A seemingly scary nursery rhyme: a children’s song that gives you the chills when you hear it

Hana Ichi MonmeLyrics: Yoshiharu Shiina / Music: Yoshiharu Shiina, Hiroo Yamaguchi

Hana Ichi Monme — Vocals: AI Kiritan, AI Yoko (with lyrics)

A children’s game where two groups sing and compete to win members from each other.

In kanji, it’s written as “花一匁” (Hana Ichi Monme).

Since “monme” was a unit used for silver coins in the Edo period, the song is outwardly said to depict the buying and selling of flowers in that era.

However, there’s an urban legend that “flower” was slang for a young woman, so “So happy to have bought it” expresses delight at getting one cheaply, while “So upset to have given a discount” suggests being beaten down on price.

It’s a nursery rhyme whose innocent, childlike singing can feel all the more chilling, evoking a historical backdrop when reducing the number of mouths to feed was said to be common.

Sparrows' SchoolLyrics by Katsura Shimizu / Music by Ryutaro Hirota

Nursery rhyme: Sparrow School by Sachiko Komiyama

From the title “The Sparrow School” and the chirping sounds in the lyrics, one imagines an adorable scene of little sparrows gathered together.

However, on closer reading, a rather chilling picture emerges: the sparrow teacher cracks a whip, and the pupils chirp in unison.

It’s said to emphasize group behavior and discipline, but when you think about it calmly, it might be a remarkably extreme scene.

First published in the February 1922 issue of Shōjo-gō, the song has been widely beloved ever since.

When singing it together as a children’s song, it may be best not to probe its meaning too deeply…

Iroha poem

Iroha Song

An anonymous Buddhist text said to have been composed between the 10th and 11th centuries, written using every kana without repetition.

It is said to be the song of someone who has realized the impermanence of all things, and today it’s also famous for being associated with the 48 curves of Irohazaka in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture.

Although many people may find the song hard to understand at first hearing, there is an urban legend that if you break the original text into segments of seven characters and read the last character of each segment in sequence, it spells out “to ga nakute shisu” (“to die without guilt”), suggesting it expresses the regret of someone executed for a crime they did not commit.

It’s a song with a chilling yet thought-provoking urban legend, involving a format reminiscent of modern social media’s vertical acrostics.

Zuizui Zukkorobashichildren’s song

(Nursery Rhyme) Zuizuizukkorobashi

Zuizuizukkorobashi is known as a hand game where you make a ring with your hand and put fingers into the ring one by one, but did you know this song also has a frightening meaning? In the Edo period, tea from Uji in Kyoto was placed in jars and carried all the way to the Edo shogunate.

This was called the “Ocha-tsubo Dōchū,” and no one was allowed to cross the procession.

Although it was just tea that was being transported, crossing their path was taken as an insult to the prestige of the Tokugawa family.

You can almost picture the commoners along the highway holding their breath as they watched the procession pass by.

Close It, Open ItMonbushō Shōka (Ministry of Education Songs)

Hand Play Song: “Close Them, Open Them” (Mimichan Records Children’s Song Collection)

A children’s song that, despite being a foreign piece composed by the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, has been selected as one of Japan’s 100 Famous Songs.

Did you know that the original lyricist is unknown, and in Japan the lyrics have changed over time—used as a hymn, a school song, and a military song? Its simple lyrics, with no second or third verse and the same content repeated throughout, leave interpretation to the listener, inviting various readings.

In Japan, it became established as a children’s song after World War II, while abroad it is still sung as a hymn today.

When I Become a First GraderLyrics by Michio Mado / Music by Naotsugu Yamamoto

When I Become a First Grader

A children’s song that is still often sung today at occasions celebrating new beginnings for kids, such as preschool graduation ceremonies, school entrance ceremonies, and welcome parties.

It’s also known for numerous urban legends—for example, that since “if you make 100 friends” should be 101 including yourself, the constant depiction of doing things with exactly 100 people is strange; or that because it was created in 1966 and thus supposedly during wartime, one person was thinned out or eaten by the group.

However, thinking more simply, numbers like 99 or 101 don’t fit the melody as well, so it’s reasonable to assume the lyricist intentionally chose 100 despite knowing the arithmetic.

Rather than overanalyzing it, it’s a nursery song we’d like to see used for the sake of children’s bright futures.

Mr. ElephantLyrics: Michio Mado / Music: Ikuma Dan

Elephant (Lyrics by Michio Mado, Music by Ikuma Dan)

A children’s song with lyrics by Michio Mado, who continued to create humor-filled works fueled by dissatisfaction with society—politics, government, education, the economy, and war.

Among the many nursery songs that most people have likely sung since childhood, this is one of the most well-known.

The image of a child proudly saying that a trait mocked as different is the same as their beloved mother’s seems to align with today’s trend of valuing individuality without worrying about differences.

It’s a universally themed, widely known children’s song wrapped in cute lyrics and melody.