Pathway to Japanese Literature
Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.
Morning SparrowAuthor:Noguchi Ujo← Back
When I turn seven years old,
New Year has come!
This year - how old am I?
This year - six!
Last year - five!
When I turn seven,
To school I shall go!
Randoseru slung over me,
Textbooks packed tight,
Straw hat secured,
Cloth cap donned,
Hands waving high,
Alone - off I go!
Shrine Visit
At the beginning of the year,
Shrine Visit
Hands pressed together
At the shrine
The nation's prosperity
From the heart
Prayer to the gods
They offered a prayer.
The sky too calmly
Softly,
Refreshingly,
Broke into dawn
New Year’s Cards
From Friends
New Year's Cards
Correct down to every character,
Meticulously.
New Year Dawns
Congratulations
Written large
Next,
To become an honors student
So that I become
This year, I too—
Than last year
I will study hard,
is written
Countryside New Year
Ah, the Countryside New Year.
Peaceful indeed.
The Harvest Festival too
had already ended.
The field work too
had all been completed.
The work in the rice paddies too.
All had been completed.
At every house, straw bales were piled up.
The entire village was all smiles.
Harmonious it was.
In the mountains and forests,
they smiled.
Under the eaves—from morning,
the sun shone.
Chickens and roosters played.
Even the stable horse was carefree indeed.
First Dream
On New Year’s second day
In the First Dream
Enyaraya
Gitchirako
ISOIDE KOIKOI
TAKARABUNE
GITCHIRAKO
ENYARAYA
TAKARA WO YAMAHODO
TSUNDE KOI
ENYARAYA
GITCHIRAKO
ISOIDE KOIKOI
TAKARABUNE
BANZAI-SAN
New Year’s—
How auspicious!
Banzai-san—
How auspicious!
Beats the drum
Pon pon pon
His companion Saizō too,
How auspicious!
Smiling-smiling, beaming bright.
How auspicious!
With a hood on
Smiling face.
Beats the drum
Pon pon pon
Kite flying and battledore
Blow, wind, blow—blow, wind, blow
Blow quickly
From the sea, from the mountains
Into the blue sky
Because we're flying kites
Blow, Wind!
Because we're playing battledore
Wind, do not blow
In the garden, on the roof,
In the blue sky
Because we're playing battledore
Wind, do not blow
Bean Throwing
Fortune to the home!
Demons out!
Bean Throwing—scaaatter scat-ter
Scaaatter scat-ter
The demons are startled!
Great commotion!
In beans—precious gold!
It’s a disaster!
Fortune in the home!
Smile-smile, grin-grin!
There! Down! There! Down!
More! Down!
Bean Throwing—scatter-scatter!
Scaaatter scat-ter!
The demons panic—
Essa-ssa-ssa!
First Horse Day Festival’s Drum
It’s the First Horse Day.
It’s the First Horse Day.
Boom-boom-kadon
Boom-boom-kadon
Inari-sama’s
It’s festival time!
Boom-boom-kadon
Boom-boom-kadon
Everyone, come, come!
Hurry up and come!
The fox masks
It began.
Hina Dolls
They were always gentle—
the Hina Dolls.
They had come again this year,
in full array.
Without their mouths ever moving,
demure
and neatly lined up:
refinement.
Last year—white sake—
they had offered it.
This year too—white sake
Shall we offer?
The red peach blossoms too—beautifully
are blooming
Please enjoy yourselves
Hina Dolls
Spring’s Rabbit Play
Everyone, come here!
Quickly now—come!
Spring is delightful,
Energetically,
Rabbit play—
"Let's play—
With demon masks—boing boing,
Hopping and bouncing,
Spinning round and round—
Joyfully—
Boing boing, hop hop,
Let's play!"
First graders—
Hats on too,
Freshly prepared.
At long last from Kefu
First graders
Every morning to school
We go.
When we return home,
"We’re home!"
School’s Tale
We share.
Good morning
Good morning, good morning
Good day.
Even our shoes—all by ourselves
We put them on.
When we walk—squeak squeak
They ring out.
Everyone—good morning
Good day.
Singing too—energetically
we sing
Enjoyable play too,
we’ll engage in
Horsetail Procession
Poke poke, sprout sprout
Tsukushinbo
Poke poke—the horsetails
In the field
Sprout sprout, lining up
They stand in rows.
Hats too aligned,
They are hats.
Hakama too aligned,
They are hakama.
Sprout sprout, poke poke,
Tsukushinbo.
If turned toward this earth,
Turned rigidly.
If turned toward that side,
Turned rigidly.
Stiffly aligned,
In the field,
Poke poke, sprout sprout,
They stood in rows.
Spring called
From within the field.
Spring called.
Spring called rapeseed's
Flowers to bloom.
Rapeseed too, called forth,
Flowers bloom,
From within the meadow
Spring calls.
Spring summons violets'
flowers.
Violets too are summoned,
Flowers bloom.
Tide Gathering
Barefoot, squish squish
Tide Gathering
Clams and short-neck clams
In the sand
The small crabs skitter skitter
Scamper scamper
Skitter skitter, the small crabs
Trying to flee,
Clams, short-neck clams
Treading along
Barefoot, squish squish
オヒアルク
Tide Gathering
With friends in tow,
Tide Gathering
The shore at low tide,
In the gently sloping shallows,
Gathering small
Number of shells—
As countless as moons.
In the crashing waves,
The low-tide shore too,
The tide swells.
Eventually, the area becomes sea.
becomes the sea
Ding-ding tram
Ding-ding tram
Ding tram
Ringing ding-ding,
The tram stopped.
Ding-ding tram.
Ding tram
Ding-ding tram
Line up
Look, look—tram
That tram
Tram and tram
Continues
Spring wind
Everyone, come out!
Hold the Hinomaru flag
Spring has come, has come!
How delightful!
In the vast field
In the vast sky
The spring wind blows
How delightful!
In their hands, the Hinomaru
Fluttering, the national flag
Spring has come, come!
How delightful!
Shoes too, lightly lightly
On hats and flags,
The spring wind blows
How delightful!
In the spring rice fields
In the paddies' expanse of fields
Spring has come,
In the muddy field, they were sleeping.
Even the pond snails
Emerge from early morning
To play about.
Because ice forms
And cold persists,
Pond snails prefer spring
To winter's grip.
In the paddies' fields
Now that spring has come,
Frogs too awake—
Energetic since dawn,
They leap and play.
Both frogs and loaches
Love this season's warmth,
Strolling out together
With pond snails in tow.
Birds sing through the forest—
Forests upon forests—
At their very heart:
Tall cryptomeria trees
Where springtime perches
Chin-kara-chin!
What songbirds these are—
Trilling toward blue skies
From cedar branches firm,
Chin-kara-chin!
Through spring's boundless air.
Tall cedar trunks
On the cedar trees
When spring comes
The birds—
*Chinkara chin!*
They perched.
How they sang!
Birds.
Blue sky—they gazed at it.
Singing birds.
Perched neatly on the cedars,
Perched,
*Chinkara chin!*
They sang.
Spring sky—
The sky was beautifully
clear and sunny.
Every day, every day,
fine weather.
Even the distant mountains—
They were clearly visible.
Up to the mountaintops—
Snow melted—
In the small thicket, they chirped．
To the Bush Warbler
Happy, happy．
Spring came
Rapeseed blossoms—
Land here! Land!
Butterflies, land here!
In the field’s midst，
On rapeseed leaves—
Butterflies’ favorite—
Rapeseed blossoms bloomed．
Bloomed! Bloomed!
