Ministry of Education songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes. The heart of Japan passed down in song.
Here are classic and popular songs from Ministry of Education shoka, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes recommended by our studio staff.
It’s a nostalgic Japanese playlist that will be sung for generations.
Ministry of Education songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes: The enduring heart of Japan in song (1–10)
seaNEW!Lyrics by: Ryūha Hayashi / Music by: Takeshi Inoue
A well-known school song that conjures up vivid images of the vast blue sea.
It’s also famous that lyricist Ryuha Hayashi and composer Takeshi Inoue both came from Gunma Prefecture, which has no coastline.
Perhaps that’s why the piece overflows with pure awe and longing for a scene they encountered for the first time.
Introduced in a Ministry of Education textbook in 1941, it was later selected in 2007 as one of the “100 Best Japanese Songs.” Many people may find childhood memories of singing it coming back.
It’s a classic that brings gentle moments, inviting parents and children to hum along together.
snailNEW!Monbushō Shōka (Ministry of Education Songs)
Many people can’t help but hum a tune when they spot a snail on the roadside after the rain, struggling earnestly to move forward.
Some listened to it as children and now sing it with their own kids.
This piece captures a child’s pure curiosity as they call out to the snail, asking, “Where is your head?” It was included in 1911 as a Ministry of Education shoka in Elementary School Songs (Volume 1).
Despite its relaxed image, its light and rhythmic melody is part of its charm.
Beloved across generations, this classic song also offers a chance for parents and children to engage with nature together.
hometownLyrics by Tatsuyuki Takano / Music by Teiichi Okano
On long autumn nights, do you ever suddenly think of your hometown and feel a little lonely? This piece has a warm melody that seems to gently stay by your side in such moments.
Its lyrics depict the original landscapes of home that everyone carries in their hearts, like the hills where we chased rabbits and the rivers where we caught small crucian carp.
First released in 1914 as a Ministry of Education school song, it was performed at the closing ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, moving audiences around the world.
It is a classic that continues to be sung in Japanese by overseas groups such as IL DIVO.
It’s the perfect song for those living away from home, listening to the chirping of autumn insects and quietly reflecting on their roots.
The Flowers in the GardenLyrics: Yoshishi Satomi (translator) / Music: Irish folk song
Based on an Irish folk tune, this is a school song with lyrics by Yoshishi Satomi that has been sung since the Meiji era.
Its lyrics poignantly capture the loneliness of autumn as the garden’s grasses and flowers wither, and overlay that scene with the image of chrysanthemums that bloom beautifully despite the frost—an emblem of living nobly while enduring solitude.
The piece was published in June 1884 in the Ministry of Education’s Elementary School Song Collection, Part Three, and was later covered by artists such as Yoichi Sugawara and Rainbook.
It’s a wonderful choice for quiet contemplation on a long autumn night.
The song’s powerful message, nestled within its melancholy, will gently accompany the bittersweet feelings that come with the changing seasons.
Its somehow nostalgic, beautiful melody is sure to soothe the heart.
Please let me pass.children’s song
This is a traditional Japanese children’s song handed down since the Edo period, said to have been sung along the approach to Kawasaki Daishi Temple in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa.
In a game beloved by children, two players take the role of ogres, join hands to form a gate, and everyone slips through while singing.
The lyrics include the act of offering talismans for the seven celebratory milestones of childhood and convey a sense of awe toward a sacred place.
For those who remember gathering to play it in their neighborhood when they were young, or who know the melody from pedestrian crossing signals, it is a song that can be sung with a warm sense of nostalgia.
Oonami Konami
Positioned as a staple song for long-rope jumping and Eurhythmics, this piece is enjoyed along with movements that express the motion of waves by swinging the rope widely from side to side.
By moving their bodies while singing, children naturally develop a sense of rhythm and cooperation.
It is also used in settings for children’s music education and emotional development, and is included in Kyoiku Geijutsusha’s elementary school music textbook “Ongaku for Elementary Students 1.” Many people may remember happily doing group long-rope jumping to this tune while humming it as children.
The lyrics seem to vary by region, so if you’re curious, be sure to check them out.
MomotaroLyrics by Unknown / Music by Teiichi Okano
An immortal children’s song composed by Teiichi Okano that sets a well-known Japanese folktale to music.
Since it appeared in a Ministry of Education textbook in 1911, it has been beloved by countless children for over a century.
The brave story of heading to Onigashima after recruiting a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant is told to an easy-to-remember melody.
The song has also been used as a parody version on Fuji TV’s program “Jajajajan!” and is familiar as the approach melody at JR West’s Okayama Station.
It’s also recommended to sing it together while looking back on the lyrics—up to all six verses—along with the story!