Japanese Peasant Songs/Children’s Game Songs

by by John F. Embree with Ella Embree and Yukuo Uyehara

Children’s Game Songs

There are many children’s games with songs to accompany them in Kuma, as elsewhere in Japan. The games played vary with the seasons and with the sex of the players. Brief descriptions of some of the games are given with the songs below, but there is no set rule that a given song will always accompany the same game. Most of the children’s game songs are sung to accompany one or another of the girls’ games.

Most of the songs which follow are probably local to Kyūshū, if not to Kuma. There are a number of nationally known school songs that are popular among the village children, but with one or two exceptions these are not included here.

Many of the children’s songs are irregular in form, the rhythm being synchronized with the movements of a game.

Ball Bouncing Songs

Ball bouncing is a girls’ game, played in autumn. Boys not only do not play it and other girls’ games, but rationalize their not doing so by saying that girls are quicker with their hands. Boys’ games include a kind of cops and robbers, mock warfare, and, in summer, the chasing of dragon flies.

Masachan and the Policeman

This is recited in a rapid singsong with an accent on the last word of every second line. The ball is bounced with one hand with a heavier bounce on the accented word. At the last line the ball is bounced to one side of the player and on the last word is cut into the folds of the player’s kimono.

The content of the song implies that one should not damage public property. The last few lines reflect the shame associated with a business call by a police officer.

The form of the song is a series of seven- and five-syllable lines.

86

Gakkō okairi[1] no Masachan gá Denshin bashira ni Ishi o nagé Asa wa junsha-san[2] Shikararerú Okāchan to Masachan wa Naki wakaré Sh’to ga miru kara Choito kakusú

Returning from school Little Miss Masa At the telephone pole Threw a stone. In the morning by Mr. Policeman She gets a scolding. The mother and Masa will Part in tears. Since people can see She will hide a bit.[3]

Where Are You From?

This is sung in a singsong similar to Song 86. The last few lines are recited a bit faster and the ball is bounced a little faster. On the last line the ball is bounced higher and is caught on the player’s back after which she starts from the beginning again. If a group is playing, losing the last catch means losing one’s turn.

87

An’ta gata doku sa? Higo sa Higo doko sa? Kumamoto sa Kumamoto doko sa? Semba sa Semba gawa ni wa Ebi sha[4] otte sa Sore ni ryōshi wa Ami shade totte sa Nitte sa Kutte sa Na no ha de Choi choi

Where are you from? Higo.[5] Where in Higo? Kumamoto.[6] Where in Kumamoto? Semba.[7] In the Semba River There are shrimps. These the fisherman With a net caught, Boiled, Ate With cabbage leaves. Choi choi.

Gomumari^[8]

(Rubber Ball)

This is a counting song played by several children together, each one seeing how far she can get in a rather fancy series of bounces before she misses the ball. Missing a catch the player stops and resumes where she left off when her turn comes up again. The difference between each stanza is that the word tonde (bounce) in the first line is repeated as many times as one has had turns up to ten, and on the Sanjū ittai nittai santai line the numbers called, and consequently the number of bounces of the ball is increased by three each time (three, six, nine, up to thirty). Certain types of bouncing accompany certain words. Regular bouncing is by hand and off the ground, when tonde, nijū, and sanjū are called it is bounced on the foot, suisen calls for it to be thrown up on the back of one’s hand, tsukamō is a signal to pick it up when it bounces, then let it bounce again, on ote ni tsuite the player touches her free hand between bounces, and on ohidan tsuite she touches her leg between bounces; supon-pon is the most complicated—the player bounces the ball, then throws it up on her toe twice and resumes regular bouncing. No one ever gets through the entire series without missing.

88a

Hi fu[9] mitsu nana yoka[10] tonde Hi fu mitsu nana yoka nijū Hi fu mitsu nana yoka sanjū Sanjū hittotsu futatsu Sanjū hittotsu futatsu Tonde hittotsu futatsu Sanjū suisen Tonde suisen Nijū suisen Sanjū ittai nittai santai Tsukamō mō mō Kugatsu no shinkoko[11] Oten’tsuite[12] Ohidan tsuite Yari kono Supon-pon[13] Ikku hi fu mitsu Nana yoka tonde

One two three seven eight bounce. One two three seven eight twenty, One two three seven eight thirty, Thirty one two, Thirty one two, Bounce one two. Thirty straight up, Bounce straight up. Twenty straight up, Thirty once, twice, thrice, Grasp it again, again. September new grain Touch the hand, Touch the leg, Pass on, Supon-pon. One person one two three, Seven eight bounce.

