“Sakura, Sakura” another Japanese Cherry Blossom Song
In my previous entry, I talked about the importance of Hanami, Cherry Blossom Viewing, in the Springtime, in Japan.
The cherry blossoms, called sakura in Japanese, bloom at a time when there are lots of new beginnings. Of course it’s the start of new life in the land. But in Japan, it’s also the start of the new school year, it’s when college graduates start new jobs and it’s also the start of the new fiscal year for Japanese businesses.
In honor of the Hanami, in my previous entry I posted a folk song called Hana (Sakura) or Cherry Blossoms. Here’s another traditional Japanese song that’s called Sakura Sakura…
MP3 of Sakura Sakura Played on the Piano
Sakura Sakura
(Japanese Transliteration)Sakura sakura
Noyama mo sato mo
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Asahi ni niou
Sakura sakura
Hana zakariSakura sakura
Yayoi no sora wa
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Nioi zo izuru
Izaya izaya
Mini yu kanCherry Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms
(English Translation)Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Blanketing the countryside,
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the morning sun.
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Flowers in full bloom.Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,
Across the Spring sky,
As far as you can see.
Is it a mist, or clouds?
Fragrant in the air.
Come now, come,
Let’s look, at last!桜 桜
(Japanese Text)
If anyone can provide a better copy of the Japanese text for this song, please email me. I also welcome recordings and midis.
Thanks!
Lisa
Many thanks to Monique Palomares for creating the midi and for locating the Japanese text and to Susan Pomerantz for the piano recording of Sakura Sakura. Many thanks to HAMADA Miwa and team at the University of Toyama for allowing me to use the Sakura Sakura recording and midi from their wonderful site of Japanese Songs.
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Japan Page for more Songs from Japan!
April 13th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
Dear Lisa
I like your efforts much, Sakura song is excellent… a good job. Let’s continue good work.
May 24th, 2006 at 5:50 pm
dear lisa,
i love you web page. we are doing my child homework of japan. could you tell me how we can fine the author of song like sakura sakura and koujou no tuski, and medakano gattsukou
June 4th, 2006 at 8:11 am
this is a nice web-page. we found it doing homeowrk for the international school of aberdeen. thank you.
August 6th, 2006 at 10:09 am
Thank you for this website! I’ve been looking for lyrics and audio samples of this song for a long time. A teacher from grade school taught my 4th grade class this song as well as movements, and we performed this a couple times for various school events. This was our first education about any Japanese song/culture. I’m glad I found your site so now I can share it at our next class reunion!
August 6th, 2006 at 10:54 am
I didn’t know there were movements associated with this song. I wonder if they’re known in Japan too.
Do you remember any of them, or does anyone else know of any specific movements associated with this song?
August 30th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
I saw that Yuko Pearlman had responded to your website….she is a long lost friend of mine…we taught pre-school in rhode island together and I would love nothing more than to get back in touch with her! I had googled her name and this page popped up as the first hit. If you have any contact with her, or information, please let her know that Rosemary Madriles (aka Miss Rose) would love her email address!
Thanks,
Rose
rpmadriles@hotmail.com
September 7th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
I remember this song from 3rd grade music class. However, the version here is slightly different. I found the one I remember @ http://www.useless-knowledge.com/1234/06mar/article210.html. At that site there is also a link to another midi version of the song. Although it was 23 years ago I specifically remeber the line “Tatsuta for Maple trees” which is in the version I am providing a link to. Maybe someone else remebers this version?
December 5th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Diane Lerian made this comment:
Comment:
I heard a violin rendition of sakura performed by Andrea Rieu, christmas concert. I’ve since been looking for the version he played & found sakura,sakura on your blog,however, it is beautiful but not the same melody I initially tried to find. If anyone knows of another version, it would be greatly appreciated if you could forward. It is intended for the Sazuki Violin Music Developement group I am associated with. Thank you most respectfully!