Beautiful flowers—
On the rapeseed leaves—
Flutter flutter, flit—
Butterflies, land!
Rapeseed blossoms bloomed
Cherry Blossoms and Small Birds
In the mountains and in the villages,
Spring has come.
Mother of the Small Birds
She likes spring.
Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet
Tweet tweet tweet
Mother of the Small Birds
Flowers she also likes.
Among flowers—the cherry blossoms'
She likes cherry blossoms.
Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet
Tweet tweet tweet
In the mountains too, cherry blossoms—
Cherry blossoms bloom—
In the villages too, cherry blossoms—
Flowers bloom
Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet
Tweet tweet tweet
In front of the school
In front of the school was
a field.
The field's rapeseed blossoms
When they bloomed,
I enrolled.
That I did.
And now today,
the first year.
Again this year—the rapeseed blossoms
bloomed.
I became a second-year student,
advanced.
In the field—rapeseed blossoms
every time they bloom,
every year I advance a grade.
As I do.
Cherry blossoms bloom,
Bloom splendidly,
Fluttering down -
Their falling too is gallant.
Cherry blossoms!
The cherry blossoms are
Gallant and pure,
Our Japan's pride.
The season too is March's spring
When they bloom.
Fuji's lofty peak
Gleams serenely,
People's hearts
Expand unrestrained -
Gallant and noble,
Limitlessly.
A blizzard of flowers
In time will fall:
The nation's pride -
Cherry blossoms.
Cherry blossoms
Pond Snails' Mud Play
The pond snails of the rice paddies
Mud-covered.
Where their faces were—
Unrecognizable.
Where their little eyes were—
Unrecognizable.
Their faces and their little eyes—
Mud-covered.
Squelch squelch, the pond snails—
In the rice paddy—
From morning till evening—
Mud play
Rolled over there—
Heave-ho!
Rolled this way—
Heave-ho!
Chicks
The chicks' home—
a good home—
warm and cozy from morning—
the sunlight shines
Cluck-cluck-clucking—
the parent chicken
calls the chicks—
they play.
Chicks cheep-cheep—
climb onto
the parent chicken's back
to play—
from beneath feathers—
through gaps—
peeking out—
hiding—
Every day, the chicks—
With the parent chicken—
Energetically, happily—
They play.
Lark and Frog
The Lark and the Frog’s
Singing contest—
If the lark loses
From the sky—
Peep-chirp chirp chirp
It comes fleeing.
If the frog also loses
From the rice paddy—
Croak croak, CROAK—
Comes fleeing—
Neither one loses—
Sing your hardest!
The Lark—it seems,
The lark seemed about to lose.
The frog too—it seemed—
Was about to lose.
Both grew weary from their singing contest—
Utterly spent.
Boom-crash!
Boom-boom! Crash!
Underneath—
The medaka swim—
They played—
Boom-boom bashing—
Splish-splash!
All the medaka together—
Fled away.
Boom-boom bashing—
Splashed through—
Boom-boom, boom-thud!
Thus—
The medaka
Received their reward.
Lullaby
Far, far away
In a bamboo-covered hill
Born from dew
The Princess—
Her form graceful
Her features fair—
A brocade obi of tapestry weave
She fastened tight
Her kimono long-sleeved
With a single-layered hem
Patterned with cherry blossoms'
Scattered petals—
Aboard a little boat of small bamboo grass
Hoisting the sail—
A golden bell—
while she rang it
The child who slept
She sought
Loaded on the boat
The souvenirs were
Of gold, silver, and coral
Fine toys
This child's beloved
Nothing but beloved things—
Swallow and Willow
From under the willow tree
The swallow drew water.
Beneath the willow tree
A stream flowed.
From within the stream
It smoothly drew water.
Because it drew with its beak,
Its wings got wet.
The swallow’s home was
in the shade beneath the eaves.
From the shade beneath the eaves
Smoothly it emerged
From under the willow tree
In fluttering flight, it drew water.
Because it drew with its beak,
Its wings got wet.
Rice Planting
Rice planting began this morning.
Began.
When one field was planted,
then moved on to the next,
from one to the next,
they planted on
the wide rice fields’
to the very edges.
By day's end,
completely,
all transformed into green paddies.
Frog Kindergarten
The pond is the frog kindergarten
Kindergarten
Every day was swimming practice.
Practice it was.
Kick kick, kick kick
Splash splash
Swish swish, swish
The one swimming most skillfully
and vigorously
was the frog teacher.
Kick kick, kick kick
Splash splash
Swish swish, swish
To the tadpoles who couldn't swim
he taught swimming
day after day.
Kick kick, kick kick
Splash splash
Swish swish, swish
Swallow's Mud Plastering
The swallow's home was
a mud house.
Mud from rice fields
they carried,
mud from moats
they carried,
plastering walls with their mouths
they worked.
Busy, busy
Peep peep, cheep cheep
Their mouths grew dirty
covered in mud.
Even when flowers bloomed,
they did not pause.
Diligently building their home
they built.
Rice fish
The large rice fish
was Captain.
Tramp-tramp tramp-tramp
Tramp-tramp-tramp
The small rice fish
soldiers
Keeping up without falling behind—tramp-tramp
Tramp-tramp-tramp
No matter how deep this river was,
No matter how deep it ran,
No matter how swift the current flowed,
No matter how fierce its rush,
"Rice fish! Rice fish!"
"A formation!"
Tramp tramp, tramp tramp,
Tramp tramp tramp.
Firefly
Fireflies in the rice paddy
They glow
Their lights
Flicker-flick
Flicker flick
Flicker-flick
Fireflies fly
Swiftly swiftly gliding away.
In the midst of the rice paddy
Swiftly, swiftly
Marsh Crucian Carp Fishing
Silver crucian carp， Gold crucian carp
Marsh Crucian Carp
Marsh Crucian Carp Fishing
Fun!
They shouldered their fishing rods
With friends
Rice Paddy Fishing Trail
Heave-ho!
Large crucian carp and small crucian carp
They came gathering
Even at the marsh's edge
They bit readily
Today too, smiling away
Vigorously
Marsh Crucian Carp Fishing
Heave-ho!
Firefly Catching
“Fireflies! Come! Come!”
“Come here!”
The rice paddy was a muddy field—
the mud hadn’t dried up—
“Through this mire: fly here!”
“Fireflies! Come! Come!”
“Come here!”
The river ran deep—
its waters hadn’t receded—
“If its depths bar your way: surge forth!”
“Booming waves!”
Booming waves, come!
Come from offshore!
From the distant offshore
Follow in succession!
With large waves and small waves,
Come together amiably!
Come, come, come!
Booming waves, come!
Booming waves, boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
Don’t dawdle
Hurry and come!
Look at the shore together amiably
Thundering waves, come!
Come, come, come!
Booming waves, come!
Ohana Batake
Takai Tohokuno
Oyamaniwa
Ohana Batake
Aruno Desu
Ohana Batake ni
Sakuhana Ha
Awaiting summer,
Summer had arrived.
Red and yellow,
Pink,
White and indigo,
Purple—
Everyone splendid!
Flowers had arrived.
Bath
The bath was heated.
It was already heated.
Toy goldfish
They floated.
One, two
Three, four
Together with the goldfish
Let us enter.
The toy goldfish
were amusing -
Even if you sank them
they floated up,
Even if you told them to swim
they didn’t swim.
They lined up in the bath
They are playing.
O Stars
In the sky, glittering.
O Stars
Oh look! The dear eyes—
The dear eyes glow.
From the sky above
Far and wide.
They stay awake every night.
They watch.
