#Minna no Uta

[falseandrealultravival]

Computer Grandma: Ryuichi Sakamoto (nursery rhyme)

Japan's NHK "Minna no Uta" is a long-running program of quality nursery rhymes. This song was composed by a young Ryuichi Sakamoto who became famous as a member of YMO. Anticipating the golden age of computers, it is performed using electronic music. It's aimed at children, but it has decent music.

♪Computer grandma,

computer granny

oh oh oh oh oh

My grandma is a computer born in the Meiji era

Arithmetic, Japanese language, society anything is OK

knowledgeable and erudite

Her legs and hips are fine, let's 1, 2, 3

Fluent in English　

ring the dentures

computer grandma

computer granny

Whoa, whoa, I love you

コンピューターおばあちゃん：坂本龍一（童謡）

日本のＮＨＫ「みんなのうた」は、長年続く良質な童謡の番組である。この曲は、ＹＭＯのメンバーとして有名になった、若い頃の坂本龍一が作曲した曲である。コンピューター全盛時代を先取りし、電子音楽を駆使して演奏される。子供向けであるが、ちゃんとした音楽になっている。

(2023.04.15)

[nightcorekitten]

[ayuvogue]

The NHK channel has added a preview of Ayu’s new song for Minna no Uta, “BYE-BYE”

[amicus20]

ヘドラーの山

アニメ：西内としお

[bishonenknife]

岩崎宏美 ー 笑顔 ー 『みんなのうた』 PV

[hatie]

[xaaxaa-translations]

Kietai (English translation)

I'm not saying I want to die,

But I don't want to live.

I'm just, just, just, just living.

Every day brings weariness.

Give me a reason to live, please!

Give me a chance to die, please!

Drop by drop, drop by drop, I'm living.

Every day brings weariness.

I want to disappear, disappear, disappear, disappear

I want to disappear, disappear, disappear, disappear

It's as if I am invisible to people.

I tried to cut off my left leg.

Just, just, just, just hurts me.

And it doesn't make me feel better.

I want to disappear, disappear, disappear, disappear

I want to disappear, disappear, disappear, disappear

Forward, backward, left, right, I can't move anywhere, it's a dead end, everywhere.

Always alone.

Is it normal to go on like this forever?

Nothing changes.

And I don't want to see it anymore.

I want to disappear, disappear, disappear, disappear

I want to disappear, disappear, disappear, disappear

[skaruresonic]

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Social, Cultural, & Political Things to Help Understand Buddy Daddies - Part 2

Hey there, everyone! Since my first post covering topics like these went over so well, and since I found a few more things I can talk about in these first four episodes that involve a social, cultural, and/or political aspect of Japan, I decided to make a second post. 

I type these posts up on my desktop, since that is easier, but after posting, I will go back on mobile and edit in ALT text for the photos. This post is also likely to be very lengthy and image heavy, but I hope you all enjoy the information provided. Also, if anyone has any extra insights, please feel free to share that information. I love learning, and always am learning, so any corrections or further info is always appreciated.

We are going to be starting off with a few simple, quick, and “easy” topics, so to speak. Now, let’s get started!

1. Rock - Paper - Scissors

In Ep.3, we see Kazuki and Rei decide who will go and purchase the sweet potato for Miri. In order to decide this, they use Rock-Paper-Scissors. In Japan, the game is called janken and is used in classrooms to decde everything: which row or group in class will go first? Janken. There is a tie, who will win the game? Janken. A student or students are out of class today so there is some extra food left over, who will get it? Janken.

In many cases, this will be use to decide orders as well (like the winner goes first or last and then it goes in ascending or descending order from there). And it won’t just be between two people, they’ll do huge groups. When I worked as an ALT, I would often just trust my students or the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) or Homeroom Teacher to figure out who won and lost, because I would always lose track... ^ ^;

Anyway, this way of deciding things is viewed as unbiased and a sort of “third-party” decision maker. A nice way to have a decision made without ruffling any feathers. And, we sometimes see using Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide things within the workplace and business world.

