A collection of classic nursery rhymes and hand-play songs for September! Enjoy autumn with your child through songs.

Acorn picking

Middle preschoolers: collecting fallen leaves and acorns

In places where there are oak trees, acorns fall in such numbers in autumn that they cover the ground.

Children are great at finding acorns because they’re closer to the ground.

The weather is pleasant in autumn and it’s easy to play outside, so how about going for a walk and picking up some acorns while you’re at it? Acorns are edible, and there are fun toys you can make with them, too!

Shopping at the bakery

[Hand Play] Going Shopping at the Bakery ♪ (Maatan)

Here’s a fun hand-play song for autumn: “Buying Bread at the Bakery”! In this game, players split into customers who buy bread and shopkeepers who sell it.

The customers shop while naming the breads they want.

Can the shopkeepers sell all the requested breads without making a mistake? It’s a hand-play song that kids love—give it a try!

Village Festival

Village Festival (Japanese Children's Song)

Here is a children’s song that perfectly captures the feel of “classic old Japan.” It’s a piece included in the 1912 publication Standard Elementary School Songs, and it depicts an autumn harvest festival.

The festival music sounds described in the lyrics evoke scenes of traditional Japanese festivals.

It’s also interesting that about half of the lyrics are filled with onomatopoeic festival chants.

Since the scenes in the lyrics reflect older times, many children today might find them hard to understand.

It’s a good idea to sing it together while explaining the traditions of old festivals.

Child of Autumn

Autumn Child / Song: Ayaka Nageno

This is one of the works by Hachiro Sato, who wrote the lyrics for many children’s songs, and it features various symbols of autumn in its lyrics.

It portrays children and is a song that warms the heart.

As you listen, it may remind some of you of your own childhood.

Autumn Moon (Moon)

Autumn Moon (Soprano: Takako Suzuki)

This piece is the song sung in the autumn section of Rentarō Taki’s suite “The Four Seasons.” The suite consists of four pieces depicting the landscapes of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the spring section is the best-known piece, “Hana” (“Flowers”).

Rentarō Taki is also known for works such as “Kōjō no Tsuki” (“Moon over the Ruined Castle”) and “Hakone Hachiri,” and was an active composer during the Meiji era.

While these beautiful Japanese melodies may be challenging for young children, please do let them listen.

They will surely provide some kind of stimulus to the children’s minds and hearts.

autumn field

Autumn Fields — Lyrics by Hakushū Kitahara, Music by Ikuma Dan, Tenor: Yoshinori Ihara, Piano: Misato Tachi, 12

This is “Autumn Field” from Hakushu Kitahara’s Six Children’s Songs.

The composition was done by Ikuma Dan.

Among the songs in this collection, it is probably the best known and most often sung.

It is a song in which “that child” from the lyrics walks along a small path, and it captures the loneliness one feels in autumn with remarkable skill.

Many of you have probably felt that same loneliness, haven’t you?

Play song 'Perfectly Round Moon'

Childcare magazine "Monthly Hiroba" September issue: Play for ages 0–2, "Perfectly Round Moon"

September is known as the time when the moon looks most beautiful.

Since long ago, people have looked at the moon’s craters and imagined all sorts of things—like a rabbit pounding mochi or a crab raising its claws.

This is a play song that turns those imaginings into fun.

It’s an activity even very young children—who may not yet understand what the moon is—can enjoy.

By singing it to them, parents can help their children become aware of the moon; when they do, they might observe it while wondering, “I wonder if there’s a rabbit up there.”