Folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes of Hiroshima: the enduring heart of our hometown, passed down through song.
This is a feature on folk songs handed down in Hiroshima Prefecture.
Folk songs arose from the everyday lives of people in their regions and have been passed down to the present day.
What we discovered while preparing this feature is that, compared with other prefectures, Hiroshima has an exceptionally large number of folk songs bearing the name “Ondo,” and you can find many videos of Bon Odori as well.
It may be that people in Hiroshima have long enjoyed their regional traditions through songs and festivals, happily singing and dancing to them.
In this article, we introduce folk songs that have been passed down in Hiroshima since long ago.
It’s also interesting to listen to the folk songs while exploring the meaning embedded in the form known as “Ondo,” which continues to be handed down.
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Hiroshima folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes: The heart of our hometown passed down through song (21–30)
Ai-ya bushi
The “Aiya-bushi” is a uniquely created song and dance based on the Haiya-style songs and dances said to have been brought by Kitamaebune (northern-bound trading ships) in the mid-Edo period.
It is performed lively with shamisen and other instruments, accompanied by singing and cheerful dancing on festive occasions.
Today, it is carried on by the Tomonoura Aiya-bushi Preservation Society.
Saka Town Ondo
Anyone who lives in Saka Town, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture has heard the “Saka Town Ondo.” Created in August 2010 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Saka’s establishment as a town, this ondo expresses the town through a song filled with evocative imagery of Saka’s landscapes and a light, beautiful dance choreography.
Just watching it gives you a real boost of energy.
Hayashida in Shinjo
This is a traditional performing art in which young rice-planting maidens carry out the planting to the rhythm of the sasara, a bamboo percussion instrument said to be played by Sanbai, the deity of the rice fields, accompanied by flutes, drums, and hand clappers (teuchi-sho).
Shinjo’s Hayashi-da is highly valued as a very important resource for the study of national folk songs and has been designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Japan.
one, two, three, four
A traditional children’s song from Hiroshima.
It’s a play song where several people form a circle without holding hands and choose one person to be “it.” The song begins with the chant hifumi-yo, and at the final phrase everyone quickly pairs up.
The person who can’t find a partner becomes the next “it.” The more people there are, the more fun the game is.
Hiroshima is a nice place.
With its bright melody and lively festival chants, this is an old-style folk song, yet its lyrics—written six years after the Hiroshima atomic bombing—carry a certain poignancy.
It resonates as an anthem of hope for the recovery of the city and its people.
Millstone Grinding Song
As its title suggests, this song was sung while grinding rice, wheat, and buckwheat into flour with a stone mill.
At the time, many workers pulled all-nighters.
A small mill would be operated by one person, who sang alone, while a large mill was worked by several people, who sang together.
When there were several people, they would improvise playful, flirtatious banter and sing back and forth.
Fukuyama Tondo Ondo
Fukuyama’s Tondo festival was originally a widely practiced New Year’s event in the surrounding area, and it is said to have begun being organized in conjunction with Mizuno Katsunari’s construction of Fukuyama Castle.
In particular, older people had the custom of concluding banquets and other gatherings by singing the Hayashi-ondo, and the content sung back then has been passed down and is still sung today.