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

Beautiful Folk Songs Passed Down in Miyagi Prefecture: A Collection of Masterpieces that Play the Heart of the Hometown

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.

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?

Beautiful Folk Songs Passed Down in Miyagi Prefecture | A Collection of Masterpieces that Play the Heart of the Hometown (41–50)

Donguri KorokoroRinne Morozuki

Donguri Korokoro [with song] children’s song

Donguri Korokoro Morotsuki Rinne

“Donguri Korokoro” was created in the Taisho era.

The lyricist, Aoki Songe, was born into a wealthy landowning family in Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, and grew up as a so-called “young master.” In the spacious garden of their estate stood an oak tree, and beside it was a large pond.

These became the oak that bears the “acorns” in “Donguri Korokoro” and the “pond” where the acorn gets stuck.

Hoping to find a way to wake the habitually late-sleeping Aoki, his mother decided to release loaches into this pond.

In this way, the “loach” invites the young master out to play.

It adds new color to a song we had listened to rather casually until now.

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Saga Standing Jin SongDot dot

ten ten: SAGADACHI JINKU (Saga-dachi Jinku)

Sagatachi Jinku Tenten

The village of Sagadate in Nishiokori Village, Tome District, Miyagi Prefecture (present-day Nishiokori, Towa Town, Tome City), was a bustling port town on the Kitakami River, lively with ships departing and arriving.

The northwesterly wind that blew down toward the port was called “saga,” and it’s said that sailing ships would set out on days when the saga rose.

Sailors brought in jinku ballads from Shiogama and Ishinomaki, which have been passed down as the “Sagadate Jinku.”

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Enshima JinkuTakada Totsuki

Tōshima Jinku (Takada Tōgetsu)

Tooshima Jinku, Takada Tozuki

Tojima Jinku is a drinking song that has been sung in fishing villages throughout the coastal areas of Miyagi Prefecture, centered on the fishing grounds of Kinkasan.

Around Kinkasan, located at the tip of the Oshika Peninsula, there are ten islands of various sizes.

Because these are commonly called the Ten Islands, the characters for ‘Tojima’ (distant islands) eventually came to be used.

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In conclusion

The folk songs of Miyagi Prefecture embody the lives, hopes, and joys of our predecessors.

The folk songs from each region within the prefecture are both a source of local pride and a hometown of the heart.

Miyagi’s folk songs, which will continue to be cherished and passed down, will no doubt keep resonating in the hearts of many people across generations.