88b	Hi fu[9] mitsu nana yoka tonde tonde (The rest is the same as 88a up to: Sanju ittai nittai santai shitai gotai rokutai Then again the same up to the final: Ikku hi fu mitsu nana yoka tonde tonde)
88c	Hi fu[9] mitsu nana yoka tonde tonde tonde …… Sanju ittai nittai santai shitai gotai rokutai sh’chitai hachitai kutai …… Ikku hi fu mitsu nana yoka tonde tonde tonde

88d to 88j follow the same cumulative pattern.

Saigō Takamori’s Daughter

This is another counting song, but with some story to it in contrast to the almost purely numerical content of Song 88. A similar song is recorded by Bonneau in Folklore japonais, Vol. 3, No. 54.

The song below refers to the rebellion and death of Saigō, a popular hero of southern Kyūshū. This is one of the few songs in the collection dealing with historic events. Another is Song 91.

89

Ichi kake ni kake san kakete Shi kakete go kakete Hashi wo kake Hashi no rankan Koshi oroshi Haruka mukō wo Nagamureba Ju-sh’chi-hachi no Neisan ga Katate ni hana mochi Senkō mochi Neisan doku[14] ka to Tazunereba Watashi Kyūshū Kagoshima no Saigō Takamori Musume desu Meiji Jū-nen Sensō ni Uchijini nasareta Chichi ue no Ohaka mairi Made shimasu Moshi watashi wa Otoko nara Shikan gakkō Sotsugyō shi Ume ni uguisu Tomarasete Hōhokekyō to Nakasemasu

One two three measures,[15] Four five measures,[15] Suspend a bridge. On the bridge railing Sitting, Way over there Should one look, A seventeen or eighteen year old Maiden[16] In one hand carrying flowers, Incense in the other. “Where from, maiden?” Should one ask: I am from Kyūshū, Kagoshima’s Saigō Takamori’s Daughter. In the Meiji Ten War,[17] Having been killed in battle, My father His grave I am visiting. If I Had been a boy, From military school I’d be graduating, As the nightingale on the plum tree Alighting, Hōhokekyō[18] I would sing.[19]

Bean Curd Is White

Children like to recite this song very rapidly to see who can do it the fastest without making a mistake. The song opens as a counting song like No. 89, but actually it is quite different. It has a special form whereby the final word of one line has the same sound and the same meaning as the first word of the following line. Except for the first line, which is long, the song consists of a series of seven­ syllable lines.

90

Ichi kaku ni kaku san kaku shi kaku Shikaku wa tōfu Tōfu wa shiroi Shiroi wa usagi Usagi wa haneru Haneru wa kaeru Kaeru wa aoi Aoi wa banana Banana wa nagai Nagai wa entotsu Entotsu wa kuroi Kuroi wa Indojin Indojin wa tsuyoi Tsuyoi wa Kintoki Kintoki wa akai Akai wa jakuro Jakuro wa wareru Wareru wa manjū

One corner two corners three corners four corners. Four cornered[20] is bean curd, Bean curd is white, White is a rabbit, A rabbit jumps, Jumps a frog, Frog is green, Green is banana, Banana is long, Long is chimney, Chimney is black, Black is Hindu, Hindu is strong, Strong is Kintoki,[21] Kintoki is red, Red is pomegranate, Pomegranate is divisible, Divisible is dumpling.[22]

Bean Bag and Skip Rope Songs

Bean bag and skip rope are also girls’ games. In the spring the girls carry their bean bags (shako) everywhere. While a mother is calling on someone, a little girl will bring out her bags and juggle them. There are any number of songs similar to our “One, two button your shoe” type, sung to various tunes, but all having a definite rhythm which allows for an alternating series of long and short throws. If two girls are playing together, during the long throw the partner catches the bags and juggles them until the song calls for another long throw. There are also games where one girl will play with the bags until she misses when the other one takes her turn.

Japan’s Nogi

This is a skip rope (ohairi or hai yorosi) song, also used as a bean bag song. Many different verses are sung to the tune of this song.

