Lovely nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs

Folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes of Kumamoto: the enduring spirit of our hometown passed down through song.

Accompanist / Piano InstructorYuri
Accompanist pianist × piano instructor × web writer. I began piano lessons at age four and, inspired by my piano teacher, decided to pursue music. I went on to specialized music programs in high school and university, where I discovered the appeal of accompanying instrumentalists and singers. Currently, alongside teaching piano, I work mainly in my home region of Aichi as an accompanist for flute, voice, choir, and more. Through lessons, my students often introduce me to trending songs, and my hobby is trying anything on the piano—Japanese and Western pop, commercial jingles, and beyond. Since 2021, I’ve also been active as a web writer, covering music and a variety of other genres.

Kumamoto has served as the setting for folk songs and children’s songs known throughout Japan, such as Otemoyan and Itsuki no Komoriuta.

These works vividly portray the grandeur of Aso’s natural landscape, the majestic figure of Kumamoto Castle, and the rhythms of everyday life.

From Taharabanzaka, which conveys the sorrow of the Satsuma Rebellion, to Higo Kome Ondo, which celebrates a bountiful harvest, each folk song passed down through the generations is deeply etched with Kumamoto’s history and culture.

In this article, we have gathered folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes from Kumamoto, imbued with love for the homeland and the joys of daily life.

Let us lend an ear to the world of song where the spirit of Kumamoto resides.

Kumamoto’s Folk Songs, Children’s Songs, and Nursery Rhymes: The Heart of Our Hometown Passed Down in Song (41–50)

Jump rope song

Kumamoto Children’s Songs I: Jump Rope Songs

Jump rope song

This is the “Jump Rope Song,” a children’s song from Kumamoto Prefecture transcribed by Akio Obara.

It includes “Big Waves, Small Waves,” “Come In 1,” “Come In 2,” and “Mr.

Bear, Mr.

Bear” from Kikuchi City, as well as “Ichirō’s Dad” from Minamata City.

Each has its own way of being played—for example, some are for jumping as long as possible, while others involve making gestures while jumping.

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metacoxae

Daishō Festival (3) 22

metacoxae

The folk song “Ozaya-bushi,” read as Ozaya-bushi, is handed down in the Higo Yatsushiro District.

Born from the land reclamation project of “Shihyakuchō Shinchi,” completed in 1819 (Bunsei 2), Ozaya-bushi was passed on to the reclaimed “Yatsushiro Shinchi area,” constructed in 1855 (Ansei 2), and has been sung to this day as Yatsushiro Shinchi Ozaya-bushi.

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Nagasu Bridal Song

Nagasu Bridal Song

Nagasu Bridal Song

The Kumamoto folk song “Nagasu Yomeiri Uta,” also known as “Nonshikora,” is better known nationwide by the latter name.

Passed down since the mid-Edo period, the song was originally called “Higo no Yomeiri Uta” and has been sung particularly along the Ariake Sea coast in Kumamoto Prefecture.

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Higo Rice OndoBatten Arakawa

Higo Rice Ondo: Dance by the Japan Folk Song Research Society Arao Toyofuchi Association of Kumamoto Prefecture at the Tanegashima Folk Songs and Dance Festival

Batten Arakawa's Higo Rice Ondo

This is “Higo Rice Ondo,” sung by Batten Arakawa—an actor, local TV personality, and enka singer from Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture.

He sings with confidence and vigor that “Higo’s rice is the best in Japan.” You can almost picture the faces of people wishing for and celebrating a bountiful harvest.

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Ballad of a HeroSatake Mamoru

The Heroic Ballad — Satake Mamoru

Heroic Song of Satake no Mori

The folk song “Gōketsu-bushi,” handed down in Kumamoto Prefecture, is a folk/popular song about the Satsuma Rebellion.

The folk song “Tabaruzaka,” which also sings of the Satsuma Rebellion, is the original song, and “Gōketsu-bushi” is that original arranged in a three-string (shamisen) tuning.

The original is sometimes called “Gōketsu-uta,” and the arranged version “Shin Gōketsu-uta.”

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In conclusion

The folk songs of Kumamoto Prefecture are precious cultural heritage, etched with people’s lives and their feelings for the land of Kumamoto.

In recent years, works that modernize old folk songs—such as Samba Otemoyan—have also been loved just as much as the songs that have been passed down by local residents.

Listening to these folk songs and children’s songs may provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Kumamoto’s history and culture.