Some examples of this are provided on the website Japan Daily, which will be linked below. The website does lean a bit into Orentialism, imo, but it also has some good history and info on Rock-Paper-Scissors in Japan and these real life examples of it being used in a business/work environment are great:

2. Baked Sweet Potato - Street Food

Baked sweet potato is a very common street food in Japan in the fall and winter months. They are cheap, smell delicious, are delicious, and are a great way to warm up cold hands. Nowadays, many are sold out of small, white vans like the one shown in Buddy Daddies. 

(Image from Asahi Imports).

They are usually eaten plain and the inside tends to be a light, off-set white. Like ice cream trucks, the sweet potato vendors will usually set up shop around playgrounds, school areas, parks, etc. basically any place where a large crowd is likely, and they will usually shout out that they have sweet potatoes. In a similar way to the vendors walking around selling food, drinks, and peanuts at a baseball game or something.

You can read more about this winter time snack over at Asahi Imports, which will be linked below (they also make mention of daigaku imo, which is a dish you’ll see in Japanese school lunches in the fall and winter months, and which is very yummy!).

3. Obake - Ghosts 

I was watching a reaction video to episode 3 of Buddy Daddies, and the reactor was like, “Isn’t she afraid of ghosts?” And, well, that made me think of a very popular song and book in Japan called おばけなんてないさ (Obake Nante Nai sa). It is a very famous children’s song and (later) picture book in Japan. The song was first broadcast on an NHK program called “Minna no Uta” in 1966. This info is from the website Hello Project Lyrics Wiki, and will be linked in the comments below.

When I worked at a Japanese cram school back here in the States, we had a bunch of copies of the books, and all the teachers had the book and song memorized. All the parents were familiar with it too, and it was taught in the youngest class, since the book and song is for the 0 - 2 year old age range.

Here is a Youtube video with the book and the song being sung to it. Warning: This song WILL get stuck in your head. The beat is very simple and easy to remember, so you’ll definitely end up humming it, even if you don’t know the lyrics.

I’ll link to English lyrics that I found for this song in the comments. But the general gist is that there is no such things as ghosts, they aren’t real, but if they were, I (a child) would be afraid of them. So the song goes on to tell of how you can befriend a ghost instead, and not be afraid of them anymore. 

Miri is 4 years old, and can write her name, speak and understand well, and has good coordination skills. So there has been some level of education, so she has likely heard this song before. And therefore probably isn’t afraid of ghosts on a more conceptual level, though she still equates them with “bad guys,” lol. If she hasn’t learned it or heard it yet, she probably will now that she is in daycare.

There are four more issues/aspects that I plan on discussing, so I’ll put those under a Read More due to length and them being slightly less lighthearted.

4. Animal Rights

When I watched reaction videos to the first episode, many people were upset at the cat being returned to the box (and the cat even just being in a box to begin with). I was too, of course, but I also knew where this scene was coming from. For this section, I will be citing the article: Challenging, inadequate animal welfare in Japan, which I will link to below. Though, I also came across the article Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Pet in Japan, which I will also be linking below, since I think it is worth the read. 

Basically, Japan has laws in place, and they get revised every 5 or so years, however, they are very vague and the general public knowledge of animal rights is farther behind than in other industrialized nations. In the other article that I will be linking below, they mention that about 90% of pets in Japan are bought through pet stores, rather than through adoptions or rescues. So, as the other article states, abandonment of pets is rather high, especially because of how trend-based pet ownership is in Japan.

Things like pet cafes can really influence pet trends. I’ve been to two myself, an Owl Cafe in Osaka and a Hedgehog Cafe in Tokyo. 

That was a number of years ago now. And while those experiences were AMAZING! I do think about the ethics of it all and think, if I were to return to Japan some day for a visit, those kinds of cafes wouldn’t be on my To Do list.

