The formal name of this song is Higo Temari 肥後手まり唄. This song is from the Edo period of Japan.
あんたがたどこさ
肥後さ
肥後どこさ
熊本さ
熊本どこさ
せんばさ
せんば山には
狸がおってさ
それを猟師が
鉄砲でうってさ
煮てさ 焼いてさ
食ってさ
それを木の葉で
チョイトかくせ
Where are you from?
From Higo
Where in Higo?
From Kumamoto
Where in Kumamoto?
From Senba
In the mountains of Senba
There is a raccoon
It was shot with a gun by a hunter
Who cooked it
Then roasted it
And ate it,
With leaves from a tree
He covered it.
Notes
Transliteration
Anta gata doko sa
Anta gata doko sa?
Higo sa.
Higo doko sa?
Kumamoto sa.
Kumamoto doko sa?
Senba sa.
Senba yama ni wa
Tanuki ga otte sa.
Sore o ryoshi ga
Teppo de utte sa.
Nite sa, yaite sa, kutte sa.
Sore o konoha de
Choito kabuse.
Ryan sent this song with the note: "I have a song I recently learned that is a Japanese kids/folk song. This is a song I discovered in my first year Japan course papers. Its called Antagata Doko Sa. Its about someone asking where someone else lives. Which is near the Senba Mountain and it goes into a little story about a hunter tracking a raccoon and how he boils it, bakes it and then eats it and covers it with a leaf.
Comments
We welcome improvements to the translation. We would also love to learn how to play the game. -Mama Lisa
Here's the full song below (verses one and two are the same as the lyrics above). If anyone would like to provide a full translation, please email me:
(1) あんたがたどこさ
肥後さ
肥後どこさ
熊本さ
熊本どこさ
船場(せんば)さ
(2) 船場山には狸がおってさ
それを猟師が鉄砲で撃ってさ
煮てさ 焼いてさ 食ってさ
それを木の葉でちょいと隠（かぶ）せ
(3) あんたがたどこさ 肥後さ
肥後どこさ 熊本さ 熊本どこさ 船場さ
(4) 船場川にはえびさがおってさ
それを漁師が網さで捕ってさ
煮てさ 焼いてさ 食ってさ
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Thanks to Ryan Thomas for contributing this song, singing it for us and sending a score for it.
