Beautiful Folk Songs Passed Down in Miyagi Prefecture: A Collection of Masterpieces that Play the Heart of the Hometown
The many folk songs that live on in Miyagi Prefecture are sonic treasures that vividly reflect Tohoku’s culture and the lives of its people.
From mountain songs set against majestic peaks to fishermen’s songs praising the bounty of the sea, the rich voices born from the land and people’s way of life can still be heard across the region.
This article brings together folk songs from Miyagi, centered around Sendai.
Why not lend an ear to the gentle melodies imbued with the feelings of our forebears—melodies that evoke the changing seasons, the bustle of festivals, and the joys of farm work?
- Miyagi Songs: Popular tracks that celebrate famous sights and specialties, and timeless pieces filled with love for home
- Beautiful Folk Songs Passed Down in Miyagi Prefecture: A Collection of Masterpieces that Play the Heart of the Hometown
- Folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes of Iwate: the heart of the hometown passed down through song
- [Folk Songs and Children's Songs of Akita] A curated selection of local masterpieces that evoke love for one’s hometown
- Folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes of Kumamoto: the enduring spirit of our hometown passed down through song.
- Folk Songs, Children's Songs, and Nursery Rhymes of Aomori: Japanese Songs from Tsugaru and Hachinohe that Resonate with the Heart
- Tokushima’s Folk Songs, Children’s Songs, and Nursery Rhymes | Traditional Songs Rooted in the Region, Including Awa Odori
- Folksongs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes of Fukushima: the heart of our hometown passed down in song
- [Folk and Children's Songs of Hokkaido] Songs of Hokkaido that continue to be loved across generations
- [Folk Songs of Yamagata] The Heart of Our Hometown Passed Down in Song: Feelings Woven into Nostalgic Melodies
- Songs of Iwate: The Heart of Our Hometown Passed Down in Song | A Collection of Classics to Enjoy While Thinking of Iwate
- Niigata’s folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes: the heart of our hometown passed down in song
- [Japanese Folk and Regional Songs] A Collection of Beloved Masterpieces from Across Japan, Brimming with Local Pride
Beautiful Folk Songs Handed Down in Miyagi Prefecture: A Collection of Masterpieces That Play the Heart of the Hometown (1–10)
Tawarazumi Song
This is a lively celebratory song from the Tohoku region that conjures up the spirited scene of stacking rice bales high.
Originating in the southern part of Aomori Prefecture, it has been passed down as a prayer for bountiful harvests and household prosperity, brimming with the strength and joy of people who live in harmony with the land.
The rousing calls that sing of wealth growing from a thousand to ten thousand bales uplift listeners’ spirits.
The piece is beloved nationwide—there’s even a national competition—and is sometimes enjoyed in dynamic arrangements that blend Japanese and Western instruments.
It’s perfect not only for festive occasions; listen to it when striving toward a goal with your companions, and you’re sure to feel courage well up.
Sendai Medeta
A folk song brimming with a bright, festive charm, passed down and sung at celebratory gatherings.
Long cherished in the region as a New Year’s doorstep song wishing for people’s happiness, it pairs a gentle, simple melody with universal prayers that resonate in the listener’s heart—hopes for the future and an ode to the vitality of life.
It’s a perfect piece not only for New Year celebrations, but also to tenderly accompany wishes for the future prosperity of someone dear.
And it’s just right for those moments when you want to lift your spirits through the sounds of traditional Japanese music.
Miyagi Zaiyō-bushi
A new folk song from Miyagi that vividly portrays the tranquil rural landscape and people’s lives to a lively rhythm.
From the lyrics, you can easily picture people in the Wakayan rice paddies under the spring light, wearing sedge hats as they work hard at rice planting.
One of the song’s charms is its rhythmic refrains, which convey the joy and energy of communal labor.
It has been recorded by folk singers and featured on folk music programs broadcast in the Tohoku region, making it known as a song rooted in the local community.
Why not try singing it while letting your thoughts drift to the scenery of your hometown?
Beautiful Folk Songs Handed Down in Miyagi Prefecture | A Collection of Masterpieces that Play the Heart of the Hometown (11–20)
Rice Field Leveling Song
It’s a lively farm-working song that vividly conjures up the rural landscapes of Miyagi Prefecture.
You can feel the bustling scene of people joining forces to level the rice fields and the joy of welcoming spring through the cheerful calls and expansive melodic lines.
It also has a pop-song-like familiarity, offering many ways to enjoy it.
The fact that it has been recorded by various singers and featured in folk music classes shows how carefully it has been passed down.
Why not listen to its gentle tune while reflecting on the abundant nature of Tohoku?
Sansa ShigureHiroshi Yoshizawa
Sansa Shigure is a folk song widely cherished mainly in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, as well as in Mizusawa City in Iwate Prefecture, the eastern part of Yamagata Prefecture, and from Soma City to the Aizu region in Fukushima Prefecture.
It is regarded as one of the most refined songs among Japanese folk music.
According to tradition, it originated when Date Masamune adapted a poem by Watari Goro Shigemune of the Date clan—“Without a sound, the night’s drizzle comes over the thatch fields, falling ‘sansa’ upon my sleeves”—into the song Sansa Shigure and had his soldiers sing it.
Saitaro-bushiFORESTA
Saitaro-bushi is a folk song sung by fishermen along the Matsushima coast in Miyagi Prefecture when they head out for skipjack tuna fishing, praying to the sea gods for a bountiful catch.
It is said to have developed from Kesenzaka, a song from Iwate Prefecture.
On days of big catches, it is also sung upon returning to the bay, and it is cherished as a celebratory song for venerating Toshitokujin, the deity who presides over the year’s good fortune.
A standing drinkNaoyuki Harada
“Otataki-zake” is a folk song that has been sung throughout the Kurokawa District of Miyagi Prefecture.
It is chanted in unison by those present when guests who accompanied the bride or groom take their leave at a wedding, or when people drain their cups at the gate or in the yard.
Nowadays, it is said to be sung not only at weddings but also when finishing the ceremonial cup at celebratory gatherings.
This is a custom unique to Miyagi Prefecture, not seen in other prefectures.