However, there are groups and organizations to help fight for animal rights in Japan. Since this section of the post was inspired by the scene with the cat in the box, I’ll highlight the cat based one mentioned in the article:

So that’s good to hear!

5. Parenting Style

Another thing I noticed during reaction videos were the responses to scenes like the above, where Miri is kicking at the back of Rei’s car seat and whining, “I wanna go swing!” As well as to scenes like below, where Miri caused all of Kazuki’s food supplies and materials to spill all over the ground. 

All of them have made mentioned that moments like those require strict discipline. But, Japanese parenting style differs a bit when it comes to things like this. In an article entitled: Japanese Parenting Style - And Differences From the West, which will be linked to below, we get this bit on discipline:

Basically, it is saying that Japan isn’t really big on punishment because Japanese children learn to behave by learning the importance of cooperation and harmony through other social groups like school and sports. This is definitely true. What I’ve seen is that the expectation is that the children still don’t fully understand the ins-and-outs of society yet.

I worked at a Japanese daycare, so our job was to take a gentle parenting approach, to help explain to the child why what they did was hurtful or harmful or dangerous. And one of our goals was to help the children learn how to play amicably with each other. 

That’s not to say that I haven’t seen children be yelled at or anything like that. I have. But it is usually the teachers that take on that mantel, especially at the junior high school level. That’s when you get stuff like students have to practice bowing during an assembly over and over and over again until they get it just right, especially if that assembly is a rehearsal for an important event, like graduation ceremonies.

Bringing this back to Miri though. Now that she is in daycare, she will start to receive this gentle parenting approach to learning how to co-exist with others, which will eventually result in more positive behaviors (or, that is the ultimate goal, anyway). Miss Anna will likely provide a lot of that guidance as the head daycare teacher.

6. Snack Bars

Miri’s mother works at a Snack Bar and, over on the official website, it states that her job is as both the Mama and singer at the Snack Bar and that she is 34 years old. But what is a Snack Bar and what is a Mama?

Snack Bars were started in 1964 to work around government laws that prevented adult entertainment establishments from staying open after midnight, by offering light snacks, that changed the category that they fell under, thus they could stay open. The Mama of the Snack Bar is basically the one in charge of the Snack Bar.

They are similar in ways to Hostess Bars, but on the cheaper side. You can read about more of the details about how they run and what not at the website Metropolis Japan, which I will link to in the comments.

Another thing about Snack Bars is that, while they don’t sell sex, they sell the fantasy and illusion of sex:

They are also a outdated nowadays (with their peak being back in the 80s), so there is a general seedy vibe about them. It may seem like an okay place to take kids from the name alone, but they are very much so adult-only spaces. Also, as we saw with Miri’s mother, likely a place and setting where the exploitation of women happens.

7. Casinos and Gambling in Japan

We saw Kazuki do some gambling in Ep. 1. Something you may have noticed, however, was who lured him in:

And what the outside of the establishment looked like:

Two young and sexy women and a bright, sparkling pink building named “FAIRY LIPS.” You probably guessed that this isn’t a legal gambling establishment. Casinos and gambling are still largely illegal in Japan, with some exceptions like lottery. The ones that are illegal are likely being run by Yakuza. 

However, some changes have gone into affect in more recent years, especially as a way to attract tourists. 

Over on the Wikipedia page about Gambling in Japan (which will be linked below in the comments), it talks about how Japanese lawmakers approved a bill in July 2018 that officially allows casinos in the country. However, they come with a lot of restrictions, such as Japanese locals only being able to visit them three times per week or ten times a month, and Japanese visitors will be charged 6,000 yen entrance fees to discourage addiction. 

And...that’s it for this post! Thank you all for reading this far and for all the love and support you’ve all shown to my previous post (and other meta posts I’ve made). I really and truly appreciate it! I’ll be keeping an eye out for topics like these in future episodes. Though, those posts should be a lot shorter, since I’ll be going on an episode-by-episode basis, instead of in bulk like this.

Until next time! 

