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

Nursery rhymes and fingerplay songs to enjoy in May! Songs perfect for the fresh green season

20 years of experience as a nursery teacher / kindergarten teacherDr. Chick
I’m Hiyoko-sensei, a former nursery school teacher from Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since I was five, my dream was to become a childcare worker, and before I knew it, 20 years had passed since I achieved that dream. Through singing and playing with the children, I kept working with the spirit of someone in their twenties, even as I increasingly felt my physical limits year by year (haha). From here on, I’d like to share helpful information carefully and thoughtfully, drawing on my on-site experience.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICSasashina
Deputy Editor of the web media RAG MUSIC. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. In my student days, I studied broadly at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, covering sound, lighting, and video technology, and acquired skills from comprehensive stage production to the fundamentals of creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, and have consistently built my career on the production side, taking on diverse tasks centered around music. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting in my own way, as well as insights and discoveries from interacting with my kids every day. I hope I can be of help to you, even just a little!

May is the season when fresh green leaves shine brightly and playing outside becomes so much fun.

On walks, you can hear many little birds and feel the pleasant breeze, which lifts your spirits.

At times like that, why not spend the moment singing children’s songs that let you feel the joys of spring?

We’re introducing many songs—from ones that capture the comfortable feeling of May to tunes perfect for spring field trips and fun outings.

Let’s sing children’s songs that you can enjoy together with May’s nature—everyone with friends and family!

Nursery rhymes and fingerplay songs to enjoy in May! Perfect songs for the season of fresh greenery (71–80)

Me wearing armorLyrics and Music: Pasu

Me in armor and helmet (Children's Day song)

Me Wearing Armor — Lyrics and Music by Pasu

As the description on the video site says, “Since there wasn’t a song about armor and helmets, I tried making one,” this is a perfect Children’s Day song created and written/composed by Pasu.

Come to think of it, there are lots of children’s songs and nursery rhymes, but none that focus on armor and helmets.

The lyrics—something like, “If I put on armor and a helmet and time-traveled, I’d make Takeda Shingen and Oda Nobunaga my vassals and go to war!!”—are delightfully fun, and it’s a song I wish more people would get to know.

The melody has that classic nursery-rhyme feel, as if it’s been around for decades, and it’s pitch-perfect!

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rice plantingLyrics by Takeshi Inoue / Music by Shimpei Nakayama

rice planting

Rice-Planting Lyrics: Inoue Takeshi / Music: Nakayama Shinpei

This song is a Ministry of Education school song released in 1942 (Showa 17).

Nowadays we have bread, pasta, and other foods, so it may not feel as striking, but the lyrics evoke a time when rice was precious.

The opening lines are said to have been influenced by a Fukushima folk song that was sung as a “Honen Odori” (Good Harvest Dance) to thank the rice-field deity for a bountiful harvest.

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KintaroLyrics: Kazasaburō Ishihara / Music: Torazō Tamura

Kintaro – Kintaro | Carrying his hatchet, Kintaro; riding on a bear, practicing like a horse [Japanese song/children’s song]

Kintarō Lyrics: Wasaburō Ishihara / Music: Torazō Tamura

This is a Japanese Ministry of Education song included in “Children’s Songs” in 1900.

The piece sings about the folktale Kintaro of the same name.

Kintaro, depicted as a lively boy carrying a hatchet, riding on a bear’s back, and wearing a diamond-shaped bib, became the model for Boys’ Festival dolls.

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Nursery rhymes and hand-play songs to enjoy in May! Songs perfect for the fresh green season (81–90)

cuckooGerman folk song

Cuckoo ♪ Cuckoo, cuckoo, quietly — Junichi Kobayashi (Japanese lyrics) / German folk song — The Cuckoo

Cuckoo (German folk song)

This song is a nursery rhyme widely known in German-speaking countries.

The original lyrics were written by Hoffmann von Fallersleben, a 19th-century German writer of children’s songs.

There are two Japanese lyric versions—one by Masami Ōura and one by Junichi Kobayashi—and the latter half of the lyrics differs between them.

The opening melody matches the cuckoo’s call perfectly, making it a memorable tune.

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Song of MayComposed by: Mozart / Lyrics by: Zengo Aoyagi

Song of May [Shōka]

May Song Composed by Mozart / Lyrics by Zengo Aoyagi

This is the piece known as “Longing for Spring,” which Mozart composed in January 1791 as an easy-to-understand song for children, based on the theme of his final Piano Concerto, K.

595, and to which Japanese lyrics were later added.

It has been sung as a Ministry of Education school song.

The content of the lyrics preserves the imagery of the original words, and the gentle triple meter seems to express the pleasant weather of May.

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In conclusion

In May, when a pleasant breeze is blowing, taking a stroll while humming children’s songs is just perfect.

Riding along with the melody, the children’s smiles become even brighter.

It’s a season full of delightful encounters with grasses, flowers, and little birds.

Let’s all sing children’s songs together and fully enjoy this wonderful time of year.

It will surely become a memorable page of spring.