Rentaro Taki -- Oshogatsu（お正月）

 

新年あけましておめでとうございます。

To all readers of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", Happy New Year and I hope that you've been enjoying a peaceful beginning to 2021. I did have my ozoni this morning and managed not to asphyxiate on my rice cakes. Currently, it's a rather serene day outside. As I was telling Noelle, it's not sunny but it's not storming out there either and the temperatures aren't too bad for a January.

Well, I figure that since this is gantan（元旦...New Year's Day）, something appropriate is needed to start off the 2021 session of KKP. Therefore, I've chosen the children's song "Oshogatsu" (New Year) originally composed by Rentaro Taki（瀧廉太郎）and written by Kume Higashi（東くめ）. Taki came up with a lot of classic Japanese songs for the kids including "Yuki ya Konkon" （雪やこんこん）which also had Higashi's lyrics.

According to J-Wiki, "Oshogatsu" made its first appearance in a music book for kindergarten children in July 1901 but since then, it has become one of the perennial songs to be heard and sung during this time of year, and in commemoration of that, it was recognized in 2007 as one of the "Nihon no Uta Hyakusen"（日本の歌百選...Collection of 100 Japanese songs） sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Parents-Teachers Association of Japan. 

Enjoy this adorable version by the ladies at the Bon Bon Academy（ボンボンアカデミー）!

今年もよろしくお願いします。