[Yamagata Songs] Beloved local tunes and classic tracks celebrating majestic nature and hometown pride

Begoko heads to the mountains.Tomoo Sugai

Begoko heads to the mountains.

Tomoo Sugai, a farmer and singer-songwriter active in Yamagata, is based in Yamagata Prefecture but has frequently appeared in the media and has been gaining recognition for some time.

His song “Bego-ko wa Yama e” (“The Calf Goes to the Mountain”) was also used in a commercial for Yonezuru Sake Brewery in Yamagata Prefecture.

Set at the Shirataka Mountain Pasture, the song expresses the feelings of someone who has lived alongside a calf whose fate—to be sold—was decided from birth, and it’s enough to bring you to tears.

(Though, I still do enjoy beef, I must admit.

)

Safflower Picking SongSayuri Ishikawa

Safflower Picking Song - Sayuri Ishikawa - 1979

This is a new folk song from Yamagata Prefecture—a drinking song.

Safflower belongs to the daisy family, but like a rose it has thorns.

There are thornless varieties used for fresh flowers, but for dyeing, thorny safflowers are used.

They are picked in the morning because the thorns soften with the early-morning dew.

It’s a folk song that sings of Yamagata along with the wisdom of the past.

AgarashareSeikō

"Agarashare" Yamagata Prefectural Folk Song, cover by Seiko

This is a sake party song passed down in the Osawa settlement of Mogami District, Yamagata Prefecture.

It says that mornings are busy and afternoons are busy—the idea being that breakfast gets pushed to noon and lunch to evening.

“Agarashare” means “please have some,” and the song describes the custom of being made to drink alcohol even if it’s a bit forced.

It’s a folk song characteristic of Tohoku, known for its hardworking people—not just in Yamagata.

Mamurogawa BoogieIsao Hayashi

Mamurogawa Boogie / Isao Hayashi

The Mamurogawa Ondo, created by Haru Sato, proprietress of the Mamurogawa restaurant BeniyA, drew on two versions of the work song Nattu-bushi: one sung by migrant workers in the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, and another learned in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, by Nakue Chikaoka—who had worked at a restaurant there and later returned to Mamurogawa.

The Mamurogawa Ondo became famous nationwide, and in 1954 a boogie-style arrangement of it became a hit.

Mom’s MonologueSachiko Kobayashi

A Mother's Soliloquy (Sachiko Kobayashi) by tetsuro

“When you want to be filial, your parents are gone.” That’s the phrase that comes to mind with this song.

Strictly speaking, the lyrics alone don’t make it clear whether the mother is alive or not, but since “I’m sorry” and “I want to see you again” are repeated, that’s how I interpreted it.

The memories that come back—simple, everyday conversations and exchanges with my mother—are heartwarming.

Saya Asakura began studying folk music from a young age and is talented enough to have won national competitions in both elementary and junior high school.

I also think the songs that make full use of her dialect are something only Asakura can uniquely deliver.

Michinoku Rain SentimentKomachi Yukino

Michinoku Ujō (Path to the North, Melancholy of Rain) — Yukino Komachi ~Cover~

Although it’s not a place name exclusive to Yamagata Prefecture, as a local Tohoku song that skillfully incorporates famous sightseeing spots of Michinoku, it also features regions like Iwate and Fukushima.

Believing I can meet the one I love again, I travel on—today it’s the Mogami River, and indeed this river is the emblem of Yamagata.

Yoshiko’s Hanagasa OndoMiko Takekawa

Shin-buyō [Yoshiko's Hanagasa Ondo] by Yoshiko Takekawa, Ushio Shin-buyō Research Association, Toyama Prefecture Takaoka Cultural Hall

When it comes to folk songs that represent Yamagata, it has to be the Hanagasa Ondo.

It’s famous nationwide, not just among Yamagata residents, especially as a Bon dance song.

Because of that, there are many titles like “Traditional Hanagasa Ondo” and “Singer X’s Hanagasa Ondo,” where the singer’s name is placed in front.

There are slight arrangements, but nothing drastically different.