The little stars
Because they're sleepy—
their little eyes go blink-blink—
that's what they do.
Even so, still—
Without sleeping—
Rubbing their dear eyes—
They’re awake.
Pond Making
In summer’s garden,
With Father,
Build a pond,
Let’s play.
If they dig up the garden,
First of all.
From the back well
With Father
Water with buckets
Let us transport
Splish-splash
Refreshingly
The water into the pond
When it fills up
Let’s keep goldfish
Let’s gaze upon them
Sea
The sea is blue,
It is beautiful.
Gazing at the sea,
Even in summer,
It becomes pleasantly cool.
The sea is vast,
It is pleasant.
Waves and waves
Thundering onward—
Racing on without yielding—
They continued to do so.
Bamboo-leaf boat
Bamboo leaves’
The bamboo-leaf boat
Flowing down the river,
it flowed on.
The river reaches to the sea.
It continued.
Waves too, in the sea,
crashed.
No oar, no sail.
The bamboo-leaf boat
how far had it flowed—
would it flow?
Suppon Turtle Hatchling
Note: *A river in Manchukuo.
From where the border between Outer Mongolia and Inner Mongolia met the Khingan Range as it headed north, it had flowed eastward.
The downstream section was the renowned Songhua River.
Tao'er River*'s turtle hatchling
Suppon Pon
Suppon Turtle Hatchling
Squelch squelch
Squelch squelch, stick out your neck!
Suppon Pon
Suppon Turtle Hatchling
Mud-covered.
It crawled out of the mud.
Suppon Pon.
The muddy water of the Tao'er River—
Squelch squelch.
Evening Shower
Evening shower—galloping legs, swift legs.
Here they came, here they came—the cumulonimbus clouds!
Suddenly, they spread across the sky.
In the blink of an eye, heavy rain started to fall.
Began roaring, began roaring, began flashing.
Flash flash, rumble rumble, lightning.
Suddenly, they dash through the sky.
So fast! So fast! The cumulonimbus clouds!
Firefly and Dew
The stars in the sky
Came falling down
Into fireflies' glow—
They became, you see
The fireflies' light
Gliding smoothly
Seeking night dew
They go flying
Night dew too—from the sky
From the stars
Onto grass blades and tree leaves
It falls
It fell.
Fireflies too—the stars—
Never forgetting,
seeking night dew,
They flew.
Tanabata
Every year, July
On the seventh
Drum drum Tanabata
Star Festival
Drum drum Tanabata
Come if you will
Drum drum tanzaku
Write your songs,
Tanzaku hung.
Set up bamboo
Drum drum Tanabata
Let us celebrate!
KAMISHIBAI
ハジマル ハジマル
KAMISHIBAI
The mouse panicked.
OSHIBIWAI DA
CHYANKI CHYANKI
CHYAN CHYAN
KONEKONI O HARETA
Parent Mouse
ASTONISHED AND PANICKED
OSHIBIWAI DA
CHYANKI CHYANKI
CHYAN CHYAN
Pine Cricket
Chirrup chirrup
Chirr-chirro ring
Chirr-chirr chirro-lin
Pine cricket,
Hey, hey! What brings you here?
What is it?
When I was in the field
What was I doing?
Chirrup chirrup
While singing,
Morning dew and night dew—
I absorbed them.
Tall Cosmos
Tall
Cosmos
Seikurabe
Ote te wo
Even if I raise [it],
TODOKANAI
So tall...
So tall...
Katenaina
My height—
it can’t be measured.
The Moon and the Rabbit
The Rabbit was on the mountain.
He played.
Mr.Moon was in the sky.
Mr. Moon watches.
The Rabbit and Mr. Moon
Since ancient times,
everyone knows
dear friends.
Insect Voices
Insect music, bustling with life,
Anyone who hears it finds it delightful.
Chirrup chirrup
Chirrup chirrup
Chin-chiro rin rin rin
From around dusk, they wake up
come up onto the grass and bushes
Chirrup chirrup
Chirrup chirrup
Chin-chiro rin rin rin
At night, friends gather,
making thin, cool voices
Chirrup chirrup
Chirrup chirrup
Chin-chiro rin rin rin
They are away.
Where do the swallows go?
They go.
To their homeland—
They go.
The swallows’ homeland—
Where is it?
Their homeland lies south—
Far away.
Crossing seas after seas,
They cross them.
Far, far away—
It is their homeland.
Rabbit's Tug-of-War
Without even making rice cakes,
What in the world happened?
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
Rabbits' Tug-of-War
Shaking their ears, shaking
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
They slip and tumble.
They must not lose.
That's right! That's right!
Pull! Pull!
Until reinforcements arrive,
the match remains undecided.
Even when moonlight bathes the night,
hold fast to that tug-rope!
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
Let go and defeat you'll know!
The Pig’s Nose
The pig’s nose
Toot toot nose
From a young age
The nose trumpeted.
Even while walking,
It toots and toots.
The pig’s nose
Trumpet Nose
A nose that’s a trumpet,
The nose trumpeted.
Once awake,
The nose trumpets.
The pig’s nose
Trumpet Nose
Moonlit Bamboo Grove
Moonlit Bamboo Grove
Tap tap went the bamboo grove.
All night long,
something glistened.
On the bamboo leaves,
what could it be?
All night long it glistened.
What could it be?
Had the drowsy stars
come visiting?
Not stars, no no,
not stars.
Born on a moonlit night,
dewdrops
glistened all night long.
Perfectly round,
resting on bamboo leaves.
Tanuki's Mischief
The rubber ball
Boom-boom boom
The tanuki’s drum
Belly Drum
With Drum and Ball
When he struck it,
Boom-boom boom-boom boom
The tanuki and the ball
Boom-boom boom
Light gourd
Boom-boom boom
The tanuki’s tail—
Because it was heavy.
With its tail, the tanuki
When he struck,
Boom-boom boom-boom boom
The gourd rolled
Boom-boom boom
The flustered crow
On a moonlit night, the crow
opened its eyes.
Believing dawn had come,
it darted out.
Drowsy under the moonlit night,
it had forgotten the moonlit night—
The flustered crow
cawed, "How strange… Caw, caw, caw!"
At dawn, the crow
opened its eyes.
Dusk had come.
The crow began to caw.
Dawn and dusk
the crow mistook.
The flustered crow
“That’s strange… Caw, caw, caw.”
Harvest Moon Night
“Round Mr. Moon,
Mr. Harvest Moon,
With a perfectly round face,
Beaming brightly,
From high in the sky,
‘Hi! Good evening!’
‘Who with, Mr. Moon?’
‘Friends!’
Thud-thud, thud-thud,
Pounding mochi,
Hop-hop with Rabbit,
‘Hi! Dear friends!’”
Clappers
Pull the clappers’ rope.
Clang-clang clang.
The small birds of the rice field
Peek-peek peek.
“Pull, pull! Come on, pull!”
Clang-clang clang.
The small birds gathered together
Peek-peek peek.
“Clappers! Clappers!”
Clang-clang clang.
“Let’s fly! Let’s escape!”
Peek-peek peek.
“Won’t you flee? Won’t you flee?”
Clang-clang clang.
They just wouldn’t fly away.
Peek-peek peek.
The scarecrow.
Holding a bow and arrow,
stood
the scarecrow of the rice field—
a sentry.
The enemy birds,
from afar,
Having spotted the scarecrow,
They fled.
In straw raincoat and hat,
Vigorously,
If they came, it would shoot!
It braced itself.
The scarecrow sentry
The scarecrow was gallant.
