Okinawan folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes: the heart of our hometown passed down through song.
Doesn’t Okinawan music have a unique vibe that many people love?
In Okinawa, a distinct culture has been nurtured over a long period of time.
As a result, the unique resonance of the Ryukyuan scale combined with lyrics in the Okinawan dialect gives the music a charm unlike any other.
In this article, we’ll introduce plenty of folk songs and children’s songs that have been passed down from adults to children for generations in Okinawan music.
Listen to the songs we’re about to share, and carry on the spirit of Okinawa in song yourself.
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Okinawan folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes: The heart of our homeland passed down through song (11–20)
Ufumuraudun
One of the lullabies beloved in Okinawa.
The title “Ufumu-ra Udon” refers to the Great Village Palace, said to be where the prince lived at the time.
The piano and sanshin accompaniment is gently beautiful, and listening to it is calming.
In contrast to that mood, however, the lyrics tell a scary tale: the spirit of an evil monk—punished by the prince—stands before the Great Village Palace holding a small knife or a kitchen blade.
It even says that all crying children will have their ears cut off.
Yet in the end, it reassures the children with a soothing, “So don’t cry.”
tinglingAkito Inami
Jinjin means firefly.
Because it’s a song often heard since childhood, it’s frequently used in beginner sanshin classes.
The “liquor shop” mentioned in the lyrics is said to refer to an awamori distillery in Shuri, and Tsuboya and Kumoji are place names in Naha.
It is also the departure melody at Okinawa Urban Monorail’s Onoyama Park Station.
HarikyamakAyano Uema
The dance name “Harikuyamaku” is an Okinawan folk song that everyone sings while dancing kachāshī.
By the way, kachāshī is a dance where you raise both hands and sway your body to a relatively fast tempo—many of you may have experienced it.
This video features vocals by Ayano Uema.
the beautiful moonTetsuhiro Daiku
This is a nighttime lullaby sung in the Yaebama region.
It is a song praising the beauty of the moon, saying that the moon on the thirteenth night—before it becomes full—is the most beautiful.
The same is said of women: the lyrics “miyarabi kaisha to onanatsu (Onna warabi misha 17)” mean that a young woman around seventeen, not yet fully mature, is considered the most beautiful.
This song is used as the departure melody at Furujima Station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail.
Bangamuri
Here is a song that was once sung by a girl from Miyako Island who had been sent out to work, to soothe the children she looked after.
Filled with love for the children, this song is said to still be widely sung today.
The title “Bangamuri” means: “ban” is “I,” and “muri” is “babysitting,” so it comes to mean “I’ll babysit you.” If you understand the Okinawan dialect, it seems you can enjoy the folk songs even more.
Tinsagu Flowers
This is a song full of warm teachings that has long been passed down from parents to children in Okinawa.
Like dyeing your nails with the blossoms of the balsam flower, it gently teaches you to let your parents’ lessons soak into your heart.
Some may relate to the idea that a parent’s words are like countless stars and like the North Star that lights the course of one’s life.
The song became widely loved after it was broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” in 1966, and in recent years it was also featured in the drama “Chimudondon.” In March 2012, it was chosen by a prefectural referendum as the musical symbol of the prefecture.
Okinawan folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes: the heart of our homeland passed down through song (21–30)
Kana Yo-bushiChōichi Terukina
Kana means “beloved person,” so kana-yo translates to “Oh, my beloved!” The song is sometimes performed with men and women singing alternately.
In Okinawa, it is frequently used in Ryukyuan dance, and in the past, when people said “kanayo,” it referred to a me-asobi (evening social gathering) song, during which young men and women would dance the kachāshī together while everyone sang this tune.