This
Web site builds on the results of a collaborative research project, funded
by a Freeman Foundation grant through the 2002
ASIANetwork
Freeman Student Faculty Fellows Program. Yukiko Kawahara of
the Asian Studies Program at the University of Redlands was the faculty
mentor to four undergraduates in this project. The purpose of the project
is to provide K-12 and college level students with a resource for learning
about 19th and 20th century Japanese social and cultural history through
a selection of songs taught in schools and children's songs.
The Web site has many components: recordings and translations of children’s
songs; related pictures and movie clips which represent the lyrics of
the songs; descriptions of the songs and associated pictures; overview;
additional resources. These songs can be used in many different ways in
the classroom. By engaging in experiential learning through an encounter
with music taught in school to Japanese children, students will arrive
at a deeper understanding of Japanese history and culture in a unique
approach that delves into the society and psychology of the Japanese people.
For example, by listening to them, students can use their imagination
to think about what the songs are about. From the translations, students
can compose poems, or they can create their own drawings to express their
own images of songs. These Japanese songs can also provide a comparative
context for the discussion of such universal themes as the adoption of
children from different cultural backgrounds or the death of children.
This Web site is an ongoing
project of Yukiko Kawahara, and will be updated and expanded from time
to time.
Note on transliteration & name order: Double vowels
for long o’s in Japanese words and names are transliterated here
as “oo” rather than as “ou.” Long u’s are
transliterated as “uu.” However, double vowels in familiar
place names are rendered as single vowels, e.g. Kyoto rather than Kyooto.
The names of Japanese persons are given in the Western order, with the
personal name preceding the surname, e.g. Ujoo Noguchi rather than Noguchi
Ujoo as in the Japanese name order.
Click on each song
title to move to its page with lyrics and multimedia files:
Hanakage (Falling Blossoms)
Hanayome ningyoo (Bridal Doll)
Chatsumi (Tea Leaf Picking)
Kanariya (The Canary)
Koojoo no tsuki (Moon Over the Ruined Castle)
Hamabe no uta (Song of the Seashore)
Yashi no mi (Coconut)
Hamachidori (Beach Plovers)
Nanatsu no ko (Seven Baby Crows)
Shabondama (Soap Bubbles)
Akai kutsu (Red Shoes)
Aoi me no ningyoo (Blue-Eyed Doll)
Mikan no hana saku oka (Hill of Tangerine
Blossoms)
Hakushuu Kitahara
Ujoo Noguchi
Tooson Shimazaki
Rentaro Taki
Misuzu Kaneko