Japanese tit
To Kayanokiyama
The Japanese tit
to gather kaya nuts
came
From branch to branch
hopping
its voice loud and clear
singing while
Kayanokiyama’s
On the kaya tree
To gather kaya nuts
The Japanese tit came.
Morning Sparrow
Morning Sparrow
To Mr. Sun
Chirp chirp in unison,
Oyanekara
"Mr. Sun—good morning!"
the sparrow said.
To Morning Sparrow
Mr. Sun too—
While readying his face in the sky
replied:
"Good morning—good morning!"
Daikon Washing
Everyone, line up!
Daikon Washing
Big brother too,
Barefoot
Scrub scrub jump jump
Scrub scrub jump jump
Everyone, tasuki sashes on!
Twist-twist fasten on
Big sister too,
Barefoot
Scrub scrub jump jump
Scrub scrub jump jump
Sparrow and Camellia
Camellia's flower,
On Camellia's branches,
Bloomed time and again.
Under Camellia,
Camellia's flower,
Gazing while playing,
Camellia bloomed.
To the camellia's branch
Sparrow too, come.
Fallen Leaves
The fallen leaves' school's
Dear students
Each time the wind blows
One, two, three
Swish-swish, whirl away
Flutter about
Skilled at flying,
Dear students
All together
One, two, three
Not to be outdone, fluttering
Flutter about
Mountain
Tete-popo potsu-po goes
Mountain Pigeon
At the mountain, [the Mountain Pigeon] blew
blew
Tete-popo tete-popo
Potsu-potsu potsu
Tete-popo potsu-po goes
Mountain Pigeon
Its blowing at the mountain
It’s skilled.
Tete-popo tete-popo
Potsu-potsu potsu
The Escaped Small Bird
The small bird loves hills.
The small bird loves forests.
It plays on the hill.
It sleeps in the forest.
In the cage,
there are no hills.
In the cage,
there are no forests.
The escaped small bird
flies high into the sky,
its small wings
beating on and on,
toward the hills beyond
it flies,
toward the forests beyond
it flies.
It flew on.
Toward the forest beyond
It flew on.
The Tofu Seller’s Trumpet
Early rising, early rising
The tofu seller
Carrying tofu on shoulder
Blows the trumpet
Tote-tote tote-to no
Tote tote-to
Even when rain falls
He does not rest.
Even when the wind blows
He does not rest.
Tote-tote tote-to no
Tote tote-to
From town to town
He blows as he goes.
Gentle trumpeter
Tofu Seller
Cavalrymen
All go clip-clop
Riding their horses
The cavalrymen always
Gallant.
All—their horses too,
Wearing their iron boots
Clip-clop, clip-clippity
Gallop on.
All together.
In times of war,
Always at the forefront,
Gallant.
Chatty Nuthatch
In the mountains: rattle-rattle, rattle-rattle.
Chatty Nuthatch
Black, black, black soft cap’s
Black little cap
White, white, white apron
White vest
Peep-peep rattle-rattle rattle-rattle
Peep rattle-rattle peep
In the forest: rattle-rattle rattle.
From branch to branch hopping
Small, small, small Lloyd's
Small glasses
Blue, blue, blue jacket and
Blue cloak
Peep-peep rattle-rattle rattle-rattle
Peep rattle-rattle peep
Spinning round
Spinning round and round
How amusing!
If you spin quickly,
It speeds up.
If you spin slowly,
It slows down.
If it stops, it won't spin.
You'll fall right over.
Spin without falling!
When you start to run,
Round and round, round and round,
It spins smoothly.
Friends
Everyone, everyone
Dear friends
All together, harmoniously
Let us play
Battledore, jump rope
Running
Even if you lose, don’t cry—
Don’t you dare.
Even if you win, don’t boast—
Don’t you dare.
Victory play
Let us play
Sparrow
The Sparrow's Dawn Awakening
Quickly now
Mr. Sun’s face
Before he shows his face
Open your eyes
[I] ask you to,
Boys and girls—
calling out—
under the eaves: chirp-chirp—
it sings.
Sled and Maiden
Snow-covered field
From afar
Jingle-jingle
Bells rang.
Drawn by the horse,
Briskly,
Shaking its bells,
The sled came.
The ringing of the bells—
The maiden,
Keeping house while
She listened.
The village blacksmith
The village blacksmith
He started early.
Clang clang
Clang clang, Clang.
Large and small hammers’
The sound of hammers
making plows hoes
sickles broadhoes
Clang clang
Clang clang, Clang.
From morning until evening, he was busy.
Skiing
Skiing is such merry fun,
Gliding slippery-slick,
Zipping along.
In clumsy hands,
Skis won't run—
Slip-slide, tumble-down,
They often fall.
Skilled skis press steadily onward,
Swish-swish, swish-swish—
So enjoyable,
Over fields or slopes,
Gliding along.
A Word About Children’s Songs by Noguchi Ujo
This children's song anthology *Asaoki Suzume* (Morning Sparrow) would bring me great joy if it could serve as even a modest foundation for nurturing moral education in children—preserving our native soil, that is to say, Japan's inherent national character—free from the influence of what I have long decried as Anglo-American cultural impositions.
Allow me to elaborate on this through several points regarding children's songs.
Fundamentally, children's songs being songs for children, one must avoid using characters and meanings difficult for them to comprehend, writing instead in terms accessible to all.
They must be composed with the childlike heart emerging from nature's essence at their core.
Thus children's songs cannot exist through exclusion or disregard of this childlike heart; moreover, they must never contain romantic attachments between the sexes.
Since such romantic elements belong to folk songs, it is precisely this distinction that makes children's songs worthy of being called pure and innocent.
This too demands careful consideration from an educational perspective.
In children’s songs, it was common to have interactions such as talking to dogs, conversing with horses, and treating them in a human-like manner.
The reason was that dogs, horses, and all things in creation were viewed as being the same as humans.
Truly, children’s songs were childlike in nature, and thus differed from what was commonly referred to as ordinary literature.
Herein lay the reason why children’s songs were children’s songs.
Now, speaking of children’s songs, there was the saying "An infant is like an adult," as taught by the sages of old—but here "infant" did not mean a baby; rather it signified one who possessed a pure heart.
Similarly, when they spoke of an "adult," this did not merely denote someone grown; it meant one who ought to serve as a model for others.
Even today, writing phrases like "Honorable Adult" when addressing one’s superiors holds this same connotation of reverence.
In essence, declaring that "an infant is like an adult" meant that within children’s hearts resides a noble spirit fit to guide humanity.
Moreover, though their words differed across eras and lands, those revered as sages of antiquity all taught this same purity.
Since time immemorial it had been understood that every child’s heart is innately pure.
When creating children’s songs, it should be akin to water flowing downhill—they must flow smoothly and naturally.
Something written with excessive deliberation would not run smoothly.
As long as it does not hinder children’s education, leaders must take care to heed this point.
Fairy tales and children's songs both spring from the same childlike heart; however, since fairy tales are stories and children's songs are songs, there exists a difference between stories and songs—yet both belong to children.
Being songs, children's songs place greater emphasis on the rhythm and melody of words.
It is erroneous to believe any subject could become a children's song.
There are those that naturally become children's songs and those that do not.
Attempting to force what does not naturally become a children’s song requires painstaking effort.
Even after such exertion, one cannot write it well.
On this point too, leaders must give careful consideration.
It is the radiant nation of Japan.
To nurture the pure and innocent hearts of children that embody our national character is essential for the future; moreover, it is our duty to cultivate, even modestly, a sense of local color.
May 1, Showa 17 (1942)
Noguchi Ujo
New Year has come!