The subject of the song, Russia’s defeat by Japan, is something never forgotten by the Japanese, being referred to in all patriotic speeches. This little game song, one of several on the same subject, helps to inculcate in the minds of the children the pattern of thought of regarding Russia as a weak and somewhat strange, barbarous country. Often in the midst of a game children will break out with a gay “Nihon ga katta, Rossia maketa!” (Japan won, Russia lost!)

In form, this is a serial song similar to No. 90 except that here it is the final syllable instead of the final word of a line that forms the beginning of the first word in the next line. During the bean bag throwing a series of short throws accompanies the opening lines, then there is a long throw on ‘chan chan bō’ to ‘inkoroshi.’ The remaining long lines are recited very rapidly to the accompaniment of shorter throws.

The sense of the song is somewhat influenced by its form. The bird names, suzume and mejiro, for instance, appear to be inserted simply as a means of connecting Gaisensu with Rossia.

91

Nippon no Nogisan ga Gaisensu Suzume Mejiro Rossia Yabangoku Kurobatokin Kinnotama Makete niguru chan chan bō Bō de tataku wa inkoroshi Siberia tetsudō jya nai keredo Dobin no kuchi kara hakedaseba Barutsikukantai dzenmetushi Shiro hata Tatete kōsansu

Japan’s Nogi[23] Triumphantly returned. Sparrow, White eye, Russia, Barbarous country. Kuropatkin,[24] Testicles. Lost and fled Chinamen. One who beats with a stick is a dog catcher, Not that I speak of Siberian Railroad, But steam comes from the kettle spout. The Baltic fleet all destroyed, The white flag raising, Surrendered.

The Soldier’s Girl

92

Gakkō okairi Jōchan ga Aka shiri Hikkaragete Hin no yosa Sore de heitai san ga Horekonde Kamisashi yaru ka Kushi yaru ka Watasi sono mono[25] Irimasen Ima no hayari Kochirimen Mosi-mosi

Returning from school Young girl, Red skirts Tucked up, So very graceful That a soldier Fell in love.[26] “Shall I give you a hairpin, Shall I give you a comb?” “I such things Do not want, The present style Is silk crepe I say.”

Cat, Cat

93

Neko, neko, neko, neko Sakaya neko Sakaya ga iya nara Yomi-ire[27] de Yomi-ire nara dōgu wa Nani, nani ka? Tansu, nagamochi Suzuribako[28] Kore dake motte iku naraba Futatabi kaette Kurumaizo

Cat, cat, cat, cat, Cat of the sake shop. If you do not want the sake shop Become a bride. If you go as a bride, the dowry What will it be? A dresser, a chest, A writing box.[28] If you take so much along, You must not Come back again.

Father Is a Peony

94

Chichi wa shakuyaku Haha botan[29] Imōto wa shiro giku Nīsan wa Kwanpeitaisha no Kunshōbana Choito watasi wa No ni saku yuri no hana Metta ni senshi wo uchitogete Kin no kibako ni Okuraru

Father is a peony, Mother is a peony,[30] Younger sister a white chrysanthemum, Older brother A decoration flower Of the shrine. Only I am A lily flower blooming in the fields, Dead in the battlefield, In a golden wooden box Sent back.

Other Game Songs

Other games such as those using pebbles, hand clapping games and so on are also accompanied by songs or recited verses.

While Plucking a Violet

(Pebble Game Song)

95

Sumire tsumitsutsu Kairi yoku[31] Yama-kyō no Kodomo no airashisa

While plucking a violet They return home: Mountain village children Are charming.

Hanako’s Tears

This is a song to accompany a hand clapping game of which there are many varieties. One common type similar to our own “Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,” is played thus: Two children sit facing each other. They first clap their own hands together, then clap hands together, right hand clapping the other’s left and left hand clapping the other’s right; then they clap their own hands again and reverse the previous cross clapping—the right hand clapping the other’s right, the left the other’s left. In some games a player claps her own hands twice before clapping with the partner; in others a player claps hands, then claps palms on legs, then claps hands with partner.

Song 96 is a cumulative song somewhat similar to 90. In the repetitive words and phrases there is a heavy accent on the final syllable to correspond to a movement of the game.

