is a selection of songs and nursery rhymes widely beloved in Japan, sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Parents-Teachers Association of Japan. A poll was held in 2006 choosing the songs from a list of 895. The results were announced in 2007. Although it is called a compilation of 100 songs, the list includes 101 songs.
The idea for the compilation came from famed psychologist and agency chief Hayao Kawai, to prevent juvenile delinquency and to combat the "weakening" of Japan's shared cultural heritage. The agency released a CD and a songbook with printed melodies for all 101 songs to be used in public schools.[1] The Asahi Shimbun used this list to compile a list of 15 most endangered children's songs.[2]
The composer and lyricist for several songs published by the Japanese Ministry of Education in the early 1900s are unknown.
The songs are numbered by the Japanese syllabary in gojūon ordering.
| No. | Japanese title | English title (rōmaji) | Date | Lyricist/translator | Composer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 仰げば尊し | 1884 | Fumihiko Ōtsuki, Satomi Tadashi, Kabe Iwao | H.N.D. | |||
| 2 | 1922 | ||||||
| 3 | 1927 | ||||||
| 4 | 1946 | (森まさる) | |||||
| 5 | 1924 | ||||||
| 6 | 1925 | ||||||
| 7 | 1925 | ||||||
| 8 | 1962 | (鶴見正夫) | (湯山昭) | ||||
| 9 | 1978 | ||||||
| 10 | 1962 | (佐伯孝夫) | (吉田正) | ||||
| 11 | 1960 | Yoshimi Satō (佐藤義美) | |||||
| 12 | 上を向いて歩こう | 1961 | also known as "Sukiyaki" originally sung by Kyu Sakamoto | ||||
| 13 | 1941 | (林柳波) | (井上武士) | ||||
| 14 | 1935 | Hachirō Satō (サトウハチロー) | (河村光陽) | ||||
| 15 | 江戸子守唄 | Edo period | traditional; lyricist and composer unknown | ||||
| 16 | 1941 | (林柳波) | (松島つね) | ||||
| 17 | melody "Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree", traditional English folk song lyricist unknown Jaromír Weinberger composed an orchestral work based on the tune in 1939. | ||||||
| 18 | 大きな古時計 | 1940 | melody "My Grandfather's Clock" (1876), American popular song | ||||
| 19 | おかあさん | 1954 | (田中ナナ) | ||||
| 20 | 1901 | (東くめ) | |||||
| 21 | おはなしゆびさん | 1962 | Yoshiko Kōyama (香山美子) | (湯山昭) | |||
| 22 | 1914 | ||||||
| 23 | 1981 | (増子とし) | (本多鉄麿) | ||||
| 24 | 1962 | (越部信義) | |||||
| 25 | 1954 | (窪田聡) | (窪田聡) | ||||
| 26 | 風 | 1921 | |||||
| 27 | 1923 | (西條八十) | |||||
| 28 | 1937 | (武内俊子) | (河村光陽) | ||||
| 29 | 1925 | ||||||
| 30 | 川の流れのように | 1989 | |||||
| 31 | 1912 | Ministry of Education | Aira Ōwada (大和田愛羅) | ||||
| 32 | 1938 | (富原薫) | |||||
| 33 | 1966 | (金子詔一) | (金子詔一) | ||||
| 34 | 1919 | (清水かつら) | |||||
| 35 | こいのぼり | 1931 | (近藤宮子) | composer unknown | |||
| 36 | 1963 | (丘灯至夫) | (遠藤実) | ||||
| 37 | 荒城の月 | 1901 | (土井晩翠) | ||||
| 38 | 1977 | sung by Momoe Yamaguchi | |||||
| 39 | 1927 | ||||||
| 40 | 1963 | ||||||
| 41 | さくら貝の歌 | 1949 | (土屋花情) | (八洲秀章) | |||
