Warabe uta

Warabe uta (童歌) are traditional Japanese songs, similar to nursery rhymes. They are often sung as part of traditional children's games. They are described as a form of min'yo: traditional Japanese songs, usually sung without accompanying instruments.

The centuries-old lyrics are often incomprehensible to modern Japanese (especially to children who are singing it), and others can be quite sinister on close analysis. Like many of children's songs around the world, because people are used to them from an early age, they are often oblivious to the real meanings.

Examples of warabe uta

Tōryanse

"Tōryanse" is often played as an electronic tune at pedestrian crossings in Japan to signal when it is safe to cross.

(When infant mortality was high, people traditionally celebrated when a child survived to reach the age of 7. See Shichigosan)

This particular warabe-uta is sung as part of a traditional game identical to "London Bridge Is Falling Down". Two children facing each other link their hands to form an arch 'checkpoint', and the remaining children walk through underneath in a line (and back round again in circles). The child who happens to be under the arch when the song finishes is then 'caught'.