[holespoles]

Yasuji Mori Shogakukan Children's Picture Books

Minna no Uta (Everybody's Song)” Cover

森やすじ 小学館　幼児絵本

「みんなのうた（皆の歌）」　表紙

[ayuvogue]

Have you streamed "BYE-BYE" today?

BYE-BYE on Spotify

BYE-BYE on Apple Music

BYE-BYE Music video

NHK Minna no uta video preview

Ayumi Hamasaki released her latest digital single "BYE-BYE" for her 26th anniversary on April 8th! The song composed by Kunio Tago is now streaming on Spotify and Apple Music internationally.

The song has two music videos. One, directed by long-time collaborator Hideaki Sunaga, stars Ayu and is available in full on Youtube. The other is a unique animated short by Mana Inoue from RIBBON and is airing throughout the month of April as part of NHK's みんなのうた (Minna no uta). A preview is currently on NHK's Youtube channel.

[hakonohanayome]

Donna Donna (1966, Minna no Uta)

[mentalhells]

サンタクロースビジネス- Santa Claus Business

アドベント・カレンダーのドアー

二十四回 叩いて

Adobento carendaa no doa

Niijyu yonkai tataite

Knocking on the advent calendar door twenty-four times,

ベッドで寝ぼけまなこのパパ

おはようのキスをして

Beddo de neboke manako no papa

Ohayou no kisu o shite

My sleepyhead daddy in bed gets a good-morning kiss

オーナメントで飾りつけた

ツリーのライトともして

Oonamento de kazari tsuketa

Tsuri no raito tomoshite

I put up the ornaments, and the tree lights too

キッチンでママのお手伝い

そんなあたしに 声かけるの

Kiichin de mama no otetsudai

Sonna atashi ni koe kakeru no

I lend a hand to mommy in the kitchen, 

But even then you tell me;

パパの仕事はサンタクロース

今日はプレゼント 届けなくちゃ

Papa no shigoto wa santa kuroosu

Kyo wa purezento todokenakucha

“Daddy’s job is Santa Claus

Today I’ve gotta deliver presents”

秘密だよってパパ 言うけど

みんな信じてくれないよ

Himitsu da yo tte papa iiu kedo

Minna shinjite kurenai yo

Daddy said it’s a secret, 

But nobody would believe me anyways

うちでは普通のパパだもん

いつも疲れてるパパだもん

Uchi dewa futsu no papa damon

Itsumo tsukareteru papa damon

‘Cus at home, he’s my plain-old daddy

‘Cus he’s my daddy who’s always tired

だけどほんとはサンタクロース

Dakedo honto wa santa kuroosu

But, he’s really Santa Claus

きよしこの夜こそは

Kyoshi kono yoru koso wa

Even on this Silent Night

ステージに立たなきゃ

Suteeji ni tatanakya

He’s got to stand on stage

今夜は嬉しい人にも

悲しい悲しい人にも

Konya wa ureshii hito ni mo

Kanashii kanashii hito ni mo

Tonight, for all the happy people,

And for all the sad, sad people

おんなじ雪が降るから

Onaji yuki ga furu kara

The same snow will come down, so*

今夜が楽しい人にも

寂しい寂しい人にも

Konya ga tanoshii hito ni mo

Sabishii sabishii hito ni mo

Tonight, to all the people having fun,

And to all the lonely, lonely people

言うよ 君にも

Merry Merry Merry Christmas

Iiu yo kimi ni mo

Merry Merry Merry Christmas

I’ll wish you too a Merry Merry Merry Christmas

おかしいよって君は言うけど

おかしなパパを許して

Okashiiyo tte kimi wa iiu kedo

Okashi na papa o yurushite

You tell me I’m weird, but please forgive your weird daddy

トナカイの楽器隊と

フロアにリボンかけるから

Tonakai no gakkitai to

Furoa ni ribbon kaketeru kara

Because with a backing band of reindeer, 

I’ll wrap up the venue floor in ribbons

僕の仕事はサンタクロース

Boku no shigoto wa santa kuroosu

My job is Santa Claus

きよしこの夜なのに

君を一番に できない

Kyoshi kono yoru nanoni

Kimi o ichiban ni dekinai

Even though it’s a Silent Night

I can’t put you first

"ごめんね"

