Recommended summer songs for people in their 90s: A collection of Showa-era summer tracks [2025]

banana boatMichiko Hamamura

Michiko Hamamura: 1957: Banana Boat (Banana Boat Song: Duophonic Stereo Ver)

Michiko Hamamura, who popularized the cheerful Caribbean rhythm known as calypso across Japan.

Her signature work is that classic song celebrating the vigor of people sweating at their portside jobs and the sunny feelings of a woman waiting for her lover.

Released in 1957, the song became a massive hit, selling 180,000 copies within its first month.

Set to a light, exotic melody, it conveys the sense of freedom after a day’s work and the candid emotions for a beloved.

Simply listening makes your heart naturally dance—an outstanding track that brightly colored Japan’s summer.

Crazed FruitYujiro Ishihara

Yujiro Ishihara "Crazed Fruit"

Under the dazzling summer sun, the blaze of youthful fragility and passion.

It’s a masterpiece that vividly captures a slightly bittersweet page of adolescence, isn’t it? Yujiro Ishihara’s low, velvety voice, carried on the scent of the sea breeze, sings with deep feeling of the helpless emotions swaying in a false love.

This song is the theme for the 1956 film Crazed Fruit, in which Ishihara starred—surely many had their hearts set aflame by his on-screen presence.

How about spending a moment listening to this piece and basking in the radiant summer memories of your younger days?

Tanabata DanceChiyoko Shimakura

Tanabata Dance / Chiyoko Shimakura / With Lyrics

This is a classic song that continues to be cherished locally as a quintessential summer tradition coloring Sendai’s Tanabata Festival.

Released in July 1962 as a single by Chiyoko Shimakura, the piece features folk-like melodic turns and a light, lively rhythm that instantly puts you in a festive mood just by listening.

The lyrics depict scenes of Sendai, such as Aoba Castle and the Hirose River, conjuring images of people in yukata joyfully dancing.

Widely beloved as a Bon-odori song for the Sendai Tanabata Festival, it is also famous for its distinctive fan dance.

Listening to it with people connected to Tohoku might spark lively conversations filled with memories of bustling festivals from days gone by!

Summer Mountain Songfolk song

Michiya Mihashi - Summer Mountain Song

When it comes to folk songs that evoke the cool mountain air of an early summer morning, this song long sung in Miyagi Prefecture surely comes to mind.

In the stillness before dawn, its simple yet powerful melody seems to convey both the resolve of those heading out to work in the mountains and the drowsiness that still lingers.

The timbre of the shakuhachi feels as if it carries the misty mountain landscape with it.

Originally a work song from Yamagata, it was arranged during the Showa era by the renowned folk shakuhachi virtuoso Momoji Goto and spread widely through record releases.

It has been passed down by many singers and continues to be cherished today, including its inclusion on the May 2018 album “Mountain Folk Songs.” Perhaps it brings to mind, for some, memories of youthful days of hard work or scenes from their hometown.

This roadnursery rhyme

This Road (Summer Children's Song)

Among timeless classics that continue to be sung across generations, this work especially strikes a deep chord.

Poet Hakushū Kitahara wove the poem by overlaying the scenery he saw while traveling in Hokkaido with memories of his own hometown, and his close friend Kōsaku Yamada set it to music.

The imagery of acacia blossoms and the white clock tower rises vividly to mind, gently awakening each listener’s own nostalgic memories.

First recorded in 1927 with a performance by Yoshie Fujiwara, it was later selected in 2006 for the “100 Best Japanese Songs.” Beloved by many singers, including Hiromi Iwasaki, it was also recently used as the theme song for the film “Kono Michi.” It’s the perfect piece for looking back on the past with a calm heart.

Lady of the SeashoreKazuo Funaki

Lady of the Seashore

Kazuo Funaki is strongly associated with the image of school uniforms, so it’s surprising to learn he had such a cheerful, tropical summer classic! Released in July 1965, this song’s light, Hawaiian-inspired rhythm feels delightful and instantly transports you to a southern beach just by listening.

It sings of a bright, straightforward love—like the summer sun—for a young lady glimpsed on the shore, and it’s the kind of tune that makes your body start to move.

As a new experiment in “rhythm kayō” (rhythm-driven pop), the track is also included on the masterpiece A-side Collection 1963–2006, which compiles Funaki’s signature songs.

On a hot day, it might be perfect to enjoy in a cool room, clapping along together with friends!

If I go to seamilitary song

If I go to the sea

With its majestic yet restrained melody, this is a requiem that seeps deeply into the listener’s heart.

Composed in 1937 by Kiyoshi Nobutoki, the piece became widely known during the war as a quasi-national anthem.

What is striking is that it conveys not hostility but inner feelings—resolve and prayer—of people living through difficult times.

The work was also used in a pivotal scene in the film “Umi Yukaba: The Great Sea War of Japan,” and it likely remains etched in many people’s memories.

It is included on the album “Japanese Military Songs Archives Vol.

2: Songs of the Sea ‘Umi Yukaba’ 1932–1944.” It may be fitting to listen quietly as those who lived through a turbulent era take a moment to reflect on their journeys.