[Childcare] Summer songs: Full of fun! Summer nursery rhymes & finger-play songs

fireworksLyrics by Takeshi Inoue / Music by Kan’ichi Shimofusa

Nursery Rhyme Time “Fireworks” — sung by Satoko Yamano

When we think of summer traditions, fireworks are absolutely essential, aren’t they? This children’s song, “Hanabi” (Fireworks), is themed around those beautiful fireworks that light up the summer night sky.

It sings about the sound in the moment fireworks burst open, the ones that hang down like willow branches, and the way they instantly change into a variety of colors.

When you sing it, it almost feels like you can see the fireworks right before your eyes! If you go to see fireworks, try singing it out loud and lively so you don’t get outshone by their energy.

fireflyLyrics by Takeshi Inoue / Music by Kan’ichi Shimofusa

Children’s Song “Fireflies”

When we think of summer nights, the image that comes to mind is fireflies glowing with a magical light.

There are spots all over Japan where you can enjoy watching fireflies, and many people go out with their children every year.

When it comes to children’s songs about fireflies, “Hotaru no Hikari” is often remembered, but this song, “Hotaru,” is a Ministry of Education school song first released in the early Showa period.

Its nostalgic melody and beautiful Japanese lyrics are something we’d love children to sing along to, even if they don’t fully understand the meaning of the words.

rice plantingLyrics by Takeshi Inoue / Music by Shimpei Nakayama

rice planting

This children’s song, which appeared in 1942, has long been loved in Japan.

Rice planting—essential for rice, our soul food.

When you think about the long, long time people have been growing rice in paddies since ancient days without change, it’s even moving.

Did children in the past also sing this song and feel the deliciousness and preciousness of rice? It’s said that the lyrics were influenced by the Fukushima folk song “Soma Bon Uta,” which gives thanks to the deity of the fields for a bountiful harvest.

Yah-ho-ho! Summer vacation!Lyrics by Akira Ito / Music by Asei Kobayashi

[Children’s Song] Yoo-ho-ho! Summer Vacation

For children, summer vacation is the time they’ve been eagerly waiting for! That sense of joy at the arrival of summer break is captured in “Yahhohho! Summer Vacation.” While the song does touch on the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye for a little while to friends, teachers, and the playground equipment they always played on, the excitement of “Summer vacation is here!” doesn’t lose out one bit.

As you look forward with a fluttering heart to what kind of days you’ll spend until the new term begins, try singing along and having fun!

This roadLyrics: Hakushu Kitahara / Music: Kosaku Yamada

This Road (Song)

This song feels like it could send memories through your mind—your local route home, the roads you played on with friends, and other moments from the past.

It’s based on a poem written by Hakushu Kitahara in 1926.

They say it depicts scenes from a trip to Hokkaido as well as the path to Kitahara’s mother’s family home in Fukuoka.

The road of memories is different for everyone.

It’s a lovely piece that seems to give us precious time to look back on the past.

coconutLyrics by: Toson Shimazaki / Music by: Toraji Onaka

coconut

Yashi no Mi (Coconut), a song set to a Meiji-era poem by the great writer Shimazaki Tōson—famed for masterpieces like The Broken Commandment and Spring—was born from an episode in which folklorist Yanagita Kunio found a washed-up coconut on Koijigahama Beach in Tahara, Aichi Prefecture.

Even if you don’t grasp every word’s meaning, the poem somehow stirs a sense of homesickness.

It’s a classic that perfectly suits the summer season, though it may be difficult for young children to sing; if you sing it to them like a lullaby, it seems likely to bring on a peaceful sleep.

World of StarsLyrics by Ryuko Kawaji / Music by Converse

World of Stars (Shining night sky… )

It’s a children’s song with Japanese lyrics set to a hymn composed by Converse—many of you have probably heard it.

Listening to the words, it feels as if a beautiful starry sky spreads out before your eyes.

The lovely melody perfectly matches the night sky and seems to heighten the Tanabata atmosphere even more.

If you sing it while thinking of the Milky Way, it’s a wonderful piece that lets you fully savor the feeling of summer.