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

Okinawan folk songs, children’s songs, and nursery rhymes: the heart of our hometown passed down through song.

Editor-in-Chief, RAG MUSICKeisuke Hane
Editor-in-chief of RAG MUSIC. After working at a music studio and in wedding sound engineering, joined the RAG MUSIC editorial team in 2016. Experienced with various instruments: marching band in elementary school, clarinet in middle school wind ensemble, and drums in a band from high school onward. Drawing on personal music activities and professional experience, produces daily articles, including song introductions, features on music festivals around Japan, and live reports. Enjoys a wide range of music, from domestic and international rock to, more recently, a broad spectrum of J-pop.

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.

Okinawan folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes: The enduring heart of our hometown (51–60)

Flower windmillTomoko Kuwae

Introduce and explain Okinawan folk songs “Hana nu Kazaguruma” and “Jin Jin.”

Flower Windmill Tomoko Kuwae

The chorus naturally gets your body moving, and the song has become one of the folk tunes widely loved by Okinawans of all ages.

In Okinawa, where elders are cherished, the 97th birthday is celebrated as “Kajimaya,” with the entire village holding a grand celebration on the 7th day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar; as that custom suggests, this song is dearly loved.

It is also used as the departure melody at Akamine Station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail.

Raise the rankinglower

Yaka BushiSadao China

Okinawan folk song / Okinawan songs / Sanshin — Sadao China ♪ Yaka-bushi

Yaka Bushi China Sadawo

This song was born at a POW facility in the Yaka area of Kin Town, a small settlement on the east coast of central Okinawa Island.

The original song has lyrics by Morikata Kinjo and music by Moriaki Yamauchi, but it has been passed down by many people, and numerous parody versions have been created that incorporate the Battle of Okinawa and postwar life.

Raise the rankinglower

ShimochidoriKazutoshi Matsuda

Okinawan folk song / Song from Okinawa Kazutoshi Matsuda — Shimochidori [Okinawa] [Okinawan music]

Kashiori Matsuda Shimochidori

This is a song based on “Hamachidori,” known from Ryukyuan dance, arranged at an even slower tempo.

It’s a “nasake-uta,” with lyrics that express facets of life such as poignancy and helplessness.

This video features Okinawan folk singer Kazutoshi Matsuda.

Raise the rankinglower

Suri East-bushi

[Eisa] Suri Azuma (Verse) | Is there a hidden secret behind its bright melody? | Okinawan Song

Suri East-bushi

“Suri Higashi-bushi” is a bright, upbeat piece that’s perfect for Eisa.

“Suri” is a kind of interjection used in Okinawan music, appearing in many traditional songs.

While the tune has a cheerful feel, the lyrics are mysterious and open to various interpretations, giving the song surprising depth.

Incidentally, the character for “east” is read as “agari,” and the title of the song is taken directly from its opening lyrics.

This format is common in Okinawan folk songs, so if you get the chance, try looking for other examples too.

Raise the rankinglower

Okinawan folk songs, children's songs, and nursery rhymes: The heart of our hometown passed down through song (61–70)

Kudaka Manju-shu

Lyric Commentary: Introduction to an Eisa Song - 'Kudaka Manjushu' [Tokyo Nakano Ward Shimpū Eisa]

Kudaka Manju-shu

Kudaka Manju-shu, also known as “Kūdākā,” is an Okinawan folk song often used in Eisa.

It depicts people teasingly spreading the word that the manju-shu of Kudaka is looking for a lover, and how those around them get drawn into the commotion.

From there, the story develops into going from house to house to receive offerings of sake, and the lively atmosphere comes through in the interjections as well.

This image of visiting homes to receive sake is said to overlap with the origins of Eisa, which involved traveling around regions as a form of dancing nembutsu, and the song has become a staple of Eisa.

Raise the rankinglower

Basho-fu (traditional Okinawan banana-fiber cloth)Rumi Ota & Isamu Inami

Okinawan Folk Song | Banana Fiber Cloth (Bashōfu) | Rumi Ota & Isamu Iha - Bashōfu (cover)

Basho-fu Ota Rumi & Iha Isamu

A song that is unusual for Okinawan folk music in that its lyrics are sung mainly in Japanese.

“Washita shima Uchinā” means “my island, Okinawa.” The title’s bashōfu (banana-fiber cloth) was commonly used for the clothing of ordinary people in Okinawa.

The piece is crafted to evoke an overall Okinawan atmosphere.

It is used as the departure melody at Gibo Station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail.

Raise the rankinglower

Women Workers’ DayYoriko Ganeko

Yoriko Ganeko's 'Onna-kou-bushi' (The Female Factory Worker Song)

The women workers' festival has been like this since ancient times, my child.

This is a song born in the midst of the Great Depression, just before the outbreak of the Pacific War.

At that time, especially in the Hanshin region, many young workers fled Okinawa’s food shortages and moved to the Japanese mainland.

In particular, women were used as cheap labor.

It is a sorrowful song about those women who left Okinawa and the harsh lives they endured on the mainland.

Raise the rankinglower