Children’s songs, school songs, and nursery rhymes with a river theme. Beloved classics about nostalgic watersides.
Children’s songs and school songs that entrust the babbling and flow of rivers to music are filled with a unique sentiment that deeply resonates with the Japanese heart.
From nostalgic tunes hummed in childhood to memorable songs learned at school, many people still remember river-themed pieces even as adults.
In this article, we introduce works that sing of the river’s beauty as it changes with the seasons and of the creatures that live in and around it.
Please enjoy as you bask in fond memories.
- Children’s songs, school songs, and nursery rhymes with a river theme. Beloved classics about nostalgic watersides.
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Children’s songs, school songs, and nursery rhymes themed around rivers. Beloved classics of waterside nostalgia (11–20)
hometownLyrics by Tatsuyuki Takano / Music by Teiichi Okano
Published in 1914 in Songs for Elementary School, Sixth Grade, “Furusato” is a piece known not only in Japan but around the world as a beautiful Japanese song.
For many years the lyricist and composer were unknown, but in the late 1960s it was determined that the lyrics were by Tatsuyuki Takano and the music by Teiichi Okano, and since 1992 both names have been printed in music textbooks.
The song is also familiar for its use as train departure melodies in various regions and in community disaster-prevention broadcasts.
Friendly PathLyrics by Yasushi Mitoma / Music by Mitsuaki Kawamura
In the era before organized school commuting groups existed, it was common to see scenes like in this children’s song: close friends and neighborhood kids holding hands as they walked to school.
It’s a charming little tune that vividly conjures up children cheerfully chatting as they head to school.
Whose river is it?Lyrics and Composition: Minami Ranbo
“Whose River Is It?” was broadcast on NHK’s Minna no Uta in 1995 and became widely known, especially among children.
The following year, it was released as a single CD by Nippon Columbia, performed by the Tokyo Broadcasting Children’s Choir.
The song conveys the origins of a river and the importance of rivers.
School of MedakaLyrics by Shigeru Chaki / Music by Yoshinao Nakada
This is a charming children’s song that likens medaka fish swimming in a river to children going to school.
It was introduced on an NHK radio program in 1951.
Although it was not highly acclaimed at first, it gradually won people’s hearts.
In 1954, it received the Minister of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize.
Later, in 2007, it was also selected for the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ “100 Selected Japanese Songs.”
FlowerLyrics: HAGOROMO Takeshima / Music: RENTARŌ Taki
“Hana” (Flowers) was released as the first song in the collection Shiki (The Four Seasons), published by Kyoeki Shosha in 1900.
With lyrics by Hakushū Takeshima and music by Rentarō Taki, the piece is said to depict the rowing that was popular on the Sumida River at the time.
For many people, this is the quintessential song of spring in Japan.
Our town is on the riverbank.Lyrics by Miné Akira / Music by Hayashi Hikaru
It was featured on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” in 1964 and 1966.
Set against the backdrop of the early high-growth era, this song portrays a town nestled between a river and factories.
Its upbeat melody conveys the sense of hope for the future that people felt at the time.
Children’s songs, school songs, and nursery rhymes themed around rivers: Beloved waterside classics (21–30)
From the unaccompanied female chorus piece “Even the Seeds Chirp”: Spring RiverNagoya Municipal Moriyama Higashi Junior High School
This is one piece from a choral suite consisting of six songs: “Dance,” “At a Certain Time,” “Prayer,” “Tree of Wisdom,” “River in Spring,” and “Even the Seeds Chirp.” The poems were written by the poet Botchō Yamamura, who died in 1924, and in recent years Takatomi Nobunaga, a composer known for many choral works, set them to music.