[Snow Songs for Winter] Children's Snow Nursery Rhymes and Hand-Play Songs

The Snow PainterMusic by Takashi Ando / Lyrics by Akihiko Noritake

[Children’s Song] The Snow Painter (or The Snow Paint Shop)

It’s not a very famous song, but describing snowfall as “the snow painter” is very unique and charming.

The melody is a bit humorous and cute, too.

It seems some kindergartens and nursery schools add simple choreography and have the children sing and dance to it.

A Town Where It SnowsComposer: Yoshinao Nakada

A Town Where Snow Falls / Tokyo Broadcasting Children's Chorus [Asahi Sonorama Edition]

The setting of this song is said to be Tsuruoka City in Yamagata Prefecture.

Meanwhile, Asahikawa City in Hokkaido also claims it as its backdrop, and the melody is played on city streets during the winter.

That’s how widely known the song is.

It begins with a somewhat somber tone, but in the latter half it shifts into a melody full of hope.

Whether it’s someone hurrying back to their hometown or heading to a warm home, it’s a masterpiece that captures scenes unique to snowy regions.

Snow KobōzuLyrics by: Toshiko Murayama / Composer: Unknown

[Winter Classic! Hand-Play Song] A Current Nursery Teacher Demonstrates 'Yuki no Kobozu'! [With Singing and Motions]

This song is a Japanese children’s song with the same melody as the well-known “Itomaki no Uta.” It’s said that the melody traces back to the Danish folk tune “The Shoemaker’s Polka,” and it’s a popular tune that exists around the world with many different sets of lyrics.

YukifururunAtsuko Ono, Yuichiro Hanada

Yukifururun – With Mother (Okaasan to Issho) – Song of February and March 1988

Yukifururun, known as the February–March 1988 song from NHK’s popular program Okaasan to Issho.

It was sung at the time by Osamu Sakata and Yuko Kanzaki, and it remains a beloved song that continues to be passed down today.

The phrase used in the title appears frequently in the lyrics of this very cute tune.

For adults, snowfall brings to mind shoveling and all sorts of hassles, but this song warms the heart by showing how children enjoy the snow in their own way.

Hymn to the Snowy MountainsLyrics: Eizaburo Nishibori / Music: American folk song

Hymn to the Snowy Mountains — The Dark Ducks

As the name suggests, it’s a song that praises snow-covered mountains.

Why do people climb mountains? The famous answer is “Because it’s there.” This song began when members of the mountaineering club of what is now Kyoto University—then Kyoto Imperial University—were snowed in and stranded in Tsumagoi Village, Gunma Prefecture.

To stave off boredom, they decided to compose a song for their club.

It’s a song for those who love the mountains.

Pechka (a type of Russian masonry stove)Lyrics: Hakushu Kitahara / Music: Kosaku Yamada

Pechka (a type of Russian masonry stove)

This song says, “On cold days, let’s spend a pleasant time chatting in a house with a fireplace.” A fireplace requires a reasonably spacious home, but even today it is still used as a heating appliance in places like Hokkaido.

There’s something romantic about the firewood you feed into a fireplace, but on the other hand, preparing that firewood is hard work.

People in northern regions are busy getting ready for winter even before the snow starts to fall.

Cha-Cha-Cha of the Snowman

Cha-cha-cha of the Snowman

Have you ever imagined that the snowman you made in the middle of the night might start moving on its own? This is a delightful hand-play song about a family of such snowmen breaking into a rhythmic dance.

It also sounds fun to try singing it with different lyrics.