96

Arutoki Hanako no Namida ga Hóri horí[32] Hóri horí Ammari deta node Tamoto de Nuguímashó[33] Nuguímashó Nuguta kimono wa Araímashó[33] Araímashó Aratta kimono wa Shiburímashó[33] Shiburímashó Shibutta kimono wa Hoshímashó[33] Hoshímashó Hosh’ta kimono wa Tatamímashó[33] Tatamímashó Tatanda kimono wa Naoshímashó[33] Naoshímashó Naoshita kimono wa Nezumi ga Poki pokí Poki pokí On puku pon-na-pon

Once Hanako’s Tears Poured down, Poured down— Too many tears. With kimono sleeve Let us wipe, Let us wipe. Wetted kimono Let us wash, Let us wash. Washed kimono Let us wring, Let us wring. Wrung kimono Let us hang up, Let us hang up. Hung kimono Let us fold, Let us fold. Folded kimono Let us put away, Let us put away. Put-away kimono The mice ate: Poki pokí Poki pokí On puku pon-na-pon.[34]

Gokuraki Ji^[35]

(Paradise Temple)

This game is played by two groups. Two people hold hands as if forming a gateway, while the others approach and sing the first line of the song. The gatekeepers answer. The first group sings the following line and so on. The verses are not really sung, but are rather recited in a singsong. The last line is not clear, unless it refers to the visit to shrines when a child is seven; however, in Kuma this custom is not observed. After the end of the song the first group is allowed to go through one by one and the trick is to get by without being slapped by the gatekeepers. If they are slapped, they go to hell (jigoku), if not, to paradise (gokuraku). When all have passed they get their due. Those gone to hell are inclosed between the outstretched arms of two people and are shaken violently while standing up until they fall down; the paradise people are supported on the outstretched arms of two people and thrown up and down. All this is done to a refrain:

Jigoku, gokuraku,
Oni san no kawari.

Hell, paradise,
In the devil’s stead.

97

1st group: “Kono michi wa doko desuka?” 2nd group: “Tenjin sama ni tōru michi” 1st group: “Dōzo tōshite gudasanshe”[36] 2nd group: “Oya ga nai no ni tōsaseno” 1st group: “Kono ko ga nanatsu no oiwaibi.  Dōzo tōshite gudasanshe”

“Where does this road lead?” “It is the road to Tenjin shrine.” “Please take me across.” “Without parents we cannot take you.” “This is the child’s seventh celebration. Please take (him) across.”

Cloth Spread Out

Two girls hold hands facing each other or back to back and sing this song. On the last word, which is much drawn out to suit the movement, they turn through twisted arms to assume their original position and start the song again.

98

Momen zara zara Azuki zara zara Nama daizu no niu[37] tokya Kaeru kai na[38]

Cloth spread out, Red beans spread out— When fresh soya beans are cooked Shall we return?

Young Lady in a Basket

In the game to which this song is sung one child squats in the center, while others go around in a circle singing the verse. When they stop singing the child in the center, keeping his eyes shut, must guess who stopped behind him. While guessing he feels all over the other in order to identify him and there is much laughter as girls try to pick up their long hair, or assume different heights in order to confuse identity.

99	Question:	“Kago no naka no ojyō san, Naze sei ga hikui no?”	“Young lady in a basket[39] Why are you so small in stature?”
	Answer:	“Benkyō sen kara hikui no Tatte goran, tatte goran, Anata no ushiro dare ga oru?  Dare ga oru?”	“From not studying you are so small. Do stand up, do stand up, Behind you who is it? Who is it?”

Mizu-Guruma^[40]

(Water Mill)

In the water mill game a group of children hold hands forming a chain. Two people at the head of the chain make a gate with their hands for the others to pass through, forming a circle as they do so. The movement is regarded as suggestive of the rotation of a water mill.

100

Ido no kawaze no Mizu-guruma Hi gacha-gacha-gacha Hi gacha-gacha-gacha

By the rapids of the river The water mill goes Hi gacha-gacha-gacha, Hi gacha-gacha-gacha.

Swallow Ken-Ken

This song is repeated over and over again as a group of children hop around in a circle facing outward, each with his left leg interlocked with his neighbor’s. The verse is repeated until they fall down.

101

Tsubame ken-ken Mame tsubana Tsunde yokaro ka Mimi naka Supon-pon Mimi naka Supon-pon

Swallow ken-ken The reed ears Can I pick them? No ears, Supon-pon No ears, Supon-pon.

Takayama of Fukada

This is a children’s song sung coming home from school when the sky becomes red in the region of Takayama. It is used as a shuttlecock song at New Year’s. There is a story about the mountain: About three years ago there were many trees on Takayama, a small but distinctive hill in Fukada belonging to Shōya hamlet. The people of Shōya decided to cut them down. When they came to a tall tree near Jizō-san it refused to be cut. The people thought this odd so called a priest who prayed. Then they cut it down. After that the god of the mountain appeared in a dream and told a man of Shōya that their houses would be burned down. Since then about six houses have been burned in Shōya.