This year - how old am I?
This year - six!
Last year - five!
When I turn seven,
To school I shall go!
Randoseru slung over me,
Textbooks packed tight,
Straw hat secured,
Cloth cap donned,
Hands waving high,
Alone - off I go!
Shrine Visit
At the beginning of the year,
Shrine Visit
Hands pressed together
At the shrine
The nation's prosperity
From the heart
Prayer to the gods
They offered a prayer.
The sky too calmly
Softly,
Refreshingly,
Broke into dawn
New Year’s Cards
From Friends
New Year's Cards
Correct down to every character,
Meticulously.
New Year Dawns
Congratulations
Written large
Next,
To become an honors student
So that I become
This year, I too—
Than last year
I will study hard,
is written
Countryside New Year
Ah, the Countryside New Year.
Peaceful indeed.
The Harvest Festival too
had already ended.
The field work too
had all been completed.
The work in the rice paddies too.
All had been completed.
At every house, straw bales were piled up.
The entire village was all smiles.
Harmonious it was.
In the mountains and forests,
they smiled.
Under the eaves—from morning,
the sun shone.
Chickens and roosters played.
Even the stable horse was carefree indeed.
First Dream
On New Year’s second day
In the First Dream
Enyaraya
Gitchirako
ISOIDE KOIKOI
TAKARABUNE
GITCHIRAKO
ENYARAYA
TAKARA WO YAMAHODO
TSUNDE KOI
ENYARAYA
GITCHIRAKO
ISOIDE KOIKOI
TAKARABUNE
BANZAI-SAN
New Year’s—
How auspicious!
Banzai-san—
How auspicious!
Beats the drum
Pon pon pon
His companion Saizō too,
How auspicious!
Smiling-smiling, beaming bright.
How auspicious!
With a hood on
Smiling face.
Beats the drum
Pon pon pon
Kite flying and battledore
Blow, wind, blow—blow, wind, blow
Blow quickly
From the sea, from the mountains
Into the blue sky
Because we're flying kites
Blow, Wind!
Because we're playing battledore
Wind, do not blow
In the garden, on the roof,
In the blue sky
Because we're playing battledore
Wind, do not blow
Bean Throwing
Fortune to the home!
Demons out!
Bean Throwing—scaaatter scat-ter
Scaaatter scat-ter
The demons are startled!
Great commotion!
In beans—precious gold!
It’s a disaster!
Fortune in the home!
Smile-smile, grin-grin!
There! Down! There! Down!
More! Down!
Bean Throwing—scatter-scatter!
Scaaatter scat-ter!
The demons panic—
Essa-ssa-ssa!
First Horse Day Festival’s Drum
It’s the First Horse Day.
It’s the First Horse Day.
Boom-boom-kadon
Boom-boom-kadon
Inari-sama’s
It’s festival time!
Boom-boom-kadon
Boom-boom-kadon
Everyone, come, come!
Hurry up and come!
The fox masks
It began.
Hina Dolls
They were always gentle—
the Hina Dolls.
They had come again this year,
in full array.
Without their mouths ever moving,
demure
and neatly lined up:
refinement.
Last year—white sake—
they had offered it.
This year too—white sake
Shall we offer?
The red peach blossoms too—beautifully
are blooming
Please enjoy yourselves
Hina Dolls
Spring’s Rabbit Play
Everyone, come here!
Quickly now—come!
Spring is delightful,
Energetically,
Rabbit play—
"Let's play—
With demon masks—boing boing,
Hopping and bouncing,
Spinning round and round—
Joyfully—
Boing boing, hop hop,
Let's play!"
First graders—
Hats on too,
Freshly prepared.
At long last from Kefu
First graders
Every morning to school
We go.
When we return home,
"We’re home!"
School’s Tale
We share.
Good morning
Good morning, good morning
Good day.
Even our shoes—all by ourselves
We put them on.
When we walk—squeak squeak
They ring out.
Everyone—good morning
Good day.
Singing too—energetically
we sing
Enjoyable play too,
we’ll engage in
Horsetail Procession
Poke poke, sprout sprout
Tsukushinbo
Poke poke—the horsetails
In the field
Sprout sprout, lining up
They stand in rows.
Hats too aligned,
They are hats.
Hakama too aligned,
They are hakama.
Sprout sprout, poke poke,
Tsukushinbo.
If turned toward this earth,
Turned rigidly.
If turned toward that side,
Turned rigidly.
Stiffly aligned,
In the field,
Poke poke, sprout sprout,
They stood in rows.
Spring called
From within the field.
Spring called.
Spring called rapeseed's
Flowers to bloom.
Rapeseed too, called forth,
Flowers bloom,
From within the meadow
Spring calls.
Spring summons violets'
flowers.
Violets too are summoned,
Flowers bloom.
Tide Gathering
Barefoot, squish squish
Tide Gathering
Clams and short-neck clams
In the sand
The small crabs skitter skitter
Scamper scamper
Skitter skitter, the small crabs
Trying to flee,
Clams, short-neck clams
Treading along
Barefoot, squish squish
オヒアルク
Tide Gathering
With friends in tow,
Tide Gathering
The shore at low tide,
In the gently sloping shallows,
Gathering small
Number of shells—
As countless as moons.
In the crashing waves,
The low-tide shore too,
The tide swells.
Eventually, the area becomes sea.
becomes the sea
Ding-ding tram
Ding-ding tram
Ding tram
Ringing ding-ding,
The tram stopped.
Ding-ding tram.
Ding tram
Ding-ding tram
Line up
Look, look—tram
That tram
Tram and tram
Continues
Spring wind
Everyone, come out!
Hold the Hinomaru flag
Spring has come, has come!
How delightful!
In the vast field
In the vast sky
The spring wind blows
How delightful!
In their hands, the Hinomaru
Fluttering, the national flag
Spring has come, come!
How delightful!
Shoes too, lightly lightly
On hats and flags,
The spring wind blows
How delightful!
In the spring rice fields
In the paddies' expanse of fields
Spring has come,
In the muddy field, they were sleeping.
Even the pond snails
Emerge from early morning
To play about.
Because ice forms
And cold persists,
Pond snails prefer spring
To winter's grip.
In the paddies' fields
Now that spring has come,
Frogs too awake—
Energetic since dawn,
They leap and play.
Both frogs and loaches
Love this season's warmth,
Strolling out together
With pond snails in tow.
Birds sing through the forest—
Forests upon forests—
At their very heart:
Tall cryptomeria trees
Where springtime perches
Chin-kara-chin!
What songbirds these are—
Trilling toward blue skies
From cedar branches firm,
Chin-kara-chin!
Through spring's boundless air.
Tall cedar trunks
On the cedar trees
When spring comes
The birds—
*Chinkara chin!*
They perched.
How they sang!
Birds.
Blue sky—they gazed at it.
Singing birds.
Perched neatly on the cedars,
Perched,
*Chinkara chin!*
They sang.
Spring sky—
The sky was beautifully
clear and sunny.
Every day, every day,
fine weather.
Even the distant mountains—
They were clearly visible.
Up to the mountaintops—
Snow melted—
In the small thicket, they chirped．
To the Bush Warbler
Happy, happy．
Spring came
Rapeseed blossoms—
Land here! Land!
Butterflies, land here!
In the field’s midst，
On rapeseed leaves—
Butterflies’ favorite—
Rapeseed blossoms bloomed．
Bloomed! Bloomed!
Beautiful flowers—
On the rapeseed leaves—
Flutter flutter, flit—
Butterflies, land!