Gomenne

“I’m sorry”

幸せそうな あの人も

見えない孤独かかえてる

Shiawase sou na ano hito mo 

Mienai kodoku kakaeteru

Even that person who seems happy 

Carries a loneliness you can’t see

だから 歌うよ

Merry Merry Merry Christmas

Dakara utauyo

Merry Merry Merry Christmas

That’s why I’m singing, Merry Merry Merry Christmas

今夜は嬉しい人にも

悲しい悲しい人にも

Konya wa ureshii hito ni mo

Kanashii kanashii hito ni mo

Tonight, for all the happy people,

And for all the sad, sad people

おんなじ歌が降るから

Onaji uta ga furu kara

The same song will come on, so*

今夜は笑顔の人にも

泣いてる泣いてる人にも

Konya wa egao no hito ni mo

Naiteru naiteru hito ni mo

Tonight, to all the smiling people,

And to all the crying, crying people

言うよ 君にも

Merry Merry Merry Christmas

Iiu yo kimi ni mo

Merry Merry Merry Christmas

I’ll wish you too a Merry Merry Merry Christmas

あなたに

Merry Merry Merry Christmas

Anata ni

Merry Merry Merry Christmas

I wish you a Merry Merry Merry Christmas

TRANSLATION NOTES

* the furu/降る in both these parts is usually used to describe precipitation falling, ie snow, so in chorus B it’s more.. poetic? symbolic? idk it’s nice<3 i tried to translate it in a way where the lines still have connection while sounding respectively natural

merry crisis!!!/メリー苦リスマス！！！

i used to be a christmas hater but now, because of this song, i can cope with it. btw the true meaning of christmas is not capitalistic gift giving, or jesus, or any of that, it’s how cute santa papa temma is. amen🙏

[marismoments39]

Today I am giving you just a full clip of questions

What's your favorite animal? Colour? Favorite class to take? Favorite thing to play on piano? Favorite Yuru Yuri episode? Least favorite?

-npa

Hey npa!! Missed ya!!! Thanks for the questions aaa thanks for the questions!!! Here are the best answers I've got!! My favourite animal's humans!! Some may not see this as a valid answer, but I don't care! they're my favourite, and I'm proud to be a human myself

Favourite COLOUR..??

GOD I hate this question. just cuz I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO CALL IT

Here is my favourite colour. Not quite green, not quite blue. now, "blue" itself is also a nightmare because "blue" and "lightblue" are different coloured but "light blue" is actually "cyan" so I guess this is a mix between green and cyan but it's NOT turquoise cuz turquoise is WAY more blue and this isn't, isn't aquamarine I don't THINK?? I DON'T KNOW!! THANK GOD WE'RE ON THE INTERNET CUZ IF YOU ASKED ME IRL I'D BE STUMPED (btw this is supposed to be more blue than green but the screen I'm on rn is sorta scuffed so tell me if it's more green)

THAT GOES FOR MY 2nd FAVOURITE COLOUR TOO

on the opposite end of the spectrum to my 1st favourite colour, THIS ONE DOESN'T HAVE A GOOD NAME EITHER!! REDDISH PINK? MANGENTA? REDDISH MAGENTA?? GAHH

And my 3rd favourite colour? White!

Now! Favourite class to take? Japanese! There's no contest. sadly, I received news that my favourite teacher, my japanese teacher, is leaving the school :( I hope we have a good teacher next year.. if any teacher at all

now, favourite yuruyuri episode? PROBABLY s2e11, it's so special to me! I don't rewatch it that much tho, it's too sad for me! that goes for s1e11, s3e12, and s2e03, I think I like s2e03 too! I also like it's title, "Chocolate and Tears and Girls and Girls and Isobe Fries" OH ALSO I LIKE s3e08 YEAH

LEAST favourite episode? I don't like s1e6... e4? uh, it's titled "When Akari and the Cicadas cry," didn't really like.. uh, the akari and chinatsu scene! but I'm glad that chinatsu's character got to grow from it... also we got a killer song from it...