102

Fukada no Takayama Fukada no Takayama Yūyaketa[41] Usagi mo tanoki[42] mo Yūyaketa[41]

Takayama of Fukada Fukada’s Takayama Was burnt very well. Rabbits and badgers Were burnt very well too.

Fig. 10 (top)

Ball Bouncing.

Fig. 11 (bottom)

Mizu-Guruma (Water Mill).

Fireflies

A song sung mostly in spring and early summer (although also heard at other times) and often used by boys as a call to each other. It has a tune somewhat similar to those used by English hunters on a horn. The song appears to be well known outside Kyūshū. In Kuma young boys learn it from older ones, not from a school text. Lafcadio Hearn records a version of the song which he gives as local to Izumo, in his chapter on children’s songs in A Japanese Miscellany.^[43] A literary form of the poem with an extra stanza by Kazumasa Yoshimaru is given in Uyehara’s Songs for Children 26.

103

Ho-ho-hottaru koi Sochi no mizu wa Nigai zo Kochi no mizu wa Amai zo Hotaru no yama kara Hottate koi

Ho-ho fireflies, come. The water over there Is bitter, The water over here Is sweet. From the mountain of fireflies Come.

Tokyo I Saw

This is sung as one player carries another upside down on her back.

104

Mieta mieta Tōkyō ga mieta

I saw, I saw, Tokyo I saw.

---

1. For: okaeri.
2. For: junsa-san. This line is shorter in singing than it appears here.
3. The ball is hidden in the kimono folds at the end of the song, thus corresponding to Masachan’s hiding of her face.
4. Ebi cha in my notes; probably should be as given above.
5. The old name for the present Kumamoto perfecture.
6. I.e., Kumamoto City.
7. A part of Kumamoto City.
8. So called by the children who play the game and sing the song.
9. For: hitotsu, futatsu. This short form is frequently used in counting.
10. For: yatsu.
11. For: shinkoku.
12. For: O te ni.
13. Onomatopoeia.
14. For: doko.
15. ‘Of wood’ is understood.
16. ‘One would see’ is understood.
17. Saigō Rebellion of Tenth year of Meiji (1877).
18. Onomatopoeia for the song of the nightingale.
19. The general meaning of the end of this song is that “I would be a successful man.” Bonneau’s version of the song does not include the section about “If I had been a boy.”
20. I.e., square.
21. Kintoki is a legendary strong boy usually depicted with a red face.
22. Manjū locally is a symbol for the vulva. When giving the words of this song the girls at first would not give the last word our of bashfulness and said to put in rei-rei-rei (i.e., zero zero zero or 0-0-0 as is done in censored Japanese newspaper reports referring to troops), then finally pointed to the vulva without naming it. In another region this line would not have any sexual connotation since the word manjū is not used in a sexual sense. In northern Kumamoto for instance the corresponding word for vulva is mencho.
23. The Japanese general who captured Port Arthur in 1905.
24. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army during the Russo-Japanese war.
25. For: sonna mono.
26. “With you” is understood.
27. For: yome-iri.
28. Some versions have Hasamibako—a lacquered box carried at the end of a pole and formerly used in traveling by men of rank.
29. In the song botan is pronounced bota-un because the accent falls at the end of the short lines.
30. Two different types of peony are referred to in the original: shakuyaku and botan.
31. For: kaeri yuku.
32. Accent on the ‘o’ of the first word and the ‘i’ of the second.
33. A clearly accented ‘i’ just before ‘massho’ and another accent on the final ‘o.’
34. Last three lines form an onomatopoetic description of the mice eating.
35. The Kuma children’s name for this game and song.
36. For: kudasanshe.
37. For: nieru.
38. Another version:

    Momen zara zara Azuki no ni Daizu no niu made Kaeru kai na

    Cloth spread out Before red beans cooked Before soya beans cooked Shall we return?

39. Or cage, or palanquin.
40. The local name for the game and song.
41. For: yōyaketa.
42. For: tanuki.
43. Hearn’s text is:

    Hotaru koi midzu nomashō
    Achi no midzu wa nigai zo
    Kochi no midzu wa amai zo
    Amai hō e tonde koi.