December 5th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Did you see the sheet music for Sakura Sakura at http://www.mamalisa.com/world/sakuscor.html
December 20th, 2006 at 2:19 am
Hello, i was searching the lirycs of this song, thanks for posted it… but… well, but my problem is that i have a song, with the vienna choir boys, they sing that song with a little arrange, because they sing in first time the last verse… (i really do not how call taht thing sorry -.-U) …
well in the song that i have i think only say this:
Sakura sakura
Yayoi no sora wa
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Nioi zo izuru
Izaya izaya
Mini yu kan
then i really don´t know… so, can you say me… please TwT, well sorry for my bad … awful english and… thanks for readme,,, ehm
see you later,
bye bye n.nU
January 12th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
The sheet music that is posted on this website is from a book called
“101 Favorite Songs Taught in Japanese Schools”,
ISBN4-7890-0129-5, published 1983. I happen to have it checked out from my library because I am trying to learn some traditional Japanese songs. The book has a lot of good information about the songs. The “Cherry Blossoms” that people might be looking for that has a different melody than “Sakura, Sakura” might be Rentaro Taki’s “Cherry Blossoms” (the Japanses title is “Hana”). Both are songs that are sung in spring and talk about cherry blossoms, although “Sakura, Sakura” is more familiar to Western ears, and is a old air of Japan. “Cherry Blossoms”
(”Hana”) was composed in 1923.
February 1st, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Hi Lisa,
Thank you so much for your website.
I look for traditional sakura song in MP3 format for so long to put it in my baby video.
I’m glad that finally I found it here!
I’m so happy! My baby video will be very perfect with this song.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
My favorite traditional song is Hana. Check out this version I found on youtube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=W0g0VYrEEGk
August 24th, 2007 at 6:02 am
dear lisa, im from romania and i first listen to your song from an cartoon named Eureka Seven and i really loved it and i want to congratulate u for doing a great job :D
December 6th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
I learned “Sakura, Sakura” in 5th grade, as a school concert for various cultures, where we sung a variety of folk songs. The English version that we learned is something completely different than what you have, but what a BLESSING to find this site! A friend of mine is considering naming her daughter Sakura, and I was glad to have some info to share with her about the name :D Thank you, again, for all the links :D
March 19th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
omg! we are doing a song in are class!!
October 4th, 2008 at 6:08 am
Vanessa
I can also remeber singing a different version, which went something like Sakura, Sakura, cherry blossoms pink and white ……If anyone knows this version and could post it, I would really appreciate it.
October 16th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
hey i love this song it is so lovely i now want to go 2 Japan now more than ever i read the way everyone does there i hope you have fun the song:
Sakura sakura
Noyama mo sato mo
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Asahi ni niou
Sakura sakura
Hana zakari
Sakura sakura
Yayoi no sora wa
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumo ka
Nioi zo izuru
Izaya izaya
Mini yu kan i love it love always hollie in USA
October 16th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
i want 2 spake japan soooo much i can imagining I’M there eating the food i will never be sad if i go 2 japan i will glad 2 be there anyway.i want to be away from here now
November 5th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Came across this website while researching a song for my Elementary Music Ed class in college. I have to do a presentation of it as a teaching aide. The version that is in our textbook is called Cherry Blossoms (Sakura) and is as follows:
Sakura, Sakura,
Cherry blossoms wave in the trees,
Lovely blossoms dance in the breeze.
Pink and white the blossoms will fall.
Petals sending scent to all.
Sakura, Sakura,
Smelling sweet, Sakura.
The Japanese translation that is in my book for this verse is:
Sakura, Sakura,
Yayoi no sorawa
Miwatasu kagiri
Kasumi ka kumoka
Nioi zo izuru
Izaya, Izaya,
Mi ni yukaun.
May 14th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Hello,
Where can I get the songs with voice? especially the original songs. I love this song :)
May 14th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
I added an mp3 in the post above for this song to hear it sung.
You can hear more Japanese songs on the Mama Lisa’s World Japan pages (click the link).
Also check out Japanese Songs – to hear more – they have the Japanese lyrics (but I dont think they have English translations).
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:31 am
please send me sakura sakura.. i really need it for our report about japanese music.. if i can at least have my classmates listen to it thru our presentation they they would be able to understand japanese music better