![[Classic] New Year’s BGM: Music for Japan’s New Year and Spring Festival](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BeVYO-2wDK0/hqdefault.jpg)
[Classic] New Year’s BGM: Music for Japan’s New Year and Spring Festival
When New Year’s comes around, you often hear New Year-ish music around town and on TV, don’t you?
Hearing songs that feature traditional Japanese instruments like the koto, flute, and shamisen really brings out the New Year atmosphere.
In this article, I’ll introduce pieces you often hear as New Year’s background music, as well as songs whose vibe is perfect for the season.
Many of these pieces carry auspicious wishes, so try looking into the meanings embedded in the music.
Some entries also mention the composers; if you look up their other works, you might discover even more pieces that are perfect for the New Year.
I hope you enjoy a wonderful New Year along with the songs introduced here.
[Standard] New Year’s BGM: Japanese music for the New Year/celebration (1–10)
Spring SeaMiyagi Michio
Haru no Umi is a piece that instantly evokes the New Year spirit the moment you hear it.
Composed in 1929 by Michio Miyagi, a Japanese koto virtuoso and composer, it has been beloved for over a century not only in Japan but also abroad as a work that expresses the Japanese heart.
In recent years, you often hear it during New Year’s sales at department stores or in food sections lined with osechi.
With that association, please listen to Haru no Umi—now firmly linked with New Year’s imagery—and savor the quiet joy of a fresh year’s beginning.
New Year's gift (money given to children)NEW!Unicorn
A Unicorn track that gently captures the New Year’s excitement.
It was included as the B-side to the single “Yuki ga Furu Machi,” released in December 1992, and its warm melody—imbued with a prayer for the new year—strikingly contrasts with the A-side’s year-end scenes.
The lyrics tenderly convey the New Year’s distinctive sacred atmosphere and the wish for a good year, evoking peaceful year-end and New Year imagery.
The refreshing arrangement, featuring a variety of instruments like accordion and banjo, feels wonderfully pleasant.
Early Spring OdeAkira Nakata
This song, “Soshun-fu” (Early Spring Ode), was selected for the “100 Best Japanese Songs” chosen by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the National PTA Council of Japan.
With lyrics by Ichishō Yoshimaru in 1913 and music composed by Akira Nakata, it enjoys strong support, particularly in Nagano Prefecture.
The lyrics, written with the Azumino region welcoming spring as their theme, offer superb scenic descriptions and evoke a warm sense of nostalgia.
Rokudan no ShirabeYatsuhashi Kengyō
Alongside “Chidori no Kyoku,” this piece, “Rokudan no Shirabe,” is one of Japan’s representative koto compositions.
Its reputed composer, Yatsuhashi Kengyō, is said to have laid the foundations of early modern koto music.
Despite its simple structure, it exudes elegance within tranquility—truly a sublime masterpiece that can be called the pinnacle of the art.
Sakura VariationsMiyagi Michio
I think many of you will recognize this piece even if you haven’t heard it before.
That’s because this “Sakura Variations” is an arrangement of Japan’s iconic song “Sakura Sakura,” and its phrases appear throughout the work.
Composed by Michio Miyagi, who drew inspiration from Western music, it is one of Japan’s representative sets of variations.
Runner of the SpiritJoe Hisaishi
For gamers, Joe Hisaishi is well known for the Ni no Kuni and Tengai Makyo series, and for Studio Ghibli fans, for works like Kiki’s Delivery Service and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
But have you heard his piece Runner of the Spirit? If you’ve watched the Hakone Ekiden relay race broadcasts, you’ll probably think, “Oh, that song!” It’s a perfect fit as hopeful New Year’s background music, too.
It’s a handy track for events like New Year’s marathon meets or karuta tournaments.
Apparently, this piece has never been released on CD by Hisaishi himself.
If you absolutely want a recording, try looking for the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra’s CD “Suisougaku Sansen / Ah! African Symphony.”
Etenraku
This is the piece of music you hear so often at New Year shrine visits that it’s hardly an exaggeration to say it’s everywhere.
Many people have heard it but don’t know its name: it’s called “Etenraku.” Brought from China and considered part of Japan’s classical court music, gagaku, it’s said to be the most famous piece in the repertoire.
The layered sounds of distinctive instruments—ones you don’t often hear in everyday life—create a solemn atmosphere.
As the year ends and the new one begins, immerse yourself in the New Year spirit by listening to this historic work that has long colored Japan’s New Year celebrations.