Lullabies: children's songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes. Nostalgic songs for putting children to sleep.
Lullabies have existed since ancient times in every country—they’re songs for soothing children.
I’ve put together a list of many lullabies, from the kind you might have heard on NHK’s educational channel to arrangements of foreign folk songs.
I’m sure there are songs in here that you sang together with friends when you were a child.
If you listen again now with the mindset of returning to childhood, you might discover something new.
If you “struggle every time to put your child to sleep,” please try listening—and singing—these songs to them at least once.
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Lullabies: children's songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes. Nostalgic bedtime songs (21–30)
Old Man with a BeardLyrics: Unknown / Music: Hidemitsu Tamayama
Many of you probably remember singing it loudly together while twirling your hands in front of your face to make a beard.
This hand-play song features simple, easy-to-remember melodies and fun hand movements for various characters like Grandpa with a Beard and Hunchbacked Grandpa.
Beloved for many years in kindergartens and nurseries, it even saw multiple recorded versions released by different artists in 2021 and 2022.
It’s a perfect song for parents and children to sing and play together, nurturing finger dexterity and a sense of rhythm.
Banana Parent and ChildLyrics by Kazuo Seki / Music by Wakako Fukuda
This heartwarming work by Kazuo Seki and Wakako Fukuda comically portrays the adorable everyday life of the Banana family living on a southern island.
The repeated phrases woven from the sounds of each family member’s name create a catchy rhythm that even small children will naturally hum along to.
First aired in 1982 on NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho,” it has continued to be loved in many households.
It’s also included on the album “Okaasan to Issho Memorial Album,” making it perfect for parents and children to sing together! How about spending a cozy time with everyone while feeling the bonds of family?
Sleep, little baby, sleep.
Here is a very lullaby-like, gentle song called “Nennekose Obokose.” It’s a lullaby passed down in Miyazaki Prefecture, and you can tell it’s sung from a mother’s perspective rather than a caretaker’s, filled with love.
In particular, the way a parent weaves their own child into the lyrics is truly beautiful.
Today, people enjoy it by inserting the name of the child they’re singing to, and the Miyazaki accent and rhymed lyrics make it feel good to sing.
It continues to be handed down as a reassuring, dependable lullaby.
Nennyako Koro Chako
Nennyako Koro Chako is a lullaby handed down in Semboku District, Akita Prefecture, in the Tohoku region.
The title has a very playful ring to it, and at first glance it might make you think of kittens frolicking.
However, when you look into the lyrics of this lullaby—with its somewhat cute-sounding title “Nennyako Koro Chako”—you find it is actually quite frightening.
A white dog appears in the lyrics, and in Akita at the time, white creatures were considered symbols of “terror.” The song tells of those white dogs all howling at once, evoking that fear to urge the child to go to sleep quickly.
The Breeze of Slumber
This song is described as a lullaby from Miyazaki Prefecture, but it isn’t one that has been sung since old times.
It was solicited by the Miyazaki City Board of Education in 1989 (the first year of the Heisei era) as part of a “hometown of the heart” initiative, and was selected as the top entry for a new Miyazaki lullaby.
With lyrics by Mr.
Mori Uchigi and Mr.
Rokuhiko Ei and music by Mr.
Taku Izumi, the song also sings about Miyazaki’s evening scenery.
Remarkably, it isn’t sold commercially; it’s something you can receive when you submit a birth registration.
The voices of the Duke Aces resonate beautifully—what a lovely birth gift.
Shiba’s folding door
This is a lullaby passed down in Hiraizumi Town, Nishiiwai District, Iwate Prefecture.
A “shiba no orido” is a simple swinging gate made by assembling broken tree branches or bamboo, typically installed at a garden entrance.
The song’s content is the folktale Momotaro.
It was likely sung to children as a bedtime song, telling the story of Momotaro to lull them to sleep.
Oh, come on.
This lullaby comes from the Akayu area of Yamagata Prefecture.
The title has a mysterious, onomatopoeic ring to it that’s quite intriguing, doesn’t it? It seems to derive from a word meaning “to carry on one’s back.” There are researchers who study such enigmatic expressions, so if you’re interested, do look into it.
Across Japan, there are many different lullabies, but a common theme is descriptions of childcare.
It was quite common for children—such as those from farming families—to be sent out as nursemaids to serve in affluent merchant households.