Kono michi – この道

Kono michi” is one of the representative songs of Japanese douyo-shouka, with lyrical lyrics by KITAHARA Hakusyuu and a beautiful melody by YAMADA Kousaku.

The lyrics are sung in the first and second verses about Sapporo, Hokkaido, where KITAHARA_Hakusyuu visited on a trip, and in the third and fourth verses about his hometown, Yanagawa City, Kumamoto Prefecture. It is said that he was inspired by Sapporo, where he stopped over for four days on his way home from a “Karafuto sightseeing tour” organized by the Ministry of Railways at the time.

The lyrics, which trace the memories of his childhood, give the impression of a thin haze. The color of this song is “white,” and the flower sung as “Acacia” in the first verse is actually a locust tree, the former having yellow flowers and the latter white. And the white of the clock tower. The carriage in which he is said to have ridden with his mother may not have been white, but the image of his mother in his childhood may have been white. In the fourth verse, the clouds are white. The flowers of the three terns are also white.

The composer, YAMADA Kousaku, was very fond of this song,

Kono michi” is a song that reminds me of my childhood days. I couldn’t help but recall the nostalgic paths I used to stroll down with my mother’s warm hand pulling me along, and the faint feelings I had back then.

He says, “I couldn’t help but recall the faint feelings of those days.

However, even such a famous song has been dropped from music textbooks, and more and more children say they have never heard of it.

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