I HAVE A LEAST FAVOURITE MANGA CHAPTER THO!! CHAPTER 153: "AND THEN THERE WERE NONE," SCREW THAT! SCREW THAT ONE SO MUCH! GO AWAY!!!

oh! Favourite piano piece to play? Minna Daisuki no Uta! From s2e11! these questions fit together so nicely~ that song's fun to play, but I also LOVE playing Rolling girl because my FINGERS!! they get to do FUN STUFF!!! it's AMAZING for, when i'm fidgety! also, it's an ANGRY song, so I get to POUND the keys!! make notes LOUD!!! and also the bass is SO FUN okay maybe I change my answer

I think that's all of the questions. THANK YOU!! I'd love for you to keep 'em coming! do what you want tho lol

[appears]

15th Anniversary

alan: Voice of EARTH (2009.03.04)

While a list of my top ten favorite female vocalists doesn't necessarily preclude objectively great vocals, alan is one artist that, like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera, you just can't argue with. Not everyone has to personally like their singing styles, but it's clear that all three have studied and honed their craft beyond the average, and that their abilities far outstrip the everyday pop star. Luckily for Avex Trax, they got in on the ground floor when the singer auditioned for the label and was subsequently signed as their first Chinese artist at a time when Avex was heavily focused on growing a presence in their neighbor's lucrative market (take for example, all of Ayumi Hamasaki's overseas promo work and concerts around the same time).

Voice of EARTH was released in 2009 and was alan's Japanese debut. There are one issue that come to mind right away when you have a vocalist at this level, what I like to call the Celine Dion Problem, after an interview that I remember watching with the singer around the release of her album, All the Way... A Decade of Song where she spoke enthusiastically about getting the chance to work with Max Martin and release an uptempo song, since she's always given ballads and slow numbers. Of course, when you have a singer like Celine Dion, you want to give them worthy material that shows off what they're capable of, but it does leave you with fewer options in terms of tempo. "That's the Way It Is" is not Celine's voice at full power, but she obviously had a great time with it, and it was nice to see her do something outside of her usual sound. Unfortunately, we have the same problem with alan, who was clearly given all of the slowest, sappiest material in Avex's storage room, stuff that was waiting for a worthy vocalist but that also leaves much to be desired in terms of variety or excitement. The pieces that work best are the ones that were clearly written for her specifically, like the incendiary "Ashita e no Sanka" and "RED CLIFF ~Shin.Sen~" which show off her dynamic range and that exceptional, soaring Tibetan wail against a backdrop of rising strings and dramatic tension. Those two were the reason that I first purchased this album and they remain the best thing about it. The rest of the album, vocals aside, is mostly forgettable, with the back end especially dry. That's a difficult admission to make for an album composed and arranged almost entirely by Kazuhito Kikuchi and Yuta Nakano, who worked on some of my favorite Ayumi Hamasaki ballads like.

This CD came with an OBI, a booklet that includes pictures and lyrics, and an additional sheet of paper that includes the lyrics translated into Chinese. The album was released in two versions in Japan, a CD-only and a CD+DVD version, and, as noted, nine months later in China with the vocals re-recorded. Overall, this is an album that does exactly what it's supposed to do, while also falling low on the musical novelty scale. I've listened to all of alan's original Chinese albums, and a few of them are a lot better than this one, especially Love Song. Japanese albums just weren't her strength, though she did release some really incredible singles after this, like "BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~" and "Minna de ne ~PANDA with Candy BEAR's~", as well as one last Japanese album that made my Most Disappointing list when it was released nine months later. She still releases music in the Japanese market today, with her latest release being the surprisingly touching "Shin'ai", though she tends to fly way under most people's radar.