Children’s Song Medley: A playlist of classic and popular hits everyone knows

Chorus of FrogsLyrics: Toshiaki Okamoto / Music: German folk song

Japanese Children’s Song – Dōyō – Chorus of Frogs – Kaeru no Gasshō

“Kaeru no Gassho” (The Frog Chorus) is a quintessential round in which singers imitate the frogs that burst into a grand chorus during the rainy season.

It originally comes from a German folk song, with Japanese lyrics by Toshiaki Okamoto.

In addition to this song, Okamoto also worked on pieces such as “Dojokko Funakko” and composed numerous school anthems across Japan.

campfireLyrics: Seika Tatsumi / Music: Shigeru Watanabe

Winter Nursery Rhyme: Bonfire

These days, you don’t see bonfires as often.

But children in any era love the bright red, flickering flames they watch at campsites or beacon fires.

Still, this is also a song that faced various challenges over time: during the war, people said it was wasteful to burn fallen leaves as fuel; after the war, bonfires on street corners were discouraged for fire safety; and although it never actually happened since it’s a song found in textbooks, there was even a request to use the “chilblains” lyrics in a hand cream commercial.

We’ll take care of the demon here.Lyrics by Toshihiko Shinzawa / Music by Hirotaka Nakagawa

We’ll Take In the Oni at Our Place (Lyrics by Toshihiko Shinzawa / Music by Hirotaka Nakagawa) — A Setsubun Song / February Song

A fresh song that adopts a modern, European-style waltz in 3/4 time while centering on Japan’s Setsubun.

As the first collaboration by Toshihiko Shinzawa and Hirotaka Nakagawa, it carries special significance.

Its warm lyrics, which welcome the oni as a member of the family, spark children’s imaginations.

Perfect for bean-throwing events at kindergartens and nursery schools, and equally enjoyable at home with parents and guardians.

Since its release in 1991, it has been loved by children for over 30 years.

A hidden gem for Setsubun, it’s a song that lets you feel the season as you sing.

Tanabata-samaLyrics: Hanayo Gondo / Additional lyrics: Ryūha Hayashi / Music: Kan’ichi Shimofusa

Tanabata Sama – Tanabata Sama | Sasa leaves rustle, swaying under the eaves [Japanese songs and shoka]

When July comes, this melody can be heard all across Japan.

It conjures an image of families enjoying the cool of the evening together.

The song “Tanabata-sama” is short, so it’s easy for children to learn, but it contains difficult words in the lyrics, such as nokiba, sunago, and goshiki no tanzaku.

Nokiba is written in kanji as “軒端” and refers to the eaves under the roof.

Sunago is “砂子” — decorative paper scattered with gold or silver flakes, used on colored paper or shoji screens, evoking a starry sky like sprinkled “sand.” Then there are the “five-colored tanzaku.” The lyrics are arranged so that the first verse ends with the go sound in sunago and the second verse begins with the go in goshiki (“five-colored”), making it easier for children to sing.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little StarLyrics: Etsuko Takejika / Music: French folk

[With Vocals] Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with Lyrics (Kirakira Boshi, Kirakira-boshi)

Originally, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star was a French chanson.

It is said to have been remade into a nursery rhyme by an English poet and spread around the world.

Many lyricists have written Japanese lyrics for Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, but the most widely known in Japan are considered to be by Etsuko Takega.

In addition, the nursery rhyme used by children to learn the alphabet, the ABC song, also uses this melody.

teru teru bozu (a traditional Japanese handmade doll hung to wish for good weather)Lyrics by Kyomura Asahara / Music by Shinpei Nakayama

Children’s song Teru Teru Bozu. {Mimi-chan Records: Nursery Rhyme Collection}

To tell the truth, I didn’t know there were lyrics up to the fourth verse until recently.

I remember making teru teru bozu before sports days and field trips, asking for the rain not to fall.

It would be too cruel to cut off its head.

Speaking of teru teru bozu, it reminds me of the ending theme from Ikkyu-san.

soap bubbleLyrics: Ujo Noguchi / Music: Kiyohira Nakayama

[With Vocals] Soap Bubbles – Children's Nursery Rhyme

It’s a slightly wistful, fleeting melody, isn’t it? In fact, it’s a song for the lyricist’s child, composed in memory of his daughter who passed away at the age of two.

The song expresses feelings for a child who suddenly left this world so young, likening them to soap bubbles.