Shabondama

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Shabondama

Shabondama is a 1923 Japanese nursery rhyme (warabe uta) with music by Shinpei Nakayama and lyrics by Ujō Noguchi. It is a simple song often taught in Japanese nurseries and kindergartens, and it is sometimes used in elementary school lessons about life and death.

Background

Noguchi’s daughter Midori died at seven days old in 1908. Infant mortality was high in Meiji-era Japan. Noguchi, who was divorced, mourned her loss deeply. Many people think he wrote Shabondama after seeing village girls play with bubbles, which reminded him of his daughter’s brief life, though the exact inspiration is not known.

Melody

The tune is a modified version of the Christian hymn Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.

Lyrics and meaning

The song describes soap bubbles that fly up to the roof, then break and disappear. It is often interpreted as a meditation on the brief life of a child. The final lines ask the wind not to blow so hard so the bubbles can keep flying.

Usage

The song is widely taught in early childhood settings as a simple melody and is sometimes used in moral education about life and death. In Yumoto Station, Fukushima Prefecture, the melody is used for departing trains.