Rapeseed blossoms bloomed
Cherry Blossoms and Small Birds
In the mountains and in the villages,
Spring has come.
Mother of the Small Birds
She likes spring.
Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet
Tweet tweet tweet
Mother of the Small Birds
Flowers she also likes.
Among flowers—the cherry blossoms'
She likes cherry blossoms.
Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet
Tweet tweet tweet
In the mountains too, cherry blossoms—
Cherry blossoms bloom—
In the villages too, cherry blossoms—
Flowers bloom
Tweet-tweet, tweet-tweet
Tweet tweet tweet
In front of the school
In front of the school was
a field.
The field's rapeseed blossoms
When they bloomed,
I enrolled.
That I did.
And now today,
the first year.
Again this year—the rapeseed blossoms
bloomed.
I became a second-year student,
advanced.
In the field—rapeseed blossoms
every time they bloom,
every year I advance a grade.
As I do.
Cherry blossoms bloom,
Bloom splendidly,
Fluttering down -
Their falling too is gallant.
Cherry blossoms!
The cherry blossoms are
Gallant and pure,
Our Japan's pride.
The season too is March's spring
When they bloom.
Fuji's lofty peak
Gleams serenely,
People's hearts
Expand unrestrained -
Gallant and noble,
Limitlessly.
A blizzard of flowers
In time will fall:
The nation's pride -
Cherry blossoms.
Cherry blossoms
Pond Snails' Mud Play
The pond snails of the rice paddies
Mud-covered.
Where their faces were—
Unrecognizable.
Where their little eyes were—
Unrecognizable.
Their faces and their little eyes—
Mud-covered.
Squelch squelch, the pond snails—
In the rice paddy—
From morning till evening—
Mud play
Rolled over there—
Heave-ho!
Rolled this way—
Heave-ho!
Chicks
The chicks' home—
a good home—
warm and cozy from morning—
the sunlight shines
Cluck-cluck-clucking—
the parent chicken
calls the chicks—
they play.
Chicks cheep-cheep—
climb onto
the parent chicken's back
to play—
from beneath feathers—
through gaps—
peeking out—
hiding—
Every day, the chicks—
With the parent chicken—
Energetically, happily—
They play.
Lark and Frog
The Lark and the Frog’s
Singing contest—
If the lark loses
From the sky—
Peep-chirp chirp chirp
It comes fleeing.
If the frog also loses
From the rice paddy—
Croak croak, CROAK—
Comes fleeing—
Neither one loses—
Sing your hardest!
The Lark—it seems,
The lark seemed about to lose.
The frog too—it seemed—
Was about to lose.
Both grew weary from their singing contest—
Utterly spent.
Boom-crash!
Boom-boom! Crash!
Underneath—
The medaka swim—
They played—
Boom-boom bashing—
Splish-splash!
All the medaka together—
Fled away.
Boom-boom bashing—
Splashed through—
Boom-boom, boom-thud!
Thus—
The medaka
Received their reward.
Lullaby
Far, far away
In a bamboo-covered hill
Born from dew
The Princess—
Her form graceful
Her features fair—
A brocade obi of tapestry weave
She fastened tight
Her kimono long-sleeved
With a single-layered hem
Patterned with cherry blossoms'
Scattered petals—
Aboard a little boat of small bamboo grass
Hoisting the sail—
A golden bell—
while she rang it
The child who slept
She sought
Loaded on the boat
The souvenirs were
Of gold, silver, and coral
Fine toys
This child's beloved
Nothing but beloved things—
Swallow and Willow
From under the willow tree
The swallow drew water.
Beneath the willow tree
A stream flowed.
From within the stream
It smoothly drew water.
Because it drew with its beak,
Its wings got wet.
The swallow’s home was
in the shade beneath the eaves.
From the shade beneath the eaves
Smoothly it emerged
From under the willow tree
In fluttering flight, it drew water.
Because it drew with its beak,
Its wings got wet.
Rice Planting
Rice planting began this morning.
Began.
When one field was planted,
then moved on to the next,
from one to the next,
they planted on
the wide rice fields’
to the very edges.
By day's end,
completely,
all transformed into green paddies.
Frog Kindergarten
The pond is the frog kindergarten
Kindergarten
Every day was swimming practice.
Practice it was.
Kick kick, kick kick
Splash splash
Swish swish, swish
The one swimming most skillfully
and vigorously
was the frog teacher.
Kick kick, kick kick
Splash splash
Swish swish, swish
To the tadpoles who couldn't swim
he taught swimming
day after day.
Kick kick, kick kick
Splash splash
Swish swish, swish
Swallow's Mud Plastering
The swallow's home was
a mud house.
Mud from rice fields
they carried,
mud from moats
they carried,
plastering walls with their mouths
they worked.
Busy, busy
Peep peep, cheep cheep
Their mouths grew dirty
covered in mud.
Even when flowers bloomed,
they did not pause.
Diligently building their home
they built.
Rice fish
The large rice fish
was Captain.
Tramp-tramp tramp-tramp
Tramp-tramp-tramp
The small rice fish
soldiers
Keeping up without falling behind—tramp-tramp
Tramp-tramp-tramp
No matter how deep this river was,
No matter how deep it ran,
No matter how swift the current flowed,
No matter how fierce its rush,
"Rice fish! Rice fish!"
"A formation!"
Tramp tramp, tramp tramp,
Tramp tramp tramp.
Firefly
Fireflies in the rice paddy
They glow
Their lights
Flicker-flick
Flicker flick
Flicker-flick
Fireflies fly
Swiftly swiftly gliding away.
In the midst of the rice paddy
Swiftly, swiftly
Marsh Crucian Carp Fishing
Silver crucian carp， Gold crucian carp
Marsh Crucian Carp
Marsh Crucian Carp Fishing
Fun!
They shouldered their fishing rods
With friends
Rice Paddy Fishing Trail
Heave-ho!
Large crucian carp and small crucian carp
They came gathering
Even at the marsh's edge
They bit readily
Today too, smiling away
Vigorously
Marsh Crucian Carp Fishing
Heave-ho!
Firefly Catching
“Fireflies! Come! Come!”
“Come here!”
The rice paddy was a muddy field—
the mud hadn’t dried up—
“Through this mire: fly here!”
“Fireflies! Come! Come!”
“Come here!”
The river ran deep—
its waters hadn’t receded—
“If its depths bar your way: surge forth!”
“Booming waves!”
Booming waves, come!
Come from offshore!
From the distant offshore
Follow in succession!
With large waves and small waves,
Come together amiably!
Come, come, come!
Booming waves, come!
Booming waves, boom!
Boom, boom, boom!
Don’t dawdle
Hurry and come!
Look at the shore together amiably
Thundering waves, come!
Come, come, come!
Booming waves, come!
Ohana Batake
Takai Tohokuno
Oyamaniwa
Ohana Batake
Aruno Desu
Ohana Batake ni
Sakuhana Ha
Awaiting summer,
Summer had arrived.
Red and yellow,
Pink,
White and indigo,
Purple—
Everyone splendid!
Flowers had arrived.
Bath
The bath was heated.
It was already heated.
Toy goldfish
They floated.
One, two
Three, four
Together with the goldfish
Let us enter.
The toy goldfish
were amusing -
Even if you sank them
they floated up,
Even if you told them to swim
they didn’t swim.
They lined up in the bath
They are playing.
O Stars
In the sky, glittering.
O Stars
Oh look! The dear eyes—
The dear eyes glow.
From the sky above
Far and wide.
They stay awake every night.
They watch.
The little stars
Because they're sleepy—
their little eyes go blink-blink—
that's what they do.
