumn [refreshing, wistful]
- Collection of winter nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs. Includes fun winter hand-play songs too.
- [For Children] Recommended Nursery Rhymes and Traditional Children’s Songs to Sing in April
- [Moon Songs Special] Famous songs about the moon. Songs you’ll want to listen to under a full moon or in the moonlight.
[Autumn Children's Songs] Autumn songs, school songs, and nursery rhymes. A collection of masterpieces you’ll want to sing in autumn (41–50)
Cee-lo (Chinchirorin)
Let’s play a children’s circle game with cute cricket sound imitations.
First, gather three or more people and form a circle, then choose one person to be “it.” The person who is “it” stands in the center, and everyone else forms a ring around them, holding hands.
As you sing, the circle spins around.
When the song ends, the person standing behind “it” imitates a cricket’s chirp and speaks to them in a cricket voice, and “it” has to guess who made the sound.
Another way to play is to pass a bell to the next person while singing; at the end of the song, the person holding the bell rings it, and “it” points to where the sound came from and tries to guess correctly.
Enjoy playing along to this pleasant song that evokes autumn through insect chirps and bell sounds.
[Autumn Children's Songs] Autumn songs, school songs, and nursery rhymes. A collection of classic songs you’ll want to sing in autumn (51–60)
My Humble CottageLyrics by Yoshishi Satomi / Music by Henry Rowley Bishop
On a wistful autumn day, “An Old Cottage” evokes the peaceful scenery of one’s hometown.
Originally an English folk song titled “Home, Sweet Home,” it was sung in the 1823 opera Clari, or the Maid of Milan.
The song expresses the sentiment that, no matter how glittering and luxurious a house may be, one’s home in the old hometown—though it may feel a bit humble—is the very best.
Your own home, your family home, is the place where you feel most at ease, isn’t it? This autumn, why not let this song inspire you to make a trip back and rediscover the charms of your hometown and the comfort of your own home?
World of StarsLyrics by Ryuko Kawaji / Music by Converse
In autumn, when the air turns dry and the sky grows clearer, the stars in the night sky look even more beautiful than in summer.
This sense of romance in autumn’s starry skies is captured in “Hoshi no Sekai” (“The World of Stars”).
Originally a hymn composed by Converse, it has various lyric versions in Japan, including the wedding standard “Itsukushimi Fukaki” (“What a Friend We Have in Jesus”) and “Hoshi no Yo” with lyrics by Sugitani Daisui.
This “Hoshi no Sekai” is often included in music classes, so many people may already know it.
It’s a song you’ll want to listen to quietly while gazing at the stars.
Harvest MoonLyrics by Ujō Noguchi / Music by Nagayo Motoori
Looking up at the Harvest Moon and feeling a swell of poignant loneliness—that is the essence of “Jūgoya Otsukisan.” The protagonist has no mother, the grandmother who raised them has left their side, and even their younger sister has been married off.
Alone, the protagonist gazes at the beautiful harvest moon and sees their mother’s figure reflected in it, and the loneliness wells up.
If you, too, find yourself viewing the Harvest Moon alone for whatever reason, why not listen to this song and project the person you long to see onto the moon?
Plover on the BeachLyrics by Naruaki Kashima / Music by Ryutaro Hirota
The children’s song “Hamachidori” was released in 1919.
It is said that the lyricist, Naoaki Kashima, visited a friend’s home in Kashiwazaki, took a walk along the Bangami Coast, saw the little shorebirds, and was inspired to write the poem.
The moon, the sea, and the birds… What a moving scene full of charm.
wild gooseLyrics and Music by Rentaro Taki
“Wild Geese,” a composition by Rentaro Taki themed around the geese that come to Japan from autumn to winter, vividly portrays the emotional scene of flocks moving across a moonlit night sky.
It’s a charming piece perfectly suited to autumn, the season of the Harvest Moon.
It is said that Taki composed this work while in Toyama, inspired by the sight of geese flying through the night sky.
In this brief piece, the beauty of a Japanese moonlit night is captured to the fullest.
As the heat fades from mornings and evenings in autumn, why not listen to this piece and once again savor Japan’s distinctive elegance?
autumn field
This is Akino No (Autumn Field) from Hakushu Kitahara’s Six Songs for Children.
The music was composed by Ikuma Dan.
It may be the best-known piece in the set and is often performed.
The lyrics depict “that child” walking along a small ridge between fields, exquisitely expressing the loneliness one feels in autumn.
Many of us have probably felt that same loneliness, haven’t we?