Itsuki Lullaby

Itsuki Lullaby (in Japanese: 五木の子守唄 Itsuki no komoriuta) is a lullaby known widely in Japan, and is a folk song representative of Kyūshū, Japan.

General

The Itsuki Lullaby is a lullaby known to many people in Japan. It is a folk song from Itsuki Village, Kuma District, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Kyūshū Island, Japan.

Lyrics

There are the most common version and the original version of this lullaby, sung in the Itsuki Village dialect.

The most common version of itsuki lullaby
In Japanese In English

  1. Odoma bon-giri bon-giri,
    Bon kara sakya oran-do
    Bon ga hayo kurya,
    Hayo modoru.

  2. Odoma kanjin -kanjin,[1]
    Anhito-tacha yoka-shu
    Yoka-hu yoka obi,
    Yoka kimon'.

  1. I will be here until Bon Festival,
    After Bon Festival, I will not be here.
    If Bon Festival comes earlier,
    I would return home earlier.

  2. I am from the poor families,
    They are from the rich families.
    The rich people wear good belts,
    Wear good clothes.

The original version
In Japanese In English

  1. Odoma iya iya,
    Naku ko no mori nya.
    Naku to iwarete uramareru,
    Naku to iwarete uramareru.

  2. Nenne shita ko no
    Kawaii sa, muzo sa.
    Okite naku ko no tsura niku sa.
    Okite naku ko no tsura niku sa.

  1. I certainly hate
    Taking care of the crying child.
    They hate me for keeping the child to cry,
    They hate me for keeping the child to cry.

  2. The sleeping child's
    Cuteness and Innocent look!
    The crying child's ugly look,
    The crying child's ugly look.

The Myth of the Itsuki Lullaby

Just recently, the myth of the Itsuki Lullaby is being discussed.[2]

The Discovery

The lullaby was "discovered" by a school teacher in 1935, long after the song ceased to be sung.

The Lullaby by the baby sitters from the poor families

It has long been believed that this song was sung by the baby sitters from the poor families. Itsuki was next to Gokanosho, where the Heike people came to settle after their defeat in the Genji-Heike War in the Heian period and later the Kamakura shogunate sent their Genji samurai families to watch over them, thus creating the rich Genji families and poorer Heike families.

See also

References
  1. kanjin literally means a beggar
  2. "The Myth of the Itsuki Lullaby" (A King Records CD, KICG-3078, 2003)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.