| 42 | さくらさくら | 1888 | traditional; lyricist and composer unknown | ||||
| 43 | サッちゃん | 1959 | (阪田寛夫) | ||||
| 44 | 1945 | (斎藤信夫) | (海沼實) | ||||
| 45 | 幸せなら手をたたこう | 1964 | (木村利人) | melody "If You're Happy and You Know It", traditional Spanish (or Latvian, or American) folk song | |||
| 46 | 叱られて | 1972 | (清水かつら) | ||||
| 47 | 1970? | (荒木とよひさ) | (荒木とよひさ) | ||||
| 48 | 時代 | 1975 | |||||
| 49 | シャボン玉 | 1922 | |||||
| 50 | Warabe uta
| ||||||
| 51 | スキー | Sukī (Skiing) | 1942 | (時雨音羽) | |||
| 52 | 1923 | (海野厚) | |||||
| 53 | 2003 | ||||||
| 54 | 1953 | ||||||
| 55 | 1913 | (吉丸一昌) | (中田章) | ||||
| 56 | 1941 | (巽聖歌) | (渡辺茂) | ||||
| 57 | 1955 | Hachirō Satō (サトウハチロー) | |||||
| 58 | 1912 | Ministry of Education | Ministry of Education | ||||
| 59 | チューリップ | Chūrippu (Tulip) | 1932 | (近藤宮子) | (井上武士) | ||
| 60 | 1923 | (加藤まさを) | (佐々木すぐる) | ||||
| 61 | 1971 | (山上路夫) | (村井邦彦) | ||||
| 62 | 1961 | (やなせたかし) | (いずみたく) | ||||
| 63 | 通りゃんせ | Edo period | Warabe uta
| ||||
| 64 | どこかで春が | 1923 | (百田宗治) | ||||
| 65 | ドレミのうた | 1959 | from the musical The Sound of Music | ||||
| 66 | Taishō period | (青木存義) | |||||
| 67 | 1949 | (額賀誠志) | |||||
| 68 | ないしょ話 | 1939 | (結城よしを) | (山口保治) | |||
| 69 | 涙そうそう | 1998 | original Okinawan language lyrics by BEGIN | ||||
| 70 | 1949 | (江間章子) | |||||
| 71 | 1896 | ||||||
| 72 | 七つの子 | 1921 | |||||
| 73 | 1980 | ||||||
| 74 | 1900 | (武島羽衣) | |||||
| 75 | 1947 | (江間章子) | |||||
| 76 | 1889 | melody "Home! Sweet Home!" from the opera Clari, Maid of Milan (1823) | |||||
| 77 | 浜千鳥 | 1919 | (鹿島鳴秋) | ||||
| 78 | 浜辺の歌 | 1916 | (林古渓) | ||||
| 79 | 1910 | ||||||
| 80 | 1912 | ||||||
| 81 | 1911 | (巌谷小波) | Ministry of Education | ||||
| 82 | 1913 | Ministry of Education | Ministry of Education | ||||
| 83 | 1947 | (堀内敬三) | melody "Mollie Darling" (1871), American popular song | ||||
| 84 | 故郷 | 1914 | |||||
| 85 | 蛍の光 | 1881 | (稲垣千穎) | melody "Auld Lang Syne", traditional Scottish song | |||
| 86 | 1932 | (杉村楚人冠) | (船橋榮吉) | ||||
| 87 | 見上げてごらん夜の星を | 1963 | (いずみたく) | ||||
| 88 | 1946 | (加藤省吾) | (海沼實) | ||||
| 89 | 1910 | Ministry of Education | Ministry of Education | ||||
| 90 | 1947 | Ministry of Education | melody "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" from the opera Le devin du village (1752) | ||||
| 91 | 村祭 | 1942 | (南能衛) | ||||
| 92 | 1950 | (茶木滋) | |||||
| 93 | 1911 | ||||||
| 94 | 1936 | Toraji Ōnaka (大中寅二) | |||||
| 95 | 夕日 | 1921 | (室崎琴月) | ||||
| 96 | 1923 | (中村雨紅) | |||||
| 97 | 1911 | Ministry of Education | Ministry of Education | ||||
| 98 | 1921 | ||||||
| 99 | 1907 | melody "Dreaming of Home and Mother" (1851), American popular song | |||||
| 100 | Ringo no uta | 1945 | Hachirō Satō (サトウハチロー) | (万城目正) | from the 1945 film directed by Yasushi Sasaki | ||
| 101 | 1910 | (宮原晃一郎) | Ministry of Education |