Even so, still—
Without sleeping—
Rubbing their dear eyes—
They’re awake.
Pond Making
In summer’s garden,
With Father,
Build a pond,
Let’s play.
If they dig up the garden,
First of all.
From the back well
With Father
Water with buckets
Let us transport
Splish-splash
Refreshingly
The water into the pond
When it fills up
Let’s keep goldfish
Let’s gaze upon them
Sea
The sea is blue,
It is beautiful.
Gazing at the sea,
Even in summer,
It becomes pleasantly cool.
The sea is vast,
It is pleasant.
Waves and waves
Thundering onward—
Racing on without yielding—
They continued to do so.
Bamboo-leaf boat
Bamboo leaves’
The bamboo-leaf boat
Flowing down the river,
it flowed on.
The river reaches to the sea.
It continued.
Waves too, in the sea,
crashed.
No oar, no sail.
The bamboo-leaf boat
how far had it flowed—
would it flow?
Suppon Turtle Hatchling
Note: *A river in Manchukuo.
From where the border between Outer Mongolia and Inner Mongolia met the Khingan Range as it headed north, it had flowed eastward.
The downstream section was the renowned Songhua River.
Tao'er River*'s turtle hatchling
Suppon Pon
Suppon Turtle Hatchling
Squelch squelch
Squelch squelch, stick out your neck!
Suppon Pon
Suppon Turtle Hatchling
Mud-covered.
It crawled out of the mud.
Suppon Pon.
The muddy water of the Tao'er River—
Squelch squelch.
Evening Shower
Evening shower—galloping legs, swift legs.
Here they came, here they came—the cumulonimbus clouds!
Suddenly, they spread across the sky.
In the blink of an eye, heavy rain started to fall.
Began roaring, began roaring, began flashing.
Flash flash, rumble rumble, lightning.
Suddenly, they dash through the sky.
So fast! So fast! The cumulonimbus clouds!
Firefly and Dew
The stars in the sky
Came falling down
Into fireflies' glow—
They became, you see
The fireflies' light
Gliding smoothly
Seeking night dew
They go flying
Night dew too—from the sky
From the stars
Onto grass blades and tree leaves
It falls
It fell.
Fireflies too—the stars—
Never forgetting,
seeking night dew,
They flew.
Tanabata
Every year, July
On the seventh
Drum drum Tanabata
Star Festival
Drum drum Tanabata
Come if you will
Drum drum tanzaku
Write your songs,
Tanzaku hung.
Set up bamboo
Drum drum Tanabata
Let us celebrate!
KAMISHIBAI
ハジマル ハジマル
KAMISHIBAI
The mouse panicked.
OSHIBIWAI DA
CHYANKI CHYANKI
CHYAN CHYAN
KONEKONI O HARETA
Parent Mouse
ASTONISHED AND PANICKED
OSHIBIWAI DA
CHYANKI CHYANKI
CHYAN CHYAN
Pine Cricket
Chirrup chirrup
Chirr-chirro ring
Chirr-chirr chirro-lin
Pine cricket,
Hey, hey! What brings you here?
What is it?
When I was in the field
What was I doing?
Chirrup chirrup
While singing,
Morning dew and night dew—
I absorbed them.
Tall Cosmos
Tall
Cosmos
Seikurabe
Ote te wo
Even if I raise [it],
TODOKANAI
So tall...
So tall...
Katenaina
My height—
it can’t be measured.
The Moon and the Rabbit
The Rabbit was on the mountain.
He played.
Mr.Moon was in the sky.
Mr. Moon watches.
The Rabbit and Mr. Moon
Since ancient times,
everyone knows
dear friends.
Insect Voices
Insect music, bustling with life,
Anyone who hears it finds it delightful.
Chirrup chirrup
Chirrup chirrup
Chin-chiro rin rin rin
From around dusk, they wake up
come up onto the grass and bushes
Chirrup chirrup
Chirrup chirrup
Chin-chiro rin rin rin
At night, friends gather,
making thin, cool voices
Chirrup chirrup
Chirrup chirrup
Chin-chiro rin rin rin
They are away.
Where do the swallows go?
They go.
To their homeland—
They go.
The swallows’ homeland—
Where is it?
Their homeland lies south—
Far away.
Crossing seas after seas,
They cross them.
Far, far away—
It is their homeland.
Rabbit's Tug-of-War
Without even making rice cakes,
What in the world happened?
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
Rabbits' Tug-of-War
Shaking their ears, shaking
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
They slip and tumble.
They must not lose.
That's right! That's right!
Pull! Pull!
Until reinforcements arrive,
the match remains undecided.
Even when moonlight bathes the night,
hold fast to that tug-rope!
Heave-ho! Heave-ho!
Let go and defeat you'll know!
The Pig’s Nose
The pig’s nose
Toot toot nose
From a young age
The nose trumpeted.
Even while walking,
It toots and toots.
The pig’s nose
Trumpet Nose
A nose that’s a trumpet,
The nose trumpeted.
Once awake,
The nose trumpets.
The pig’s nose
Trumpet Nose
Moonlit Bamboo Grove
Moonlit Bamboo Grove
Tap tap went the bamboo grove.
All night long,
something glistened.
On the bamboo leaves,
what could it be?
All night long it glistened.
What could it be?
Had the drowsy stars
come visiting?
Not stars, no no,
not stars.
Born on a moonlit night,
dewdrops
glistened all night long.
Perfectly round,
resting on bamboo leaves.
Tanuki's Mischief
The rubber ball
Boom-boom boom
The tanuki’s drum
Belly Drum
With Drum and Ball
When he struck it,
Boom-boom boom-boom boom
The tanuki and the ball
Boom-boom boom
Light gourd
Boom-boom boom
The tanuki’s tail—
Because it was heavy.
With its tail, the tanuki
When he struck,
Boom-boom boom-boom boom
The gourd rolled
Boom-boom boom
The flustered crow
On a moonlit night, the crow
opened its eyes.
Believing dawn had come,
it darted out.
Drowsy under the moonlit night,
it had forgotten the moonlit night—
The flustered crow
cawed, "How strange… Caw, caw, caw!"
At dawn, the crow
opened its eyes.
Dusk had come.
The crow began to caw.
Dawn and dusk
the crow mistook.
The flustered crow
“That’s strange… Caw, caw, caw.”
Harvest Moon Night
“Round Mr. Moon,
Mr. Harvest Moon,
With a perfectly round face,
Beaming brightly,
From high in the sky,
‘Hi! Good evening!’
‘Who with, Mr. Moon?’
‘Friends!’
Thud-thud, thud-thud,
Pounding mochi,
Hop-hop with Rabbit,
‘Hi! Dear friends!’”
Clappers
Pull the clappers’ rope.
Clang-clang clang.
The small birds of the rice field
Peek-peek peek.
“Pull, pull! Come on, pull!”
Clang-clang clang.
The small birds gathered together
Peek-peek peek.
“Clappers! Clappers!”
Clang-clang clang.
“Let’s fly! Let’s escape!”
Peek-peek peek.
“Won’t you flee? Won’t you flee?”
Clang-clang clang.
They just wouldn’t fly away.
Peek-peek peek.
The scarecrow.
Holding a bow and arrow,
stood
the scarecrow of the rice field—
a sentry.
The enemy birds,
from afar,
Having spotted the scarecrow,
They fled.
In straw raincoat and hat,
Vigorously,
If they came, it would shoot!
It braced itself.
The scarecrow sentry
The scarecrow was gallant.
