Children’s songs today (1)—“Children’s hymns”—

Abstract

Within children’s culture, Japanese children’s songs are remarkable for their richness and diversity. As Japan rapidly modernized, western music fused with traditional Japanese music leading to the birth of singing songs and nursery rhymes. Children’s songs have been mass-produced with the rapid spread of various media, starting with records, radio, television, and more recently computer games and the internet. This rich variety of children’s songs can be thought of as unique to Japan, but it is not just a matter of repeating mass production and consumption. Especially in childcare, songs are very important to children’s development.

This paper focuses on hymns which are said to have influenced the creation of singing songs, revisits what children’s songs are, and what the songs are for children, from the perspective of children’s hymns.