Japanese tit
To Kayanokiyama
The Japanese tit
to gather kaya nuts
came
From branch to branch
hopping
its voice loud and clear
singing while
Kayanokiyama’s
On the kaya tree
To gather kaya nuts
The Japanese tit came.
Morning Sparrow
Morning Sparrow
To Mr. Sun
Chirp chirp in unison,
Oyanekara
"Mr. Sun—good morning!"
the sparrow said.
To Morning Sparrow
Mr. Sun too—
While readying his face in the sky
replied:
"Good morning—good morning!"
Daikon Washing
Everyone, line up!
Daikon Washing
Big brother too,
Barefoot
Scrub scrub jump jump
Scrub scrub jump jump
Everyone, tasuki sashes on!
Twist-twist fasten on
Big sister too,
Barefoot
Scrub scrub jump jump
Scrub scrub jump jump
Sparrow and Camellia
Camellia's flower,
On Camellia's branches,
Bloomed time and again.
Under Camellia,
Camellia's flower,
Gazing while playing,
Camellia bloomed.
To the camellia's branch
Sparrow too, come.
Fallen Leaves
The fallen leaves' school's
Dear students
Each time the wind blows
One, two, three
Swish-swish, whirl away
Flutter about
Skilled at flying,
Dear students
All together
One, two, three
Not to be outdone, fluttering
Flutter about
Mountain
Tete-popo potsu-po goes
Mountain Pigeon
At the mountain, [the Mountain Pigeon] blew
blew
Tete-popo tete-popo
Potsu-potsu potsu
Tete-popo potsu-po goes
Mountain Pigeon
Its blowing at the mountain
It’s skilled.
Tete-popo tete-popo
Potsu-potsu potsu
The Escaped Small Bird
The small bird loves hills.
The small bird loves forests.
It plays on the hill.
It sleeps in the forest.
In the cage,
there are no hills.
In the cage,
there are no forests.
The escaped small bird
flies high into the sky,
its small wings
beating on and on,
toward the hills beyond
it flies,
toward the forests beyond
it flies.
It flew on.
Toward the forest beyond
It flew on.
The Tofu Seller’s Trumpet
Early rising, early rising
The tofu seller
Carrying tofu on shoulder
Blows the trumpet
Tote-tote tote-to no
Tote tote-to
Even when rain falls
He does not rest.
Even when the wind blows
He does not rest.
Tote-tote tote-to no
Tote tote-to
From town to town
He blows as he goes.
Gentle trumpeter
Tofu Seller
Cavalrymen
All go clip-clop
Riding their horses
The cavalrymen always
Gallant.
All—their horses too,
Wearing their iron boots
Clip-clop, clip-clippity
Gallop on.
All together.
In times of war,
Always at the forefront,
Gallant.
Chatty Nuthatch
In the mountains: rattle-rattle, rattle-rattle.
Chatty Nuthatch
Black, black, black soft cap’s
Black little cap
White, white, white apron
White vest
Peep-peep rattle-rattle rattle-rattle
Peep rattle-rattle peep
In the forest: rattle-rattle rattle.
From branch to branch hopping
Small, small, small Lloyd's
Small glasses
Blue, blue, blue jacket and
Blue cloak
Peep-peep rattle-rattle rattle-rattle
Peep rattle-rattle peep
Spinning round
Spinning round and round
How amusing!
If you spin quickly,
It speeds up.
If you spin slowly,
It slows down.
If it stops, it won't spin.
You'll fall right over.
Spin without falling!
When you start to run,
Round and round, round and round,
It spins smoothly.
Friends
Everyone, everyone
Dear friends
All together, harmoniously
Let us play
Battledore, jump rope
Running
Even if you lose, don’t cry—
Don’t you dare.
Even if you win, don’t boast—
Don’t you dare.
Victory play
Let us play
Sparrow
The Sparrow's Dawn Awakening
Quickly now
Mr. Sun’s face
Before he shows his face
Open your eyes
[I] ask you to,
Boys and girls—
calling out—
under the eaves: chirp-chirp—
it sings.
Sled and Maiden
Snow-covered field
From afar
Jingle-jingle
Bells rang.
Drawn by the horse,
Briskly,
Shaking its bells,
The sled came.
The ringing of the bells—
The maiden,
Keeping house while
She listened.
The village blacksmith
The village blacksmith
He started early.
Clang clang
Clang clang, Clang.
Large and small hammers’
The sound of hammers
making plows hoes
sickles broadhoes
Clang clang
Clang clang, Clang.
From morning until evening, he was busy.
Skiing
Skiing is such merry fun,
Gliding slippery-slick,
Zipping along.
In clumsy hands,
Skis won't run—
Slip-slide, tumble-down,
They often fall.
Skilled skis press steadily onward,
Swish-swish, swish-swish—
So enjoyable,
Over fields or slopes,
Gliding along.
A Word About Children’s Songs by Noguchi Ujo
This children's song anthology *Asaoki Suzume* (Morning Sparrow) would bring me great joy if it could serve as even a modest foundation for nurturing moral education in children—preserving our native soil, that is to say, Japan's inherent national character—free from the influence of what I have long decried as Anglo-American cultural impositions.
Allow me to elaborate on this through several points regarding children's songs.
Fundamentally, children's songs being songs for children, one must avoid using characters and meanings difficult for them to comprehend, writing instead in terms accessible to all.
They must be composed with the childlike heart emerging from nature's essence at their core.
Thus children's songs cannot exist through exclusion or disregard of this childlike heart; moreover, they must never contain romantic attachments between the sexes.
Since such romantic elements belong to folk songs, it is precisely this distinction that makes children's songs worthy of being called pure and innocent.
This too demands careful consideration from an educational perspective.
In children’s songs, it was common to have interactions such as talking to dogs, conversing with horses, and treating them in a human-like manner.
The reason was that dogs, horses, and all things in creation were viewed as being the same as humans.
Truly, children’s songs were childlike in nature, and thus differed from what was commonly referred to as ordinary literature.
Herein lay the reason why children’s songs were children’s songs.
Now, speaking of children’s songs, there was the saying "An infant is like an adult," as taught by the sages of old—but here "infant" did not mean a baby; rather it signified one who possessed a pure heart.
Similarly, when they spoke of an "adult," this did not merely denote someone grown; it meant one who ought to serve as a model for others.
Even today, writing phrases like "Honorable Adult" when addressing one’s superiors holds this same connotation of reverence.
In essence, declaring that "an infant is like an adult" meant that within children’s hearts resides a noble spirit fit to guide humanity.
Moreover, though their words differed across eras and lands, those revered as sages of antiquity all taught this same purity.
Since time immemorial it had been understood that every child’s heart is innately pure.
When creating children’s songs, it should be akin to water flowing downhill—they must flow smoothly and naturally.
Something written with excessive deliberation would not run smoothly.
As long as it does not hinder children’s education, leaders must take care to heed this point.
Fairy tales and children's songs both spring from the same childlike heart; however, since fairy tales are stories and children's songs are songs, there exists a difference between stories and songs—yet both belong to children.
Being songs, children's songs place greater emphasis on the rhythm and melody of words.
It is erroneous to believe any subject could become a children's song.
There are those that naturally become children's songs and those that do not.
Attempting to force what does not naturally become a children’s song requires painstaking effort.
Even after such exertion, one cannot write it well.
On this point too, leaders must give careful consideration.
It is the radiant nation of Japan.
To nurture the pure and innocent hearts of children that embody our national character is essential for the future; moreover, it is our duty to cultivate, even modestly, a sense of local color.
May 1, Showa 17 (1942)
Noguchi Ujo
Pagetop